The owners of Vegan Quick Bites (685 Manhattan Ave.), formerly known as Next Stop Vegan, are back in Greenpoint with their latest project, SOTTEatery, a vegan and seafood restaurant in the same space.
Vegan Quick Bites was a tiny chain offering 100% plant-based meals. Blenlly Mena and Javier Saba opened the the Greenpoint outpost in 2024 in the former home of Mama Pho. After a small renovation and name change, Vegan Quick Bites closed last June.
The duo said they “almost walked away” from the Manhattan Avenue storefront but didn’t want to “give up.”
“We’ve always loved Greenpoint and truly believe in its potential for a vibrant, standout food concept,” Saba told Greenpointers. “Through our experience, we realized that a strictly plant-based concept didn’t fully align with what the local community was looking for. That insight led us to evolve the idea by introducing a seafood component.”
For SOTTEatery’s owners, the new concept “isn’t about leaving something behind” but about “expanding it.” The new restaurant combines Saba’s love for “beach-style seafood” and Mena’s plant-based cooking, creating what the owners call a “mar y tierra” concept, which translates to sea and land.
SOTTEatery’s menu, like Vegan Quick Bites’, is inspired by Caribbean flavors. It offers completely plant-based dishes, seafood, and dishes that “blur the line.”
Plant-based highlights include Mena’s sweet and spicy oyster mushroom burger with sweet plantains and a croissant sandwich with plant-based steak and fried oyster mushrooms.
Seafood-focused options include a salmon bagel, shrimp taco ceviche, and garlic shrimp mofongo, a popular Caribbean meal.
Other menu items include mushroom taco ceviche, a plant-based take on a seafood staple, and beef and shrimp empanadas.
Before opening SOTTEatery, Mena and Saba redesigned the restaurant to reflect their new direction. It’s still a fast casual concept and has counter service, booth seating and high top chairs. They kept the original patio, which will be open during the summer months.
SOTTEatery is aiming for a grand opening during first week of May.