welcome mat.

jet-setting jean-georges vonrichten is giving new york another whirl with the recently opened soba shop, matsugen.

thomas juul-hansen, who designed perry street for jean georges, has given the space at 66 a bit of a facelift. it's still sleek and minimal (with a communal table and giant fish tank on display), but the pale walls are darker and low lighting is made just a bit brighter. and here, it's a designer's dream: bertoia chairs line the sushi bar (similar to how they were at 66, pictured), there are eames ones in the dining room, and the eero saarinen tables that once graced 66's lounge area now sit in the dining room. but you want to know about the food, right? gone are the mayonnaise-y shrimp apps and heavily fusioned food. instead, the focus is on soba noodles. JGV and the matsushita brothers took the concept from the popular spot in japan, so you can expect authentic hand-rolled noodles with duck, prawns and sea urchins. there are also offerings of grilled kagoshima wagyu beef rib eye, kurobuta pork belly and seared fatty blue fin tuna.

feel like turning japanese? do it here.

matsugen
241 church street at leonard
212.925.0202
now open