The folks behind Avenue, Stanton Social, and Tao are ready to bring an outpost of their Vegas restaurant and club, Lavo, to midtown in mid-September. Antique mirrors, subway tiles, old factory bricks, and red and white leather banquettes will give the upstairs dining room (which will open onto a sidewalk café) the feel of a fifties Italian trattoria (there’ll be a coffee and dessert bar, in addition to a downstairs nightclub) — but who’s going to serve up the Southern Italian cuisine? We’ve learned that Top Chef season-four alum Manuel Treviño, most recently of Travertine, is making the jump over to Lavo. As executive chef, he’ll work closely with managing chef and partner Ralph Scamardella. Before Travertine, Treviño was a sous-chef at Babbo and executive chef at Dos Caminos (and briefly interim chef at A Voce). His menu at Lavo will consist of “Southern Italian classics, including a full selection of prime steaks, which undergo a custom aging process, pastas, pizzas and other artisanal Italian specialties.”
Lavo, 39 E. 58th St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-750-5588 (restaurant) or 212-584-2700 (nightclub)
