An application has surfaced for a restaurant called Tortoise at 189 Avenue A, the East Village storefront between 11th and 12th streets most recently occupied by Foxface Natural.
Who's Behind the Application
According to EV Grieve, rumors have linked the Smithereens team to Tortoise.
Tortoise’s named principals, Nick Tamburo and Nikita Malhotra, are also partners behind Smithereens, which opened in 2024. Tamburo previously worked at East Village restaurant Claud and Momofuku Ko; Malhotra has led beverage programs and was named New York’s sommelier of the year by the Michelin Guide in 2022, profiles of the Smithereens team note.
What the Proposed Menu Looks Like
Per the filing described by EV Grieve, the proposed Tortoise menu includes turtle soup at $28, sashimi at $64, egg custard with Dungeness crab at $48, whole smoked pigeon at $95, and the $125 aged beef rib. Tortoise LLC is seeking a liquor license for the restaurant, the site notes.
A community-board notice is an early licensing step, not the state’s approval of a liquor license. New York City applicants for on-premises licenses must give their local board at least 30 days’ notice before filing with the State Liquor Authority; the notice gives local officials an opportunity to make their views known during the state licensing process, the city’s guidance explains.
The Space's Recent History
Foxface Natural was the former restaurant at the Avenue A storefront.
Foxface Natural grew out of an earlier sandwich shop run by proprietors Sivan Lahat and Ori Kushnir, a couple who had previously worked in technology before opening restaurants. Their original Foxface became known for unusual ingredients, and the pair later opened Foxface Natural at 189 Avenue A, a profile of the restaurant’s evolution recounts.
Whether Tortoise ultimately lands in the space, and whether Foxface Natural's own plans have shifted since those statements, remains unclear. For now, the liquor license filing is the clearest public signal that change could be coming to the Avenue A storefront.
