Penny

Shellfish and Champagne go together like peanut butter and jelly, an adage that couldn’t be clearer at Penny. This sleek, L-shaped marble counter is widely exempt from the New York City reservation hunger games, as most seats are saved for walk-ins—that doesn’t mean you’ll sit down quickly, but there’s standing room at the front to pass the time with a few rounds of razor clams and one of the 800-plus bottles curated by owner Chase Sinzer and wine director Ellis Srubas-Giammanco. Order an icebox packed with oysters, shrimp, mussels, and scallops, and pick a bottle from the stellar selection of Loire Valley white wines, or a Chardonnay from the trendy Jura region in Eastern France.

Penny entered the small plates scene fully formed, but don’t call just it another wine bar (though they do have exactly 1,000 bottles on their full list). The seafood at this East Village restaurant is exceptional—from the moment we tasted the sweet, red Argentine shrimp in their signature Ice Box, we were on board. The menu is short, but full of delightful surprises, like plump oysters hiding under a cap of puff pastry, or an ice cream sandwich that actually looks like miniature sandwich.

The sister restaurant to East Village-fave Claud, this shoulder-to-shoulder counter is serving up some of the city’s best seafood. At the raw bar, silky oysters are $3.50 a piece, and the “Ice Box” serves up oysters, countnecks, shrimp, mussels and scallop to the well-heeled crowd. It’s the perfect spot for an intimate date or to impress an out-of-town friend—order the caviar tin, choose a bottle of sparkling wine and enjoy a classic (and classy) New York night.

Following on the heels of its sister restaurant, nouveau wine car Claud (conveniently downstairs from this seafood spot) this sleek, bar-top dominated space offers some of the city's finest seafood—perfect for a pescatarian date night. While they're rightly famous for their raw bar selection of "ice boxes" you'd be remiss to skip out on the multitude of smack-you-in-the-face-delicious cooked items like squid stuffed with a sausage-like mix and seared to charred perfect not to mention their obsessable freshly-baked brioche which does double duty as an appetizer and as an ice cream sandwich for dessert. 90 East 10th Street, New York, New York 10003, penny-nyc.com

When this seafood bar opened above its sister restaurant, Claud, near Astor Place earlier this year, it made immediate waves (pun intended). Belly up to the bar and either order the ice box, which comes with a selection of raw seafood, including shrimp, mussels, clams, and oysters, or raw oysters by the piece. Also on the menu: confit oysters served with fried, spiced saltine crackers and thick sour cream, and an oyster pan roast – a luscious oyster and vegetable stew topped with a cap of crispy pastry.

While one staircase leads downstairs to Claud, another leads up to Penny, the raw bar and seafood counter from Joshua Pinsky and Chase Sinzer. At a place like this, you simply must start with raw seafood – order the ice box, filled with the day’s selection of shellfish (on our visit: shrimp, oysters, mussels, clams, and scallops) and condiments. Every bite was so fresh and so clean – we could really feel the high quality of the seafood.

Best for: a light seafood mealAddress: 90 E 10th St 1st Floor, New York, NY 10003Price: Small plates start at 16 USD. Momofuku Ko alums chef Joshua Pinsky and Chase Sinzer first grabbed New York’s attention with their basement spot Claud. Early in 2024, they followed it up with Penny, a seafood counter located just upstairs.

Penny is a raw bar that takes “bar” literally; it’s all bar and counter seating, with most spots reserved for walk-ins. They serve great oysters and crudo, garlicky periwinkles, caviar service, and house-made sesame brioche, with good wine to wash everything down.

Some places where Qiu said she finds a consistently great shuck are Crave Fishbar, Cull & Pistol in Chelsea Market, Oyster Party at Smorgasburg (and this weekend’s Little Island pop-up), Maison Premiere in Williamsburg, and Penny in the East Village.

Want to have a nice glass of champagne or white wine and delicious seafood dishes?. Penny offers that and has earned its place in the Michelin Star Guide. The food is very refreshing and it’s expertly seasoned.

- Rating: 4.7/5 (18 reviews)- Address: 90 East 10th St. New York, New York - Categories: venues & event spaces, seafood, wine bars- Read more on Yelp