PROSPECT HEIGHTS — A new restaurant with seasonal Italian dishes is now open on Vanderbilt Avenue — but, please, no tips.
Dinner service at Faun began last Friday at 606 Vanderbilt Ave. near St. Marks Avenue, said owner David Stockwell, who has implemented the no-tipping policy popularized by restaurateur Danny Meyer that's now used at many upscale New York restaurants.
The result is a menu that’s priced about 20 percent higher than it would be traditionally. Entrees range from a $21 spaghetti with shell beans and sage to a $39 Wagyu steak.
Options change with the seasons, and some ingredients like herbs and tomatoes are grown in the eatery’s backyard garden.
So far, Stockwell said the menu — designed by chef Brian Leth who once ran the kitchen at Vinegar Hill House in DUMBO — has been a hit with the restaurant’s early customers.
“I swear, I look at the bus bin and there’s nothing left on the plates,” he said.
But not everyone is quite used to the service-included policy that Stockwell implemented to be more "respectful" of his wait staff, he said.
“There are always going to be people who insist, no matter what you do — who leave money on the table. When we catch them in the act, we ask them to take it back,” he said.
Currently, Faun is serving dinner only, but Stockwell plans to expand to lunch service soon.
Faun is open Tuesday through Saturday, 5:30 to 11:00 p.m. and on Sundays, 5:00 to 9:30 p.m.
