Mission Ceviche is located at 1400 Second Avenue (Google Maps).
Has a haute handbag heister hit the Upper East Side? Unfortunately for designer devotees, the answer may be yes.
According to Kendall Ippolito, a twenty-something Manhattan resident who journeyed uptown for dinner this past weekend, her nylon Prada shoulder bag (which retails for $1,390 and contained her passport and Chanel wallet) was pilfered as she sipped on a cocktail at Mission Ceviche, located at 1400 Second Avenue at 73rd Street.
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While getting up to use the restroom, Ippolito turned around to grab the coveted purse from her chair, only to find it missing in plain sight. Restaurant staff at the popular Peruvian destination swiftly shared security footage, depicting the masked thief in question pacing the establishment prior to snatching the pricey prize (the entire video is visible on Ippolito’s TikTok account here).
“At the time, I thought the restaurant handled it well,” she told East Side Feed. “They called the police and showed me the footage. After showing the footage to countless people, everyone’s feedback was unanimous in thinking the waitress [may have] had something to do with it. She was directly blocking the camera and made contact with the thief as she took the bag off of my chair. The manager and staff refused to take any accountability for the individual roaming freely without a reservation and stealing my belongings.”
Despite the inconvenience, Mission Ceviche — which has been rated twice in the uber-prestigious Michelin Guide — allegedly charged the rest of the party for Ippolito’s full meal, though she had already departed the hot spot to pop to the police station.
Given the price of the Prada, it’s likely this incident fell into one of 36 cases of grand larceny reported by the 19th Precinct (at 153 East 67th Street) last week. Ippolito’s advice to label-loving ladies? “Do not leave your bag on the back of your chair and always be aware of your surroundings — and don’t bring your passport out even if you lost your ID!”
We didn’t hear back from Mission Ceviche ahead of publishing this story, but we’ll provide an update if we learn anything new.
