The Smith, an East Village hotspot, will open a new Upper West Side location this week, a rep for the restaurant tells us. The French brasserie-style restaurant replaces Sushi a Go Go and Josephina at 1900 Broadway near the corner of 63rd Street, and is likely to be a draw for pre-theater crowds heading to Lincoln Center.
Update: The Smith opens Tuesday night.
I walked by this weekend, and it looked like the staff was meeting inside. The photo at right was snapped through a crack in the papered-over windows.
The owners made a special point to create some low-alcohol cocktails so that theatergoing customers can get a slight buzz while remaining sober enough to listen to La Boheme. It will also have a special steak menu. The release below has details about the new spot, and we’ve posted the dinner and drinks menus at the bottom.
The Smith (212-496-5700; 1900 Broadway at 63rd Street; www.thesmithnyc.com)
Owners Glenn Harris and Jeffrey Lefcourt of Corner Table Restaurants, the restaurant group that brought The Smith (55 Third Avenue) to the East Village and Midtown (956 Second Avenue), and Jane (100 West Houston Street) to Greenwich Village, will open The Smith at 1900 Broadway at 63rd Street.
While signature dishes and atmosphere will travel uptown, the Lincoln Center location, designed by the Rockwell Group, will feature a long 30-seat, 50-foot long zinc bar, expansive outdoor seating area that seats up to 100, a main dining room that seats up to 170 and a private dining room that seats up to 30. New to this location will be an expanded steak section featuring a Porterhouse for Two and a Prime Rib. To service the theater community, the beverage menu will include a section of pre-theater cocktails that are low in alcohol content. The new location will serve dinner from 5:30 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and till 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday with breakfast, lunch and brunch to follow shortly after.
For this dynamic space just blocks away from Central Park and Columbus Circle, Rockwell Group has reinterpreted a French brasserie through a distinctly New York lens. Reclaimed wood, blackened steel, and antique wire glass create an industrial backdrop for custom features that recall Parisian style and form. Abstracted milk glass light fixtures and pendants referencing 1930s Art Deco style hang from the ceiling in an ode to a French café. White subway wall and column tiles express the bistro’s urban setting, while LED lighting accents echo a city landscape at night.
Click menus to enlarge:
Service was great! Food was ok but I will give it the benefit of the doubt since it is new. Prices and portions were good.