When it comes to kosher restaurants, diners know not to get too attached: no matter how delicious and well-run, eateries tend to suddenly close. Case in point: Basil Pizza & Wine Bar, which debuted to much fanfare at 270 Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights back in 2010 but permanently closed last year.
Now, just a little over a year since that surprising closure, Yeah That’s Kosher reports that the address will soon be occupied by a new restaurant called Biarritz Kosher Pizza and Wine Bar. According to the outlet, the new space will be run by the former manager of Basil, Clara Perez, alongside the restaurant’s former chef Michael Arrington.
Similar to its predecessor, Biarritz—a name that pays homage to the eponymous seaside town in France’s Basque coast—will offer a menu filled with pizza pies, homemade pasta dishes and fish. Although Yeah That’s Kosher reports that the space will open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily starting August, no official debut date has yet been announced.
Given the relative dearth of proper Italian restaurants that are kosher in New York—only Abaita in midtown Manhattan comes to mind—the eventual arrival of Biarritz is sure to be met with excitement, especially if following on the gastronomic footsteps of Basil, which was celebrated by the non-Jewish masses as well not only for its stellar food but also its ability to bridge the gap between the various communities that still call Crown Heights home.
“[Basil is] also a cross-cultural experiment, trying to promote better integration of, and communication between, groups in Crown Heights that haven’t always mingled much or seen eye to eye,” wrote Frank Bruni, the then chief restaurant critic at The New York Times, back in 2010. “Although its food and wine are strictly kosher, Basil isn’t located on what is known as the Jewish side of Eastern Parkway, the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare and dividing line. […] Basil wants everyone under one roof.”
Whether Biarritz will be able to do for the neighborhood what Basil was trying to achieve remains to be seen. The new restaurant will be navigating a new, post-October 7 world order, after all, simultaneously addressing the kinds of challenges that all eateries have to contend with. But it’s been done before, why not try again?
