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UWS Gains Columbus Tavern, Loses Longtime Greek Restaurant

By Leslie Albrecht | February 23, 2011 7:02am
Niko's Mediterranean Grill & Bistro on Broadway and West 76th Street recently closed.
Niko's Mediterranean Grill & Bistro on Broadway and West 76th Street recently closed.
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Courtesy of Jeremiah's Vanishing New York

By Leslie Albrecht

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER WEST SIDE — The Upper West Side recently lost a long-time Greek restaurant, but the neighborhood is about to get two new restaurants, one with an inventive seafood menu.

Niko's Mediterranean Grill & Bistro on Broadway between West 76th and 77th streets closed its doors earlier this month after 50 years in business, according to Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.

The restaurant posted an announcement on Yelp saying it had been forced to sell its lease. "Will miss you all," the message says, then asks customers to bring their appetites to Big Nick's, a 24-hour hamburger and pizza joint at 2175 Broadway with the same owners.

On Feb. 24, the one-time City Grill space at 269 Columbus Avenue between West 72nd and 73rd streets will be reborn as Columbus Tavern, reported Time Out New York. At the helm are the same people who brought restaurants Campo and Nonna to the Upper West Side.

The menu will include lamb shank shepherd's pie and a brisket-and-bone-marrow burger topped with caramelized onions and melted Gruyère cheese, according to TONY.

Starting Mar. 1, dig into seafood treats like deviled eggs with fried oysters and snapper ceviche with coconut milk at the new Upper West Side branch of seafood restaurant Ditch Plains at 100 West 82nd Street near Columbus Avenue, reports Grub Street.

In other closing news, neighborhood blog My Upper West reported that Polpette, an Italian restaurant on Columbus Avenue and West 73rd Street that set out to be the "meatball capital of the Upper West Side," closed earlier this month. "We did everything we could to try to make it work, but alas we've had to close," the restaurant's Facebook page said.