Jack & Charlie's No. 118

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Love Letter to Old New York

Jack & Charlie's No. 118 describes itself exactly as it feels: a love letter to old New York, paying tribute to the supper clubs, speakeasies, and icons that helped shape the city into what it is today. Sitting at 118 Greenwich Avenue in the West Village, the restaurant carries that spirit without nostalgia becoming a costume — the cooking is very much of the present.

Chef Ed Cotton and the Kitchen Philosophy

Executive Chef and Partner Ed Cotton leads a kitchen that rotates its menu seasonally, focused on approachable yet elevated American dishes made with the best ingredients available. A significant portion of the menu comes out of a wood-burning oven, which gives the food a particular character — smoke and char as seasoning, not spectacle. Sourcing is local where possible, and the commitment to quality ingredients shows across every section of the menu.

The bar program is equally considered, built around Martinis and classic cocktails. That specificity — choosing favorites rather than chasing trends — is consistent with how the whole restaurant operates.

What's on the Table

The menu spans lunch, brunch, and dinner, with a daily happy hour from 4 to 7 pm at the bar and patio. Dinner highlights include a Hand-Cut Steak Tartare with quail egg and whole grain mustard, Island Creek Oysters served with a cracked pepper-shallot mignonette, and a Steak Frites Au Poivre — medallions of beef filet flambéed with cognac and finished with a seven-peppercorn sauce. The Rigatoni Bolognese, made with veal, pork, and lamb, is a straightforward but serious dish. Wood-fired cooking turns up across the menu, including a Bloody Mary made with plum tomatoes and Calabrian peppers.

Brunch brings its own personality: a tableside Bloody Mary cart, old-fashioned cinnamon donuts with warm coffee anglaise, and a prix fixe that opens with a sparkling flight of mimosa, peach bellini, and Italicus spritz.

Recognition and the Wine List

Wine Spectator awarded Jack & Charlie's No. 118 its Award of Excellence in 2024 — recognition that reflects the seriousness of the restaurant's wine program alongside its cocktail-forward bar. For a room that celebrates the classic American dining experience, having that kind of endorsement on the wine side completes the picture.

General Manager and Partner Craig Hutson runs the floor, and together with Chef Cotton, the team has built something that feels genuinely rooted in New York — specific, confident, and worth the table.