James Beard Award-nominated chef Robbie Felice has opened his newest “secret” restaurant in Manhattan – this time a Japanese-Italian joint situated in a Soho barbershop, Side Dish has learned.
Customers wanting to grab considered one of only 12 seats on the $295 per person 10-course omakase menu – including dishes similar to cacio e pepe fritti, truffle porcini ramen and dry-aged Japanese A5 Wagyu – can only reserve a seat via “secret link to Resa found on the restaurant’s website and on social media.
They then receive a text with the key location of the still-unidentified beauty salon – whose owner also refused to reveal Side Dish – the day before their booking.
A pop-up called pastaRamen offers two separate seats only on Sundays and Mondays – when the salon is closed.
It began on April 2 and can last until Memorial Day.
The concept of stealth feasts is Felice’s idea and grew out of necessity after the COVID pandemic forced him to temporarily close two restaurants in New Jersey, Side Dish said.
“I still desired to keep my foot on the gas and keep cooking, so I secretly let people into my restaurants for personal dinners,” said Felice, 32, who runs Viaggio Ristorante in Wayne, New Jersey and Osteria Crescendo in Westwood, New Jersey. together with his father, Joe Felice.
“I might call them Tuesday tastings and only cook for 2, 4 or six people at a time. There I tested my concept,” he added.
It also helped him bring 50 staff back from the pandemic, said Felice, who lives in West New York, NJ together with his two cats, Truffle and Mochi.
His pandemic gambit quickly gained a cult following, prompting Felice to branch out with pop-ups in more lavish locations across the country.
He arrange shop on the 68th floor of a luxury penthouse in Jersey City overlooking the Manhattan skyline, on the rooftop of the fashionable Faena Hotel in Miami, in a glass studio with a show kitchen in Seattle, in a culinary studio in Los Angeles, then back to Miami for Art Basel in a luxury waterfront residence.
“Everyone loves noodles and ramen. These are two names that anyone can say. He’s easy and shouts what we’re doing, so we ran with him,” Felice said.
The mix of two pasta-centric cuisines combines ingredients and techniques from each cultures.
The Japanese style – called wafu – combines the coastal atmosphere of an island country with the country variety of Italian cuisine.
Felice said the cuisines share a similar flavor base – like a shiso leaf that mixes the Italians’ favorite flavors of basil and mint.
The recognition of pop-ups encouraged Felice to open her first traditional pastaRAMEN in Montclair, NJ, a few months ago.
He collaborated with the Montclair Hospitality Group and his friend and fellow restaurateur Luck Sarabhayavanija with MHG’s Ani Ramen, in a BYOB, 65-seat, 1,800-square-foot restaurant.
Fans include Iron Chef Morimoto, who stopped by the Soho pop-up with MHG CEO Joey Simons just before it opened.
The space turns into a culinary oasis in the evening due to the road artist Victoria Poplaski.
Now, MHG plans to launch one other RAMEN noodle and a recent concept in Morimoto Washington state this fall.
Work is underway on a more everlasting facility in Manhattan, Side Dish sources said.