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A wood table with several plates of tortillas, sauces, tacos, and a whole roasted fish with wine glasses. Jason Varney

Stephen Starr’s New Baja Restaurant-Bookstore-Gallery-Music Venue Will Open in Fishtown This Week

At LMNO on Front Street, diners can choose their own adventure

On Wednesday, October 6, the Stephen Starr empire will expand by one more business when the Philly restaurateur known for his over 30 restaurants in the U.S. will open LMNO, a Baja Mexican restaurant that is also an art gallery, bookstore, vinyl listening room, and music venue. The whole shebang is located at 1749 N. Front Street in Fishtown.

The inside of a restaurant with angular booths and a red and pink wall art installation. Jason Varney

The restaurant had been on Starr’s mind for over three years, he told the Inquirer, and he’d planned to open its doors in April of 2020. The space has long been painted black and vibrant pink on the outside of the former granite warehouse, but the pandemic forced Starr to push the opening back by over a year. Now, with executive chef Francisco Ramirez — who worked for Starr as a dishwasher in his teens before going on to lead some of Philly’s best kitchens — LMNO will bring tostadas, aguachiles, adobado tacos, and coal-roasted seafood to Fishtown five nights a week.

A platter of several tacos, mixed drinks, sauces, and Saltines crackers with limes and salt. Jason Varney
The interior of a restaurant with wooden chairs and a bar and an angular style wood-fired oven in the center. Jason Varney

The restaurant itself will center around a live fire “grill room” where Ramirez and his team will cook dishes like Pacific sea bass in a dashi-achiote marinade and adobo lamb shank, but the LMNO experience doesn’t end at the grill. The 200-seat space was designed by Serge Becker, known for NYC’s La Esquina, and with 6,000 square feet and a $5 million budget to play with, the restaurant is also home to a bookstore, art gallery, and music venue with a vinyl listening room in the back.

“LMNO isn’t like anything else. It’s a dynamic space that, beyond a laid back, authentic dining experience, lends itself to live music, art exhibits, DJ sets, workshops, cooking classes, and anything collaborative” Starr said in a release. In other words, when you’re at LMNO, you can choose your own adventure.

A bar setting with industrial pipes and wooden stools, with an array of liquors and alcohols. Jason Varney
A goblet of ceviche against a red tiled background. Jason Varney
A dining room with a long wooden table and black and white photos on the white brick walls. Jason Varney
A bookshelf on white brick walls with art books and photo books sitting over and near a light wood table. Jason Varney

LMNO is located at 1749 N. Front Street. It opens on Wednesday, October 6, and will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Reservations can be made on LMNO’s website.

La Chinesca

1036 Spring Garden Street, , PA 19123 (267) 838-9688 Visit Website

LMNO

1739-1749 North Front Street, , PA 19122 (215) 770-7001 Visit Website

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