What to Know About Leon’s, Now Open From the Anton’s Team

1. It’s all in the family, and it’s personal.

As Anderer and Johnson did at Anton’s, they’ve been inspired by their shared family history here at Leon’s, too. For starters, Leon’s is named for Johnson’s great-grandfather, in the same way that Anton’s was named for Anderer’s.

Johnson’s great-grandfather, Leon Hakim, was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and a few years ago, she and Anderer were finally able to visit.

“The menu is interwoven with Egyptian accents across it that are both ingredients and dishes that we had in our travels to Egypt, but also family recipes that are part of my mom’s side of the family, and the things that she grew up with,” Johnson says. “We’ve talked to her, to my grandparents, to my uncles, about their memories of those dishes.”

The pair has a passion, they say, for Italian culture, where Anderer once cooked and where they studied in college or enjoyed wine travel, all of which played a big role in inspiring the menu.

“We wanted to open an Italian restaurant, and then we wanted to weave in a family story. That’s what we’ve done with Anton’s, and we’ve been successful in doing that,” Johnson says. “It’s one of the things that keeps us emotionally attached to what we do. We love this business, and we love making it personal.”

2. This isn’t Anton’s 2.0, but there will be some familiar facets.

Although Anderer and Johnson may be known for Anton’s — and in Anderer’s case, from his time spent as the head chef at Maialino and Marta — this new restaurant won’t be a Union Square remake of their West Village favorite. They plan on maintaining aspects of their style, but overall are investing in a whole new idea.

“We have our style and approach that is the essence of our restaurant. We hold core tenants and standards, and we want to bring those over to Leon’s,” Johnson says. “It’s the way we treat our staff, the way that extends out to the neighborhood around us. We definitely want to build another neighborhood restaurant.”

Inside, Leon’s is much bigger than Anton’s, both in its scale and in physicality. There was no existing restaurant infrastructure inside in the space, which meant the pair had a lot of creative license when it came to building out the restaurant.

“Anton’s is this dark, cozy, hug of a tavern. Leon’s is much airier, with a brighter space, tall windows and ceilings. There’s just a lighter element to it,” Anderer says.

3. Inside, it’s all high ceilings and “swamp chic.”

Leon’s is housed inside a historic building, originally built in the 1800’s. Inside, there are tall ceilings, original Corinthian-style columns, and walls newly adorned with frescoes and art commissioned from both local and Italian artists.

“We wanted to make the space feel like a kind of beautiful ruin,” Johnson says. “[The walls] will have this pigmentation to mimic moss,” she explains. “We’ve been using the term ‘swamp chic.’”

There’s also a vintage chandelier that Anderer and Johnson found while antiquing long ago, and were saving for just the right moment. The space will have room for 95 people in the main dining room, including a 14-seat bar, with an additional space for 20 in a private dining room.

4. Expect just wine and beer, for now.

Leon’s will open, for now, with only a wine and beer license, but they’re hoping to acquire a full license before the end of the year.

They’re focusing on Italian ingredients for spritzes and sbagliati, as well as a non-alcoholic beverage program featuring Egyptian-style teas and mocktails.

The wine list will focus primarily on Italy and France, but will include selections from Spain, Portugal, and as Johnson says, “a lot of Champagne.”

“We have a nice, big cellar. This was our first opportunity to build the cellar in the kitchen of our dreams. I think Nick and I both feel like we got like we’ve got it,” Johnson says with a smile.

5. The menu is full of fresh hits.

At Leon’s, you can expect lots of fresh vegetables and simple presentation, with influences ranging from Egypt to Rome. These are five essential dishes you’ll want to order at Leon’s, in Anderer’s own words.

1. Fried Eggs with Beans “Alexandria”

“This is one of our breakfast dishes, inspired by an Egyptian breakfast staple, ful Alexandria. In Egypt, the “ful” is made with very robust, dried brown fava beans. We are using heirloom Peruano beans, which yield a similar meaty texture. In the style of Alexandrian ful, we finish the beans with tahina sauce and a fresh salsa of minced and marinated peppers and tomatoes.”

2. Salame Rosa, Escarole & Cherry Peppers

“This dish is one of our many lunch sandwich offerings. This one features a domestically produced, richly marbled mortadella, or salame rosa.

“The sandwich is dressed with a spicy shredded escarole salad that’s seasoned with housemade pickled hot cherry peppers and some aged provolone. Everything gets served on a sesame ciabatta.”

3. Eggplant Boulettes

“These are essentially eggplant meatballs, which are accidentally vegan. The ‘meatballs’ are made with roasted graffiti eggplant that’s been fortified with sesame paste and garlic breadcrumbs. The meatballs are flash-fried in olive oil and served on top of sauce Provençal, which is a southern French-inspired tomato sauce seasoned with citrus, coriander and saffron.”

4. Courgettes al Hakim

“This is another dish that’s based on a Hakim family recipe. We take a hollowed-out zucchini and stuff it with a lightly spiced rice pilaf. The zucchini are slow-braised in a lemony vegetable broth with fragrant herbs. Once cooked, they are sliced and served in their own cooking juice along with a healthy drizzle of olive oil.”

5. Busiate au Pistou Rouge

“It’s a Sicilian-inspired pasta dish with a ‘Leon’ accent — his primary language was French.

Corkscrew-shaped noodles are tossed in a garlicky, tomato-based, red pesto that we thicken with a non-traditional mix of buttery Marcona and Kandahar almonds. The corkscrew noodles are tossed with the pesto and finished with pecorino and basil.”

Leon’s is open daily. Weekday hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and weekend hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.