LES Sandwich Hit Black Tree Has Big Plans for a Chef's Table in Williamsburg

Black Tree, the hit locally-sourced Lower East Side sandwich shop, is plotting an expansion to Williamsburg. According to Bedford + Bowery, the team was out and about seeking signatures of support for their liquor license application for a space on Metropolitan Avenue, and promises that this will be a more serious operation than the original. Specifically, it will have a chef's table, where groups of eight to 15 people will be able to dine on a 13 to 18-course tasting menu a few nights a week.

The original Black Tree, which started as a pop-up in Brooklyn back in 2012, has already expanded its Lower East Side menu to include things beyond sandwiches, and now serves everything from fish tacos to miso ramen. But this is still another step up. Chef Sandy Dee Hall says a recent test run on Orchard Street used a whole pig, and gave each diner "a little piece of every part of the pig." For those who don't have the time (or a group big enough) for such things, there will also be a regular a la carte menu, and a takeout window. The restaurant should open by spring.

Update: Hall writes in with a few more details. The 50-seat restaurant will include a 10-seat chef's table, which will serve one seating per evening on Wednesdays through Saturdays. The tasting menu will actually range from 15 to 19 courses, and will center around whatever whole animal the restaurant has in that week. The takeout window will also peddle soft serve made in house (flavors are still top secret), and the team is hoping to get a cafe license for an adjacent 30-seat space that wraps around the corner onto Driggs.