French Fine-Dining Restaurant Opening On The Upper West Side

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A fine-dining French restaurant from a chef with an impressive resume of work is opening by the end of the month on the Upper West Side.

Essential by Christophe will open at 103 W. 77th St., between Amsterdam and Columbus.

If that address sounds familiar, it's because the new eatery is opening in the former home of the popular upscale restaurant Dovetail. The old Michelin-star restaurant closed in the summer of 2018.

The location is around the corner from Shake Shack and the popular El Mitote Mexican eatery on West 77th Street and Columbus.

Christophe Bellanca is heading the restaurant, who formerly worked as the head chef at celebrated New York City eateries such as Le Cirque and Atelier Joel Robchon.

"Finally, after 18 years in the USA, I will be opening my restaurant in NYC," Bellanca wrote on his Instagram. "Essential by Christophe will be born in December."

The French inspired menu will be available a la carte or as a four-course tasting, in addition to a bar menu of more casual dishes.

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"The restaurant’s name reflects Bellanca's core philosophy: informed simplicity, stripped of all unnecessary flourishes to showcase only what is essential," reads a blurb on Essential by Christophe's RESY page.

The eatery has also had its soft opening, but it appears from its available reservation list that it will have its first full day of dining on Wednesday.

You can find out more about Essential by Christophe on its Instagram page.