A recently-discovered brunch favorite: L’Estudio Ocafe, a new small-plates restaurant on New York’s Lower East Side. The latest from Argentinean chef/ceramicist Fernando Aciar in collaboration with Mexican chef/designer Alejandro Alcocer, L’Estudio has a bright south-of-the-border vibe, and the healthful Latin-influenced dishes are served on Aciar’s own bowls and plates, fired in his studio next door. Here’s a look inside.
Photography by Talley Carlston, courtesy of L’Estudio.
The small dining area is mostly neutral, but bowls of fruit, bright ceramics, and flowers from nearby Fox Fodder Farm provide natural color. Shelves stacked with Aciar’s Fefo Studio bowls and plates create a divide between the dining room and kitchen.
Aciar says that, for him, cooking and ceramics are natural complements: Both involve crafting by hand and baking (or firing), and he notes that he uses many of the same tools in his studio and in the kitchen.
For more, check out @lestudiony on Instagram. And stay tuned L’Estudio Retail, the soon-to-open shop next door featuring Aciar’s ceramics, leather goods by Jessica Moriber (who also crafted the door pull on the cafe’s front door), and other housewares.
Looking for other healthful small-plates spots? A few of our favorites:
- Restaurant Visit: Communal Tables and Biodynamic Wines at Rawduck in Hackney
- Atelier September in Copenhagen: A Hot Spot in a Cool City
- Restaurant Visit: Concrete and Green at an Australian Cafe in LA
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