Costata Felled by the Fiamma Curse

Michael White and Ahmass Fakahany — the Starsky and Hutch of semi-fine dining  — are closing their Soho steakhouse Costata after less than three years in business.  The restaurant will shutter after service on New Year's Eve.  The official announcement about the closure notes that the team is looking for "alternative locations to re-open in the near future."  The team also explains that its "delicious steaks and sides will continue to be available in the comfort of your home via delivery portal Caviar."  Is Costata morphing into New York's first delivery-only steakhouse? Perhaps.

Michael White had his first big break in New York in this space many moons ago when it was Steve Hanson's Fiamma.  He left the restaurant a few years before Fiamma got torpedoed by the economic meltdown. The space sat empty for several years till Fakahany and White came around in 2013.

Pete Wells liked Costata, but Adam Platt didn't. Prince dined and dashed. And back in May, Altamarea Group turned the first floor into a lounge with burgers and sandwiches — always a bad sign. As you may recall, the team also shuttered The Butterfly over the summer. Back in August, White and Fakahany opened Vaucluse on the Upper East Side.