Penny

The Verdict

Penny earns a confident return visit. If you went once for the novelty of a raw bar counter in the East Village, go back because the execution has proven it's not a one-season story. Featured in the Opinionated About Dining Casual list for North America (2025) and earning three-star notice from The New York Times, this is a restaurant that has settled into its identity with conviction. For seafood-focused diners who want depth in both the food and the wine, Penny is the clearest answer in its price tier in downtown Manhattan.

Portrait

Two years after Chase Sinzer and Joshua Pinsky opened Claud in the East Village basement below, they turned the bright second-floor space into Penny. That context matters: this is not a standalone project with something to prove, it's a follow-up from a team that already had the neighbourhood's attention. What's notable on a return visit is how little has changed in premise, how much that discipline pays off.

The room is narrow and spare, built almost entirely around two marble counters that run parallel to each other along the length of the bar and kitchen. The energy here leans lively without tipping into loud. In the early evening there's a focused, counter-service rhythm to the room, the kind of ambient hum that comes from a kitchen operating without drama. Later sittings get louder as the wine list does its work, but the format keeps things conversational until well past 9 PM. For a food and wine enthusiast who wants to watch technique up close, the counter format is the experience, not just a seating arrangement.

The food is built around an Ice Box: a mound of pebble ice presenting oysters, razor clams, scallop crudo, mussels escabeche, whatever the day's sourcing allows. A live Maine lobster is poached to order and finished in brown butter. The sesame brioche with Cantabrian anchovies and the tuna carpaccio with Manzanilla olives and cipollini onions have both developed reputations as requisite orders. The kitchen works with a binchotan grill and a refrigerator as its primary tools, the point is exactly that constraint: pristine sourcing, minimal intervention, precise seasoning. Dover sole in bordelaise is available for those who want something more substantial.

Wine is not an afterthought. Wine Director Ellis Srubas-Giammanco oversees a list of roughly 6,000 bottles, with particular depth in Burgundy, Champagne, Loire, the Rhône. The pricing sits at $$$, and corkage runs $55 if you bring your own. The by-the-glass selection is edited, but ask for the full list and the range opens up considerably. For an explorer who tracks producers and vintages, this is a wine destination as much as a seafood one.

The East Village location is doing real work here. Penny is not a Midtown power-lunch operation or a tourist-circuit landmark. It occupies a stretch of East 10th Street where the neighbourhood has supported independent restaurants with genuine staying power, the walk-in format keeps it connected to that local rhythm. Most seats are held for walk-ins; a small number of reservations are available. Arrive just before doors open if you want to guarantee a spot without booking.

Booking difficulty is easy relative to what the quality level suggests. That gap between quality and access is the most practical reason to go soon, before walk-in habits shift.

Quick reference: Walk-ins preferred; arrive at opening for leading access. Small number of reservations available. Cuisine pricing $$$. Wine list $$$, corkage $55. Dinner only. East Village, Manhattan.