One of Williamsburg’s buzziest restaurants now has a sister spot in the same building. K’Far (97 Wythe Ave.), Chef Michael Solomonov’s second restaurant in New York, opened last week on the ground floor of the Hoxton Hotel, where Laser Wolf reigns on the rooftop.
Like Laser Wolf, K’Far offers excellent Israeli cuisine. K’Far is primarily a sit-down restaurant, but also operates the hotel’s lobby lounge and coffee bar, with a kitchen that is open all day.
K’Far’s Chef de Cuisine, Sam Levenfeld, was a sous chef at Laser Wolf before leading the team at K’Far, and brings the same excellent Israeli influences to all of K’Far’s menus.
The breakfast menu highlights Pastry Chef Katreena Kanney’s mouthwatering creations like apple babka, pistachio sticky buns, and pecan cake. The breakfast menu continues with variations of kubaneh, a Jewish pull-part bread. Toppings include ricotta, cinnamon sugar, smoked trout, or avocado and labneh.
Heartier breakfast options include an olive and feta omelet, an Israeli version of eggs and sausage, a labneh parfait, an egg and cheese Jerusalem bagel, and smoked salmon on a Jerusalem bagel.
The lunch menu reads a lot like a brunch menu, including several breakfast favorites like the pastries, the kubaneh, and the Jerusalem bagel sandwiches. An addition to the kubaneh list is a patty melt with fries, and a third Jerusalem bagel option is a grilled cheese with squash. The menu also includes four salads: the Arabic salad with Little Gem and feta, the Tunisian salad with tuna, a kale salad with quinoa and beets, and a Tehina Caesar.
The dinner menu kicks off with pull-apart challah served with labneh butter. The appetizer section offers interesting Israeli selections like Tunisian tuna crudo, baklava with halloumi and quince, and kibbe naya which is lamb tartare.
Highlights of the entree section include halibut with grapes and labneh, chicken schnitzel, skirt steak, Persian lamb shank, short ribs, and a vegetarian option of maitake mushroom with squash. The dinner menu concludes with a small dessert section of malabi or milk pudding, pecan cake with apples and labneh, and chocolate kanafi which is similar to a sweet cheese danish.
K’Far doesn’t have the New York City skyline views like Laser Wolf, but still offers a welcoming environment. There is an abundance of greenery throughout the space, while skylights and glass doors allow natural light to flow throughout the restaurant. Plus, the glass doors and roof are retractable, so the restaurant will feature a good amount of outdoor dining in warmer months.
The team at K’Far describes the restaurant as having a “village-like layout,” a nod to K’Far’s name, which means “village” in Hebrew and was inspired by Solomonov’s hometown of K’Far Saba in Israel.
K’Far is open Sunday – Wednesday 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday 8 a.m. – midnight.
The place looks beautiful and the food sounds divine! I know of Sam Levenfeld’s skills and can hardly wait to see what he has created and how he will continue to build on it as Chef d’Cuisine at K’far. Lots of good luck to Sam and his crew!