Zagat editor James Mulcahy recently stopped by Pera Soho, a Downtown spinoff of Midtown's Pera Mediterranean Brassier and filed the following report.

Owner Burak Karacam on the venture: The Pera brand is essentially defined as a bridge between Eastern Mediterranean ethnicity and the expectations of New York City. We were getting very good feedback at our Midtown location, but one of the questions people asked was why we didn't have one downtown. So, we thought this was a great space and a great opportunity to put one here.

Executive chef Ryan Skeen on the menu: Diner's can expect classic Turkish cuisine, as well as elevated levels of Eastern Mediterranean cuisine. One of my favorite dishes is the fluke crudo. It's fluke with roasted beets, pistachio, sesame seeds, pickled watermelon and dill. It's got a really nice balance of sweet and sour, that really highlights the fish and the roasted beets.

Karacam on the space: With the decor, first and foremost, we wanted the restaurant to feel like a New York City restaurant. We do incorporate a good amount of Eastern Mediterranean aspects. You'll see a mural with a tram in the dining room. This tram actually comes from a location called Pera in Istanbul. In addition to that you also see some images printed on bronzed mirrors all around our walls. Most of these images are also taken from historic photographs of the Pera neighborhood or nearby.

For more information on Pera Soho and other new restaurants, visit www.zagat.com/buzz.