The new, multi-level Ichibantei Japanese Soul Food and Steak outpost is now open at 100 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street.
This restaurant has been in the works for awhile... reps for Ichibantei received approval from CB3 last June. (According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website, the establishment would feature room for 24 tables/98 seats spread over two floors.) Google lists the hours at 5 p.m. to 3 a.m.
No. 100 last housed the vowel-deficient club VNYL, which shut down at some point during the pandemic. Until September 2015, the renovated building featured the second iteration of Nevada Smiths.
With this debut, the Ichibantei outpost has closed at 401 E. 13th St. near First Ave. ... where it first started serving Japanese soul food in 2010...
Oh this makes me a weird mix of happy and sad. I hope their new space is successful and retains the charm of the old one, but it's a killer to see the old space go dark, especially when it feels like Alphabet City is rotting away. Hopefully something with a soul takes over the space and not sterile bubble tea shop or some other trend-chasing spot.
ReplyDeleteMy feelings exactly. It was a great Alphabet City restaurant for the past 10+ years, serving excellent, fresh food at affordable prices. Wish them the best of luck in their new location, and hope (but somehow don't hold out much hope) that the 13th street location is replaced by something similar.
ReplyDeletePopped in the day it opened. So good and awesome service. They told me they may open a nightclub on the top floor.
ReplyDeleteSuch a nicer location, so much luck to them, they deserve it! They are in a much nicer location now, surrounded by a lot of other really good restaurants. I wonder how they will adapt to the weekends now that they are part of brunch row.
ReplyDeleteIchibantei on 13th Street becomes a Ichibantei noodles
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