Thursday Opening Report: Lusso, Bati, Reginella, Pagoda Thai, Coyi Cafe Certified Open

Coyi Cafe on Avenue B [Photo Credit]

1) Soho: A tipster writes in with a curiously shilly-sounding rave review of Lusso, a new Italian-inspired eatery that has recently opened in the former Le Streghe space: “We started out with a wonderful stuffed calamari as well as a richly-prepared crostini pate for our appetizers, then moved onto a nice veal osso bucco?All-in-all, our experience was a great one and we think Lusso is a wonderful addition to the neighborhood!” Grub Street also has some background info: “First-time owner Michael Carpinillo spent a year and a half doing a gut renovation of the old Le Streghe space on West Broadway (lucky for him, his family works in construction).” Status: Certified Open. 331 W. Broadway, 212-431-0131. [Eater Inbox; GS]

2) Fort Greene: ClintonHillBlog and Hailey Eber of Fork in the Road post early reviews of a recently-opened Ethiopian restaurant called Bati. From the latter: “A friend and I tried Bati last weekend and had some of the best Ethiopian food either of us had had in recent memory. The restaurant is still waiting on its liquor license, so it's BYOB for now, which does always help my culinary memory.” Status: Certified Open as of last week. 747 Fulton Street, Fort Greene; 718-797-9696. [CHB, Fork in the Road]

3) Williamsburg: TONY reports that Vegan-friendly coffee shop, Second Stop Café is to open this week in the ‘Burg. They write: “Craig Kafton and Paul Degruccio, the owners of this Williamsburg café, put their love of salvaging on full display: The bases of the tables were rescued from the Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room, and the light fixtures once illuminated the JPMorgan building on Wall Street. Vegan and nonvegan pastries (carrot-ginger squares, blueberry–lemon zest muffins) are baked daily, and bagels and Stumptown coffee are also available.” Status: Certified Open. Walk by reports have it opening about two weeks ago. 524 Lorimer Street, Williamsburg; 718-486-6850. [TONY]

4) Williamsburg: A little further out in the ‘Burg, a tipster finds a new Thai place called Pagoda Thailand Restaurant. "Went in there last night and there were about 5 people in front of me getting take out. Every single person ordered chicken pad thai. Guess it's the litmus test for new Thai places. For the record, theirs is pretty decent. It's a definite improvement from the former tenant, an OTB storefront.” Status: Certified Open. 333 Graham Avenue, Williamsburg; 718-388-8455. [~E~]

5) East Village: EV Grieve snags a pic of a newly opened Coyi Café (formerly plywooded) but is keeping mum on the details. Meanwhile blogger Cupcakes Take the Cake tries to convince owner Connie Lei to start carrying cupcakes among its other baked goods: “I would like to see Coyi Cafe carrying some cupcakes. I propose that y'all stop by (it's at 42 Avenue B, between Third and Fourth Streets in the East Village) and ask for cupcakes! If enough people ask for cupcakes, doesn't the cafe just have to carry them?” Status: Certified Open. 42 Avenue B, phone unknown. [EV Grieve, CTTC]

6) Brooklyn Heights: And finally, as reported earlier today via some pizza/fry/hot dog porn, Italian eatery Reginella has opened in Brooklyn Heights. You can check out some lengthy early reviews at CobbleHillBlog. Status: Certified Open. 193 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn Heights; 718-522-2880. [CobbleHillBlog]