Motek has opened a 275-seat Levantine restaurant on West 57th Street.

Motek, the Levantine restaurant group, has opened a 275-seat flagship on West 57th Street. Eater reports that the new address is the company’s major New York venture, with additional locations and a more casual offshoot planned. Its scale places it in a district where a restaurant must serve office lunches, tourists and special occasions without losing a recognizable identity.

The room favors soft arches, pale surfaces and warm lighting, an atmosphere closer to an idealized coastal escape than to Midtown’s granite sidewalks. That might be precisely the appeal. In a neighborhood defined by traffic and expensive square footage, a dining room can sell a little leisure along with dinner.

The restaurant is open and accepting reservations, according to Eater.

Image: Motek restaurant interior; photograph published by Off The MRKT. Source and further details.