Skëwr, a skewer-obsessed Mediterranean newcomer from restaurateur Jimmy Rizvi, quietly fired up its grills this month inside the Park South Hotel in NoMad. The restaurant leans hard into live-fire cooking and sharing-friendly plates, with skewers running across seafood, meat and vegetables. Rizvi, one of the founders behind Indian hits Bungalow and GupShup, teamed up on the project with partner Kanvar Singh.
Skewers And The Menu
The menu puts skewers front and center, with 17 different char-grilled options that range from diver scallops and spiced lamb adana kebab to thin-sliced wagyu. Larger plates off the flame include whole branzino, half chicken rubbed with toum and a slow-cooked lamb shank, as reported by Time Out. Diners can start with a mezze trio or the bigger mezze grande, and the kitchen ferments its house pita dough for two days. Cocktails stay in the Mediterranean lane, built around ingredients like beets, cucumber and olive oil.
Who’s Behind Skëwr
Skëwr operates under JK Park Hospitality, the hotel food and beverage group founded by Rizvi and Singh. Rizvi is best known for launching Bungalow and GupShup, while Singh runs rooftop concepts that include Elsie, according to Forbes. The partners brought in Alex Ancheta and a tight hospitality team to build a spot that caters to hotel guests without shutting out the neighborhood regulars they are hoping to cultivate.
The Kitchen And The Room
Executive chef Austin Torsiello runs Skëwr’s open wood grill, an arrangement that keeps the fire in full view of the dining room. Time Out notes that Torsiello cooked at Junoon, The Breslin and Masa and brings a restrained, ingredient-forward style to the live-fire setup. The space wraps around the kitchen so guests can watch the flames at work, and the team emphasizes cooking without seed oils and using locally sourced proteins, according to Time Out.
Where To Go
Skëwr is located on the ground floor of the Park South Hotel at 127 East 27th Street. Its website lists hours and reservations, identifies Austin Torsiello as the chef and provides a phone number and booking link, per Skëwr. The Park South Hotel has been on a bit of a hot streak, with recent openings that include the Stone & Soil cocktail bar earlier this month, part of what has turned the block into a small but busy hub for new venues, as noted by Eater.
Skëwr slots into NoMad as a live-fire Mediterranean option that tries to land somewhere between hotel restaurant and neighborhood grill. For diners who like to crowd the table with mezze and a lineup of skewers, it looks like another contender in a part of Manhattan that suddenly has no shortage of new places to eat and drink.
