Sept. 28, 2016 By Christian Murray
Salt & Fat, an award winning Sunnyside restaurant, will be closing Oct. 2.
Raphael Ilagani, the head chef, said that Daniel Yi has elected to sell the business and the venue will be reopening in a number of weeks with a different name and offering a different type of cuisine.
Yi opened the restaurant to much fanfare in 2011 and drew diners from all over New York City.
The restaurant, located at 41-16 Queens Boulevard, was a constant Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand pick. This status indicated that it was consider among the best restaurants given its price in New York.
The small-plate restaurant is known for items such as bacon popcorn, “crack” & cheese, Korean barbecue, scallops, bao buns and duck breast.
Yi, whose parents both immigrated to the US from South Korea, went to the French Culinary Institute.
After building up a foundation of basics, Yi worked at some well known Asian restaurants in Manhattan.
Yi then brought his high-end techniques, combined with Asian-influenced dishes, to the Queens Blvd. restaurant.
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65 Comments
It’s a shame, but when the neighborhood doesn’t support its local business’, how can they be expected to flourish. Most of the oldschool sunnysiders wont try the new places because they are anti change and just moan about the “influx of hipsters and yuppies”, the lower income residents that are only here because they are grandfathered into their leases, bring nothing to the neighborhood and do not go out to eat/drink etc, and then the new young generation moving into the area don’t actually spend any time here, all choosing to head off to Brooklyn or Manhattan. The real local champions of Sunnyside are the large Irish community, spending their cash in the local bars, but they alone can’t support a whole neighborhood. With the renovation at the Courtyard and Maggie Mae’s, the addition of Ida’s and Vivre, and then stock solid’s like Bar 43 and Sidetracks, Sunnyside should be a fun, vibrant, lively place to hang out, it could/should be another Greenpoint, and yet it pales in comparison. So when stuff shuts down, sorry Sunnyside but you only have yourself to blame.
Im glad it shut down. Keep sunnyside cheap with good normal food.
A Bidge, you got to be kidding me. !! Only the Newly young Irish and
our older Irish American community spend money here in our Sunny
Side.? Or thanks to our pubs, that only they have made Sunny Side
vibrant. Sorry you feel that way. SO NOT TRUE !!! I see that this comment is from October 2016. The comment needs to be deleted.
Look again, “The times they are a changing !” Change can bring both good and not so good. The ethnic restaurants we have are great ! The new comers are eating, and drinking here in our hood. Be well .
Bye salt and fat, bye ventura, and hopefully bye bye to cemitas el tigre. Why anyone would eat at these over priced places when there is SO MUCH cheap awesome food in this area is effing beyond me.
Have you even tried Cemitas’s fish burrito? It’s probably the best Mexican joint that doesn’t skimp out on ingredients or try to short you on their guacamole. Next thing you’re going to say, De Mole, the only Michelin starred restaurant in Sunnyside should close too.
Posters like these is why Sunnyside can never have nice things,
de mole’s ok but overrated. I prefer the Haab’s burritos though. I mean there’s better cheaper mexican down green point ave or actually just near by at taco santa fe and el tri mexican truck. But I know you’re not lumping de mole in with cemita el tigre? Explain to me why you choose a $10 cemita over the million great $6-7 cemitas you can get in sunnyside? For real. It’s not about “having nice things”, we already have nice things…. For less!
Don’t knock those cemitas. Huge sandwich, huge order of fries and they were the best I’ve had in the neighborhood – even with delivery. The value is not so bad. You can feed 2 regular sized people with those things.
If it was the best cemita youve had then you havent had many cemitas. Anybody that pays $10 for a cemita is part of the problem.
Keep flying Kishka!!!!
How about good Zion Koser Delicatessen? Now that the Carnegie Deli is closing you can’t get a decent Pastrami Sandwich anywhere other than Katz’s. we used to have great Kosher Deli in Sunnyside, Today you can’t even get a Hot Dog or a Knish:-( Very sad, no place for a Kreplah Soup, especially with the High Holidays coming.
I agree! Try finding a good deli sandwich in Sunnyside. It’s impossible!
Try the deli at 48 ave and 43 st you won’t be disappointed
I hope they open a Taco Bell. We already have every other fast food joint in the neighborhood, but it’d be great to have those chicken gordita crunches!!
Good restaurant if you eat meat. If not there were
very few options. The meat butcher on the other side only lasted a year.
Bill:
Last time I was at Salt and Fat, the only items on the menu were raw fish, not meat…..and the food was really, really bad.
Answer : Salt and Fat. Question : what are 2 things 80% of the residents of Sunnyside need to cut down on. “Hi-yoooo, that’s a good one Johnny”
F salt and fat
I hope cvs expands!
I miss Beer World
Me too! And please Lowery’s never close! I hope you own your building.
beer world sucked
i am 90% certain the new place is just beer world reincarnated.
I doubt it. They were trying to sell it for a while. Also, the new place has nowhere near as many beers.
One of the brothers is responsible for the beer section of the new market, but the rest of the store is new ownership and pretty much a typical Sunnyside grocery, a little organic, a little not organic, inconsistent stocking. The deli section started up with a huge selection but has scaled back to a few items. Conveniently located but not quite as “unique” as it was under the brothers’ operation.
Beer world was crappy but atleast it had a selection. The new grocery store sucks, it’s expensive and it’s stock isn’t great. I also overhead them saying that there is a bunch of stock there being sold that was given to them by beer world, nice!
Maybe had a 5 yr lease?
If they closed a couple of years ago, I would be very sad. It was a really good place back then; not so anymore as something has changed there and the food became bland,underseasoned, and under/over cooked. I wish the news were that the old style of Salt and Fat was back…
Ill go one further, the place sucked!
AMEN
it’s about time. the place is overrated.
The place was so over rated and over priced. Never was it busy and closed Tuesday plus never open for lunch and you people wonder why it’s closing?
Jen- Get a clue. It was a night time place. Just about every night it was packed. Lunch isn’t for everyone.
Apparently folks are upset about being deprived of salt and of fat; they must want clogged arteries and heart-attacks.
Noooooooo just as the name of the spot was becoming a Queens thing and also a great go to spot…Now it wants to close??!! WHYYY????? Maybe it is true what they say about any business in NYC, they usually close in 5 years or less. Sad weekend for many of us.
What an idiot. Just when the business is flourishing? Good luck getting up a new one to replace the already successful one. ??
I was thinking of the exact same thing!! What makes businesses close in under 5 years all over NYC? It’s common in Manhattan but in Queens?? Just sad…
Escalating rent. Landlords are awful ALL OVER!!!!!
I always thought they needed to change up the menu to keep momentum. Still is a shame…
Good. Venturo should close too.
They are next it’s been for sale all summer asking stupid money for all there losses.
Can you provide some more details about Venturo being for sale?
Their.
Awful news! I wish them good luck!
BRING BACK DA HOUSE OF LAW…..HIPSYERS GO HOME
IM glad salt and fat sucks
Suck is the copper kettle
The yogurt drink was a flashback to going to ps150. The gardens don’t want you
It was just a stupid campy thing that was supposed to be cute or something.
;( the yellowfin tartar was bombdiggity
Snotty place with rip off prices. Stupid yogurt drink for dessert. Bye
How sad were you when McDonald’s on Greenpoint Avenue closed?
Sadly all good things must come to an end.
omg no!!!! Love this place 🙁
I am so sorry to hear this. I would take the wife a couple of times a month to Salt and Fat. The place is always packed. I can’t believe this. Bummer is right!!!!
Thank you for pursuing this story after my Facebook message. Love Sunnyside Post! Sad Salt and Fat is leaving!
This is VERY disappointing! I don’t understand WHYYYYYYYYY!!?!?!?!?!
Wow, sad day. I remember when they opened, many feared it was the advance wave of yuppies from places like LIC and Williamsburg. Perhaps it was, but delayed by a few years. Good luck to Mr.Yi and best wishes for the staff being retained for the new venture.
NOOOOOOOoooo. Well that is a loss to the neighborhood.
Can you dive a little deeper into the story pool as to why the decision was made to sell/close?
maybe bankruptcy
Did you even read the article?
the article gives very little info on WHY it actually closed, South Side Johnny
THIS SUCKS.
I hope Rikko buys it and makes it Mexican restaurant.
B U M M E R.