Photo by Ton Gomes

A new restaurant is opening today at the Walker Hotel, in the space on Cortlandt Alley. Seventy Seven Alley is from chef London Chase, a semi finalist in the Netflix show “Next Gen Chef” who comes from Essential by Christophe on the Upper West Side and Manhatta in Fidi and who also had Su-Nini, a French-Indies fusion pop-up in Fort Greene.

NB: the photos of the space are previous incarnations; the food shots are from Seventy Seven Alley.

Photo by Ton Gomes

The space was most recently the home of Mostrador, which was a sort of counter-service hybrid, but it was built for the noted chef Victoria Blamey, who made an abrupt exit in July 2022 after six months.

In it’s first incarnation, it was a beautiful space — it looks lived in though it’s all brand new — and it has some classic New York interior expressions. Plus it’s raised over the street, so the window seats are more like a perch. The dining room will also be a revolving gallery, and it is opening with artwork by the chef — and cooking is his second career!

Photo by Kyran John

This kitchen will operate “like a working creative studio,” the press release said, which I think means that the menu will change often. As it is now, the menu is organized around flavors: heat (Spanish octopus with Italian peppers), acid (mahi mahi ceviche), salt (there’s a chopped cheese with wagyu beef), depth (grilled lamb ribs) and richness (aka fat, so there’s a pork belly yakitori).

There’s a tasting menu at the bar only for $140 a head for seven courses adapted from the menu.

More soon when I can get over there. In the meantime:

Seventy Seven Alley
28 Cortlandt Alley at Walker
77alley@walkerhotels.com
Tuesday to Thursday, 5:30 to 10p
Friday and Saturday, 5:30 to 11p
Sunday, 5 to 9p
Closed Monday

Photo by Kyran John