Chef Eyal Shani's Naked Tomato opened last Wednesday at 476 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, bringing the Israeli restaurateur's produce-driven concept to the Brooklyn waterfront along with a feature he has never offered at any of his more than 60 restaurants worldwide: a dedicated chef's counter.
The Williamsburg opening was reported by Forbes on October 15, four days before Greenpointers published its October 19 report, which noted the restaurant is part of Good People Group, Shani's collection of restaurants that also includes Miznon, Port Sa'id, and the Michelin-starred Shmoné. According to Forbes, the Williamsburg location features Shani's first-ever dedicated chef's counter service, with an exclusive counter-only menu kept separate from what's served in the main dining room.
The restaurant's name and signature dish trace back to a Southern Italian hospitality custom, in which a host peels a raw tomato for a guest as a gesture of welcome before slicing it into plain rounds, Forbes reports. It's a fitting emblem for a chef whose reputation rests on treating raw, high-grade produce as the centerpiece of the plate rather than an afterthought.
Keeping Tomatoes Center Stage Through Winter
Maintaining that produce-forward identity year-round in New York is no small feat, especially once the city's growing season ends. Per the same Forbes account, Naked Tomato sources its tomatoes from specialty growers who rely on glasshouses and hydroponics to keep the restaurant's signature dishes on the menu through the colder months.
It's not the first time Shani has put a steep price tag and spotlight on a single hydroponic tomato in this city — he previously drew headlines in New York for serving a $24 raw tomato at HaSalon, per the same account. The Williamsburg outpost represents a more refined version of a concept Shani first tried out elsewhere in Manhattan.
From a Shuttered Hudson Yards Skewer House to the Brooklyn Waterfront
Naked Tomato isn't a brand-new idea for Shani. He originally introduced it to New York in February 2022 at The Shops at Hudson Yards as an Israeli skewer house, or shipudia, pairing grilled skewers with more than 20 complimentary, replenishable small-plate salads, according to a PRWeb release from the time. That original location has since closed, making the Williamsburg debut a reimagined second act for the concept rather than an expansion of an existing shop.
Shani's footprint has only grown since then. He brought Naked Tomato to Florida in May with a debut at the Moxy South Beach hotel in Miami Beach, featuring open-fire cooking and Tel Aviv-inspired market dining, as Hoodline reported at the time. He's also expanded his kosher restaurant Malka into Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood in September 2024 and into Beverly Hills this past August. These moves add to Shani's presence in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.
A Waterfront Anchored by a $374 Million Bet
Naked Tomato's new home sits inside Williamsburg Wharf, a 3.75-acre master-planned waterfront site at 470–476 Kent Avenue being developed by Naftali Group and Access Industries. The project, once a lumber yard, will eventually include five 22-story residential towers totaling roughly 950 units, according to New York YIMBY.
The scale of investment behind that vision is considerable. Developers secured a $374.35 million refinancing package for Phase I of the project in May after residential leasing topped 90 percent across more than 500 apartments, the outlet reported — a sign of strong demand for the broader commercial ecosystem now taking shape around restaurants like Naked Tomato.
Good People Group was signed as the first major retail tenant at Williamsburg Wharf, joining a commercial lineup that includes Breads Bakery, known for its chocolate babka, according to the Commercial Observer's reporting. That pairing gives the waterfront development two buzzy, chef-driven draws before its residential towers are even finished.
Shani's broader résumé lends extra weight to the Williamsburg bet. His Greenwich Village restaurant Shmoné earned its first Michelin star in November 2023 and held onto it through 2025, per Israel Hayom, underscoring the critical pedigree behind the restaurateur now putting his name on one of Williamsburg's most closely watched new developments.
