Brooklyn / Williamsburg
Get directions | 80 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn,, NY 11249
Hours | Dinner
Sunday-Wednesday 5pm-10pm
Thursday-Saturday 5pm-11pm
Lunch
Monday-Friday 11:30am-2:30pm
Weekend Brunch
Saturday-Sunday 10am-3pm
Perhaps you’ve seen 13 Going On 30 or the 1983 Steve Martin vehicle The Man With Two Brains. Both involve some body-swapping hijinks, and you’re probably wondering why we’re talking about them right now. Well, we have a hypothesis, and it’s this: Le Crocodile – the French place in the bottom of the Wythe Hotel – is a little restaurant in a big restaurant’s body.
The food at this Williamsburg spot is what you’d expect from a wine bar in Paris with a handwritten menu and minimal seating, not a hotel restaurant within walking distance of the East River. It’s satisfying and unpretentious, which is just about the opposite of what you anticipate from a grand space at the bottom of a hotel with tiled floors, a massive menu, and waiters in white jackets strolling around like they just finished catering the PGA tour in 1930.
The menu at Le Crocodile is nearly 50-items long, which might lead to a paralysis of whichever part of your brain chooses food – but here’s a cheat code: get the chicken. It’s the best thing here, and it’s all you really need to order. That isn’t to say that everything else is a waste of time, it’s just that this roasted half-chicken is both incredibly delicious and extremely filling. It has crispy skin, juicy meat, and a heap of fries the size of a Type A seagull’s nest. The only downside of ordering it is an inevitable moment of existential panic when you wonder what your life would have been like had you gone with a few of the other 40-odd dishes. The answer is: still very good.
(718) 460-8004
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Fruits de Mer
1/2 Dozen Oysters 24
Pickled Mussels 15
Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail 23
Jonah Crab with Avocado and Yuzu Kosho 27
Scallops with Ginger, Parsley and Meyer Lemon 19
Smoked Salmon Rillette 21
Hors d’oeuvres
Parisian Sausage and Dijon 11
Leeks with Vinaigrette and Hazelnuts 16
Mushroom Pâté with Black Truffle 21
Chicken Liver Pâté with Cassis Gelée 16
Country Pâté with Foie Gras and Pistachio 22
Entrées
Joyce Farms Steak Tartare 22 / 32
Onion Soup with Gruyère and Lardons 17
Escargot with Parsley, Pernod and Fennel 19
Nadia’s Petite Salade with Dijon Vinaigrette, Shallots and Herbs 15
Frisée Salad with Poached Egg and Smoked Eel 21
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Pinenuts 19
Waldorf Salad with Walnuts, Celery and Stilton 18
Orzo Cacio e Pepe 23
Plats Principaux
Omelette du Fromage with Lettuces and Frites 22
Trumpet Mushrooms with Pistachio Dukkah and Farro 31
Trout “Almondine” with Celeriac and Marconas 33
Duck Breast with Kumquats, Endive and Sorrel 37
Berkshire Pork Chop with Artichokes and Gigantes Beans 38
Roast Chicken with Herb Jus and Frites 36
Tilefish with Spring Ragù and Sauce Chartreuse 34
Steak Frites au Poivre 42
Desserts
Richters Farm Rhubarb and Zabaglione 12
Sticky Banana Date Pudding 13
Apple Tarte Tatin 12
Crème Brûlée 11
Burgundy Poached Pear 13
Profiteroles 15
Tarte au Citron 15
Sorbet 7
Ice Cream 9
Cocktails 17
Negroni Sbagliato Prosecco, Campari, Cap Corse Rouge, orange wedge
Spritz à le Crocodile Aperol, Prosecco, verjus rosé, bitter bianco, lemon oil
French 75 Local Gin or VSOP Calvados, lemon juice, sparkling wine
Veracruz Tequila Blanco or Mezcal, cucumber, lime juice, spearmint, aloe vera, cayenne
Martini Amalfi Coast Gin & Cucumber Botanical Vodka, Dolin Dry Vermouth de Chambéry, lemon oil, choice of Castelvetrano olive or house-pickled onion
Double-Barreled Wheated Bourbon, Bonded Rye, honey, Peychaud’s Bitters, Aperol, orange peel
Wythe Cocktail Bonded Rye, Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth, Fernet-Branca, lemon oil
Alaska Terroir Gin, Dry Vermouth de Chambéry, yellow Chartreuse, lemon oil
Les Gin-Tonics
Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin Indian Tonic
Hendrick’s Gin Cucumber Tonic
Dorothy Parker Rose Petal-Infused Gin Elderflower Tonic
Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin Aromatic Tonic
Gamle Ode Dill Aquavit Mediterranean Tonic
Wine by the Glass
Sparkling
NV Champagne 1er Cru Hervé Rafflin “La Nature’l” Extra Brut Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, & Meunier 22
2020 Pétillant Naturel Lise & Bertrand Jousset ‘Éxilé’ Rosé 16
White
2020 Clairette Éric Texier “Adéle,” Rhône Valley 17
2019 Sauvignon Blanc Hervé Villemade, Touraine, Loire 15
2017 Jurançon Sec Clos Uroulat “Cuvée Marie” Manseng 16
2019 Côtes du Jura Domaine Courbet “Les Rondos” Chardonnay 21
Rosé and Orange
2020 Côtes de Provence Rosé Figuère “Magali” Grenache, Syrah & Cinsault 15
2020 Trebbiano (orange) Ampeleia “Bianco di Ampeleia,” Tuscany 18
Red
2020 Beaujolais Jean-Claude Lapalu “Vieilles Vignes,” Gamay 16
2018 Hautes Côtes de Beaune Denis Carré “La Perrière” Pinot Noir 22
2020 Côtes-du-Rhône J.L. Chave “Mon Coeur Grenache & Syrah 17
2019 St. Georges-Saint-Émilion Clos St. Georges, Bordeaux Merlot & Cabernet Blend 18
After Dinner
NV Vin de Bugey Patrick Bottex “La Cueille,” Savoie Gamay & Poulsard 16
NV Malvasia Dulce Los Bermejos, Canary Islands 16
2010 Cadillac Secret de Château Biac Semillon 26
Our full wine list can be viewed here
Beer Selection
Kronenbourg 1664 Lager (Draft) Alsace 5.0% 10
Talea Sun Up Hazy IPA (Draft) Williamsburg 6.5% 12
Guinness Extra Stout (Draft) Dublin 5.6% 12
Brooklyn Lager Across the Street 12oz 5.2% 10
Collective Arts Guava Gose Hamilton, Ontario 12oz 4.9% 12
Aval Rosé Cider Breton 12oz 6.0% 10
