Brasserie Seoul, from Sung Park, opens; an inventive Greek restaurant in Astoria, Queens; and more restaurant news.
BRASSERIE SEOUL This amounts to Act 2 for the chef Sung Park’s French-Korean plan. About a year and a half ago, he said, the operators of the Holiday Inn in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, came to him about opening a restaurant in the hotel. He pitched the name, Brasserie Seoul, and some ideas for a menu of French fare with Korean touches that expanded on what he was serving at his Bistro Petit in Williamsburg. But that’s as far as it went; he never cooked at Brasserie Seoul. And despite the name he suggested, the restaurant served what he called “ordinary K-Town food” like the bibimbap found all over West 32nd Street. Now, a new group runs the hotel, and he was approached again. “They asked if I believed in fate,” said the veteran chef, who is 47. “And they gave me a chance to do my brainchild, my dream.” His menu features French techniques with Korean ingredients, reflecting his background and his years in the kitchens of chefs like Wayne Nish, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Laurent Tourondel. His kimchi bouillabaisse is based on a South Korean fish stew, and his Korean beef bourguignon is similar to the long, slow French braise. Cod comes crusted with fermented black beans, and several dishes are fueled with his homemade kimchi. The spacious dining room is centered on the bar and has a profusion of greenery. (Opens Monday): Holiday Inn, 300 Schermerhorn Street (Nevins Street), Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, 718-330-1099, brasserieseoul.com .
AKROTIRI The opening of another Greek restaurant in Astoria, Queens, sounds like business as usual. But, at this one, a seafood-focused spot owned by Chris Kouvaros, the chef Nicholas Poulmentis brings a new level of invention to the food of Greece. Taramosalata, the fish roe spread, for example, is black, infused with squid ink and truffles. Croquettes are made with octopus, and there’s a dish of volvi onions from Crete pickled in balsamic vinegar. A list of mostly Greek wines has been selected to complement the food. (Thursday): 29-20 30th Avenue (29th Street), Astoria, Queens, 718-726-2447, akrotiritaverna.com .
SEAMORE’S Michael Chernow continues to expand his group of seafood restaurants that feature the local, sustainable catch. His newest, and largest, is also the first Seamore’s in Brooklyn. The menu includes seafood paella for two and an assortment of poke bowls, a natural evolution since Seamore’s was among the first New York restaurants to serve poke. There’s a private dining room with a nautical theme and soon, a basement bar. (Sunday): 66 Water Street (Main Street), Dumbo, Brooklyn, 718-663-6550 seamores.com .
SHINSUKE Kajitsu, the serene, two-story Japanese restaurant in Murray Hill, has invited a pop-up from Tokyo that is quite unlike its usual Buddhist Shojin approach. Shinsuke is an izakaya, and it is among the oldest of this kind of neighborhood pub, having been established in Tokyo in 1925. Small plates served quickly, like sashimi, fried chicken bites, ground shrimp tempura, and pickled vegetables, with drinks, are typical and will be available at Kajitsu. One variety of sake will be served cold, warm and hot. On the ground floor, after 7 p.m., there will be standing only at the bar for what is described as an authentic izakaya experience that began in the Edo era: Wednesday through Saturday, 5 to 9:30 p.m., Kajitsu, 125 East 39th Street, 212-228-4873, kajitsunyc.com .
SUGAR MOMMA Barry Dry, an Australian who gathered partners to open a coffee shop called Hole in the Wall in Midtown Manhattan, and followed it with a cafe with the same name in the financial district, is adding a cocktail bar to the downtown spot. Tucked into the cafe, this new bar offers cocktails and wines by the glass, along with small plates like a shrimp and crab cracker, and more substantial fare, including satay curry chicken. (Thursday): 15 Cliff Street (Fulton Street), 212-602-9991, sugarmommanyc.com .
WHIRLYBIRD & GREENS The chef Seamus Mullen is cannibalizing half of his tapas counter, El Colmado, to create this new area for rotisserie chicken, whole or half, on or off the bone, with assorted side dishes. The chicken is also served in bowl combinations with greens and garnishes: Gotham West Market, 600 11th Avenue (44th Street), eatwhirlybird.com .
ROUGE TOMATE CAFE The first room, as you enter Rouge Tomate Chelsea, was a wine bar, but it is now being converted into an informal cafe for breakfast bowls and sandwiches, with a lunch and dinner menu of salads, burgers and a grain bowl. The room beyond remains the fine-dining restaurant. (Wednesday): 126 West 18th Street, 646-395-3978, rougetomatechelsea.com .
DAVID BOWIE AT THE NORM Saul Bolton, the chef at the Brooklyn Museum’s restaurant, is a big David Bowie fan. So to celebrate an exhibit at the museum devoted to the English performing artist, he has created several Bowie-inspired dishes and cocktails. Diamond dogs, named for an album, is fish and chips made with dogfish; curried hand pies and shepherd’s pie are English comfort food staples; and a blackout cake is a tribute to “Blackstar,” Bowie’s final album. There are cocktails with names like Starman and Lazarus. Starting April 22, there will be a series of special dinners with a Bowie theme: The Norm at Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway (Washington Avenue), 718-230-0897, thenormbkm.com .
ALEX BAKER, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris who worked at Spring and Le Chateaubriand there, is now the chef at Matt Abramcyk’s TriBeCa restaurant, Yves. She will reinforce the menu’s French approach.
BRYCE SHUMAN, who was the chef at Betony, the Midtown Manhattan restaurant that closed at the end of 2016, though it earned three stars from Pete Wells in The New York Times and also a Michelin star, will be cooking a series of pop-up dinners next week. The dinners will be at Spring Place, a TriBeCa club and work space. He will offer a tasting menu, $150, that includes a foie gras bonbon, warm artichokes with olives and lovage, snapper in green curry, pig head with kale and chorizo and a chocolate sassafras dessert. À la carte options will also be available: March 21 through 23, Spring Place, 6 St. John’s Lane ( Beach Street), reservations@springplace.com .
DITCH PLAINS, Marc Murphy’s West Village seafood restaurant, has closed after 12 years. The website cites unsuccessful lease negotiations as the reason, and says the owners are looking for another space.
