Photo: Courtesy of Lovely Day
Nolita’s Lovely Day has finally opened its downstairs space, three years in the making (an upstairs fire set back construction, and then the Community Board got nervous about the diminutive cheap-eats favorite gaining another bar). Head downstairs and you’ll see that the restaurant’s former prep kitchen has been converted into a dining room decorated with vintage wallpaper, 23 mismatched chairs, and twelve stools at a backlit deco bar. The space has its own kitchen, and only there will you be able to score menu additions like edamame dip with rice chips and charcoal-barbecued spare ribs. There’s also a burger on the way. Right now, the downstairs is open (and accepting reservations for parties of five or more) from 6 p.m. till midnight, Tuesday through Saturday, and it will soon be open Sundays and Mondays as well.