Updates on South Congress Hotel’s Otoko and Central Standard

Otoko and Central Standard, the two remaining anticipated restaurants left to debut in the South Congress Hotel, will open in January and the middle of December, respectively. Originally, the two were set to open this fall. Cafe No Se already opened with the rest of the hotel in September. Also in the works is coffee shop and juice bar Mañana. Jesse Herman and New Waterloo, the group behind La Condesa and Sway (which is expanding with two locations) is overseeing the project.

Helmed by empire-building Paul Qui, Otoko will be his take on an incredibly intimate sushi and kaiseki restaurant in a hard-to-find windowless location inside the hotel with only 12 counter seats. Since the opening was pushed back to January, in the meantime, Qui is focusing on his Florida venture, Pao in the Faena Hotel Miami Beach. That restaurant will highlight open-fire cooking methods and seafood. Plus, there’s an expensive Damien Hirst-designed unicorn statue in the space.

Central Standard is the grill and bar run by the hotel’s executive chef Michael Paley. The raw bar will feature seafood towers, oysters, and crudo. The wood-fired oven will churn out grilled oysters, prime rib, fish, and chile-rubbed half chickens. Executive pastry chef Amanda Rockman will work on baked goods and desserts, too. The expansive patio wraps around the building into the hotel’s courtyard. Central’s hours will be from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday once opened.