Midtown Lunch

Originally they thought it may open today, but it looks like tomorrow will be the big day for AQ Kafe, Marcus Samuelsson’s casual Scandinavian cafe (on Broadway and 58th St.) To celebrate the grand opening, they’ll be giving away free coffee all day long. So if there was any doubt as to whether or not they’d be going after FIKA Espresso Bar’s customers- this answers that. If you haven’t been following closely, the original version of AQ Cafe, located in the Scandinavian House on Park Ave., closed a few weeks ago, and was replaced by another Smorgaschef.

Surprisingly, even though the new location hasn’t opened yet, the shilling has already started…   

This was posted in the comments over the weekend:

Hi. I also live in the neighborhood and walk by the restaurant every day. The door was open today so I walked in to take a peak. The restaurant is beautiful (earthy and grounded with muted Scandanavian colors). The AQ Kafe staff — a nice looking, friendly and “international” group of people — was preparing for the opening and they invitred me to taste some of the offerings. I can tell you that AQ Kafe has “best in the world” gravalox; Sweadish meat balls that are actually better than the fabulous meatballs served at Aquavit (the 5 Star restaurant that the AQ Kafe team owns); and the breads and pastries (all made in house) that were just outstanding. And the coffee — wow! But here is the great news: the price point for a meal of this quality is really reasonable. Move aside Le Pain Quitotian. This will be a home run and it’s great news for the neighborhood! I bet it will open on Monday!!!

Amazing…