Sweetiepie

Photograph: Donna Rickles

Ever since Sweetiepie opened last fall, little girls have been pressing their noses against the window, gaping at the hot-pink banquettes, the dainty tea sets and—no, you’re not hallucinating—a table for four nestled inside a giant gilded birdcage. Could this dreamy space be downtown’s answer to Alice’s Tea Cup? Well, perhaps someday.

Though the decor makes you go “wow,” the menu elicits more of a “wha?” Reasonably priced silver-dollar pancakes ($9) and PB&J ($5) are listed next to entrées like the “daily steak” for $40 and a mysterious “baguette and selection of gravies” for $21. Our hapless waiter just shrugged and said “I dunno” as we tried to interpret the odd dishes, and he barely apologized for giving away the birdcage table we had reserved. But if the adults were less than enthralled by the food and service, the kids were delighted. A perfectly fine mac and cheese and a tiny but tasty tuna sandwich were dutifully gobbled down so they could get to the main event: dessert. The foole, a giant bowl of whipped cream with raspberries and rose petals sprinkled on top, was attacked with gusto, as was a miniature pastel cake that looked like it had popped right out of Marie Antoinette. Once Sweetiepie fine-tunes the menu and works out the service kinks, it could become a magical place worthy of little princesses’ dreams.—Marisa Cohen

19 Greenwich Ave between Christopher and W 10th Sts (212-337-3333, sweetiepierestaurant.com). Average main course: $18.

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