Elephant & Castle, a Greenwich Village fixture, to close after 50 years

Another longtime Greenwich Village mainstay is closing for good — this time, the restaurant Elephant & Castle.

Named after a British publick house — a pub — from the 1600s near a junction with roots in Roman times, the Village restaurant, with a distinctive black-and-white awning on Greenwich Avenue in Manhattan, dates back more than five decades.

"We are sad to announce that Elephant & Castle NYC will be permanently closing on Aug. 17th, 2025. We thank you all for your support over the last 50 years!" the restaurant wrote on its website. A similar note was affixed to the paned-glass door.

A message left for management wasn't returned.

The restaurant, at 68 Greenwich Ave. east of Seventh Avenue, is the latest Village-area haunt to close. Six years ago, the West Village bistro Café Loup — which the publication Lit Hub called "a not-great but much beloved French restaurant that hosted most of New York’s literati" — shut down, as did the seafood staple Mary’s Fish Camp last year after 20 years. 

The restaurant website The Infatuation hailed Elephant & Castle for "possibly the single greatest brunch invention of all time: Eggs’n Apples Benedict on French toast With Maple Syrup."

"There might not be a better meeting of sweet and savory on a breakfast plate in the history of mankind. There also might be no greater threat to our existence," the site says.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the restaurant was buzzing with goodbyes, and libations and meals, and every table was full.

"You guys can't close!" one patron said on her way out after paying the check. "You aren't allowed to close!" 

Gail Healy, 78, a retired painter and cook who lives in the neighborhood, lamented the loss of a spot she's been patronizing for decades. 

"It is very sad," she said. "Well, I've been coming here for — I guess, since it opened."

Her husband, Tim, 82, a retired investor, chimed in: "Fifty years!" 

She said she'd just polished off a slice of carrot cake as she'd done when their daughter was young and mother and daughter would go order a slice before ballet nearby on Wednesdays. Other times, Gail Healy recalled eating "the best breakfast." 

"It's just an old Village beautiful little gem that doesn't exist anymore anywhere. There's fast food places and extremely expensive places that are ridiculous — terrible places," she said. "This place has great food."

Philip Mortillaro, 38, a locksmith whose shop is a few blocks away — he's a longtime Elephant & Castle patron — brought his girlfriend, Kathryn Kearney, 26, a merchandiser and event producer, of Ridgewood, New Jersey, who'd never been. Mortillaro said it's another example of beloved spots going out.

"I wish I could say I'm really surprised," he said. 

As the couple waited for their order (Kearney got the Elephantburger — curried sour cream, bacon, scallions, cheddar, tomato — Mortillaro, a Caesar salad) she memorialized the visit with a video and photo on her phone.

For a first and last visit, Lillian Waldmann, 82, of Elmhurst, Queens, had a club soda with bitters, and angel hair pasta with scallops, and she and her friend — a longtime patron — Mimi Michel, 80, of Jackson Heights, split a beet salad.

"Things have changed. They keep changing," Waldmann said. 

Mortillaro and Kearney were seated in a table next to Waldmann and Michel, and the talk of the restaurant was the looming closure.

Michel ordered the Elephantburger. 

"It's my farewell dish," she said.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.