Undaunted by Economy, Nino Selimaj Opens Yet Another Nino’s
It seems we’re all about Italian restaurants today, so why not show you another? This one comes from Nino Selimaj, the man behind Nino’s, Nino’s Positano, Nino’s Tuscany, Nino’s Bellissima Pizzeria, and others, and it’s named (what else?) Nino’s 208, after its 208 East 58th Street location (curiously, Nino got his start exactly 30 years ago as a dishwasher at the now-closed Bruno’s on the same street). Nino tells us the thing to get here is the sea-bass carpaccio (“Italian sushi” per chef Merlin Tlapa, who previously toiled at Le Madre and Mad 61), and he’s curiously enthusiastic about the Caesar salad, which, like at his other restaurants, is prepared tableside (you can see the lunch menu here and the dinner menu here). The interior, on the other hand, is a far cry from the terra-cotta scheme of his other places — the floor tiles, for one, were inspired by the alligator-skin shoes he was wearing when he met with designer Nick Grande. Check them out in our slideshow.
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