The Classic Opens Tomorrow, Replacing Benjy’s on Washington

The Classic All Day, restaurateur Benjy Levit’s follow-up to his much-beloved eponymous restaurant on Washington Avenue, is officially opening tomorrow.

Benjy’s on Washington shuttered at the end of last year to make way for a new restaurant riffing on an American diner theme. “We wanted to create a no-rush, no-fuss neighborhood spot that effortlessly pivots from daily coffee mainstay to date night spot,” Levit said in a press release. “Our goal for The Classic is to deliver elevated-yet-simple dishes, all of which will be executed exceptionally well.”

The restaurant’s new mid-century mod look is from Houston designer Aaron Rambo and Austin-based Michael Hsu, the duo behind Local Foods’ Tanglewood and Downtown outposts. The Classic’s 5,000-square-foot interior now is outfitted with a center tables, oversized booths, and long banquets in the dining room along with a 30-swivel-seat counter looking into the open kitchen. Some of the ingredients at The Classic will be grown on site: there’s a 700-square-foot second floor organic garden where produce like broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, kale, okra, and squash are all growing via a sustainable irrigation system that catches rain water.

The Classic will indeed be a breakfast spot, opening up at 8:00 a.m. with counter service Monday through Friday and wait service on Saturdays and Sundays. For breakfast, find dishes like a breakfast sandwich on an English muffin with roasted pork char siou, crispy tomago katsu, and seasonal jam, or the Not So Benedict whipped up with forbidden black rice topped with crab, nouc mam, furikake, and hollandaise.

Dinner menu items include matzo ball soup with pulled chicken; salmon pastrami with cucumber, capers, tomato, and ramen egg toast; a New York-style prime rib sandwich served on rye with au jus and horse radish; and the “Classic Chop” served with iceberg, beef salami, cow’s milk cheese, garbanzo, and champagne vinaigrette.

Hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Benjy’s on Washington Will Shutter to Make Way For The Classic [EHOU]
• The Classic All Day [Official Site]