Those looking to book a table at celebrated chef Susur Lee's new restaurant will have to first dial "212."

Lee, whose inventive Asian fusion cooking has influenced the Toronto fine-dining scene for two decades, is opening a restaurant in September in a new luxury Manhattan hotel.

The unnamed restaurant will anchor the $80 million (U.S.) Thompson LES hotel in the Lower East Side. Lee will be part-owner.

"It will be decidedly more Asian than anything Susur has done before," said Brenda Bent, his wife.

Lee was cooking at a private dinner and unavailable for comment.

This is not Lee's first attempt to woo New York diners. He was a consultant for Buddakan three years ago, helping turn the Meat Packing District restaurant into a hotspot worthy of a cameo on Sex and the City.

Nor is it the only new restaurant Lee is planning.

On May 31, he will close his eponymous Susur on King St. W. The space will be remodelled by Bent and relaunched in late summer as a casual shared-plates concept grounded in Europe, replacing the $120 reverse tasting menus, served with the heaviest course first, and leisurely truffle-themed dinners.

"We couldn't do the three-hour dining experience with Susur in New York three or four days a week," Bent said.

Lee, his restaurant next door to Susur, is to remain open.

The pony-tailed Lee, 49, has generated international praise for his intelligent and finessed food, along with some controversy.

The Star last year reported on supposed unpaid wages and abuse in his kitchens.

The Hong Kong-born, classically trained Lee arrived in Toronto as a chef for the now-closed Westbury Hotel.

He went on to open Lotus in 1987, pioneering the East-meets-West approach in a cramped Tecumseth St. space.

He closed Lotus in 1997 to consult for Asian restaurants and hotels, then opened Susur in 2000 and Lee in 2004. In an interview last year, Lee told the Star he sometimes wondered how successful he would be in New York.

"I'd be full seven nights with reservations two months in advance," he said.

Lee, a self-confessed micromanager, will concentrate on the kitchen. "If he's smart, he'll stay out of the service side of things or he'll have his butt handed to him in New York," a former staffer said.

Longtime sous chef Dominic Amaral will be promoted to run the revamped Susur, while Lee head chef Jason Carter will help with the New York opening.

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