In mid-March, we wrote about a pending liquor license application for a restaurant called “The Cottage” at 2199 Broadway, on the corner of 78th Street. This space was formerly home to La Caridad, which in 2020 closed its doors after serving the community since the 1960s.
The Cottage Reopens at 2199 Broadway
The Cottage had operated at 360 Amsterdam Avenue, on the corner of 77th Street, serving Chinese food to the UWS since the early 1980s. It was during April 2020 when a reader informed us it had shut down for good, citing the building’s new owner refusing to renew the restaurant’s lease.
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The liquor license application from mid-March didn’t have enough information to clarify if this was the same Chinese restaurant planning to reopen, but a new document makes that seem more likely.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission has now granted permission for space alterations to be made, and the filing documents list “The Cottage Restaurant – Szechuan Cuisine” – as the end user. (Thanks to ‘Upper West Sider’ for the tip).
The description of the job includes interior renovations on the first and cellar floors, replacing floor tiles and ceilings, building minor petitions, and installing new lighting and bathrooms.
When we asked the restaurant owner listed in the document, Benny Cheong, if it’s the same “Cottage Restaurant,” he said yes … but that it would be under new ownership.
UPDATE: Cheong followed up by email to tell us that “The menu will be very similar as the old Cottage but with a slight difference. We are focused on providing everyone authentic Szechuan cuisine. The restaurant is currently under renovation, but we expect to open in the summer.”
Not that it was good.. but the free wine was a good draw/gimmick/incentive…
I disagree. The food is very good, consistent and authentic. I was going to The Cottage since a kid in the 1960’s. Of course, the free wine was just icing on the cake!
I liked it, anyhow. But were was The Cottage in the 1960s? I thought it got started, at least at Amsterdam & 77th, in 1982.
Still wish I could remember the name of the restaurant at that corner before The Cottage….
Love The Cottage, Peter and the staff there. The dumplings were the best around, never found another place that served the same type. Happy to hear that part of the old West Side is returning.
The food was OK–not the best, but certainly good. The free wine was nice. The best things were the Szechuan Dumplings and Seafood Dumplings in Szechuan spicy sauce. Nobody else seems to have that type of dumpling, except maybe in Chinatown. We hope that they do reopen, hopefully with more space.
Their cheese was excellent 😀
Benny! Keep the free wine! It’s the big reason to go!
An update on when cottage is opening ?