Another upscale restaurant makes its debut in Chinatown tonight.
Grub Street reports that Chinese Tuxedo opens at 5 Doyers St., the inspiration of Australian transplant Eddy Buckingham and local contractor Jeff Lam. The space was once (back in the early 1900s) a Chinese opera house, the first of its kind in New York.
“The entrance” of the 120 seat-restaurant, notes Grub Street, “leads to a skinny bar, with a staircase leading to a sunken dining room with 16-foot-high ceilings.” The menu is influenced by the cuisine of Sydney, Australia’s Chinatown, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore. You can see all of the dishes here. Options range from spicy mashed cucumbers for $11 to a sirloin steak for $58.
Buckingham said he still hopes to obtain a full liquor license. As you might recall, he settled for beer and wine after tangling with Community Board 3. Some Chinatown activists were worried about the impact of a new nightlife venue on a small Chinatown street. The restaurant was described by Vogue as the city’s “next hot spot” in an article about the New Museum’s “Next Generation Dinner.”
Chinese Tuxedo’s arrival comes on the heels of another high profile opening. Lalo, a modern Mexican spot, opened on Bayard Street last week.
