White Tiger Reopens Years After Fire Hits Landmarked Building

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A beloved Korean restaurant forced to close when a fire erupted in its historically landmarked building has reopened almost two years after the blaze.

White Tiger, the eclectic Korean eatery at 601 Vanderbilt Ave., opened its doors to diners again last week, about 20 months after a fire broke out in the restaurant in December 2017, chef and co-owner Liz Kwon told Patch.

Restoration took extra time because of the restaurant's location on the border of the Prospect Heights Historic District at Vanderbilt and Dean Street, which meant the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission had to weigh in on repairs, owners said.

"Because the building is landmarked, we have to jump through a lot of hoops" owners told their Instagram followers at the time.

The restaurant will be working on limited hours for the first few weeks of reopening, but Kwon hopes to start serving brunch and lunch again soon.

The menu features all the favorites that earned White Tiger praise from Brooklyn Magazine, the New York Times and Brooklyn Based, to name a few reviews.

Korean fried chicken, devilish eggs with Tobiko and fish roe, and "naughy" kimchi martinis abound.

A sign stood outside White Tiger last Sunday read, "Did you miss us?" Inside, there was a fifteen minute wait for a table, which may be as firm an answer as a restaurant can get.