New restaurant Celesta serving plant-based lunch and dinner on Milwaukee's east side

It's been open limited hours for lunch in recent days, but the full force of plant-based restaurant Celesta comes Tuesday, when it opens for lunch and dinner on the east side.

The restaurant is at 1978 N. Farwell Ave.

Celesta chef-owner Melanie Manuel has said the restaurant's tagline is "otherworldly vegan eats." It's among a growing number of restaurants serving entirely or mainly plant-based dishes in Milwaukee.

Like Manuel's Beatrix Foods pop-up and catering company, Celesta will look to international cuisines for its vegan menu.

Dishes on the opening menu include tacos diablos made with barbecue seitan (the weekly taco plate, at $12, will change); a shareable plate of lemon arancini in tomato sauce ($9); mushroom tartare with Asian flavors ($9); Cuban black bean soup ($4 a cup, $6 a bowl); Nicoise salad ($12) with mustard-shallot dressing; and lasagna made with house almond "ricotta" ($13).

Celesta has a full bar; its drinks include the Screwy Rabbit ($12), mezcal with carrot and orange juices and smoked paprika.

And to make their own meals at home, customers soon will be able to buy house-made seitan and other faux meats from what Manuel calls the restaurant's butchery.

Hours for lunch and dinner are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, plus Celesta is open for lunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday for now, with brunch coming later, Manuel said. 

The tiny dining room most recently was the site of the Thai restaurant Jow Nai Fouquet. Before that, it was home to the Middle Eastern restaurant Abu's for decades. (One of Celesta's house cocktails is The Throwback at $9, "Abu's secret rosewater lemonade.")

Because the restaurant is small, Manuel recommends that diners make reservations. The restaurant's number is (414) 231-3030.