Closings, Kimika Starts Brunch, & More NYC Restaurant News

New Menus, Reservation Updates, & Closings

• If you’ve ever tried to go to St. Anselm in Williamsburg, you probably had to wait at least an hour for a table. Now, they’re offering outdoor dining reservations for the first time ever. If you’re walking around Williamsburg and want to try your luck at a steak and some excellent creamed spinach, St. Anselm is still holding some outdoor tables for walk-ins.

• Kimika in Nolita just started serving brunch on weekends between 11:30am and 2:30pm with a new Italian-Japanese inspired menu involving a pastry bento box, matcha mochi French toast, and a breakfast calzone stuffed with scrambled eggs and mozzarella. You can order takeout or make a reservation here.

• Daniel on the UES is open for indoor service as a new, seafood-forward concept called Boulud Sur Mer. They’re serving a $123 prix-fixe menu that comes with three courses. It’s only running until the end of November, and you can find out how to make a reservation here.

• Both the Chelsea and UWS locations of Le Pif have closed. Unfortunately, this French wine bar is just one of many NYC spots to have closed recently. You can stay in the loop about the closures in your neighborhood on our guide here.

• For the past few weekends, Harlem Shake has set up a voter registration booth outside of their restaurant from 5pm to 8pm. They’re giving everyone who registers a 10% discount on anything at the restaurant. Since New York’s registration deadline is coming up soon (on October 9th), this is the last week they’ll be posted up.

Cool Stuff Happening for One Night Only

• Hunky Dory is hosting a Filipinx pop-up this Wednesday to raise campaign money for City Council candidate Deirdre Levy (if she wins the election, she would be the first Filipina and special ed teacher to represent Brooklyn). The Crown Heights cafe is teaming up with Woldy Kusina and The Dusky Kitchen to serve a bunch of savory vegan options like pancit sotanghon (glass noodles with ginger and vegetables) and lumpia spring rolls, as well as cookies rolled in tamarind and tajin. You can pre-order through Hunky Dory’s Venmo or stop by from 1pm to 8pm on Wednesday.

• If you’re in Greenpoint and your ex recently changed their Disney+ password, know that there’s an outdoor screening of Beyonce’s visual album Black Is King at 64 Dobbin Street (an event space). Even if you do have Disney+, you should still check it out. Each $5 ticket includes popcorn, a drink, and a donation to the national racial justice organization, Color Of Change.

• This Friday, restaurants like Lighthouse, Huertas, and Ops will donate their proceeds to benefit five grassroots voting organizations across the country. It’s part of a national program called Dine For Democracy. Learn more and see the full list of participating restaurants here.

Cool Stuff Happening This Fall

• Planning a date night? Miss the movies? You should know about 11 restaurants and bars around the city that are showing regularly-scheduled outdoor movies.

• If you’re looking for new restaurant openings to get excited about, here are some worthy of their own dedicated calendar reminders.

NYC Guide

NYC’s New Restaurant Openings

Indoor Dining Is Here & Outdoor Dining Is Permanent

• As of Wednesday, September 30th, restaurants in NYC can reopen for indoor dining at a reduced 25% capacity. We wrote a guide to 20 spots that have reopened for indoor service.

• Last week, Mayor de Blasio announced that the city’s outdoor dining program would now be “permanent and year-round.“ He also said that he’s going to continue to expand the city’s Open Streets: Restaurants initiative, which closes certain areas of the city to traffic.

• If you haven’t eaten in the middle of the street yet, we recommend taking advantage of the fact that cars are officially banned from these areas of Manhattan.

NYC Feature

NYC Restaurant Workers March On Cuomo’s Office