[title]
New York’s tinned fish moment just got a very chic upgrade.
Seirēn, a new conservas and cocktail bar dedicated entirely to the Iberian art of preserved seafood, opens today in Chelsea. But unlike the many spots that ignore the whole shimmering, briny universe by tucking a few sardines onto a board and calling it a day, this one is going all in.
Each tin served at Seirēn is a main event, accompanied by toasted sourdough, seaweed butter and pickled vegetables—a minimalist spread that lets the seafood do the talking. You can start with Galician mussels in escabeche, graduate to silky tuna belly swirled with walnut pesto or go full deep-end with sea urchin roe. Tapas—pan con tomate, crab-stuffed piquillo peppers and seafood salpicón—round things out.
The concept comes from Nicholas Semkiw and Elvis Rosario of SRV Hospitality, the team behind Chica & The Don, Bellhop and Las’ Lap in both New York and Miami. The pair’s latest opening draws directly from travels through Spain and Portugal, where conservas may as well be considered religion. On 23rd Street, that energy means premium tins of fish, thoughtful tapas and a beverage program that employs the same Mediterranean flavors.
Russell Pangilinan has created a sunny and coastal cocktail menu, but not without a little New York flair. The Drunken Sailor riffs on an Old Fashioned with brown-butter-washed bourbon, malt syrup and house-made everything-bagel bitters. (It even arrives with a mini everything bagel and whipped ricotta.) Meanwhile, the Seiren Song spritz layers genepy, kalamansi, rosemary syrup and sparkling Albariño for something bright and herbal. And Shoe Critters, a creamy caipirinha built with coconut milk and a hint of MSG, is destined to become a late-night favorite.
In a city where “tinned fish girl dinner” went viral and grocery-store aisles carry more sardine varietals than breakfast cereals, Seirēn feels like the natural next step: a place that treats conservas with the same ceremony New Yorkers give oysters, martinis and other small, salty pleasures.
Read more:
• The best Christmas Markets in the USA