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Email Alerts RSS FeedsIt’s long been the curse of Greenpoint that the neighborhood’s great restaurants — Queen’s Hideaway, Lamb and Jaffy — are in such remote corners that sometimes it’s easier just to grab a slice than trek to a restaurant and wait for a table.
All that is about to change with the Nov. 9 opening of Lokal. The new Mediterranean bistro not only sits at the high traffic corner of McCarren Park, but boasts 70 seats and an outdoor dining area when the weather permits, insuring that plenty of hungry locals can pile in.
Owners Cem Guray and Bener Bilgen, both originally from Turkey, are no strangers to the area. Bilgen opened the baroque Turkish restaurant and lounge MyMoon on North 11th Street last year. However, Lokal has less of MyMoon’s dramatic design and more of a laidback ambiance.
“The design is meant to give the feel of summer on the Mediterranean,” said Guray, citing the open kitchen, tables embedded with sand, stone and seashells and glass doors stained in cool blues and greens.
Complementing the seaside atmosphere is a full menu of Northern Mediterranean fare.
“It’s a Mediterranean bistro,” said Guray, “but we decided to go to the more European side.” Greek, Turkish, Italian and Spanish cuisines are all represented in dishes like whole grilled fish (pictured), different brick oven pizzas each day and a variety of fresh salads by chef Genio Saavedra, formerly of Employees Only and The Park in Manhattan.
Lokal’s hearty wine list ventures even further around the globe, featuring bottles from Latin America and Australia.
Lokal (905 Lorimer St. at Bedford Avenue in Greenpoint) accepts MasterCard and Visa. The restaurant is open daily for dinner and on weekends for brunch. Subway: G to Nassau Avenue, L to Bedford Avenue. For information, call (718) 384-6777 or visit www.lokalfood.com.
©2007 The Brooklyn Paper
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