Restaurant watchers may be surprised by Monday's opening of Aqua New York, a block-long leviathan at 920 East Broadway between 20th and 21st Streets.
If they haven't heard of it, it's because it was hidden away in plain sight during more than 18 months of construction, with no advance advertising or social media hype.
This bold launch is the brainchild of David Yeo, founder and owner of Aqua Restaurant Group. The company owns a thriving Chinese restaurant, Hutong uptown (in Vornado's Bloomberg Tower), and 19 other locations in London, Miami, Hong Kong, Beijing and Dubai.
Aqua New York is a unique dual-cuisine concept that combines Italian and Japanese cuisine. It's not a “fusion”, it's a separate menu prepared in different kitchens. Customers can choose from either option.
At 25,000 square feet, including the kitchen and back facilities, Aqua is much larger than this year's other stealth eatery, Grand Brasserie in Grand Central Terminal.
The two-story, 432-seat Aqua spans the entire east block front. It's visible from the windows at the south end of Broadway, snaking from behind the Okta “Experience Center” to East 21st Street, where giant Japanese masks will soon cover the windows.
Designs by Robert Angell and Yeo himself reflect Italian and Japanese traditions. A hemp rope tower rises above a giant oval bar installation called Aqua Spirits. The 70-foot-long sushi counter with cushioned seating is said to be the longest in the city.
Yeo had coveted the space for six years and was close to signing a deal with landlord Rosen Group, a family-run commercial owner with properties in 12 states, but other tenants, including WeWork, was thwarted because it beat them to the punch by leasing some of their retail space. I longed for it.
Aqua is the newest addition to the Broadway corridor of restaurants and hotels north and south of 23rd Street. (A new Scarpetta comes to the building just south of Aqua).
Despite Aqua's low profile in town, Yoh is full of confidence. When we told him that traffic on Broadway in the area had increased significantly in recent months, he laughed and said, “Yeah, they heard us coming.” Ta.
