A London-born Persian restaurant known for grilled kababs and a Michelin Bib Gourmand pedigree is staking a claim in NoHo. Berenjak plans to open at 324 Lafayette St., KYU's former location, according to a business filing with Manhattan Community Board 2. No opening date has been set.
The filing, also reported by WhatNow, lays out an ambitious set of hours for the new location: Sunday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. A sidewalk cafe is also planned, operating daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., per the same filing.
Newsletter The Soft Open adds more granular detail from the filing, reporting a proposed restaurant occupancy of 195 people alongside a sidewalk cafe with seven tables and 14 seats. Those figures, like the hours, reflect what has been proposed rather than a confirmed final layout.
A Kabab Shop Rooted in a Grandfather's Tehran Neighborhood
Berenjak's menu is built on generations of family recipes, the WhatNow report notes, tracing back to founder Kian Samyani's own upbringing. Samyani has said the concept drew inspiration from his childhood memories of Iran and a traditional kabab shop near his grandfather's home in Tehran.
“Berenjak is much more than just a restaurant. It's family and culture, past, present and future,” Samyani has said. The menu built around that history includes dishes like mirza ghasemi, a smoky aubergine dish with tomatoes, garlic and eggs; kashk-e bademjoon, a savory aubergine dip topped with whey sauce, fried onions and mint; and koobideh kabab, seasoned ground lamb grilled over a mangal.
Berenjak opened its first location in London's Soho neighborhood in October 2018. The restaurant earned its first Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction in 2019 and says, per its own account on Berenjak's website, that it has retained that honor every year since.
A Growing Footprint Backed by JKS Restaurants
The NoHo project is being brought to life by the KYU restaurant team joining forces with JKS Restaurants, the hospitality group behind Berenjak. JKS operates more than 30 restaurants across the United States, United Kingdom, and Middle East, and in New York the group already owns Ambassadors Clubhouse, with plans to further expand its presence in the city.
Rob Rawleigh, tied to the project, struck an optimistic note about the move into NoHo: “We're excited to be a part of the community.”
Berenjak's U.S. expansion has moved quickly elsewhere. A report from Eater Chicago notes the brand currently runs three London locations alongside outposts in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, with a garden-level spot opening at Los Angeles's Soho Warehouse in August 2025 and a fourth location planned for Chicago's Fulton Market in partnership with Soho House and JKS, the same group behind two-Michelin-starred Gymkhana.
New York diners have had a preview of Berenjak's cooking already, though not through a public restaurant. Per Berenjak's own announcement, the brand began a two-year residency at DUMBO House, offered as a members-only experience on the sixth floor, with reservations available to Soho House members through the Soho House app. The NoHo location, by contrast, is planned as a restaurant.
