Of all the odd things that punk rock inspired — safety pin piercings, Sid and Nancy, Good Charlotte, unfortunately — the last thing you’d expect is a romantic date restaurant.
Well never mind the bollocks, here’s Swine, a posh-meets-punk date night dive from Joseph Leonard and Cafe Cluny alums, opening tonight in the West Village.
A churched-up take on ‘70s-era CBGB-esque beer joints, Swine offers the best of both worlds: glasses of crisp Spanish Garnacha for her, and for you, meat-centric fare with gourmet flourishes plated up by Cafe Cluny’s former cuisinier (feast on this delicious menu).
Upstairs: The bar, where fine art rock prints of the Stones and Bowie smile down over a vintage Funhouse pinball machine. In a punkish switcheroo, the barkeep slings craft beers like Sri Lankan Lion Stout in cans and dispenses small-production wines like Gotham Project Riesling via tap. Call it garage rock chic.
Downstairs: a dimly-lit “basement” of exposed brick and black subway tile, where you can relax for dinner at tufted leather banquettes as the open kitchen dishes out sockeye salmon crudo with watermelon-jalapeño salsa and bone marrow and brisket burgers with gruyere and caramelized onions.
Should you choose to pony up quarters for a game of Funhouse, beware: its resident ventriloquist dummy “Rudy” is known to heckle the players.
Beats being heckled over your choice of date spot, though.
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