Butcher Bay

Assorted Chesapeake Bay oysters

In the vast catalog of trendy New York restaurant concepts, there are a few notable genres. One is old-timey American, as was competently executed at shuttered East Village eatery Seymour Burton. Another—the Yankee fish shack—is the idea behind Butcher Bay, which opened in Burton's place in January. The owners, who overhauled the original restaurant following a Department of Health closure and the withdrawal of a partner, gutted the space and gave it a wharfy ambiance, with knobby wood panels blanketing the walls, ceiling and floor.

The highlight of the mid-Atlantic-inspired menu is the assortment of Chesapeake Bay oysters (sweet Snow Hills, briny Stingrays) plucked from a commanding iced display, best enjoyed with an East Coast microbrew, such as Ommegang or Harpoon. But the rest of the standard seafaring menu doesn't offer the same satisfaction. Fish-and-chips featured haddock jacketed in a craggy, beer-battered crust that tasted uncannily of oyster crackers, with dehydrated fries (we spotted the frozen specimens as they were unloaded into the Bay's cellar). The more ambitious scallop pan roast—plump mollusks and a chowderlike sauce thick with potatoes (and, unseasonably, corn)—was frustratingly muted. The menu lists that old American classic, banana pudding, as the sole dessert, but it wasn't available when we visited, which is just as well. Butcher Bay is an excellent setting for a shelf of oysters and a frosty beer—but the rest of the menu needs an upgrade before we'd consider dropping anchor for anything else.—TONY

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