A popular downtown restaurant will be replacing RA Sushi (which was previously called Haru Sushi). Photo by Bobby Panza.
The space at 433 Amsterdam Avenue (81st Street) has been vacant since RA Sushi closed its doors in October, but a note on the Community Board 7 meeting page shows that Ben Byruch, a partner at downtown restaurant Pig and Khao, is planning to open its second location at this address.
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Byruch will be presenting plans (and his application for a retail permit and a liquor license) at the upcoming Community Board 7 meeting on May 10.
Pig and Khao, a Thai Fusion restaurant with a location on the Lower East Side and a sister restaurant, Piggyback, on West 30th Street, opened in the fall of 2012, a joint venture by head chef and owner Leah Cohen, and her husband and partner Ben.
Leah was the recipient of a 2013 StarChefs Rising Star Award, with Pig and Khao earning fantastic reviews from outlets like the New York Times and New York Magazine. The restaurant website describes her cooking philosophy as “true to authentic Southeast Asian flavors while incorporating classical western techniques.” The menus (view here) also show a variety of speciality beer, wine, and cocktail beverages.
More Upper West Side Openings, Here
Cohen and Byruch are definitely doing something right as their Instagram page boasts nearly 30,000 followers, and she has 155,000 followers on her personal account.
“The Upper West Side has been a neighborhood we have been looking at for quite some time. We are hopeful that we will have an opportunity to join the community in the near future and are looking forward to discussing it during the Community Board meeting next week,” the restaurant told ILTUWS.
We’ll keep you posted on their plans.
Fantastic news!
The menu gives the distinct impression they’re really in business to sell alcohol. But what else is new?
You seem fun