Former Le Bernardin & Contra Sous Chef and Ex Contra General Manager Announce GLORIA, a New Neighborhood Pescatarian Restaurant

NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) January 10, 2017 -- Partners Diego Garcia, Phil Johnson, and Leland Meibeyer have announced a forthcoming Neighborhood Pesacatarian Cuisine restaurant, Gloria, in the former space that housed Co Ba 53, located at 401 West 53rd Street.

Gloria is slated to open in late February, after a brief dining room renovation, with new interiors designed by Method Design and KGM Architectural Lighting. Gloria's 40-seat jewel box dining room is warm and elegant, with an additional 8 seats of bar seating. Gloria is named for Chef Garcia's mother.

Gloria's kitchen will be helmed by Executive Chef, Diego Garcia, who has been the sous chef at Contra Restaurant for the past 20 months. During Garcia's time at Contra, the restaurant earned its coveted Michelin Star amongst other critical acclaim. Before Contra, Garcia cooked at the world famous Le Bernardin for over 4 years, serving as sous chef for his final two years.

The food at Gloria will be fish and vegetable forward, inspired by the Pacific seafood culture of Executive Chef Garcia's coastal Mexican and Napa, California upbringing. Gloria's concise menu will feature wild fish from local and sustainable north Atlantic fish. Gloria favors flavorful and responsible varieties of seafood such as fluke, tilefish, squid, lionfish, and black bass, to name a few.

Chef Garcia is joined by Phil Johnson, formerly GM of Contra Restaurant. Johnson has served in various sommelier and management roles throughout his career in New York over the past 12 years. Johnson has worked in such esteemed dining rooms such as Aldo Sohm Wine Bar, Dovetail, Jean Georges, and Gwynnett St. Prior to working in New York, Phil attended the Culinary Institute of America, and Cornell University.

The beverage program will feature an exciting selection of natural wines from France that offer excellent value, with a small selection of new nouveau California producers. Gloria will offer a thoughtfully curated beer list of 4 local New York brewed beers on tap (think Other Half, Grimm, Brooklyn Brewery), in addition to a concise and creative cocktail list.

For more information: http://www.gloria-nyc.com

PHIL JOHNSON, [email protected], http://WWW.GLORIA-NYC.COM, +1 3472055146, [email protected]