We’ve learned from a recent Community Board 8 meeting that a new French restaurant is expected to replace Sel et Poivre at 853 Lexington Avenue (between 64th and 65th streets). Sel et Poivre recently shut its doors after serving the Upper East Side for 35 years.
“Our method of operations are going to be very similar to the prior establishment,” said one of the owners of Monsieur Bistro, which will also be serving French cuisine. The owners – one of whom is Thibaut Castet, whose restaurants include Maison Close in Soho and Talya in Montauk – are applying for a liquor, beer, wine and cider license, which was unanimously approved by CB8.
They’re planning on having 22 tables, 60 seats and six bar stools. The restaurant is expected to be open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight, and they are also hoping to have three outdoor tables (nine seats) on the sidewalk.
It is unclear when the new spot will open, but they say they purchased the prior business and took over the lease, which indicates it could be a quick turnaround.
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In other food + drink news:
- American Bar, a popular West Village restaurant with throwback vibes, was expected to open a second location at 1022 Lexington Avenue (on the corner of 73rd Street). Now, however, the space’s windows are papered with “For Lease” signs. We’ve reached out to American Bar to see what happened.
- L’incontro by Rocco, which we first wrote about last month, has opened its doors at 1572 Second Avenue (between 81st and 82nd streets). The popular Italian restaurant closed its long-running Astoria location on May 26 after serving the Queens neighborhood for 25 years. The Upper East Side location’s opening night celebration took place on Wednesday, and quite a few big names (Mayor Adams included) were there to welcome the new restaurant.
