Damsel, Dave Green’s (The Select) two-story cabaret restaurant and supper club, is now open at The Works.
Damsel’s menu is structured like a playbill, and thoughtfully highlights vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options right in its center — several of these options are already listed among the hors d’oeuvres on the adjacent page, but anyone following a special diet will appreciate the extra emphasis. Standout dishes include the lobster cones, which come in a swan-shaped vessel and don’t skimp on sweet, fluffy meat, the beet and goat cheese Neopolitan, which has a slightly floral element to complement the pistachios, and the scallops Rockefeller, a lovely twist on the classic oyster dish.
The cocktail list features a selection of low-alcohol beverages in addition to alcohol-free drinks — one of which, the kava horchata, incorporates the ceremonial Pacific plant. The cocktails lean sweet, but the Swan Song (Ford’s gin, lavender, Polo Liquore Camomilla, lemon, and garnished with a marigold) balances the floral and citrus notes.
Damsel’s M.O. is subtle glitz, from the decor’s jewel tones and marble communal tables to the staff’s attire, donned with touches of velvet, sequins, and rhinestones. The dinner theater is broken up into a sequence of performances directed by Grammy Award-winner and Tony Award-nominee Otis Sallid that include tap routines, vocals, and even pantomiming a live jazz ensemble. The entertainment blends classic and modern elements through costumes (think flapper fringe one act, then bikeresque leather jackets and fishnets for another), and song choice — a jazz tune followed by a White Stripes cover or the 2013 The Great Gatsby track, “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got).”
The space itself is snug, but softened through Damsel’s…
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