Safta and Smōk Make Plans for August Debuts

The wait for James Beard Award winning chef Alon Shaya’s Safta and barbecue expert William Espiricueta’s Smōk will soon be over. The restaurants plan to fire up within the next few weeks inside The Source Hotel’s market hall.

Safta, named after the Hebrew word for grandmother, will build on an Israeli-inspired menu and include dishes from Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Bulgaria, and Turkey.

Alerting eager diners via social media, the restaurant is planning for a debut during the second week of August. This marks first non-Louisiana locale for the famed chef, a former and estranged business partner of John Besh, who stepped down from his restaurants following 25 women’s allegations that he fostered a culture of assault and harassment in the workplace.

The menu includes hummus topped with tahini or lamb as well as pita prepared daily in a wood-burning oven.

Taking the space opposite future florist tenant Beet & Yarrow, chef Espiricueta, a veteran of Oak at Fourteenth and Acorn, is also officially touting an August launch for Smōk.

With a smoker as the restaurant centerpiece, Espiricueta won’t be tied down to a particular style of barbecue and will be using “different woods and techniques.”

The full smoked meat and vegetables menu has been kept under wraps, but customers can eat their meals inside, or out on the patio. Smōk will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and add a late-night menu and “rotating daily specials.”

Joining the newcomers, The Woods bar and restaurant is also still slated to debut this summer, but on the hotel’s eighth floor.

• Alon Shaya’s Safta Coming to The Source Hotel [EDEN]

• Alon Shaya Will Open Two New Restaurants This Year [EN]