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The Mediterranean pop-up Sami & Susu, which gained fans at temporary residencies in Brooklyn and Manhattan last year, landed in a permanent location on the Lower East Side today.
Co-owners Amir Nathan and Jordan Anderson, who formerly worked at forever buzzy restaurants Via Carota and Olmsted, previously ran a takeout and delivery iteration of Sami & Susu at Maracuja in Williamsburg and The Ten Bells here on the LES. The new edition is one part little shop, selling olive oil, spice blends and housemade items like baba ghanoush and muhammara, and one part Mediterranean restaurant, with a smattering of seats inside and out.
The restaurant fraction looks breezily beachy, with brick walls painted white, plenty of potted plants, a wood banquette with two-tops and chairs on one wall, and a slip of a counter with backless stools on the other. Its morning menu includes a bacon, egg and cheese bureka ($5) and a tuna conserva baguette with harissa and egg ($6), and more sandwiches like beef tongue with aioli, arugula, anchovy-dill vinaigrette ($13) are added in the afternoon. Larger plates like the half zhug chicken ($25), lamb stuffed cabbage ($22) and chicken soup with matzoh ball ($11) are available through the early evening.
Most of its bottles of wine, some of which are also available by the glass, are $50, and a few beers are available for $5-9.
Sami & Susu is located at 190 Orchard Street and is open from Tuesday-Sunday from 8am to 7pm.