c/o Lashevet
Lashevet, the popular Middle Eastern restaurant at 1663 First Avenue (between East 86th and 87th streets), announced Monday on Instagram that its doors have closed for good.
“Dear customers, friends, and neighbors, Thank you for your loyalty, trust, and the great journey we shared,” the statement says. “We #appreciate every single moment of this time. IT WAS AN HONOR AND PRIVILLIGE (sic) TO SERVE YOU AND SHARE OUR LIFE AND LOVE OF FOOD WITH YOU!”
Advertisement
Lashevet opened in 2022, and was, as described by Time Out New York, the brainchild of a “sushi restaurateur [Boris Lidukhover] and a food scientist [Larisa Sheihet].”
“Using her background as a food scientist, Sheihet collaborated with chef Majid Moulay Alam to select healthy and nutritious ingredients in Lashevet’s dishes,” a statement by the restaurant’s team said upon its initial opening.
The restaurant’s website describes its cuisine as a mix of Moroccan, Israeli and Lebanese food “infused with flavors of Provence, France. What made it stand out from other similarly-minded eateries was its focus on vegetarian-based dishes, and its constantly changing menu.
The restaurant offered Moroccan specialties like zaalouk (eggplant), harira (a lentil-based soup found all over the country) and famine (a world-famous stew made with a variety of ingredients and served in the specialty clay vessel in which it is cooked), as well as regional Middle Eastern classics like hummus, tabbouleh, falafel and shakshuka.
According to the restaurant’s website, chef Alami was born in Casablanca, Morocco and spent time growing up in Marseille, France. He started cooking in France and the Netherlands—two countries with sizable Moroccan diaspora populations—before moving to the United Stats.
“He previously honed his cooking skills at top-notch NYC restaurants including Espace, the W, and Wallsé.,” his bio states.
Additionally, Lashevet carried a variety of Moroccan wines, as well as Moroccan-inspired takes on well known cocktails such as mojitos and cosmos.
We’ve reached out to the restaurant for comment.
Hmmm….the messier-than-usual Patch report on this had the misspelled all-caps quote but also a pic of the sign that had “privilege” spelled correctly.