New UWS Restaurant Will Let You Pay With Bitcoin, And Only Uses Pink Himalayan Salt
Posted on October 16, 2017 at 5:24 pm by West Sider
La Sirene, the new restaurant at 416 Amsterdam Avenue (West 80th Street), just opened, and the menu posted outside highlights some unique characteristics.
For one thing, the restaurant takes cash, check, Amex and Bitcoin, a curious (and kind of exciting!) mix of payment forms.
What’s more, they want you to know that they only use pink Himalayan salt on the premises. This appears to be quite important as it’s in a larger font and written in pink.
As for the rest of the menu, see below (click to enlarge).
Thanks to Bill for the menu photos and Lauren for the top photo.
I’m predicting that something they are calling the french mac n cheese, yet charging almost $24 will not go over well…
They sound like a bunch of pretentious phonies to me – the two items highlighted in the article (particularly the salt) make me not want to go there.
The only thing I know about the Restaurant that is better for you than served in most restaurants IS the salt! Himalayan Salt is SO much better for you than salt or any salt substitutes! That’s if you like salt!
They take bitcoin but not Visa? Who are they hoping to market to? Makes no sense.
The “English” on the menu is hysterical!
Bitcoin but no “regular” credit cards (Visa, MasterCard)? Guess they only want to attract the Amex crowd (biz travelers, businesspeople?) …and millenials with Bitcoin. And who writes checks anymore?
Not a problem for us non-Bitcoin, non-Amex card holding folks, as menu holds nothing of interest.
I ate at their downtown location, and the menu explained that amex was the only place that would give them a loan or something like that, and as a thank you they only accept that card…the food was also wonderful
Good, more room for the rest of “us” whom you are presumptiously speaking for. I don’t know about bitcoin, but I’m bringing my checkbook. This place looks great.
Have really enjoyed their downtown location, hopefully this one is just as good.
I heartily agree with all the above friendly and encouraging comments!!
I will really miss the empty storefront that this new blight on our neighborhood replaces!!
Come on people, give the place a chance before knocking it down. Let’s be a bit open minded and try something that would not normally be to your liking. Supporting our neighborhood establishments makes us the UWS!
Also, Bitcoin is the future people , , , other areas in Manhattan are offering that payment option as well. BTCS and GAHC !!
Re: “Also, Bitcoin is the future people”
Umm, in the future, people will be Bitcoins !?
Thas’ what you wrote !
Re: “other areas in Manhattan are offering that payment option as well. BTCS and GAHC !!
Ummm…Don’ know much about either BTCS or GAHC.
Guess them’s be code words known only to some exclusive in-crowd.
BUT: what color Himalayan Salt do they use?!?
soylent green is people.
Crypto currency such as bitcoin is one of the many uses of blockchain technology, which is the future (ask anyone younger than you). GAHC was .0007 just 5 months ago. $1000 then would have netted you $24,000 today. Slightly more than your bank is offering.
🙂
Not to late, as its currently at .017 and it will be bouncing soon. Same for BTCS and BTSC.
ps: remember back in early 1990s when everyone thought the internet wouldn’t catch on? LOL
@Ye Olde…First of all… You’re splitting hairs with punctuation on AC’s post! If one has any sense they would know that it’s NOT “Bitcoin people”! Second of all, Himalayan salt IS pink, coral or dark pink almost red!
Knowing about virtual currency is an option for anyone with access to the internet, which presumably includes anyone posting here. This is not some elite conspiracy – though it may be a libertarian one. If you are interested, google it and learn about it – it is all out there.
Is this from The Onion??
I give them 3 months….
I LOVE the downtown restaurant and am very glad they’ll be here
Interesting that they brag about using Only Pink Himalayan Salt, which many people use for health reasons, yet serve Foie Gras which requires shoving pipes down the throats of vulnerable ducks, a form of torture if you’ve ever seen it done, to please the palates of those who could care less what animals are harmed in their search for ever more gourmet dining. I will not eat in any restaurant that serves Foie Gras.
agreed 100%
This argument doesn’t hold water since the slaughter and processing of all animals for consumption is torture. You don’t get to define what method is more abhorrent than the next…or maybe you do in your incongruous reality. And yes I am an avid meat eater and enjoy eating Foie Gras on occasion so don’t go attacking me for being some animal rights lover. Also for your information there are newer more humane methods of raising fowl around the world to produce Foie Gras these days. Blue Hill at Stone Barns here locally is a good place to see this being practiced.
I take your point that eating animals at all involved torture, but I do not think it is ridiculous to avoid foods that involve an extra layer of torment before killing the animal. I would put most foie grad and veal in that category, for instance.
I like how they are a new restaurant, but have “very popular” on the menu – how can it be popular with no customers yet?
My Lord, so many angry UWS people who comment on this blog. Stop taking $hit so seriously and live your life!
Stacey – you might want to calm down while telling people to calm down.
Re: “so many angry UWS people who comment on this blog….”
Well, if angry UWS people did NOT let out their aggressiveness here, they would have to find other passive-aggressive ways, such as:
1. Riding super-expensive bicycles at top speed through red lights;
2. Clogging the entrances of already-filled restaurants for that Sunday brunch to be captured for Instagram and/or Facebook;
3. Allowing their poorly-disciplined offspring to shriek and even run amok in those restaurants while they (parents) conduct their own conversations at volume levels more appropriate to a rock concert.
Ooopsie! Seems they ALREADY DO these things!
So why are they still so angry?
Or … writing irritable comments on the West Side Rag about other peoples’ foibles without recognizing that they probably do things that are just as annoying (like writing irritable comments on …), and still sounding angry?
“Sensual ravioli?” Somebody had to be smoking a bong when they wrote this menu.
The dessert pairing for that is Sexual Chocolate
#ComingToAmerica
Agree, so much negativity going around. Those that don’t like upscale “ pretentious “ restaurants can always continue going out to their local diners!
Great to have new restaurants with delicious sounding menus opening up on the UWS! Can’t wait to try it out! Bitcoins Amex or otherwise!
They would’ve done well to hire somebody who actually has a good command of English grammar when creating that menu… errors abound! I found 2 on a quick scan, bet there are more. ( not including overuse of !). Sounds pretentious and overpriced, and who cares about bitcoin. I give them a year.
Perhaps the author of the menu is French with less than perfect English?
When they refer to an item as popular, they are most likely referring to results from their downtown restaurant.
BTW, the downtown restaurant is far from pretentious.
Wow. Second intolerant Upper West Sider. Opening a restaurant in NYC is hard enough, I am sure perfecting his command of the English language was not top of mind. I assume his English is better than your French.
So he should have paid a teenager $100 to quickly proof read his menu – it’s really not that hard. If a restaurant is lazy in writing its menu, I will assume it is lazy in cooking, cleaning, etc.
One of the traits bred into me as a native UWSider is my curiosity and desire to try new things. Are you guys all from Nebraska? Come on — give it a try, Bitcoins and all. Plus which you all must know that Pink Himalayan salt is good for you. Who knows; maybe Pink Himalayan salt on your food will awaken a sense of adventure. I can hope.
I like your attitude, Judith. And you are absolutely right. People need to be more open minded and adventurous. A little pricey grub could be just what they need.
But take it easy on Nebraska, I mean, all that corn ain’t gonna husk itself. Those folks are the “real” heartland Americans. You know, the salt of the earth…not the pink Himalayan salt but still…:)
You should see their faces when I go into places like this and pay with 500 or 600 rolls of pennies!!!
They always try to say I can’t but they ultimately have to take them. It’s legal tender, Baby!!!!:) hahahahah Bitcoin my &%$#
While federal law states that coins are legal tender, it does not compel anyone to accept them. If a business doesn’t want to take pennies — or a $100 bill, for that matter — it has a legal right to refuse them. Bitcoins or cryptocurrencies are definitely the future, but all the “dinosaurs” on the UWS will be long gone before it becomes more ubiquitous.
Yes, you are absolutely correct…about credit cards, checks, even cash, etc.
If a restaurant won’t accept a form of payment it is within their rights to refuse. However, it must be posted in the restaurant and/or the menu in a very prominent place that will be seen by all customers.
However, cash is cash and unless there is a sign somewhere explicitly refusing to take pennies they must accept them. Trust me. They will take them. I haven’t washed dishes once in 40 years!
And by the way, the “dinosaurs” will never go away…they will just get moved over to the Museum of Natural History.
Looks like a lovely new restaurant. Haters gonna hate.
Have any of you had a restaurant? Try to walk in their shoes you know it all. I don’t know who is pretentious here
Making fun of their english. When you are talking to someone with an accent it means that he/she knows one more language than you do.
agreed Jack.
I was here last night. It was excellent! The owner was very kind. The food is made with love.
Is “love” considered a vegetable?
None of the menu items listed “love”.
Man, you are a real piece of work, OriginalMark.
I bet you are really fun at parties.:)
Lighten up.