This weekend, a new, family-owned and operated cafe called LeTish (171 South 4th St.) is soft-opening in Williamsburg.
Two Williamsburg brothers started the concept as a mobile espresso cart, with pop-ups throughout the neighborhood at places like Showfields and Ebbs. Recently, they found a permanent home for LeTish in the space that used to be called Cafe Canary.
The all-day cafe will serve “health-forward” Italian and Mediterranean fare alongside coffee, cocktails, beer and wine. The owners hope LeTish will be “a welcoming spot for morning coffee, a relaxed lunch, or an easygoing happy hour.”
The cafe’s name LeTish comes from the Yiddish translation of the word “tish,” which means “table or a festive gathering.” The owners told Greenpointers that the name is also a nod to their mom’s nickname for her sister, representing their aunt’s “symbolic hospitality” that became a “hallmark of holidays and family celebrations.”
LeTish’s menus include breakfast items, bowls, salads, sandwiches, coffee, and cocktails. The morning menu starts with coffee that is imported and roasted by Porto Rico, a brand that has been serving New Yorkers for over 100 years. There will also be ceremonial grade matcha and other teas, smoothies, turmeric shots, and protein bites, plus pastries made in-house and from Balthazar.
LeTish’s lunch menu includes items like a chicken cutlet sandwich with prosciutto, mozzarella, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar on a La Bicyclette baguette, a veggie omelette with sautéed onions, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, and za’atar seasoning, and a Greek salad with romaine, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and feta crumble.
The happy hour menu will feature a sandwich called BLT’s at Midnight with crispy bacon, lettuce, and ripe tomato layered on toasted sourdough.
LeTish’s cocktail menu kicks off with an espresso martini made with LeTish cold brew concentrate, vodka, Kahlua, and simple syrup, alongside various highballs and brunch cocktails like mimosas. The wine list includes rotating reds like Zinfandel, Grenache and Schiava, plus Spanish and Californian orange wines.
The LeTish team is planning to soft-open for coffee and pastries this weekend. The full menu will be offered sometime between March 16 and the end of month, and all alcohol will not be available until April.