Nolita’s Lovely Day has finally opened its downstairs space, three years in the making (an upstairs fire set back construction, and then the Community Board got nervous about the diminutive cheap-eats favorite gaining another bar). Head downstairs and you’ll see that the restaurant’s former prep kitchen has been converted into a dining room decorated with vintage wallpaper, 23 mismatched chairs, and twelve stools at a backlit deco bar. The space has its own kitchen, and only there will you be able to score menu additions like edamame dip with rice chips and charcoal-barbecued spare ribs. There’s also a burger on the way. Right now, the downstairs is open (and accepting reservations for parties of five or more) from 6 p.m. till midnight, Tuesday through Saturday, and it will soon be open Sundays and Mondays as well.
