A new three-story ode to Shanghai dumplings is opening in downtown Manhattan this month. Tin’s pegs itself as a New York-meets-Shanghai bar and restaurant spotlighting sheng jian bao (pan-fried soup dumplings), opening on the Lower East Side at 109 Ludlow Street, near Delancy Street, on Friday, July 17.
Tin blends Shanghai and New York sensibilities, where co-owners and couple Mercury Tin and Philip Dizard are from, respectively. And the name works twofold; it’s her last name as well as an abbreviation for “Things I Need,” which, for the couple, means those sheng jian bao.
(For now, Tin’s won’t serve food just because of an increasingly common New York City restaurant story: the gas line hasn’t been turned on yet, but the couple wanted to open sooner rather than later. In the meantime, they’ll serve a few bar snacks like shrimp cocktail and mala Caesar spears, but the full menu won’t be available until after Labor Day, Monday, September 7.)
A cocktail at Tin’s. Max Flatow
When Dizard and Tin were dating, he recounts how she often talked about memories of flying back home to Shanghai, when she’d have whoever was picking her up at the airport bring her sheng jian bao so she could eat them in the car. “This woman misses these dumplings more than she misses her bread,” he says.
When the two traveled to Shanghai to visit her parents, Dizard had his first taste of sheng jian bao, which he thought embodied every delicious aspect of a dumpling. “It’s crunchy, pillowy, steamed, delicate; it has this vibrant, aromatic soup; it’s got this beautiful, seasoned meatball,” he explains. “It’s a study in textural contrast and simplicity. It’s hard to be angry at a crunchy soup dumpling.”
That sparked his mission to find a suitable option in New York City, but he came up short. And that’s why they’re opening Tin’s.
Tin’s decor includes wooden blocks with the food menu. Max Flatow
The layout of Tin’s is a downward spiral by design. There’s the ground-floor 1,300-square-foot restaurant and bar that they’re describing as a Shanghai diner; the 1,400-square-foot basement bar with food; and the 900-square-foot sub-basement private dining room. “We want you to descend deeper and deeper into our fantasy of how New York and Shanghai can collide and reflect each other in a way that feels truthful,” Dizard says.
Dizard took his cocktail cues from both his favorite bars around the world and New York neighborhoods under the direction of beverage director Bowen Kirwood. Each public floor has its own menu, full of drinks for $21.88 (eight represents good luck in Chinese culture ). On the ground floor, there’s the French Concession, his ode to the Dead Rabbit’s Irish coffee with a Shanghai dirty coffee angle. The frozen glass has a bottom layer of pistachio milk and pandan-infused heavy cream, followed by a frothed-up Irish coffee blend with bourbon. The Mango Pinacolassi is a frozen concoction with rum, yogurt, mangos, and pineapple, a nod to London Indian restaurant Tamil Prince.
Another cocktail at Tin’s. Max Flatow
Downstairs, the Old Diamond is Dizard’s Boulevardier iteration made with Shanghai Worcestershire sauce. For the 7th St Fizz, Dizard was inspired by Gem Spa’s egg cream, a Ramos gin fizz, and its general East Village neighborhood, mixed with roasted buckwheat tea-infused Old Tom gin, banana liqueur, and banana milk.
When Tin’s can fully cook food, the sheng jian bao will be its centerpiece, specifically with pork, and served on both floors. On the ground floor, there’s the scallion oil noodles; Shanghai-style fried rice made with guanciale (their nod to Little Italy), chrysanthemum greens, and bok choy; and a Chinese-style chicken brodo.
For the kitchen, they tagged chef Justin Choung, who had been the chef de cuisine of Flatiron Korean tasting menu Bōm. Before Tin’s, Dizard was the beverage director of Flatiron omakase Noda; had opened the Noda team’s cocktail bar, Shinji’s; and then worked as a wine brand manager for Moët Hennessy.
One of the bars at Tin’s. Max Flatow
The physical space, which fits 80 people overall, features lots of Art Deco and 20th-century Shanghai and New York details. Look for stained glass and a vaulted ceiling down in the basement bar.
Tin’s bar hours are from 5 p.m. to midnight, Sunday through Wednesday, and 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Thursday through Saturday. The restaurant hours will be from 5 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., Friday and Saturday; and 11:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday. Mondays will enter the mix once the kitchen is fully running. It’ll be mostly open for walk-ins, but there are also Resy reservations.