The dining room, opening next month. (Photo: Ron Castellano)
A stone’s throw from where Les Enfants Terribles turned into Skal in August, another Lower Lower East Side spot will unveil a new look and concept tonight. The space that was Broadway East and then LTO is now Rosette.
Ron Castellano — a partner in Santos Party House, Le Baron, and Hester Street Fair (our teammates in the B+B Bazaar) — has revamped the space off of Seward Park to be a three-tiered affair: the loungy front bar/cafe is where former ACME chef de cuisine Nick Curtin will work the newly installed wood-burning oven and debut his initial menu of bar snacks plus a limited selection of entrees.
The front bar/cafe. (Photo: Ron Castellano)
That front room, complete with a comfy sofa and chic mid-century modern chairs that actually came from a convent, is also where Warren Hode, who designed the drinks lists at BONDST and Cherry, will pour libations that, he says, are “180 degrees the other direction of Prohibition cocktails.” Which means he’ll be making bitters out of sarsaparilla and kumquat skin, mixing chipotle-and-pink-peppercorn syrup with gin and dehydrated rose petals, infusing whiskey with toasted sesame paste, and even making some “quiet nods to Chinatown” via ingredients like 5-spice.
The oven area. (Photo: Ron Castellano)
Next month or so, service will expand (and the menu along with it) to the back dining room, where gold-leaf ceilings and half-circle booths give off a 1920s Hollywood vibe. And downstairs, there’s a rustic, plant-lined private dining room with a massive projection screen. That’s where Curtin, a onetime Iron Chef contestant who also did stints at Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar and Compose, will be able to “really step it up” with special dinners, per Castellano.
While the restaurant gears up for its full opening, check out the Southern-inflected snacks menu that debuts tonight.
Rosette, 171 E Broadway, nr. Canal St. 212-933-1176;Â Â Tues through Sat, 6 p.m. to midnight