[EVG photo from April]
A rent hike did in Lan Cafe, the family-run Vietnamese vegan restaurant at 342 E. Sixth St. The homespun Lan closed at the end of April here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
And as we first reported, an omakase-style restaurant is in the works for the space from one of the owners of Kura, the upscale sushi bar at 130 St. Mark's Place.
Here's how the under-renovation space is looking now, via these photos by Vinny & O …
No word on an opening date here… not that anyone may be able to tell if the place is open by the looks of the façade.
lol
ReplyDeleteWow, that looks cool. It looks like Santorini.
ReplyDeleteIs this an adobe motif?
ReplyDeleteHoly crap, that looks bleak. Wait 'til the graffiti artists and a New York winter have their way with that forbidding white wall.
ReplyDeleteWhat does Japanese food have to do with this spider hole entrance?
ReplyDeletePrison cell anyone.
ReplyDeleteI'll take this form of sound proofing over the open facade variety. Thumbs up.
ReplyDeleteNICE from one of owners of KURA??? Book me a table pronto! I love KURA!
ReplyDeleteOmakase AGAIN?
ReplyDeleteI love Japanese fare, do enjoy the occasional omakase bounce and I get that it's a nouveau riche socializing space as much as it is a restaurant, but there's already a plethora of $$$ places dotting the East Village. I get that everyone wants to have their own Nakazawa now, but there's gotta be a more pedestrian middle ground for those of us who aren't trust fundies and upper class elites who can blow $300 per head a night then go for a cheapo slice of pizza before beddy-bye because they still don't feel full enough.
Guess the only way to enjoy Japanese (or other Asian fare) and pay rents in the EV now is to make EVERYTHING upscale or specialized $$$ prix fixe dinners. Even for the meals that are normally inexpensive everyperson dishes in their native countries. Accessible Thai and other casual SE Asian places are evaporating from the scene too fast these days. Here's hoping V-Nam Cafe can hold on to the bitter end.
That window was MADE for a blinking neon Blatz Beer sign.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you Anon 3:50
ReplyDeleteI would not consider myself poor but a typical New Yorker that tends to eat out more than cook at home. When I say eat out I mean not expensive places but old school Ukraine, Indian, SE Asian and a good diner. The prices at sushi / Japanese restaurants has risen sharply in the past two years. There is a point when you just have to say screw it, I'll learn to cook.
Too bad that with all that facade work, they couldn't make it accessible.
ReplyDeleteAnons. 3:50 and 6:22, for decent low-cost sushi I can recommend Kumo, on the SE corner of 13th and 1st. The pieces, which cost $1 each (all the time, that's not a special) are a bit on the small side but the fish is fresh, and the menu extensive. The staff are very friendly, and the place gets 4 stars on Yelp. I eat there often and have never had issue with anything I've been served.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure that this is the new home of Sweet Tooth from days gone by
ReplyDelete