The restaurant first opened in 2020 as a pop up in a coffee shop on the Lower East Side,[2] and later, on MacDougal Street.[3] The restaurant's operators, Patricia Howard and Ed Szymanski, eventually signed a lease for a permanent location, next to the second pop up venue on MacDougal.[4] Howard and Szymanksi met while working at The Beatrice Inn.[5]
The restaurant is located near Lord's, a restaurant also run by Howard and Szymanski.[6] Lord's opened in 2022.[6]
Hannah Goldfield, in a positive review of the restaurant published by The New Yorker, praised the fish and chips as the best preparation of the dish she had ever eaten.[5]Pete Wells praised the restaurant, writing in his review that it had "a fresh point of view" on presenting seafood.[7] Wells highlighted Dame's fish and chips as his favorite entrée served by the restaurant.[7]
The restaurant was added to the Michelin Guide for New York City in 2022.[8]