Having just finished reworking L'Impero as Convivio, and with sister restaurant Alto firing busily away in midtown, chef Michael White and partner Chris Cannon are now turning their attention toward a big new project: The two will be opening an high-end Italian seafood restaurant, Marea (“tide”), in the old San Domenico space at 240 Central Park South early next year. “We're going to concentrate on coastal seafood in a very refined way,” says White. “The fish will be sourced from all over the world, but the restaurant will be very Italian; don't expect to see any wasabi.” White says that the food will be comparable to the kind of simple but very composed seafood dishes currently on the menu at Alto. As for the economics, White and Cannon aren't scared by the rent, which is near $750,000 annually, high enough to send San Domenico packing after twenty years. “It's not that bad,” says Cannon. “It's comparable to what we pay at Alto. That's just the cost of doing business in midtown now.”

Earlier: L’Impero to Close, Reopen As Convivio
San Domenico to Go Big Downtown