NYCGuide
The Best Pop-Ups In NYC Right Now
photo credit: Louise Palmberg
New pop-ups are a great way to roam NYC with your mouth open like PacMan, eating food straight from the fever dreams of the city’s most exciting chefs. And they’re everywhere. The next time you decide to venture beyond that one neighborhood restaurant where the waitstaff has seen every outfit you own, check out one of the pop-ups on this list.
April 22 - April 28
Mission Chinese Food @ Cha Kee / Wednesday-Sunday, 5-10pm; End Date TBD
Danny Bowien’s beloved San Francisco import is back for a spring and summer pop-up, after their drama-filled closure in 2022. They’re setting up shop inside Cha Kee at 43 Mott Street from for the next few months (exact ending dates TBD). They'll be serving classics from the original 2010 menu—and we hope that their kung pao pastrami, mapo tofu, and thrice cooked bacon will make the cut. Follow Cha Kee’s IG for updates.
photo credit: Dane Isaac
Bad Larry's Good Pizza @ Other Half and Rialto Grande / Saturday, April 27, 1-7pm; Sun, April 28 (Time TBA)
There are some new pizza people making waves every weekend in Brooklyn. They use three-day fermented sourdough, hand-stretched to order, as a base for wild toppings like Alabama white BBQ and Italian sausage, or white garlic with chicken skin and bacon. For the last Saturday in April, they'll be at Other Half Brewery in Carroll Gardens, before ending the month at Rialto Grande on Sunday, April 28. If you can't make it this month, check their Instagram for future dates and locations.
Ongoing
photo credit: Louise Palmberg
Summer Sundays @ Huda / Sundays, May 5-Aug 25; 6:30pm
One of our favorite new restaurants of the year serves food from the Levant, like batata harra and shish Barak. Starting on May 5, they’ll be hosting a summer series at their East Williamsburg restaurant, with film screenings and live performances that highlight the region's creative community. Film screenings are free, and live performances have a small fee that goes 100% to the artists. Check out their calendar here, and read our review so you know what to order.
Flatbush Oyster Co. @ King Tai / Thursdays, 5pm-9pm
If you want to eat grilled jerk oysters and more "unconventionally Panamanian" food, Flatbush Oyster Co.’s roving pop-up is your best bet. You can find them on most Thursdays at King Tai, where they’ll have their famous jerk, as well as weekly specials. (Check their Instagram on Mondays to make sure they’ll be there.) Past menus have included spicy pei mussels, oxtail croquettes, and Colonese-style mariscos fritos. Walk-ins are welcome, but if you want to pre-order, shoot them a DM.
Happy Bull Pizza @ Lohi Bar and Fifth Hammer Brewing Company / Various Dates, 5pm onwards
We’ve never had a vodka sauce burger before, and we have no idea why. It seems so obvious. Happy Bull Pizza is a pop-up known for its extra-charred, extra-garlicky pizzas, but they’ve recently added the Vodka Burger 5000 to their menu, and we're on a mission to try it. You can too, at Fifth Hammer every Tuesday night, or at Lohi Bar from Wednesday to Sunday.
Border Town @ Commune / Sundays, 10am until sold out
On Sundays, you'll find this small-batch tortilla maker at Commune, a Clinton Hill cafe, making chewy, lard-kissed tortillas, filled with things like chicharrones in salsa roja, and the smoothest, gentlest refried beans you’ve ever had. The line to order can be long, and the line to wait for your order even longer, but if you have time to kill, stick around for the $5 tacos. Their Sonoran wheat flour tortillas are also for sale at Big Night and Marlow & Daughters.
photo credit: Willa Moore
Lev @ The Hancock / various dates
Lev was once the city’s most elusive (and exclusive) pop-up. But then they threw us a bone, and now you don’t have to solve their riddles three to figure out the date, time, and location—you can just buy a ticket to each event. And you should, because they do "site-specific" cooking that’s usually worth the hype, with a different menu each time—often with a slew of seasonal vegetable and meats prepared right in front of you. Lately, they've been doing dinners at The Hancock, a venue in Bed-Stuy. Check their Instagram for the next meal—last we checked there's one on May 4.
photo credit: Becky MacGregor Clark
Gotham Burger Social Club @ Threes Brewing at Franklin + Kent / daily
Another day, another smashburger, and we’re not mad about it at all. The next time you need some beefy goodness, try the fan-favorite Oklahoma-style onion burger at Gotham Burger Social Club’s winter pop-up. They’ve opened their own restaurant now, but are still at Threes Brewing kitchen in Greenpoint, serving their signature burgers, buffalo wings, a crispy fish sandwich, and sides. Food is available from open to close every day, with a bunch of great brews on tap to wash everything down.
photo credit: Super Burrito
Super Burrito @ Threes Brewing / Mon-Fri, 5pm-10pm; Sat-Sun, 12pm until sold out
Over at the Gowanus location of Threes Brewing, Super Burrito takes over kitchen duties every day until 10pm (two hours before closing). They have a basic selection of their Mission-style burritos, but look out for weekly specials as well, like cheeseburgers with bacon and pepper jam. On weekends, they churn out fat breakfast burritos with chorizo and crispy hash browns all day.
C Marty’s Jerk @ King Tai / Wednesdays 5-11pm; Thursdays & Fridays, 5-9pm
Get some of the best jerk chicken Brooklyn has to offer at the C Marty’s Jerk pop-up inside King Tai, or take some to go for a sunset picnic. They’re at the cozy Crown Heights bar from Wednesday to Friday every week cooking up jerk fusion plates like jerk banh mi and quesadillas, as well as their classic wings.
