![[Dining room photos by <a href="http://www.samhorine.com/">Sam Horine</a>; Mendes portrait by <a href="https://instagram.com/danielkrieger/">Daniel Krieger</a>]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/229cs5Vq6bSoJqqHJHTihzNkBx0=/0x0:925x694/1200x800/filters:focal(0x0:925x694)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46938978/aldea_1.0.0.jpg)
George Mendes has been spending lots of his time at his new, semi-casual Portuguese restaurant Lupulo — which garnered two stars from Ryan Sutton — but he hasn't forsaken his original restaurant, the fancier Aldea. He'll close it on August 23 for renovations and a menu change, notes Flo Fab. The kitchen will do away with the a la carte offerings and replace it with a four course prix fixe (which is suggested but not required at the moment) and keep its nine course tasting dinner. The restaurant should reopen on September 4 if all goes according to plan.
Uptown at Kappo Masa, Flo Fab notes that master sushi chef Masayoshi Takayama's and art dealer Larry Gagosian, are adding a 12-seat sushi bar with a traditional omakase offering at the end of the month. Despite a disastrous review from the Times, the restaurant seems to have built a following among those with platinum cards.
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