Longtime NYC Chef Opens Lebanese Restaurant In Park Slope
PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A longtime New York City chef has opened a new restaurant on Park Slope's Fifth Avenue.
Mashawi Grill, an authentic Lebanese eatery, opened last week at 450 Fifth Ave., which was left empty when Sweet Basil Pizza recently closed.
It brings a unique menu of Middle Eastern cuisine and health food headed by Mike Bader, who has been in the New York City food industry for 40 years, his son Tareck Bader told Patch.
"The latest restaurant is authentic Lebanese food — everything is made from scratch," Tareck said. "There is a healthy twist to it. We put a juice bar, paninis, fresh salads and we do Lebanese flat bread pies...since the area is very health conscious."
Mike owned several gourmet restaurants with his family in Manhattan starting in the 1980s before going into business on his own around 2006, Tareck said.
His most recent projects included a restaurant called Babou Cafe near the Upper East Side and a string of health food stores called Kool Bloo, which had five locations throughout Manhattan.
"[Cooking] was always his passion, his mother taught him how to cook," Tareck said.
The Baders took their restaurant business to the outer boroughs when Mike moved to Staten Island in 2014, Tareck said.
The new Park Slope spot follows a flagship Mashawi Grill in Staten Island, which is currently closed as the family considers moving to a different storefront. There was also briefly a Mashawi in the Henry Street subway station in Brooklyn Heights, Tareck said, though it had to be closed once the coronavirus deserted the subway.
"We were looking before the pandemic in Park Slope for a location," Tareck said. "It's the closest thing to Manhattan [in terms of] foot traffic."
For now, Brooklynites can find Mashawi Grill online for takeout or delivery through GrubHub and Ubereats. They hope to open for limited indoor dining within a few weeks.
Tareck said the food has already proven to be a hit.
"We’re getting extreme love and support," he said. "We’re doing really good."
This article originally appeared on the Park Slope Patch
