At Zoli, Ocean Flavors Shine Against a Backdrop of Art

Over the past decade, Houseman remains one of those “if you know, you know” places that’s amassed a cult of regulars. The area has also been rebranded as Hudson Square and features newer restaurants like Kiko and Flynn McGarry’s Cove joining as nearby neighbors. Yet, that illusive foot traffic remains minimal.

With the opening of Zoli on Maujer Street, which is also an industrial stretch with very little foot traffic, it’s a familiar feeling for Baldwin, and a challenge he hesitated to accept at first.

“Two regulars at Houseman saw how we weathered the pandemic and thought we might be a good fit for the restaurant at their art foundation, Amant,” he explains “At first, I was a little resistant — the location seemed challenging, amongst other things. But after taking a meeting with them [Lonti Ebers and Bruce Flatt], I was convinced.”

Ever since, he and his team have been working on what would become Zoli, which boasts a seafood-focused menu, mile-high ceilings, fish tank art installations, and a seasonal roof deck. We sat down with Baldwin to find out all there is to know about his showstopping new restaurant.

1. It’s got an all-star team behind it.

Zoli is a partnership between veteran chef Ned Baldwin and Amant, an arts foundation that hosts residencies at both of its locations in Brooklyn and in Siena, Italy.

For Zoli, Baldwin brought on Houseman’s pastry chef, Nicole Sheetz, to oversee the dessert and bread portion of the menu. “I wanted to give Nicole an upgrade. The tools we have here are insane compared to what she’s been working with for years at Houseman,” says Baldwin of the new kitchen’s capabilities.

The chef de cuisine, Danny Roberts, brings experience from restaurants like New York’s Altro Paradiso and Dame in addition to Portland’s critically acclaimed Le Pigeon. Alongside him in the kitchen as executive sous chef is fish whisperer and fellow Dame alum, Aimee Li, most recently of Mermaid’s Garden, a retail store in Prospect Heights, as well as the roving pop-up, Umami Mami. She’s bringing her experience in fish butchery to the table, since it will be a considerable part of the menu. The beverage program is overseen by Roberts’ wife, Vanessa Puglisi, who also comes from Le Pigeon.

2. Saying this is a stylish restaurant is an understatement.

Yes, Zoli is a restaurant where the food will shine, but what will strike guests is its meticulous and sleek interior with no detail spared.

The scale of the operation is certainly a noteworthy addition to the block. Designed by the Brooklyn-based architecture firm, GRT Architects, who also worked on other New York restaurants like Cucina Alba, it feels as grand as some of the city’s most tawny dining rooms.

With sweeping ceilings, wood furniture, and brown leather upholstery, it evokes a very chic mid-century living room. It’s also spacious — a rarity in this town — that will make you want to linger.

Its four distinct spaces are spread out across two floors and starts with a showpiece cherry wood staircase that greets guests at the door. Downstairs is the bar area and main dining room, and upstairs is a private dining room, where eventually, Baldwin and his team will host dinners by visiting chefs. In addition, there’s a seasonal rooftop deck for cocktails and a more curated bar menu of snacks.

Since Zoli is tied to Amant, there’s an art component directly integrated into all of the design. Behind the bar stands three fishtanks that are an installation from celebrated French artist, Pierre Huyghe, specially commissioned for the space by the foundation.

3. They’ll be more fin than hoof or foul.

When Baldwin and his team were designing the menu, they knew they wanted to lean heavily on fish. This has little to do with the fish tank installation, and more with the fact that Baldwin is a long-time fisherman who frequently fishes in the early mornings in Long Island Sound.

Through Houseman, he’s cultivated a relationship with the fish purveyor, KC Boyle of Dock to Dish, whom he’ll be working with at Zoli, too. The idea is that, rather than having a sole fish or seafood-centric main and three to four chicken, beef or pork dishes, the ratio is flipped.

And while there will certainly be those other favorite proteins, don’t expect any beef. “We’ve decided to use bison instead. It’s a little more sustainable and to be honest, bison short ribs might be even more delicious than beef ones,” says Baldwin.

The menu will be divided into four sections including relishes, fresh fish, small plates, and large plates, as well as dessert.

Small bites will highlight dishes that can often be eaten with your hands with offerings like pickles, raw vegetables, and cured meats or fish. For the opening menu, expect lemon-pepper fried anchovies, pickled mackerel, and marinated dandelions. The raw section will rotate frequently, dominated by what’s in season and coming off of the purveyor’s truck.

“We’re playing around with that section. It’s neither ceviche nor crudo. We’re getting creative and it’s making us excited,” says Baldwin. Expect to see items such as oysters with a seasonal mignonette, razor clams, and a shrimp cocktail served with green sauce, instead of red.

Although the burger is much beloved at Houseman, there won’t be one at Zoli at the outset, but do expect their accompanying crispy fries alongside a garlicky rouille sauce, as well as a version of another iconic dish, the roast chicken.

For other mains, they’ll be clams, mussels, and a monkfish with a smattering of seasonal vegetables like a roasted artichoke dish for spring with butter beans and smoked morels.

For dessert, it’s going to lean more classic than conceptual: think chocolate cake, Taleggio spiked Basque cheesecake, and burnt honey ice cream. The team will also be baking housemade bread served alongside pulse butter.

4. Drinks won’t be fussy, but they’ll have ingredient-driven twists.

Don’t let the bar’s expansive presence fool you: The art installation behind it compromises of storage space, and isn’t stocked to the brim with a wide variety of spirits.

Since the team knew this from the outset, the cocktails will be on the simpler side leaning towards classics, but made with ingredients from the kitchen. Overseen by Mac Bryson, also of Houseman, the beverage program’s opening menu will feature a Calvados and tonic as well as a Gibson made with fennel.

The non-alcoholic portion of the menu will be large as well. “We’ve been making a lot of kombucha in-house, everything from coffee to carrot to apple cider and cooking with it. We’ve been experimenting with it at different stages as well, young kombucha versus more aged batches,” says Baldwin. Those will be making it on to the menu.

The wine program will be similar to Houseman in that it favors low-intervention producers from Europe and North America, but it won’t be dogmatically natural. There will be more conventional and less adventurous varieties to choose from.

“This is going to be a happy and interesting place for people who don’t drink,” says Baldwin.

Zoli is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. for dinner to start, with hours increasing in the near future.

Kyle Beechey is a New York-based freelance writer and dinner party enthusiast. Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.