A New Restaurant Rooted in Sustainability Cynthia, a 28-seat tasting menu restaurant in the West Village, has opened under Executive Chef-Partner Sherry Cardoso and Managing Partner Claire DuBois. The restaurant, located at 32 Jones St, marks Cardoso's first ownership venture after stints at Per Se, Olmsted, Brooklyn Fare, and Metropolis by Marcus. The restaurant is structured around a sustainability-first philosophy that extends beyond marketing language. Vegetable trimmings become ferments and seasonings; fruit scraps transform into vinegars and preserves. Every ingredient is repurposed across both kitchen and bar operations, guided by a core question: How can we best honor this ingredient?
Summer Menu and Approach The seasonal tasting menu is priced at $165 per person.
Cardoso, born in New York and raised in Brazil, draws on her upbringing and Michelin-trained career. DuBois brings experience from her family-run restaurant background and a previous role at Sartiano's. The team includes Wine Director and Sommelier Eva-Marie de Rocquigny du Faye (formerly of Le Bernardin and Le Chêne) and Beverage Director Orlando Franklin McCray (formerly of Four Horsemen).
Current Offerings The summer menu highlights include: Lobster appears in two preparations: poached lobster in tomato curry with green mango, market tomatoes, black garlic, and perigord truffle shaved tableside; and charred lobster and tomato taco. Signature brioche is steamed and grilled, brushed with miso butter and "dyed" with vegetable trimmings (currently carrot, ramp, and beets). The bread service includes housemade butters and pickled vegetables, including a Lemon Kosho Butter made from upcycled lemon piths and a Zero Waste Butter made with vegetable trim puree. Corn custard features a root-to-husk preparation of locally sourced sweet corn across three dishes: corn custard atop summer squash carpaccio with butternut squash vinegar from last season's trim, housemade furikake, and foie gras powder; a version with caviar; and roasted summer squash finished with vegetable trim XO. Melon sorbet is served with watermelon granita and coconut foam.
The Restaurant's Philosophy Cardoso's background includes childhood weekends on her uncle's farm in Brazil, which shaped her approach to ingredient sourcing and transformation. She began her professional career at Le Cirque, became a sous chef at Anthos by age 23, and spent years under Thomas Keller at Per Se refining precision and leadership. DuBois designed Cynthia to feel intimate and personal rather than theatrical. The restaurant reflects her upbringing and draws its name from her aunt Cynthia, described as the matriarch of her family restaurant and known for warm hospitality.
Why It Matters
Cynthia represents a shift in fine-dining positioning—away from grand rooms and technical spectacle toward restaurants emphasizing genuine hospitality and considered detail. The restaurant's systematic approach to zero-waste cooking, built into menu development rather than as an afterthought, offers a model for how sustainability can function as creative constraint rather than compliance checkbox.
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Written by FBM Publications Editors
