CLOSED: Pure Food and Wine

In the summer of 2004, Pure Food and Wine opened its doors as New York City’s first upscale raw vegan restaurant. Located on Irving Place, just one block from Union Square and its giant farmer’s market, the restaurant offers a warm and inviting setting with a menu full of creative and seasonal raw dishes, a long and thoughtful wine list, and seasonal sake cocktails. Our menu is entirely plant based and does not use any processed ingredients. Nothing is heated above approximately 118 degrees in order to preserve vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.

The restaurant has been featured twice in New York magazine’s “Top 100 Restaurants” list and has appeared five years in a row in Forbes magazine’s list of “All Star New York Eateries.”

“‘Raw’ and ‘vegetarian’ are not usually adjectives associated with haute cuisine, but at Pure Food and Wine, as if by magic, such ingredients are turned into exquisite and exotically delicious offerings.”
– Forbes December 2007

“Pure Food and Wine’s menu of raw vegetable concoctions may make this the Big Apple’s most unusual restaurant—as well as one of its best.”
– Forbes December 2008

During winter months, the restaurant seats 64 indoors and 16 in our back dining room, which can also be booked for private dinners. In the spring and summer, our private back garden space seats an additional 70. There is a bar space both indoors and out for just drinks, dessert, or a full dinner. The restaurant serves its dinner menu nightly from 5:30pm to 11:00pm. Our dining room and outdoor garden are open for lunch daily from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. Around the corner from the restaurant you’ll find One Lucky Duck Juice & Takeaway, open every day from 9:00am to 11:00pm for juices, shakes, ice cream, cookies, desserts, and takeaway food from our kitchen. The restaurant’s lunch menu is available here as well all day and evening. The shop also carries the snacks and some of the ingredients, skincare, and other products from our One Lucky Duck online store. We also have a One Lucky Duck Juice & Takeaway in NYC’s Chelsea Market. To learn more about these locations visit the “juice & takeaway” tab.

Pure Food and Wine was co-founded by Sarma Melngailis, who was also co-executive chef, and then executive chef. Since becoming preoccupied with all things One Lucky Duck, the amazing people in our kitchens are in charge and responsible for the creation of all of our new and always changing, seasonal dishes and desserts. Nikki Bennett is our executive chef, and Anthony Buison and David Kupperberg are our sous chefs. Jaime Studley is our pastry chef and Jodie Dupuy is our pastry sous chef. Joey Repice is the man behind the bar, who selects all of our wines, and crafts our beloved seasonal sake cocktail menu.

Our wines are biodynamic, organic, or simply sustainable, which usually means they’re from vineyards that practice organic methods, but have not been certified. Our sake cocktails are made using organic Momokawa sake from Oregon, mixed with organic fresh pressed juices, fresh herbs, and exotic flavors. We were also the very first restaurant in New York City to have sake on tap (organic Momokawa sake). We love our sake on tap as it greatly reduces our consumption of glass bottles!

From people who have never tried Pure Food and Wine, we sometimes hear, “Oh, I’m a meat and potatoes guy (it’s usually guys saying this!); I don’t think it’s for me.” On the contrary, we have lots of regular and repeat guests who eat plenty of meat and potatoes and also regularly come for dinner, dessert and takeaway. In fact, we think (though it’s hard to confirm) that most of our guests are not strictly vegan or raw. Also, if you’re sensitive to dairy or not a big fan of gluten, you’ll be especially happy (especially with dessert and ice cream) since we don’t use dairy or gluten products*. Finally, there is also no tofu, tempeh or seitan anywhere on the menu.

All the water in our restaurant is filtered through a Tensui water filtration system.

*we use gluten free ingredients in all of our recipes, with one noted exception.

You can find many of the restaurant’s recipes in our two books, Raw Food Real World and Living Raw Food.