The Indian-born New York City restaurateur Ahtesham “Jimmy” Rizvi is looking to open a new Indian restaurant and cocktail bar on 24 First Avenue, according to permits submitted to Manhattan’s Community Board 3.
The East Village venue, which will have its permit application reviewed by Manhattan’s Community Board 3 on May 15, will have a full-service kitchen and bar serving modern Indian fare. It will have 37 tables and 147 seats, including 12 bar seats. The preliminary menu submitted in the permit shows a more upscale cuisine akin to that of his Indian flagship GupShup in Union Square.
It includes but it is not limited to small plates, such as scallops with coconut curry and crispy okra, and truffle naan with roasted garlic and black cumin, and large plates, including tandoori lamb chops with saffron rice and mint raita, and braised short ribs with Kashmiri chili and potato puree. It will also offer sides such as truffle mac and cheese with paneer and panko topping, and roasted cauliflower with mustard and cumin seed.
The cocktail menu, which also features mocktails, will range from a tamarind margarita with tequila, tamarind syrup, lime juice and chili salt rim to a chai and whiskey sour with whiskey, chai syrup, lemon juice and egg white foam. It will also offer bar snacks including masala-spiced popcorn with cashews and curry leaves, and vegetable fritters with cilantro and mint dip.
Rizvi is best-known as the man behind Union Square’s GupShup, which serves Bombay-inspired cuisine. He also owns the Indian street food spot, Chote Miya, at Manhattan’s Chelsea Market and Brooklyn’s Time Out Market, and Pier 57’s Ammi. Ammi, which means mother in Hindi/Urdu, is an homage to the home-style cooking of Indian mothers’. The restaurant’s chef is no other than his own mother, Suraiya, who was born into a Muslim-Indian family.
