It’s a stormy Monday evening on the typically quiet Upper East Side, but at the new Il Mulino on East 60th Street, a sudden rush has diners scrambling for tables. “We hardly had any reservations tonight, but look at this,’’ says partner Steve Raia, pointing at the growing throngs.
Next door, dimly lit modern Chinese spot Philippe, which is in its eighth year, is pulsating with music-industry types tucked away in private rooms, and a block up at the recently reopened Serafina on 61st Street, there is a lively crowd gathering, oblivious to the torrential rain.
“Before, you would get bored to stay uptown. Everyone would go downtown to get action,’’ says Fabio Granato, owner of the growing Serafina empire with partner Vittorio Assaf for 16 years. “Now, at night, there is so much energy it can feel like Brazil or Paris.‘’
Welcome to the new lower East 60s. The once sleepy pocket is suddenly surging with night life. In the past year, four noteworthy new restaurants — Il Mulino Uptown, the Pierre hotel’s Sirio, bustling Greek tavern Anassa and downtown-cool the Bar Room — have opened on 60th and 61st streets. At least eight more hot spots are slated to open within blocks by the end of the year, including La Goulue and Bilboquet, two shuttered A-list boites that are reopening. Even hipster Brits Ben Towill and Phil Winser, who own the trendy Fat Radish on Orchard Street, have staked out a spot on East 65th Street.
This flurry of openings has some of the city’s most established restaurateurs quivering in their Gucci loafers. There’s a turf war brewing in the once uncool ’hood, and there are bound to be some casualties.
“I’m nervous because there is a lot of competition,” says Max Burgio, the charming and well-connected former host of the private club at Cirpriani in Soho, who is set to open a high-end, three-floor clubby Italian restaurant called B & Co. on 58th off Fifth Avenue in the fall. “Everybody is scared.”
Rich Wolf, co-owner of clubby Italian eatery Lavo, a block from Burgio’s venture, isn’t worried.
“With all due respect to my competitors, we are in a different category because we have a packed bar, models, celebrities, famous DJs and warm hospitality,” he boasts.
The race is especially tight among the numerous Italian joints in the area, with longtime neighborhood standards preparing for battle against cocky newcomers.
“There are so many Italian restaurants, it’s overwhelming,’’ says François Latapie, the manager of Sirio, which opened on 61st Street last fall, just steps from longtime favorites Nello, Harry Cipriani, Brio and Scalinatella.
In November, Sant Ambroeus’ Gherardo Guarducci and Dimitri Pauli will debut an Italian steakhouse and a cafe, both inside the Loews Regency hotel, which is currently undergoing renovations.
His new establishments will be just a block from Il Mulino and next door to Serafina, but Guarducci isn’t fretting. “The Regency and Sant Ambroeus will anchor everything,’’ he says with a smile. “We will attract the Serafina set and the Il Mulino following. Will someone who sucks go out of business? Probably.’’
Meanwhile, the area’s more established restaurateurs are taking jabs at Il Mulino. “It is very elegant, but stiff,” says Serafina’s Assaf. “We have an average check of $35, and we are doing very good quality. Il Mulino is $50 per dish.”
Nello Balan, who has had an eponymous high-end Italian restaurant on Madison and 62nd for 23 years, thinks the pricey fare, like a $75 Dover sole, is worth it at his place, but not at Il Mulino.
“I give the best quality, and people pay for it,” he says. “[At Il Mulino] they are not restaurateurs; they are a bunch of people who put some money together. There is . . . Mr. Nello, but there is no Mr. Mulino!’’
But Il Mulino co-owner Steve Raia bites back: “Nello has to charge ridiculous prices because he is on Madison Avenue and his rent is a million; our Dover sole is twice the size of his,” he says. “And we are a little off the beaten track, which people in this neighborhood like.”
The brewing turf battles aren’t limited to restaurants serving risotto and branzino; several French restaurants are on deck. In addition to Bilboquet and La Goulue, Georgette Farkas, one-time cook and later communications director for Daniel Boulud, is unveiling her Rotisserie Georgette on 60th Street, in October.
Guarducci isn’t worried about the French. “People in New York have realized that what they really want to eat is Italian food,” he says.
But, some restaurateurs, like Jean Denoyer, who owns La Goulue, have Guarducci in their sightlines.
“Last time I saw this guy from Sant Ambroeus, he said, ‘Why don’t you open a real Italian restaurant!’ I am not a newcomer; I have been in the business for 40 years. Time will tell if I succeed with the new La Goulue . . . I will take him on!’’
Farkas, meanwhile, has the distinct advantage of support from Boulud, as well as from rock-promoter pal Ron Delsener, who is doing the restaurant’s playlist, but she’s approaching the competition with far less bravado than her male counterparts.
“We are new, so we will have to earn our diners,” she says. “We will have gratitude, not attitude.”