Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

image of Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

Being French, I was raised eating cheese, any kind of cheese, although, as a kid, I hated the stinky ones. I have no favorite and in fact, with close to 400 different cheeses in France, it is tough to choose. I remember that the first time we went to France Jodi and I to visit my family, I brought her to a supermarket to see the different cheeses proposed, but also how cheap it is compared to the US. I would say that it is 2 to 3 times the price. So sad, as cheese is so good! The best places to buy cheese in New York City are for me Fairway, Zabar's and Whole Food, where they offer a wide variety of cheeses from all over the world. But there is also Murray's on Bleecker.
image of Murray's Cheese in the West Village, NYC, New York image of Murray's Cheese in the West Village, NYC, New York

So, as were were walking down the street on a Saturday, we decided to see if their restaurant, located few steps from it had seats available.
image of Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

When we arrived, the place was not that crowded, but when we left, it was packed!  They sat us at the bar that was very comfortable considering that it is fairly large and we were not too close from our neighbors.
image of Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York image of Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York
image of Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York image of Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York
image of Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York image of Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

They menu offers well known specialties with cheese such as Mac & Cheese, grilled cheese or cheese fondue. But we decided to go directly for cheese a la carte and picked few of them.
image of cheese plate at Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

The cheese took a while to come: this was surprising as you would figure that they just need to cut few pieces and put that on a plate. But when it came, it looked spectacular, the cheeses arranged on a slate and paired with a something sweet.

This is what we picked:

Vendéen Bichonné from France:

image of Vendéen Bichonné from France at Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

This is a creamy cow’s milk cheese that is salty and nutty with a hint sweet cinnamon-clove spice. It was paired with pickled raisins.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar from Vermont:
image of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar from Vermont at Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

Made with cow's milk, it is sweet, savory, nutty and tangy. It was paired with an apple butter.

Vacherin Fribourgeois from Switzerland:
image of Vacherin Fribourgeois from Switzerland at Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

Made with raw cow milk, it has a slightly acidic and resiny flavor. I admit that I forgot what the chutney was...

Époisses from France:
image of Époisses from France at Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

Produced in the village of Époisses in Bourgogne, this cheese an unpasteurized cow's milk cheese with a pungent taste. It was paired with a carrot chipotle that had cumin in it.

Blu di Bufala from Italy:
image of Blu di Bufala from Italy at Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

This blue cheese made with buffalo milk had a nice buttery texture and was both sweet and tangy. It was served with a salted caramel.

image of bread at Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

This was a perfect dinner and it will for sure not be the last time I will be there! Definitely the place for cheese lovers!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Restaurant Information

* Restaurant Name
Murray's Cheese Bar
* Overall
★★★☆☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
West Village / American New
* Street Address
264 Bleecker St. (Between Cornelia St. & Morton St.), New York, NY 10014
* Phone
(646) 476-8882