In case you missed the post from Friday afternoon... Cucina di Pesce, the unpretentious seafood-focused Italian restaurant on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery, closed after service last evening.
Cucina Di Pesce had been open for 32 years, though the building was recently sold and the rent was increased.
This is how New York magazine described the place:
Cucina di Pesce is the type of unpretentious, comfortably lived-in Italian restaurant that ruled New York before Mario Batali and his ilk turned the town upside-down. But if Cucina's ambience feels a bit dated, its flavors are absolutely contemporary. This is one of the best places in the city to get good Italian food on a budget.
There were a lot of reader comments about this closure spread out over this site, Instagram and Facebook.
A quick sampling:
That neon sign, two blocks away from their window, was a nighttime touchstone for my kids when they were little. Fish!
And...
Very sad. This was one of the first restaurants I discovered when I moved to NYC 30 years ago.
And...
When it opened we little babies thought it the most expensive restaurant in the world. And that it was going to ruin the neighborhood! Then we discovered the free happy hour mussels and pasta. Kept many of us alive for most of the 90s. Very sad.
I went for a last meal on Sunday, which was depressing considering how many "last meals" I've attended for favorite businesses in recent years. It was nice to see the place busy as many others came in to say goodbye. Thank you for the many years of good food and company.
ReplyDelete