This week at Libbi, the best seat in the house is outside

Every restaurant in Manhattan is, at bottom, an argument against the weather. The walls, the ductwork, the heat lamps that sprouted along every avenue during the shed years all exist so that nothing happening outside can touch your dinner. Sukkot proposes the opposite deal: for a week we are told to eat under a roof built to let the sky through, in a structure that is required to be temporary.

This year, Libbi the dairy restaurant at 205 East 81st Street, off Third Avenue, built its own sukkah for the first time, now sitting right in front of the restaurant, facing the street. Inside are a few tables that can be reserved for the holiday. Seating is limited and depends on the forecast. If the evening turns and everyone has to go inside, diners can still walk out to the sukkah for the blessing and then go back to their tables to finish the meal.

No matter where you choose to sit, you’re in for a fabulous meal. When we reviewed the restaurant in February, we wrote about the green banquettes and warm wood, and about a room that avoids the sensory overload so many kosher places treat as hospitality. We also wrote about a menu of house-made knäckebröd, BBQ halibut tacos and pomegranate gelato that assumes its diners have eaten well elsewhere. A sukkah suits a restaurant that is confident enough to be understated.

Sukkot ends at nightfall on Friday, October 2, and Shemini Atzeret begins that evening. That leaves tonight, Thursday and whatever Friday allows. Anyone who has tried to get into Abaita on a Thursday night knows how Donagrandi’s reservations go, and this time the sukkah holds only a few tables, so go on and make a reservation ASAP.