Cafe Clover is a nice, comfortable full service restaurant located in the West Village. It’s spacious, yet cozy, and has a bit of a retro, old school style. The dining area is filled with mostly two-tops that can be combined to accommodate larger groups, but the most eye-catching are the plush light blue booths that line the perimeter of the room.
Cafe Clover is not a health restaurant, nor does it tout itself as one, but its dishes are all crafted to minimize decadence and emphasize balance. I’m not exactly sure why they don’t make this clearer, because I would assume it would appeal to many in light of the current popularity of hyper health-consciousness. Cafe Clover just does it quietly, without declaring it, almost as though they were secretly trying to feed people healthier dishes than they expect. Kind of like parents who hide spinach inside brownies in an effort to get their kids to eat more veggies.
I only discovered this health-consciousness through asking the many questions I always do at a restaurant. Apparently Cafe Clover specifically tries to minimize the use of butters, cheeses, and oils, to the point where I literally was unable to order a side of cheese with my toast. I asked for a side of goat cheese, a fairly standard item on a menu, and was told they didn’t have it. So I then requested feta, but to no avail. Then I suggested cream cheese, which was also non-existent. I then asked for any cheese they had at all and the only cheese available prior to dinner service was sliced Cheddar (for their burgers). Having wanted something creamy to spread on my toast, I passed on the Cheddar, but through this exchange, I was informed that they keep their cheese use to a minimum.
I then inquired about how the egg dishes are prepared (they have omelettes and scrambles) and was told they are made with no butter, oil, or cream, though another waiter later informed us that they do, in fact, use at least a bit of oil to cook the eggs. And given the lack of cheese availability until dinner, no egg dish is served with cheese either. While I certainly don’t mind their lighter approach to cooking, I do think it’s incredibly odd not to mention this in any way. And I gather from public sentiment that others are not happy about it as they expect a more traditional preparation of the dishes they order.
But assuming the premise of the restaurant’s mission, Cafe Clover is great. I would, however, recommend it much more for brunch than I would for dinner, mostly because I really like the brunch menu. It has some very unique dishes, like the spaghetti squash latkes and the warm hemp seed and wheatberry biscuits, both of which are truly fantastic.
The spaghetti squash latkes are served with a pear butter and Greek yogurt. First, I love that it’s prepared with spaghetti squash instead of the usual potato. Nice change of pace. And I also love the fact that it’s served with a pear accompaniment and not the traditional apple. It’s a delicious dish.
The biscuits are also completely nontraditional. First, they are square and not round. Second, they are packed with seeds (hemp and wheatberry), which gives them an incredibly fun texture and extra heartiness. Third, they are filled with dried blueberries and served with strawberry jam and maple thyme butter. Such a great and unique biscuit.
Each dish is really a take on a more traditional dish. They offer a Cuban sandwich, for instance, but instead of the usual ham, it’s a vegetarian one served with smoked vegetables. The beef burger comes on a sweet potato rosemary bun. The pancakes are quinoa pancakes with cashews. And the waffle is a lavender waffle with bee pollen and stewed blackberries. All fun and worth trying!
Just a note that you should really make reservations in advance, particularly for brunch. We knew this, but ignored that fact, and showed up during prime brunch hour just hoping to try our luck. We were told it would be 1 – 1.5 hours, not something we are ever willing to do (and I still don’t understand who is). As we were getting ready to leave, a reservation canceled right in front of us, and we were offered the table, so we ended up being seated immediately. Pure luck, but not the smart way to go about it.
Mmmmmm sound so good!