Inside The Ellington.
By Alex Israel
Glenda Sansone, owner and operator of The Ellington, located at 936 Amsterdam Ave (West 106th Street) and Ellington in the Park (Riverside Park at 106th Street), plans to expand with a new restaurant at 2745 Broadway (West 105th–106th Streets). The space was most recently inhabited by the short-lived Boulevard Seafood, but is more well known as the former site of Henry’s, a bistro that operated for nineteen years before closing in October 2018.
Sansone will transition The Ellington name and its current menu, in a slightly more elevated form, to the new location in hopes of growing the business. “It’s still going to be a nice dining experience,” she said during a Community Board 7 Business & Consumer Issues Committee meeting for a new application to the State Liquor Authority for a liquor license.
The limited seating at The Ellington prompted Sansone to explore new opportunities. “One of my biggest issues there is the size,” said Sansone. The new space will allow her to host larger parties and get-togethers that don’t fit at the original location. In turn, she plans to cut down kitchen costs on Amsterdam by updating that menu to a selection of tapas and small bites.
Sansone said she wants to keep the new building’s existing footprint mostly the same, only adding an ADA-compliant bathroom and a folding door that would give her the option to close the back area off for parties of up to fifty people. “We don’t want to make a lot of changes,” she said, adding that she doesn’t plan to drastically alter the wood or the atmosphere of the restaurant. “People want to walk in and still feel like it’s Henry’s.”
Sansone hopes to open in Spring 2020, with hours of operation daily until 4 a.m.
After failing to appear before the committee during the October meeting, representatives from Pomodoro at 229 Columbus Avenue (West 70th–71st Streets) and Bodega 88 at 573 Columbus Avenue (West 88th Street) showed up this time, receiving approval on applications for unenclosed sidewalk café renewals. (Both thanked WSR for our coverage, which astute readers brought to their attention, informing them that they needed to turn up in order to keep their sidewalk cafés.)
All committee resolutions will be up for a vote during the next full board meeting on December 3, 2019. Liquor license applications will also need to be reviewed by the State Liquor Authority (SLA) for final approval.
So excited about Ellington’s! That is going to be fantastic to have. I like the food at the Amsterdam location, but the close quarters and the loud TV made us stick with their park location. To now have that food in a comfortable setting will be great. I hope they will offer brunch! Trekking to Community just to stand in line gets old.
Happy to hear about Bodega 88. Best thing to happen to the neighborhood
Yes, and Ellington please keep the bar area – and host for political debate watching! Loved the ‘neighborhood’ feel of Henry’s, the space & food — and think Ellington will be a great fit!!!
Surprised the owner said the current Ellington is too small. I walk by it all the time and it is usually empty. Bad, bad food. The one in the park is great because of the park, but again, brutally bad food and service. Please invest in some iPads or some other thing to keep the waiters by the tables next summer!
Very exciting news about The Ellington!
Now we just need some place great to take over the old Macchina space and we’ll have a full three blocks filled with good restaurants!
I’m also looking forward to that stretch of Broadway picking itself back up — particularly now that Calle Ocho is opening within a month or two. I do wonder what a balanced 106th & Broadway looks like, though. These are all big restaurant spaces. Are there enough diners in the area to keep them all busy?
I miss La Rosita for breakfast and the Movie Theatre on 106th / broadway
I think the Olympia theater has been gone for about 25 years!
Yes!
Yay for the Ellington…great food…the nicest bartenders and one of the only places for adults to get a drink in the low 100’s….So nice to see positive comments about a restaurant in the hood too…so rare.
Thank you!!!
Does anyone else feel like the UWS 80s could really use a new full-service Mexican restaurant?
It seems like a prime area for a comfortable space where you can enjoy some tacos, burritos, or enchiladas without having to spend like $20. And maybe even some happy hour margaritas after work or during a breezy Saturday afternoon. It’s odd to me that Cilantro is the only full-service Mexican(ish) option in the 80s right now. It manages to stay packed with just ok food, relatively inflated prices, and no happy hour. Even a proper mini-chain like Calexico or Mexicue would be refreshing.
Tacombi at 78 and Amsterdam isn’t far away and Is good and more authentic IMO than Cilantro.
Tacombi has been a welcome addition to the neighborhood, but feels more like a fast-casual restaurant that added servers than a real full-service restaurant—from the ordering process that involves marking off tacos on a piece of paper, to items coming out as they’re ready, to the super uncomfortable high-tops that basically encourage you to leave asap. And as a result of all that, it’s not a place where I want to spend $13 on a margarita.
So excited to hear Ellington is taking the Henry’s spot! That will be a great combination! So excited for the move!
No one can fill Henry’s shoes
The food at Ellington is completely mediocre, sometimes even bad, I can not understand how they stay in business. I’m very disappointed that they are taking over the old Henry’s space. I was hoping a good restaurant was going into that space. We need quality food in this neighborhood.
Another uncontrolled sonic restaurant, all hardwood, nothing to absorb sound. A definite design flaw! How sad! Excluding the senior crowd.
Yes! Between Ellington’s great food and Henry’s great space this looks to be a perfect match!
Do people really LOVE the food at Ellington’s? I don’t hate but it is fairly typical bar food. Never blew me away.
Let’s face it: Henrys was good in the beginning, then coasted. It was a good “living room” if you wanted comforting food and an easy reservation. Service was always, slow and bad. I liked the Seafood reboot.
Ellington too was great in the beginning, now not as good. That said, Glenda has experience in creating places that people want to return to, and homey food. I think it could be good for the nabe.
The problem with Boulevard was not the food.(the shrimp/corn chowder was excellent) The problem was the extremely poor service. Hope Ellington corrects that problem. Hire a experienced manager knows how to train staff properly!