Celebrity chef Julian Medina is opening a new restaurant on the Upper East Side, according to a liquor license application filed with Manhattan Community Board 8. The upcoming restaurant is listed on the application as Caffetteria.
Caffetteria will serve Spanish tapas, a first for Medina, who has made a name for himself cooking modern Mexican food. He opened the first Toloache, an upscale Mexican bistro, on 50th Street in 2007. The restaurant served as the first brick in his small empire of Mexican restaurants including El Fish, Tacuba and El Verano. More recently, Medina has ventured out of his comfort zone, opening Italian restaurant Amarena in 2024.
Caffetteria is located on 1827 Second Ave., which is directly next door to Soledad, Medina’s contemporary Mexican restaurant named after his grandmother. The space, which formerly held Enzo Bruni La Pizza Gourmet, will be able to sit 62 people.
Caffetteria has not announced an opening date as of yet.
