AbuQir

AbuQir makes the seafood display the beginning of dinner. At this Steinway Street restaurant in Astoria’s Little Egypt, you select fish or shellfish and discuss how to have it cooked. That direct choice gives the meal a different character from ordering a fixed fish dish in a formal dining room.

A whole grilled fish is a useful centrepiece for sharing, while fried shrimp or seared scallops provide other directions. The cooking’s Egyptian identity is part of the reason to come. Smoky aubergine in baba ganoush can make an accompaniment worth ordering in its own right, rather than regard the meal as seafood alone.

The room is simple and the display-counter choice puts the focus on the ingredients. Choose the fish, preparation and amount together, and establish the total before the kitchen begins, particularly where weight and a market selection affect the bill. A large seafood feast is a different spending decision from a small neighbourhood lunch.

AbuQir suits visitors happy to let the available fish shape the meal and who value cooking over a grand restaurant setting. Give Astoria its own journey and enough time at the table. The restaurant can be the main food destination for that outing, with a museum or neighbourhood walk earlier rather than another compulsory dinner afterwards.