Fairfax

If you ask me, the West Village is the best neighborhood in New York. Despite its tiny unaffordable homes, overpriced boutiques and celeb-heavy demographic, it’s (IMHO) the only area in Manhattan that persistently maintains a unique low-key and picturesque charm. And major plus: it’s home to some of New York City’s most iconic restaurants.

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of restaurateur Gabriel Stulman’s “Happy Cooking” Hospitality, now encompassing a total of five restaurants just a few steps away from each other. When it comes to hospitality, Stulman pretty much nails it. Every one of his ventures has become a West Village staple for its signature welcoming vibe. And Stulman has once again worked his hospitality magic with Fairfax. Stulman’s longtime Italian darling Perla closed down in the summer of 2017 to become an all-day café and wine bar.

Corner of W 4th & W 10th streets – fairfax.nyc

Welcome home

A bit like its neighboring sister Bar Sardine (another one of my Happy Cooking faves), Fairfax is more of a cute bar than a proper restaurant. Like all things Stulman, Fairfax has an incredible homey feeling. In fact, Fairfax’s living room layout will actually make you feel like an extension of your ideal West Village home. No traditional dining setup here: the space has a distinctive decor of quirky artifacts and mismatched furniture, made of rustic communal coffee tables and comfy leather couches. The apartment-style design somewhat reminds me of Scandinavian cafés, but at the end of the day, Fairfax is as West Village as it gets.

Plate + Glass of Wine Special for $24 before 6:30pm!

Comfortable apartment-style furniture – fairfax.nyc

Fairfax is your modern neighborhood café by day and cozy wine bar by night. A place for a latte or a glass of orange wine, a crumb cake or a hearty bowl of spaghetti. Perla’s chef Jack Harris is still in the kitchen, cooking up an array of Mediterranean small plates for breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. The food is good, but not exceptional, with a lot of hit-or-miss dishes. The vibe and atypical wine selection are why you come to Fairfax.

Serves 6 types of my beloved Orange wine!

Great for breakfast! Top clockwise: Avocado Toast ($13), Soft Boiled Eggs & Soldiers (the BEST breakfast dish – $9), RonnyBrook Yogurt ($12), Flatwhite Stumptown Coffee ($4.5)

Avocado toast, butternut squash, radish, aleppo pepper ($13)

RonnyBrook Yogurt , pears, chia, pistachios, honey ($12)

White Bean Hummus, cauliflower, pine nuts, flatbread ($15)

Best item on their dinner menu is their spaghetti dish– ex-Perla chef Jack Harris knows how to make pasta!

Asian-style green beans with a side of #yolkporn

Brook Trout with patty pan squash & green peppercorn aioli ($22)

Delicious Chicken Leg with za’atar stuffing ($22)

Fairfax chocolate berry cake dessert

Favorite people-watching spot

Fairfax is incredibly mellow and relaxed, although it can get very lively at night. It’s the convenient, comfortable hangout, that kind of feels like the modern day Central Perk “where everybody knows your name”. Fairfax is the perfect spot for a relaxed morning meeting around a Stumptown coffee and avo toast, or for talking over wine for Happy Hour (with awesome hip hop playing in the background!). Basically, this is the place to chill. Come here solo, for a casual meet-up, with your wine-lover friends, or a for cozy late-night rendez-vous.

So until I own my own multi-million West Village brownstone, Fairfax will keep on being my second home.

I wasn’t kidding when I called Fairfax was my 2nd home #officegoals

Fairfax is also a great pregame or 1^st date spot

Sunday  8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Monday – Wednesday  8:00 am – 11:00 pm
Thursday – Saturday  8:00 am – midnight
(Breakfast Monday – Friday until 11:30am
Brunch Saturday & Sunday until 3:00pm)