We miss the margaritas and chips at Papacitos which shuttered last year. Thankfully, a new bistro called Esme is now open:
Following months of renovations, Esme opened softly last Tuesday on the former site of Papacitos (999 Manhattan Avenue). The venue has been totally transformed and now offers a bright sunny welcome by day and a cozy low-lit intimacy by night. Long wooden pews accompany individual tables along one side of the restaurant, whilst tables on a raised platform at the front of the space look out onto Manhattan Avenue through two huge picture windows.
The mouth-watering modern American menu is devised by executive chef Paul Myers, whose impressive career includes time under Wylie Dufresne at wd~50 and a James Beard nomination for his Montana restaurant 515. In creating the dishes, Myers collaborated with Adam Volk of Williamsburg’s Gwynnett Street (now Lachlan), who will run the kitchen on a daily basis.
Here’s the menu, via Bedford and Bowery: