For more than 50 years 151 W Broadway was home to beloved neighbourhood spot Martini's, but a new name sits over the entrance now.
And the new place has connections to a different restaurant that also closed recently.
opened up in mid-May, and owners are serving up a menu some may recognize from the Yaletown restaurant Seahouse.
Aylin Mousavi was the front-of-house manager at Seahouse until it closed last October.
Mousavi didn't have aspirations of opening her own place, but after Seahouse closed down she saw the opportunity.
"When I wanted to open Aylin's Kitchen I asked all of our previous staff (from Seahouse) if they wanted to work with me," she tells V.I.A. by phone.
Several people from Seahouse came with her to Aylin's, including the chef, members of management, and bartenders. Mousavi also spoke with the owner of Seahouse and got their blessing to have essentially the same menu and promotions.
Coincidentally, Seahouse and Martini's have similar menus, with pasta and pizza playing a prominent role, along with burgers and other Mediterranean dishes. Mousavi says the pizzas in particular "are pretty great."
are a dozen different pasta dishes, lamb shanks, and several salads.
She notes it helpful being in the old Martini's space, as some customers of the longtime eatery are showing up to see what the new place is like.
There are a few things she's hoping to focus on as a new restaurateur, including friendly service, affordability (through the promotions), and a personal touch to the food.
"We cook as if we're cooking for a party for ourselves," she says.
At the same time, as a newcomer to restaurant ownership, she's faced a few surprises; notably, the paperwork.
"It's a lot more legal work than I thought," she says. "When we got the restaurant it took us two months to get every legal permit."
Aylin's is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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