Zimmi's
Zimmi’s is a new little French restaurant that recently just opened in the West Village. Its menu comes from chef Maxime Pradié, who draws influences from homestyle Southern French cooking. I looked on Resy, and I was able to get a reservation for 2 at 5:15 PM on a Friday evening. When I arrived, it really resonated the classic West Village restaurant, where the word “quaint” and “rustic” are often used together to describe the ambiance and food.
Ambiance & Service
The interior of the restaurant reminded me of a French bistro where it’s small and intimate. We were seated at the bar, where there are 5 seats. The dining area has many smaller tables, and they are all close to each other. For some this may be uncomfortable, but for those that have been to France, this was quite familiar.
The service was extremely fast, especially on the appetizers. It was as if everything was prepared beforehand, and they can just scoop or cut things out. Either way, the food was quite delicious for what it was.
Food
The Pike County Smile cocktail ($22) came with eau de vie (clear, colourless fruit brandy), dry vermouth, and fruit liqueur. My partner was expecting a lot more sweet sensations, but this definitely was not as sweet as fruity drinks and not as alcoholic as other cocktails.
The Domaine du Bagnol 2020 Caganis Cassis Blanc ($17) comes from Provence, France. This is a blend of different grapes, and it reminded me of a soft, crispy variant of a chardonnay. It finished smooth, and it has a nice crispy taste to it that would go well with any seafood.
The La Pissaladière ($18) came with some olives and anchovies on top of a flatbread pastry. This was savory, and the crust reminded me of a thin tart crust. It was a rustic dish, so there wasn’t any elevated flavors out of it.
The Ratatouille ($16) was a medley of stewed vegetables and also tasted very rustic. It tasted good.
The glass of Domaine Clusel-Roch Cotes Du Rhone “Les Vergers” 2020 ($35) came from Rhone, France. They offered this to me because I wanted some blended red options, and this bottle was already opened since they offered half bottles. This is 100% syrah, and it has notable dark, red flavors with a tight line of tannin. There are some floral notes with some crispy, and it finished very smooth. I’m not a typical fan of syrah, but this one was good with my pork.
The Échine de Porc ($45) was pork collar with hazelnut, dandelion, shallot, and jus. The pork was cooked perfectly with a nice crispy exterior, and the meat was very tender with some nice blend of fat in it. The jus, i.e., sauce, was quite delectable.
The Saupiquet D’Agneau ($42) was a lamb stew with olives, savory and potato. This was the epitome of rustic, and my partner really enjoyed this. For me, it tasted just like lamb stew with finely mixed potato mash.
The Pavé Au Chocolate ($14) came with chocolate crémeux with crème anglaise and orange. The chocolate was very good, and it was perfectly sweet. There is a line of orange glaze on top that is very concentrated and added a really good candy orange complement to the chocolate.
Final Verdict
Unsurprisingly, this quaint French rustic restaurant is likely to be a hit among West Village restaurants. The food here was all pretty good, albeit similar to home French cooking.
Yelp Jabs
I don’t typically like ratatouille but this one won me over. Perfectly seasoned, severed room temp and slightly spicy I think.. made me cough a bit
The seasoning doesn’t have any “spicy” in it unless you’re very sensitive to bell peppers.
Sourdough bread and butter - very good.
Note that of all the dishes on the menu on this day, I deliberately asked the bartender if the bread and butter were housemade. They responded that the bread was sourced from a local Manhattan bread place and the butter was also imported as well. I bet it was going to be good, but we opted for the local restaurant dishes that were made.
Revisions
- Jan 24, 2025 - Initial revision.