Two restaurants closed without much warning in the past few days.
Savann, a Turkish restaurant on 80th Street and Amsterdam Avenue that had been open since 1995, just closed; the equipment inside was being trucked away today. “We will miss it,” said our tipster Jacob.
A New York Times review (from several years ago) said that the restaurant fell off after an impressive debut: “When Savann opened a few years ago, it was like a dream come true for Upper West Siders who had yearned for a simple, reasonably priced restaurant that served not-so-simple contemporary bistro food. Savann was just such a place, with ambitious yet delicious dishes like roasted pumpkin soup with olive oil, perfectly cooked wild mushroom risotto, and grilled duck breast with polenta. But leadership changes have shaken up the kitchen and the front of the house, and Savann is not all it was when it opened.”
The Back Yard @ 160, a restaurant with a large outdoor patio at 160 Riverside Boulevard on the corner of 68th Street, also apparently closed up shop this week. The windows are papered over, no one’s answering the phone and the website currently leads nowhere. Our tipster Shane, who took the photo at left, was sad to see it go.
“I grew to like it there. The great thing about the place was that it was convenient for Trump Place residents to visit. The worst thing about the place was that it was convenient for Trump place residents to visit-(‘I was wondering if you could make me some lemonade, but with honey, instead of sugar’). I loved their pizzas, they made a good burger, and had decent salads. I always felt like anything else they attempted fell a little flat, and just hoped they’d stick to where they excelled. I didn’t hear a reason for closure, although there was a rumor floating around they would be reopening as an Asian restaurant (I don’t even know if that’s a reliable rumor). It’s certainly a viable space, and I hope someone opens ‘something’ there. Someone that understands this neighborhood just needs something consistent, not fancy.”
Ha! Love the comment about being convenient to Trump. Spot on sir. I too am hoping for a place that understands this won’t be a destination spot, but it will be “The Go-To” spot for the neighborhood if someone can figure that out.
When we moved into the nabe, Back yard was the very first place we went to. What a terrible experience. We never went back, altho I can imagine it _might_ be ok if we had stuck to the pizza. They seemed to have impressive kitchen equipment, hopefully a new owner will put it to better use.
Doesn’t have to be a ‘destination’, just has to be better then what I can cook at home.
Wait — you mean that people living in the Trumpstrosity actually *cook* at home??
Won’t that get the Italian designer marble countertops dirty??
BAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Yea, I’d imagine staining those marble counters would piss off their maids.
The guys in the Local wine shop said that Backyard @ 160 was poorly managed. Personally, I liked most of the choices on the menu. The rib eye steak was excellent. Oh well. I hope someone puts something reliable in that spot.
NOT sorry to see it go. Always felt more suburban than urban. Outdoor seating faced a deadly-dull street with almost zero foot traffic and zilch to look at.
And then there was always the Double-Stroller Set with their mouthy uncontrolled/uncontrollable offspring.
Poor Scooter….I know, baby. It’s hard when the actual babies take up too much space. Then the man-babies don’t have any places for their scooters. Waaaaaah. By the way, I wonder why only men left comments. Personally, I really enjoyed this quiet, local place. Not every place has to be the Standard Hotel.
We loved this place when we first moved to the area just over a year ago. Then everything changed (management, staff, food, etc) early this year and it’s been awful ever since. Staff were inconsistent and constantly changing (we so missed the great staff we had for the first several months we were here), food was average and there were far fewer options on the menu (we really liked the sushi and Asian food and missed it when it went). Wish it had not changed and hope someone can make it a reliable place again. Was nice having a decent neighborhood bar/restaurant, even if we weren’t there that often. Was also one of the only places in the city we could sit outside with our dog with us after a walk!