Show Me a Sign: Estela, Open to the Public Tomorrow Night

Thomas Carter ran the wine program at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Ignacio Mattos has worked in kitchens all over the world with stateside stints at Chez Panisse, Il Buco, and, most recently, Isa. Though his time at Isa was cut short when Taavo Somer, the restaurant's owner, dismissed mattos just over a year ago to date (June 11th, 2012).

Mattos spent the past year out of restaurant kitchens, but the opening of Estela tonight in the former Nolita House space marks his return. At Estela, Carter and Mattos aim to fill a void where good wine and good food are enjoyed in a casual atmosphere - without, as Carter mentioned in an interview with Eater, "a lot of the other bullshit."

Expect small, tapas-inspired plates. Mattos tells Eater, "These should just be plates of food, nurturing and relatively cheap, that remind you of the home-cooked meals you never experience anymore." Carter has built the wine program around unique, estate driven wines and will sell them following what we call the Downtown Approach, where casual service and fair prices replace the suits and high markups synonomous with the uptown experience.

Estela opens tonight, but is closed to the public for a private event. The restaurant will open at 6pm every night (closed Mondays) and close at 11pm during the week and midnight on weekends. The bar will be open until 1am.

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