When a new branch of a restaurant opens, the natural inclination is to ask what’s different about this one. And there are aspects of Almond Tribeca, debuting tonight in the former Kutsher’s space, that you won’t find at the outposts in Bridgehampton or the Flatiron District. Some of the recipes have been tweaked, and the menu includes a small plates section. “But, to be honest, you’re not going to find a lot of new stuff,” says co-owner Eric Lemonides. “It’s just not going to be that different. We’re local restaurants, not a destination.”

What that means, for those of you who haven’t been to an Almond, is a French/New American menu that’s more about pleasing diners than making waves.

Seating around 110 total, including at the bar and raw bar, the restaurant is not quite as big as the Flatiron Almond, but bigger than Bridgehampton’s. (The Scalamandré zebra wallpaper from out east made it to the rear wall.) The bar is longer than it had been at Kutsher’s, and the dining room feels opened up, airier. As you can see from one of the photos below, the four-tops in the middle of the room have quite a bit of space around them; you’re not likely to get bumped by staffers.

One more thing that’s new, or will be: “We’ll have a kids’ menu,” says Lemonides. “Not yet, but we will. In the meantime, the menu is already pretty kid-friendly—we have a burger, we have mac and cheese.” And something that’s old? The check-in desk, a sideboard, and service stations came from the Harrison. Lemonides’s roots in the area run deep, by the way—he grew up at Sixth and Grand (where the NBA tents are), and he once worked at Ponte’s restaurant.

Lunch will start in a month, brunch two weeks after that.

Almond is at 186 Franklin (between Hudson and Greenwich), 212-431-0606; almond.nyc.

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