(Google Maps)
A new Chinese restaurant called Abes will be opening at 102 West 86th Street, just west of Columbus Avenue.
The space was home to La Mirabelle for 37 years until it closed in 2021. At the time of the long-running French restaurant’s closure, the owners said they were hopeful they’d find a new spot, though we haven’t heard anything since.
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At Community Board 7‘s Business & Consumer Issues Committee meeting this week, the owner of the forthcoming eatery said they’re planning to open the “high end Chinese restaurant” in four or five months. They are currently applying for their liquor license.
“The meaning behind [the name] is a classification of birds,” the owner said. “We’re gonna have some really elegant interior design, very modern.” He added that it will “really showcase peacock feathers and everything. It’s gorgeous.”
“We like to bring some some good Chinese food to the area; definitely peking duck, and a lot of Sichuan dishes.” The new spot is expected to close at 11 p.m. daily and have low, recorded background music. It will accommodate 52 seats and will also offer delivery (both directly and through third party apps).
The owner is also a partner at a restaurant in Chinatown and at Tangy Noodle in Chelsea. He also says he’s in the process of opening additional spots in Murray Hill and New Jersey.
We’ll provide updates as we learn more.
God, how I miss La Mirabelle!
I still miss 88 Noodle, the Chinese restaurant that was around the corner.
La Mirabelle, like Tout Va Bien, in the Theater District,, were classical French bistros with service and ambience to match. They always remembered how you liked a dish prepared and there was none of this current arrogant (and ignorant) nonsense whereby the chef does or doesn’t do things according to HIS or HER method or philosophy. These restaurants prospered and lasted as long as they did because they made delicious food for their diners the way THEY liked it. We left knowing that we couldn’t wait to return. Whole generations of families and couples passed through their doors. You always felt a part of their success and it was as good as a home-cooked meal. Actually much better.
If they are opening in New Jersey tghen they are appropriate for the New Upper West Side.
I miss Mirabelle too. Is there a single French restaurant left on the UWS?
I miss La Mirabelle so much I still want to cry every time I pass there!
La Boite en Bois, at 75 West 68th Street is the last French restaurant on the Upper West Side. Been at that location since 1985, off Columbus Avenue tucked away in a brownstone. I’ve never been but from whatI’ve read and heard, diners generally like what comes out of the kitchen but…. it sounds like they scrunch everyone in on top of one another; tables are so close you can’t help but take part in everyone’s conversations. That can be fun if you’re looking for that kind of communal “What’s he drinking?” or “I’ll get the same thing she’s having…” dining experience but since they bill themselves as a “romantic French, ‘as if’ in the countryside” kind of place….they need to rethink having so many tables on top of one another. However, I’ve got to assume that 2023/2024 profit margins (as in “tiny”) probably won’t allow for more relaxed seating.
Certainly there are French restaurants on the UWS, though it depends how French you want restaurants to be. The ambiance of Mirabelle was unique, but you can eat well at Nice Matin, with its deep wine list, and at its lower-end brother French Roast. And at Cafe du Soleil further uptown. At the other extreme is Essential by Christophe, Michelin-starred, and a tough reservation to get.
The Mirabelle owners have a new restaurant in New Jersey: French Oak Bar & Grill in Oakland, NJ. See https://www.frenchoaknj.com/. Do not appear to have any plan to return to UWS.
For French on UWS, try La Sirène, 416 Amsterdam, or Amelie, 566 Amsterdam. Not up to La Mirabelle level, but enjoyable, IMHO.
Excited for this. The UWS needs better Chinese food. Atlas is excellent on 109th off Broadway, as is LaSalle Dumpling Room on 125th, but there’s nothing of that quality below 109th.
Doesn’t mean Abes will be a better Chinese restaurant. Jing Fong opened a few years ago in Amsterdam in W78 and supposedly was to mirror the original in Chinatown. Unfortunately, aside from the pork buns, their food is not up to par. They even got a B rating a few months after they opened. Poor cleanliness i suppose..
You are right! And, hopefully, this Abes owner will serve Authentic Chinese food and not catering to American palates. Won’t last long if he does that.
New place name is probably AVES, not Abes.
What is the name of the new owner? Seems odd he is quoted yet not named. Tangy noodle has very good reviews on TA and yelp so optimistic about this new place.