CARROLL GARDENS — In the decades that Illtyd Barrett has lived in New York, Welsh cuisine has rarely had a moment in the spotlight, he said.
This week, the Welshman took a step toward changing that. Along with his brother Dominic and chef Tom Coughlan, Barrett opened Sunken Hundred at 276 Smith St., a bar and restaurant that he describes as "a love letter" to Wales.
"I've always been amazed by the underrepresentation of my country," he said. "We wanted to bring something to New York."
The space was formerly home to Mad Dog & Beans Cantina, which shuttered last year.
Don't expect Sunken Hundred to be the equivalent of bangers and mash at a British pub or pints of Guinness at an Irish one, he said.
"We're not that. We're much more subtle," he said.
The name "Sunken Hundred" comes from an ancient Welsh myth of "Cantre'r Gwaelod," a kingdom buried under the sea in a part of western Wales known as Cardigan Bay.
In keeping with the brothers' coastal roots, the restaurant's menu is focused on seafood, with five different kinds of seaweed — an important part of Welsh cuisine — imported from Wales.
Along with traditional Welsh dishes, such as lamb pasty and meatballs called "Ffagodau," the menu will also feature influences from Northern Spain and Brittany in Northern France.
Other restaurant news in the neighborhood includes:
► Angry Wade's, a dive bar at 222 Smith St., remains open despite the landlord's earlier plan to turn the bar into a bank.
► Signs are up for "Via Roma," a pizza bar, at 445 Court St. near Fourth Place in Carroll Gardens.
► DNAinfo first reported celebrity chef Anne Burrell's plans for a new Smith Street restaurant. The Italian-Mediterranean eatery is expected to open in September, Eater NY recently reported.
► In other celebrity chef news, Carla Hall's Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant will reopen with regular hours Thursday after an electrical issue forced the restaurant to close for weeks.
