The food at Table 8, a new restaurant located in the Cooper Square Hotel, is meant for people who like their seasonal vegetables but also those who might want a nice steak every now and again. Chef Govind Armstrong doesn’t favor a lot of day-long stock reducing, jellifying, foaming, or nitro freezing anything in the kitchen. Instead, he'll roast some mushrooms to pair with the halibut and sorrel, or add some tiny yellow popcorn shoots to the just warmed through sweet pea leaves with prawns and pistachio vinaigrette. No tricks.

There are other Table 8 locations, in Miami and LA, and this new one follows with a sort of unabashed Californian vibe, perhaps in part because Armstrong started his career at the original Spago when he was just 13-years-old. No doubt the man has rolled out more than a few of Wolfgang Puck’s signature smoked salmon pizzas with crème fraîche in his time, but Armstrong has long been obsessed with trying new things. The chef once called his cooking-fixated, teenaged self "a strange kid who would read the food section and rip stuff out"; at Table 8 he seemingly just wants ingredients to dictate his menu and isn't seeking to merely clone his already-open restaurants.

There’s an arched, black subway tiled ceiling over the bar area. The bar itself is marble, and from one of the stools it’s easy to pretend you’re in California, again. In the dining room there is a big glass wall and a big leather paneled wall. That inside space is cool, dark, and is perhaps what it would look like if the Batcave closed down and was repurposed into a sustainable locavore restaurant. (And if Alfred served a stellar house-made linguine with Parsley, Lemon, Ricotta and Bread Crumbs.)

Chef de cuisine Willis Loughhead provides the charcuterie assist and is already turning out things like pistachio flecked mortadella, country pate, and lamb pepperoni at the restaurant's 14-seat "Salt Bar." Vegetarian options like white asparagus soup with pretzel croutons and pumpkinseed oil are menu-balanced by a heartier Prime Porterhouse for two, decked out with three side dishes. The signature cocktail here is the Basil 8, made from muddled green grapes and basil with vodka, lime, sugar, and ginger ale. Below, last night’s opening menu, sent over by Table 8.

Table 8 // Cooper Square Hotel // 25 Cooper Square // (212) 475-3400