Man shot in rob at outdoor table of E. Side eatery
A man dining with his date at the swanky celebrity hangout Philippe on Manhattan’s East Side was shot in the leg during a brazen robbery in the eatery’s outdoor seating area Wednesday, police sources said.
The 28-year-old victim was on a first date at the high-end E. 60th St. Chinese restaurant when a pair of armed men stepped up to his table and another couple next to him just after 10 p.m., sources said.
The robbers, who both wore masks, produced guns and each picked a table. A man sitting at the other table forked over a Rolex Stainless Steel Submariner, but the shooting victim decided to go for his robber’s gun, sources said.
The pair struggled, and the victim was shot in the left leg, sources said. He then staggered onto the sidewalk, leaving a trail of blood, sources said.
He’s expected to survive the wound, police said.
“He was a hardworking guy on a first date,” one police source said of the victim.
The gunman ran west on 60th St., got into a red Mercedes-Benz and drove off, sources said.
A woman dining at Il Mulino, a restaurant next door, described the chaos.
“I was having a salad, and there were two shots. Everybody came running in, screaming,” she said. “It’s hard to believe it was a robbery. They were eating dinner out front. It looked like they were targeted. It’s crazy.”
Philippe, named after its celebrity executive chef Philippe Chow, is a favorite of rappers Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, according to published reports.
A group of workers who sued the restaurant over unpaid overtime and tips in 2012 alleged that Minaj and Rick Ross would frequent a secret pot-smoking lounge in the basement.