Tempura NYC, the kosher rooftop sushi hideout perched inside the Cassa Hotel in Hell's Kitchen, has quietly called it quits after six years in business. Regulars say management told them the restaurant lost its lease and left behind a short goodbye note thanking guests for "allowing us to have a front-row seat to your happy occasions." The low-key closure caught many diners off guard, especially those who had made the spot a go-to for late-night sushi with a side of skyline.
Owners Say They Lost Their Lease
According to YeahThatsKosher, Tempura's management announced that the restaurant had "lost its lease" and is now "permanently closed" after six years in Midtown. The outlet reports that the news dropped this week with no advance warning to guests, aside from a brief farewell message thanking customers for their support over the years.
What Tempura Served
The restaurant operated on the rooftop level of the Cassa Hotel at 511 9th Ave, an address and reservation page listed on the restaurant's own site at TempuraNYC. Tempura billed itself as a late-night, dairy-friendly sushi destination with rooftop views and games like billiards that helped turn it into a popular evening hangout. The restaurant was certified kosher dairy and pareve by OK Kosher, according to the agency's certificate.
Where Regulars Can Turn
YeahThatsKosher reports that management is steering regulars toward the Lutali family of restaurants, which operate locations on Avenue K in Brooklyn and in Toms River, New Jersey, and that Lutali Carne is planned for the Avenue M and Coney Island Avenue corner in Brooklyn. The sudden shutter is one more case in a longer line of closures tied to lease and cost pressures reshaping New York City's dining landscape, a trend tracked by Eater NY. For now, Tempura's former fans will likely be hunting their next kosher fix at other Lutali-run outposts while new locations slowly come into focus.
