If you tried to keep track of every brand new restaurant in New York City, your head might spin. So just read this list instead. These are the new restaurant openings that seem like they have the most potential—although keep in mind, for the ones we haven’t tried, we make no promises. Go forth and be a pioneer.
September
photo credit: Dan Ahn
Kjun
After running pop-ups for the last few years, Jae Jung—who just had a stint on Top Chef and has worked at several restaurants in New Orleans like Dooky Chase's—has opened a permanent storefront in Murray Hill. Kjun offers Korean-Cajun food, which is something you won't see anywhere else in NYC. You'll be able to try things like chicken and andouille gumbo with okra kimchi, sausage grillades made with galbi sauce over cheesy grits, and fried oysters with pickled Korean radishes.
This French spot "with Austrian touches" has taken over the old Breslin space at the Ace Hotel in Nomad. The redesigned two-story dining room has geometric wallpaper, steel chandeliers, and a pewter bar where you can order snacks like fried oxtail "bonbons" and cheese gougères. You'll also see salmon en crôute, a whole roasted chicken, sweet and savory soufflés, and an extensive champagne menu.
After being closed for two years during the pandemic, Manhatta reopened in March with drink service and a small food menu at the bar. Now, they have a new chef and a full dinner menu. Some of their dishes include blue crab with green tomato and caviar, BBQ eel with bone marrow, and beef tartare with hazelnut miso. This restaurant is located on the 60th floor of a building in FiDi, and the views are amazing.
photo credit: Adam Friedlander
Masalawala & Sons
This Park Slope restaurant is a reboot of sorts of a restaurant that Roni Mazumdar opened for his father about a decade ago. (Roni is one of the restauranteurs behind Semma and Rowdy Rooster.) Most of the dishes—some of which are popular in West Bengal—are served in clay pots. Expect tapioca and potato fritters, prawn curry served in a coconut, and lentil dumplings in yogurt and chutney. You can also pick up some groceries while you're here, and they'll have prepared foods available soon.
photo credit: Discolo
Discolo
The group behind Mel's and Al Coro has opened a third concept called Discolo, a "cocktail club" in the basement of Al Coro in Chelsea (in the old Del Posto space). A vet from The Dead Rabbit is in charge of drinks, and you can make reservations, but most of the space is held for walk-ins.
Chef Orawan Sawangphol started working at her family's restaurant—located about an hour outside Phuket—when she was 13. Now she has her own place in the East Village with a menu featuring Southern Thai dishes. You can order things like deep-fried pickled pork wrapped in bacon and roasted duck curry with pineapple and chili paste. This place has room for about 30, and there are a handful of tables outside.
The Noda team has opened this cocktail lounge in Flatiron with a big horseshoe-shaped granite bar and room for about 18 people. The space has crumpled blue velvet drapes and features a bronze octopus. Every cocktail here has its own unique glassware and coaster, and food items include uni chawanmushi and a wagyu sando.
A former executive pastry chef at Jungsik is behind this bakery and cafe in Midtown. Expect a lot of fresh baked bread like olive ciabatta and chorizo-zucchini focaccia. This place also has a couple salads, pastries like green tea scones made with white chocolate, and classic sandwiches such as a croque monsieur and a jambon beurre. Pavé is only open Tuesday to Friday, 8am-3pm.
Pecking House
Pecking House started as a delivery operation with an incredibly long waitlist in Fresh Meadows and eventually became a pop-up in Clinton Hill. Now, there's finally a brick and mortar location in Park Slope. Expect the same exceptional spicy fried chicken as well as new items like wings with orange pepper sauce and dirty fried rice. For now, this place is dine-in only, and we hear the lines are already long, so bring some headphones and catch up on your podcasts while you wait.
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Kru
Dishes "inspired by Thailand's royalty and aristocracy" are featured at this new restaurant (opening September 17) in Williamsburg. The chef, who used to cook at Fish Cheeks, is basing some of the food on recipes that are more than a century old, using ingredients like gooseberries, beef tongue, and jamón ibérico. The menu has sections for small plates, relishes and dips, and kaeng.
If you're the type of person who puts an egg on pretty much any leftover food, you might want to check this place out. This Flatiron spot is the first NYC location for Effin Egg. (The other two are in Georgia and Florida.) You'll see "effin" and "eff" used as much as humanly possible throughout their menu, which includes sandwiches, tacos, burritos, and bowls—all made with, well, we don't have to tell you.
photo credit: Madelynne Boykin
Slutty Vegan
Slutty Vegan, which started in Atlanta in 2018 as an Instagram business selling burgers out of an apartment, is setting up shop (opening September 17) in Fort Greene with their plant-based menu. This location is a return to New York for the owner of the mini chain. (She opened her first restaurant in Harlem.) Different varieties of sandwiches made with Impossible meat, Incogmeato chicken, and vegan shrimp will be available alongside fried pickles and banana pudding.
BBQ, Cajun food, and fish smoked in-house are all featured on the menu at this restaurant in Sugar Hill. You can get baby back ribs, shrimp beignets, and hot-smoked trout, but if you don't eat meat, they also have vegan nuggets and Italian sausage sandwiches. This place has live music (mostly jazz), and there's a large outdoor patio.
photo credit: Andrew Bui
Monsieur Vo
Madame Vo BBQ has been rebooted as Monsieur Vo in the East Village. The menu offers creative-sounding Vietnamese dishes like beef shank braised in bún bò huế broth with bone marrow gravy and "dry pho" with chicken thigh, liver, and gizzard. They also have a bánh mì board that lets you build your own mini bánh mì with slices of baguette, pâté, Vietnamese ham, and more.
photo credit: Eric Vitale Photography
Jōji
Daniel Boulud has been busy lately. After opening Le Gratin earlier this year, he's now involved with another new spot below the Midtown building that houses Le Pavillon (another restaurant of his, which opened last year). You might be expecting another French place, but Jōji serves Japanese food. Only one $375 omakase is available, and this restaurant also has a sister takeout sushi concept called Jōji Box.
There's a new halal Chinese spot in Astoria, and it looks like a good option for a casual dinner any night of the week. Like a lot of Chinese restaurants, Mr. Chang has a menu organized by major types of proteins (chicken, beef, shrimp, fish, etc.). You can also get Peking duck, which comes in half ($40) and whole ($75) portions.
Chanson Le Salon, which opened in February, has a new sister cocktail bar in the same space in Tribeca. This bar has a full food menu with small bites like lobster roll sliders and fried avocado as well as larger dishes like grilled branzino and short rib with fried polenta.
photo credit: Lesley Brown
Diane's
If you like jukeboxes, check out Diane's, a new bar in Williamsburg. While you're waiting for your songs to play, you can order one of their $13 cocktails, such as the Dirty Irish made with Jameson and blackberries or the frozen Lemon Coco made with vodka and coconut cream. Neon pink lighting permeates the space, which is open until 3am Thursday to Saturday (and 2am every other night).
Baby’s Buns & Buckets
The two sisters behind this place in Dekalb Market Hall designed their menu to be an "intersection of Thai street food and American fast food." The "buns" are little sandwiches on brioche with things like fried portobello and grilled honey pork, and the "buckets" are rice bowls with mixed greens, vegetables, and the same proteins you can get with the buns.
The owners of Popina are behind this new restaurant in Carroll Gardens. You should obviously expect steaks (prepared with brown butter jus), but the menu isn't all about beef. You'll also find a pork porterhouse and leg of lamb as well as shrimp cocktail and hash browns with trout roe. Like any good chop house, this place also serves a burger, but it's not listed on the menu and has limited availability.
photo credit: Jamie Rosenberg
Pearl Street Supper Club
Despite the "supper club" label, you don't have to have a membership in order to eat here. Although there's only a 10-seat counter, so there is an air of exclusivity. This place is serving "modern New England" cuisine via a $125 seasonal tasting menu with eight to nine courses. Expect dishes made with ingredients like surf clams, scallops, fava beans, and snow leopard melon. A meal here lasts about two hours.
Musette Wine Bar
Unsurprisingly, you'll find plenty of wine at this new bar in Harlem on 131st Street. But there's also a French food menu that includes cheese and charcuterie boards, a jambon beurre sandwich, and other dishes that will pair well with whatever varietal you choose. The rustic and charming-looking room has wood chairs, tables, and floors, which makes this place feel like a bistro.
Inspired by trips to both Italy and Japan, the owner of this gelato shop in Flushing has created flavors like sesame seaweed, grapefruit and jasmine tea, and purple yam and taro. Scoops of gelato are made to look like adorable animals, and menu items have names like Little Piggy and Lonely Panda. You can also get croffles topped with fruit, chocolate syrup, and gelato.
El Culichi
This pink and orange food truck is parked right near the 82nd Street 7 train station in Jackson Heights. David Mendoza, who is from Guadalajara, is serving Sinaloan-style items like aguachiles, tostadas topped with tuna, and seafood cocktails made with shrimp, octopus, scallops, and oysters. Nothing on the menu costs more than $14.
photo credit: Kieran Knightly
Crispiano
Just west of Tompkins Square Park, you'll find this new restaurant with nine different kinds of red and white pizzas. A simple margherita is $14, while the Vegetariana with eggplant, broccoli rabe, artichoke, and mushroom is $20. You can also order classic appetizers and pasta like fried calamari, penne all vodka, and spaghetti carbonara.
Plenty of traditional Korean dishes like bibimbap, japchae, and spicy rice cakes are available at this new restaurant in Kips Bay. But you'll also find less common dishes like handrolls made with crab claw, uni, and salmon and cod roe. (We're fans of Korean handrolls.) The somewhat sterile decor give the space a modern vibe.
More than 20 small plates that cost no more than $19 make up most of the menu at this restaurant in Astoria. Some of these dishes include skirt steak bites with chimichurri, mushroom croquettes, baby lamb chops, and a bibb lettuce salad with smoked blue cheese and pears. The colorful dining room looks like a good setting for drinking wine and sampling a variety of small bites.
August
Dollar Hits started in LA, and now you can have their Filipino street food-style skewers in Woodside. (This is the first location in NYC.) You'll find wooden sticks poking through 33 different kinds of things like pork blood, pig ears, and chicken feet for $1.50 each. If skewers aren't your thing, you can try their sisig, vegetable egg rolls, or ube shakes.
Rabbit
The team behind Ladybird has opened another vegan restaurant in the East Village that serves a $75 13-course tasting menu. All of the dishes—avocado tartare, zucchini with tomatoes, and chimichurri mushrooms with ricotta, for example—are raw, and there are only two seatings per night at 6pm and 8:30pm.
Bee’s Knees Provisions
You can get cheese boards, fondue, and paninis as well as other things like gazpacho and a kale farro salad at this "wine tavern" in Cobble Hill. The space has leather bar stools, navy banquettes, and a patterned floor that looks like it was inspired by the classic arcade game Q*bert. On the way out, you can check out their attached provisions store that sells craft beer, coffee, cheese, and more.
Lupo Rosso
Neopolitan pies are the speciality at this restaurant in Long Island City. 12-inch pizzas, including one with both vodka sauce and pesto, are coming out of a wood-burning oven that was hand-built in Naples. Any pie can be made gluten-free or vegan, and they also have small plates like meatballs and burrata.
Dreamery
Dreamery (opening August 27) is an ice cream shop from the restaurant group behind Clementine Bakery, which has some of the best vegan pastries in the city. Like that bakery, this place is in Clinton Hill, and everything from the soft serve and cakes to the popsicles and candy are plant-based. They also sell stickers in case you want to decorate your laptop.
Cucina Alba
Adam Leonti, who used to be the chef at Vetri in Philly, has a new Italian restaurant on 18th street between the High Line and Chelsea Piers. Cucina Alba (opening August 26) will offer a selection of four rotating pastas (smoked lemon cacio e pepe, for example) and plenty of wines from Italy. Since Leonti is known for his baking, expect a variety of breads and pastries.
The owners of Congee Village have opened another Cantonese spot just a few blocks away on Bowery near Rivington. Some dishes from Congee Village like lobster with sticky rice, pan-fried lamb chops, and (of course) congee are offered here, but the new restaurant has more of a focus on dim sum, which is served all day. The two-floor space has a few private rooms that are set up for karaoke.
photo credit: Hi-Note
Hi-Note
We're not sure what to call Hi-Note in Alphabet City. They serve some cold brews and macchiatos, so it seems like a cafe. But they also have beer, wine, and cocktails on the menu. And if you want to sing one of your favorite songs into a microphone, you can do that too, because this place is a karaoke lounge as well.
C As In Charlie
Three friends who have known each other since they were 10 have partnered to open this restaurant in the old Bessou space in Noho. Their small-plates menu is influenced by both Korean and Southern cuisine, so you can expect dishes such as popcorn chicken with a sweet gochujang glaze and a Salisbury steak made with galbi jus. Soju cocktails, like one made with sweet tea, will eventually be available.
This sandwich shop started as an outdoor pop-up under a tent at the Greenpoint Terminal Market last summer. Now, it has a permanent location in the East Village selling build-your-own egg sandwiches all day. Their non-breakfast sandwiches like the Pho Short Rib and Salmon Katsu Po'Boy use ingredients commonly found in various Asian cuisines.
Jalao is a restaurant in Santo Domingo, and its first US location is now open in the new Radio Hotel in Washington Heights. The menu is Dominican, and you can order things like ceviche, braised goat croquetas, and a pork tomahawk with chimichurri. Dance instructors are on hand while live music plays in the restaurant or their outdoor courtyard.
photo credit: Rachael Lombardy
Fini Pizza
An owner behind Lilia, one of our highest rated restaurants in the city, has opened a new spot in Williamsburg slinging both New York-style and Sicilian pies. Varieties include broccoli rabe with sausage, 'nduja, and tomato, and there are several different flavors of Italian ices.
Rang
This Indian restaurant in Long Island City seems like a good option for small plates and cocktails (like one with bourbon and cardamom syrup). Long horn pepper pakora and corn/crispy okra chaat are a few of the items available, and you can grab a lunch special that comes with an entrée, rice, and bread for $12-$15.
Witching Hour
Flowers seem to be the theme at this cocktail bar in Bushwick. There's a neon red rose on one wall, and the row of lamps above the long bar look like upside down tulips. The owners met each other at a karaoke bar, so they've set up a small area in the back with floral wallpaper where you can try (and fail) to get through any track by Eminem.
Tong
Our favorite Bangladeshi street food truck now has its first brick and mortar location in Jamaica. Expect the same amazing fuchka with yellow peas, potatoes, and shaved egg yolks as well as a handful of new items like a luchi platter with fried masala-marinated beef patties, dal, and cucumber yogurt.
Ondo Omakase
At this point, it's hard for any new sushi place to stand out among the crowd. Ondo Omakase in Noho is attempting to distinguish itself by focusing on getting the temperatures of their fish and rice just right. The $120 16-course menu includes chutoro, young sea bream, and Japanese sea perch.
Dave's Hot Chicken
This fast-casual, Nashville-style hot chicken chain (opening August 19) with locations all across the country has its first Manhattan storefront in Midtown. Choose one of seven different spice levels for your fried chicken, which you can get as tenders or in sliders. They also have sides like kale slaw and mac and cheese. The trippy-looking ceiling is what we'd imagine going through a wormhole would look like.
Tin Building by Jean-Georges
Jean-Georges Vongerichten (ever heard of him?) has finally launched his long-awaited project at the Tin Building in South Street Seaport. It includes full service restaurants, a wine bar, places to buy groceries and produce, and so much more. For now, this food hall/marketplace is only open Thursday to Sunday, noon to 5pm (with a full official launch planned for the fall).
Chef Guo
The first thing you need to know about this place is that a meal here costs $518 per person. If you haven't immediately moved on to the next opening, here's what else you need to know: The cuisine is Chinese, and the menu consists of 15 savory courses (including a lobster tail with mustard greens and smoked duck breast), three tea courses, and a dessert. This Midtown restaurant seats 20.
We go to a lot of different types of restaurants, so we can confidently say that a Syrian Korean spot is unique. To be clear, this place in Windsor Terrace serves Syrian and Korean food (separately), so you unfortunately won't see any bulgogi-stuffed kibbeh. You will, however, see stuffed grape leaves and beef shawarma as well as banchan, kimbap, and japchae.
The dining room at Siam Thai in Flushing seems like it would fit right in at some animal kingdom theme park. One wall has a huge peacock while another has a zebra, giraffe, and cheetahs. A ton of plants hanging from the ceiling add to the jungle-like vibe. In terms of food, you'll find dishes like papaya salad and beef pad kee mao.
Marc Forgione—whose restaurants include Peasant and another one named after him—is a partner in this new Italian spot on the corner of 8th Street and 5th Avenue (in the old Otto space). Expect meat, fish, antipasti, pasta, and seven varieties of pinsa, including one made with guanciale, egg, and pecorino.
11 Tigers
The entrance to this second floor speakeasy in the East Village is hard to miss. It has a painting of a huge tiger surrounded by bright red flowers. The large menu has both Japanese and Thai dishes (unagi don and larb tuna, for example), and some of their cocktails, which are all $16, are made with yadong, an herb-infused Thai liquor.
White Tiger Tavern
The White Tiger team has opened this restaurant in Clinton Hill that serves food billed as "New Korean." You can get ramyun with roasted pork and dolsot bibimbap, and a Korean deep-fried rotisserie chicken will be available soon. Both soju and sake are served, in addition to a handful of house cocktails.
Harlem Breakfast Club
As the name suggests, you can get breakfast food at this new spot in Harlem. They serve things like pancakes, salmon cakes and grits, and belgian waffles. This place also has a few vegan options like a plant-based sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich on a pretzel bun. Harlem Breakfast Club is open until 4pm on weekdays and 2pm on weekends.
photo credit: James Song
Little Banchan Shop
This grab and go spot in Long Island City has a whole wall of little sealed plastic bags filled with things like seasoned zucchini, eggplant, and watercress. In addition to banchan, you can purchase big jars of kimchi, canned Korean drinks, and frozen dumplings and pork cutlets.
This third iteration of Sandro's, which started in 1985, is now open on the Upper East Side just five blocks from its last location on 81st Street. Classic pastas such as spaghettini al limone and cacio e pepe are on the menu, and you'll also see dishes like veal bolognese and branzino prepared three different ways.
Sleepwalk
Sleepwalk is a cocktail bar in East Williamsburg that's open until 4am every night. This place has a bunch of beers on tap, and part of the space is inspired by Shanghai in the 1920s. There's also some art that features a Basquiat-style crown and white doves.
Ando Patisserie
Elio's Dessert Kitchen has reinvented itself as Ando Patisserie in the East Village. The sweets here seem to be inspired by different parts of Asia. Things like oolong lava cheesecake, a jasmine and white peach parfait, and cups filled with durian, red beans, and matcha are available.
Curry in Handi
You'll see a couple of neon signs that say "Halal Bar" and "You're the spice of my life" at this Indian restaurant in Bushwick. All the drinks here, like the colorful Blue Lagoon and Strawberry Smokin' Mojito, are non-alcoholic. Dishes includes tandoori chicken kebab, goat biryani, and samosa chaat.
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Claud
A pair of Momofuku Ko alums (neither of whom are named Claud) have opened this East Village restaurant with a small plant-lined backyard and lights that look like upside down taco shells. Rabbit rillettes, swordfish au poivre, and roasted duck breast for two are some of the items on the compact menu, and the wine cellar holds over a thousand bottles.
photo credit: Daddies
Daddies
After opening three Italian spots (including Lil' Frankie's) in the East Village, Frank Prisinzano has a new cash-only pizzeria across town near Hudson and Morton. There are 14 different kinds of 12-inch pizzas ($22-$28) as well as a large selection of antipasti, salads, and pastas. For dessert, you can get strawberries with whipped cream and 100-year-old balsamic vinegar.
Sincerely, Ophelia
Chicken & The Egg, a fried chicken sandwich spot that recently opened in the East Village, now has an adjacent speakeasy with decor inspired by Basquiat. The space features art from local and upcoming artists, and the glow-in-the-dark bathroom has a black light and a one-way mirror. (Fortunately, that mirror looks out instead of in.)
Ju Qi
Ju Qi is another popular chain from China (opening August 5) setting up shop in the Flushing development known as Tangram. (Shoo Loong Kan, a Szechuan-style hot pot chain, opened there in June.) This place is known for their fried rice formed into the shape of a honeycomb and roast duck that you can write on with a Chinese paint brush dipped in honey.
Smyth Tavern
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The restaurant group behind Bar Tulix and Lure Fishbar has taken over the old Little Park space in the Smyth Hotel in Tribeca. The food here is "American tavern fare" like meatballs with polenta, mafaldine with uni butter, and a burger with bacon onion jam. If you just want drinks, you can grab a red leather booth and order a Smyth Manhattan made with both Maker's and Suntory.
This East Village bakery is just a few doors down from its sister restaurant Smør, which specializes in open-faced sandwiches on rye bread. The menu features baked items like sourdough loaves, cardamom buns, and danishes inspired by bakeries in Copenhagen, and you can also order sandwiches here. A bunch of coffee drinks are available, and you can grab some tinned fish and mussels on your way out.
July
photo credit: Gentl + Hyers
Le Rock
The owners of Frenchette (one of our top-rated spots in the city) are opening another restaurant at Rockefeller Center. French classics like steak au poivre and salad niçoise will be on the menu, in addition to some seasonal dishes. Similar to the one at Frenchette, the wine list here (consisting of 100 reds and 100 whites) will focus on natural wines. Le Rock will eventually be open for lunch and breakfast.
These days, a lot of people think of the Nobel Peace Prize when they hear the name José Andrés. But don't forget that Andrés is also a chef who has a bunch of restaurants. Zaytinya, one of his D.C. restaurants that's been around since 2002, is now open in The Ritz-Carlton New York in Nomad. The food here is Eastern Mediterranean with dishes influenced by Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese cuisines.
photo credit: Steve Freihon
Nat's on Bleecker
The team behind Nat's on Bank has a new spot (currently in soft-open mode) in Greenwich Village serving French and American food. The flashy decor, which includes a gumball machine, is inspired by the 1980s. Expect chilled watercress soup, fried asparagus with beurre blanc, and gnocchi with escargots.
Russ & Daughters has brought back indoor dining at their LES cafe, which has been shut down since March 2020 because of the pandemic. You can now get knishes, a herring plate, and a smoked salmon board with bagels and bialys in their air-conditioned room. The cafe closes at 2:30pm every day except Tuesday and Wednesday (when it's closed).
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao
We like to go to this place, which specializes in soup dumplings, in Flushing on our days off, and now they have a second location across the street from the Empire State Building. There are 11 varieties of soup dumplings (crab/pork and abalone/pork, for example) as well as other dishes like turnip puffs, scallion pancakes, and steamed chicken soup. It looks like they have plenty of seating.
Cool World
Now, when someone mentions "Cool World," you can finally think of something other than that cartoon featuring a live-action Brad Pitt. This restaurant in Greenpoint from the Pebble Bar and Celestine team, has some Wildair vets cooking things like steak frites, fried chicken sandwiches, and other dishes that use Asian ingredients.
Maison Close
Dover sole meunière, côte de boeuf, and coq au vin are just a few of the dishes you can get at this French restaurant in Soho. (You'll find more classics like crêpes suzette on their dessert menu.) Unsurprisingly, the tight wine list is mostly French, so you can enjoy a bottle of Beaujolais on a tulip-shaped banquette that's meant to invoke early 1900s Europe.
Appropriately, this Williamsburg spot has a mural of two cats playing under the moon behind their bar. The mostly seafood menu includes towers—with king crab, clams, and more—that start at $85 as well as a selection of East and West Coast oysters and a lobster roll. Cocktails are $16, and there's outdoor seating if you want to drink martinis under the moon. From Thursday-Saturday, this place stays open until 4am.
The owner of Khe-Yo in Tribeca has opened another Southeast Asian spot in the East Village. All cocktails, such as one with vodka, passionfruit purée, and prosecco, cost $14, and they also have a selection of sake. For food, they have crispy pork spring rolls, hanger steak and lemongrass skewers, and other small plates.
Ramerino Italian Prime
POWERED BY
At this new restaurant just south of Bryant Park, there's an emphasis on cooking with olive oil instead of butter. The menu consists of dishes found in rural Tuscany, and there's a large selection of antipasti as well as salads, meat and seafood plates, and pastas like linguine with bottarga. Think of this place the next time you need to take a client out in Midtown.
The Good Fork Pub
Longtime Red Hook spot The Good Fork has been rebooted as The Good Fork Pub. The menu isn't the same as before, but the Korean influence remains. There's kimchi beer cheese and a cheesesteak made with gochujang short rib as well as some British plates like fish and chips made with beer-battered monkfish. This place is walk-in only, and it stays open until midnight.
Moonflower is a natural wine bar from the owners of Frankie, a wine bar in Jersey City. The space looks colorful and tight (pretty normal for the West Village), and the asymmetrical wine rack behind the bar looks pretty cool.
Once the Midnight Theatre opens in Manhattan West, guests won't have to worry about leaving the venue to find a place to drink after a show. Midnight Cafe is a cocktail bar adjacent to the performance space where you can order colorfully-named house cocktails like the Purple Manhattan and Pink Martini while listening to '70s Italian disco. A selection of boozy slushies is on the way.
photo credit: Taner Kurtz
Chicken & The Egg
Chicken & The Egg hopes to capitalize on our seemingly undying desire for fried chicken sandwiches. In addition to six different kinds of chicken sandwiches (including one with thick-cut bacon and a fried egg), there are a couple of vegan and vegetarian options. The Broadway lights-style sign at this East Village spot makes it hard to miss.
A brother and sister have opened this new Italian spot in the West Village. (It's named after their grandfather's restaurant, which was open for decades in the Bronx.) Eat some fritto misto, spinach ravioli stuffed with eggplant, or a rack of lamb with some shrimp at one of the granite tables inside. Or, grab some seating on 7th Avenue South if it's a day that doesn't make you think of cooking eggs on the sidewalk.
Potluck Club
Potluck Club is a Cantonese-American restaurant on Chrystie Street with an open kitchen, a big U-shaped bar, and lots of movie-related decor. The short, but interesting, menu has an endive, dragonfruit, and pecorino salad and a rice roll dish with steak and oyster mushrooms. For dessert, you can get pineapple soft serve. This place is only open for dinner Thursday through Sunday.
HAGS
This long-anticipated fine-dining restaurant "by queer people for all people" from chef Telly Justice and sommelier Camille Lindsley is now open in the East Village. Two five-course menus—a $145 vegan one and a $155 omnivore one—are available, in addition to a "we want everything" option for $215. Expect dishes like tomatoes with gooseberry and lobster with chayote. (It already seems pretty tough to get a reservation.)
Dimmer & Summer
Kenney Mei, who used to get paid to do IT-related things, has opened this dim sum restaurant in Cobble Hill. The menu has traditional items like soup dumplings, uncommon dishes like a chopped cheese scallion wrap, and a large selection of bubble teas and coffees. Whatever you get here, it'll be brought to you by a robotic cat server. (That's not a joke.)
New things are happening at The Hotel Chelsea. First, historic Spanish spot El Quijote reopened there earlier this year, and now the hotel has a very originally-named cocktail lounge. The space has a marble bar and vintage lamps, and the decor is supposed to remind you of places to drink in Europe. Aside from classic cocktails, you can get caviar, beef tartare, and other small plates.
Sala Astoria
The team behind Sala One Nine, which used to be in Flatiron, has opened this Spanish restaurant in the World Artisan Market food hall in Astoria. The tapas here includes braised pork empanadillas, patatas bravas, and bacon-wrapped dates, and you can also get plates of cheeses and cured meats.
Di Fara Pizza
Midwood's most famous pizza joint now has a third location in South Street Seaport, its first permanent storefront in Manhattan. The next time you want a soppressata and porcini slice while staring at a river, check out the newest Di Fara.
photo credit: Red Feather
Red Feather
About a block south of Washington Square Park, Red Feather is a serving Southeast Asian dishes cooked using classic French techniques. The dining room has white brick walls, blue booths, and globe lights, and you can order things like crispy pork in coconut milk with green chilis and garlic milk bread with chives and mozzarella. The food here is inspired by the chef's upbringing in the Philippines.
Alma Negra
This Mexican spot in Park Slope is already on it’s way to becoming the new “super cute” go-to on 4th Avenue. We especially like the crispy fish tacos and mole verde with cactus and tortillas. Adjacent to the dining room, there's a long bar area where you can order the La Coqueta made with tequilia, hibiscus cordial, and lavender or one of a handful of non-alcoholic cocktails for $10.
photo credit: Bosco New York
Bosco
The name of this new West Village spot is a reference to the old Mario Bosco deli that used to be on Bleecker Street. This place is primarily a cocktail bar, but you can also order some Latin-American food (halibut tempura tacos and flank steak with guacamole and salsa de arbol, for example). Cocktails include the Mexpresso Martini with tequila and grated chocolate and The Artist with purple mezcal and Aperol.
Bạn Bè
What started as an Instagram-only business selling Vietnamese pastries in 2019 is now a physical storefront in Carroll Gardens. For now, it's only open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday for just three hours a day. (Check their account for exact hours and daily menus.) Expect a few savory things like vegetarian bánh mì and sweet items like pandan waffles, coffee jelly flan layer cake, and durian ice cream on a cone.
Parcelle
Online wine retailer Parcelle has a new bar in Dimes Square. From noon to 6pm, the space acts as a store where a sommelier can help you pick out some bottles for your next dinner party. At night, this place transforms into a bar and restaurant, with a $70 prix fixe dinner Tuesday through Thursday (with options like beets with hijiki and Japanese cod with pickles).
Another sub-$100 omakase has opened in the city, and the $90 option at this Upper East Side spot comes with eight pieces. (You can also pay $180 for 16 pieces.) A few small plates like agedashi tofu and gyoza are available, in addition to à la carte nigiri and wagyu, uni, and caviar on toast for $25.
Pasquale Jones has a new restaurant and wine bar (opening July 15) right next door in Nolita. The design was influenced by red-sauce joints, and the menu features a bunch of classic Sicilian dishes like potato fritters, smoked eggplant panelle, and sfincioni (Sicilian-style pizza). Their wine list has almost 300 bottles, but they also have a full bar, so feel free to order a negroni if that's what you're in the mood for.
Manhattan West has yet another new restaurant, an upscale pan-Asian spot from one of the people behind Lilia and Chez Ma Tante. Hidden Leaf is inside of the not-yet-open performance venue Midnight Theater, and their menu includes dishes like crispy tofu fries, Yunnan BBQ St. Louis ribs, and lobster chow fun. They also have an ambitious cocktail menu, with drinks like a baijiu-based Corpse Reviver No. 2, and an intricately designed dining room filled with banquettes and brass accents. It looks like quite the production.
Mắm
Run by a husband-wife duo, Mắm started as a pandemic pop-up focusing on the northern Vietnamese street food bún đậu mắm tôm. Now, you can get their bamboo trays of tofu, rice noodles, and fermented fish sauce at a new brick-and-mortar location on the Lower East Side. You can add anything from pork belly to blood sausage to your bún đậu mắm tôm, and there's housemade soymilk to drink on the side. Currently, Mắm is only open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with very limited hours. They already have merch, in case you need a new shirt.
Kossar's Bagels & Bialys
After roughly 100 years on the Lower East Side, classic bialy spot Kossar's has expanded with a second location in Chelsea. If you live or work in the area and need a new breakfast spot, stop by for a bialy, a bagel with lox, or maybe some babka and rugelach.
Nubiani
The menu at new KBBQ spot Nubiani is pretty compact. They're serving around 10 cuts of meat like ribeye, skirt steak, and pork jowl, with a few appetizers like japchae and steak tartare. Their beef starts at $50, and there are some Korean spirts—like soju and beopju—available by the bottle. The space is on the third floor of a building in K-Town, with floor-to-ceiling windows, so the view should be pretty decent.
For the next four months, you can stop by a takeout window at Hanoi House in the East Village and get a big sundae. The sundaes—inspired by the layered desserts of Hanoi—are made with vegan soft serve and come with ingredients like hot fudge, lychee, and caramelized pineapple. There's also cake and coffee available—just be aware that the window is only open Friday through Sunday.
The Vale Public House
There's a new pub in Hamilton Heights where you can drink a Scottish beer, eat some Scottish food, and watch (probably Scottish) people play soccer on TV. (This pub happens to be Scottish.) You can get your draft beer in a 10- or 16-ounce pour, and there are some stools on the sidewalk if you want to drink outside.
June
The restaurant group behind Kissaki has opened another Japanese spot in Hudson Yards that focuses on handrolls. Similar to places like Mari, Nami Nori, and another new opening (see Kaizen below), Kamasu offers creative U-shaped rolls with ingredients like garlic chips, egg jam, and green apple. You can get sets of four, five, or seven rolls ($39-$75) or order à la carte.
Eunji Lee, the former pastry chef at Jungsik, now has her own dedicated dessert shop in Flatiron. Don't expect scoops of ice cream plopped on top of a slice of cake. The pastries here are described as "edible art," and the minimalist space looks like it could double as a gallery in Chelsea. The namesake dessert is a toasted brown rice mousse cake with caramel.
Imani Grill is the new sister restaurant of Imani Caribbean Kitchen & Bar in Fort Greene. This fast casual spot in Downtown Brooklyn lets you customize bowls with a grain (quinoa, for example), a protein (like jerk chicken), vegetables, and a sauce. If you happen to work nearby, this place seems like a great option for a quick lunch.
photo credit: NADAS
Nadas
If you've ever been to Smorgasburg WTC, you may have seen Nadas, which sells gluten-free Colombian empanadas. Now they've set up shop in a West Village store where you can get the same colorful and savory turnovers filled with mango pork, beef, guava and cheese, and more. This spot is open until 2am on Friday and Saturday.
Hard To Explain
By day, this Japanese cafe in the East Village sells coffee and tea as well as baked goods like macarons and banana bread. You can even bring your own vinyl from home, and they'll play it for you. Once 5pm rolls around, the back area becomes a bar that serves local beers, natural wines, and sake (but no liquor). This place looks tiny, so you shouldn't bring the whole team from your weekly ultimate frisbee meetup.
photo credit: Farm to People Kitchen & Bar
Farm to People Kitchen & Bar
Farm to People is a grocery delivery service that sources produce from a network of local farms, and now they're using some of those ingredients for their own restaurant in Bushwick. Their menu includes burrata with grilled sourdough and a smashburger with sumac onions. They host a wine tasting the first Thursday of every month.
Kitchen Cô Út
The owners of Bánh Mì Cô Út in Chinatown have opened a new Vietnamese restaurant with a much bigger space a couple blocks away on Chrystie Street. Surprisingly, they don't sell any bánh mì. Instead, expect things like cabbage salad with steamed chicken, traditional beef phở, and house specialties like steamed broken rice with grilled pork chop.
photo credit: Liz Clayman
Urbanspace Pearl
Urbanspace's first food hall below 46th Street is now open in FiDi. (Another one near Union Square is slated to kick off later this year.) There are 16 vendors here including Puerto Rican spot Que Chevere, a place with grain bowls, and Grind (a coffee shop). This food hall opens at 7am on weekdays and 9am on weekends.
Gitano Island
If you remember a city block in Soho filled with palm trees that looked completely out of place, then you're familiar with the previous incarnation of Gitano in NYC. Now, there's a new "beach club" called Gitano Island located on Governors Island. The food here is Mexican, there's plenty of liquor (including a $1,150 punch bowl), and this whole situation feels like the perfect setting to film a reality dating show where people get voted off every week.
photo credit: Stuntman Public Relations
Kaizen
This Japanese restaurant is part of a new development in Flushing that includes a Sheraton hotel and some condos. The focus of the menu is on unique temaki made with things like garlic butter and mustard glaze, but they also have items like rock shrimp tempura. Kaizen has two bar areas: one with all the alcohol and another soon-to-be-used omakase counter built around a big pink (presumably fake) cherry blossom tree.
Just three months after opening Mel's, chef Melissa Rodriguez has another new restaurant in the same Chelsea space (which used to house Del Posto). Expect upscale Italian tasting menus ($195 or $245 for five or seven courses) that include dishes like fontina-filled dumplings with caviar butter sauce and a whole roasted sea bass with mushrooms. There will be live music in the evenings, and the kitchen will switch up the menu regularly.
Vacations Bar & Rooftop
Drinking outside is not a year-round sport in this city, so stop by this bar in Bushwick that has a large rooftop with potted plants and a floor that looks like a chess board. A handful of food items like a burger and fish and chips are available, and all cocktails—like one with chamomile gin, grapefruit, and tonic—cost $12.
Mezze on the River
POWERED BY
The group behind Industry Kitchen is opening another downtown restaurant right by the water (in Battery Park City this time). The seafood-heavy Mediterranean menu has a seafood tower, various raw bar items, and a red snapper for two ($65). Think of this place the next time you want to watch sailboats while you eat.
If you're one of the first guests here on any given night, you'll get to help choose which bottles will be available by the glass for everyone else. So maybe only come early if you know something about wine. This Ridgewood spot has small plates like scallop crudo with jicama and fennel and charcuterie with preserved tomato toast.
This Brooklyn Heights spot is serving "Asian-American comfort food" along with fruity cocktails like a lychee bellini and a strawberry mojito. The menu is all over the place, with bo luc lac, chicken pad thai, and steak frites. If you want french toast for dinner, you can get that too via their all-day breakfast menu.
If you love mini golf as long as there's a roof over your head, check out Swingers in Nomad. This London import started as a pop-up in 2014, and now you can hit golf balls indoors among windmills a block from the 28th Street R train stop. There's food from vendors like Miznon and Sauce Pizzeria, and no one expects you to play sober, so a full drink menu is available too.
Club Club
Club Club is a sandwich stand in the newly-opened McCarren Park House in Williamsburg. Expect some classic options like a chicken salad club sandwich, which you can eat with a beer or a frozen margarita from Park Bar. Blank Street and Oddfellows are also on site for coffee and ice cream.
This entirely vegan restaurant on the LES has edamame hummus and beet carpaccio. At least one influential person has already checked out the massive space, which features super high ceilings, several colorful Georgia O'Keeffe-like paintings, and a brewery (also vegan) on site. Belse is open until 1am every day.
La Marchande, from the chef behind Iris, is a new French spot located inside the Wall Street Hotel in FiDi. The dining room, with its green marble and antique mirrors, looks pretty opulent, so it might be a good spot for special occasions. The upscale menu includes things like duck breast carpaccio, grilled lobster with scallop mousseline, and dover sole.
Time Café, which used to serve coffee, pastries, and fresh-squeezed juice in Chinatown, has been converted to a sushi spot. If you sit at one of the tables, you'll have to order from the à la carte menu, which includes nigiri, sashimi, and plates like snow crab with miso and yellowtail carpaccio with cured yolk. For the $150 omakase, you'll have to sit at the bar. Time is open until at least midnight, Wednesday through Sunday.
The team behind Racines, which closed last July, has opened a new restaurant called Chambers in the same Tribeca space. The dishes on the relatively brief menu—like black bass with braised artichokes and grilled sweetbreads with sauerkraut—are meant to remind diners of home-cooked meals. Master Sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier is in charge of the drink selections here, and the wine list is a casual 70 pages long.
A second Talea Beer Co. taproom has opened in Cobble Hill, and the new space has a big U-shaped bar, some outdoor seating, and pastel pink and yellow accents. You can of course get plenty of beer here (including cans to go), but they also serve wine and cocktails as well as coffee and tea in the mornings.
Nha Sang Restaurant
This restaurant in Elmhurst is serving Tibetan and Szechuan food in a large space with really high ceilings. A lot of their dishes look large, so it might be a good idea to come with a few friends so you can share fried beef momos, sesame chicken, and a crispy whole fish with pine nuts. Nha Sang has $10 lunch specials from 11am-3pm on weekdays, and it's open every day until midnight.
Harry's Table
If you're looking for a new alternative to Eataly, check out Harry's Table in Waterline Square from the Cipriani people. You'll find 12 different stations here where you can get coffee, pastries, calzones, and pastas like tortellini with prosciutto and peas. There's also an adjacent full-service Italian restaurant called Bellini.
Cornbread Farm to Soul
The first NYC location (the other two are in New Jersey) of this fast-casual soul food restaurant has opened in Crown Heights. All of their ingredients are sourced from local farmers and shops, and unsurprisingly, their specialty is cornbread. The menu also has turkey wings, chicken and waffles, and fried catfish, which you can enjoy in an upholstered booth if you dine in.
A mother and son are behind this Lebanese spot in Cobble Hill. Nabila (the mother's name) is their first restaurant, and as soon as you walk in, you'll see a display case with desserts like namoura and laoukoum. There's fattoush, malfouf, and more if you're looking for savory items, and nothing on the menu costs more than $21.
Corner Bar
The Estela team has opened two concepts at Nine Orchard, a new hotel on the LES. Corner Bar, a restaurant "inspired by America's legendary taverns," has raw bar items, chicken liver mousse, and poached cod, and it's only open for breakfast and dinner right now. An upscale cocktail bar called Lobby Lounge, located in a former bank teller room with arched windows, is also open at the hotel.
This spot by a couple of Eleven Madison Park alums is serving a seasonal menu that currently includes stuff like bucatini with ramps, tilefish with green curry, and a mille feuille with banana and chocolate. The restaurant's name means "North District" in Dutch, and it's a reference to its West Village location, which used to be in the northern part of New Amsterdam.
Considering this place (from the group behind Marea) is located at 53 West 53rd, it probably didn't take too much deliberation to come up with the name. On 53's Asian-inspired menu, you'll find a truffle egg custard with foie and clams, steamed turbot, and Hainanese chicken soaked in Shaoxing. The three-story space features art from the Friedrich Petzel Gallery, which is fitting since the MoMA is right next door.
photo credit: @simonleungphoto
Ye’s Apothecary
Sadly, this isn't a place filled with chemists employed by Kanye. Instead, it's a bar on the edge of Chinatown that's making cocktails infused with Chinese herbs, such as the Afternoon Tea with gin, lemon, and osmanthus. The room has a lot of green elements (tiles, stools, and booths), and there are Szechuan small plates like garlic prawns and soup dumplings.
Brooklyn DOP
A Long Island native who had to shut down his gym in March 2020 started making pizzas out of his apartment and selling them on Instagram during the pandemic. Now, Brooklyn DOP has a new brick and mortar location in Park Slope where you can order white, margherita, and Sicilian pies. You can make any pizza here Don Vito style (with marinated shallots and sausage on top).
This seafood restaurant in Soho from the Coco Pazzo Trattoria team has saffron gnocchi with mussels, roasted oysters with kimchi butter, and a bun with both tempura soft shell crab and pork belly. There are close to 20 different wines by the glass, which you can enjoy on their outdoor wooden deck that looks like it should have a yacht parked right next to it.
Thai Social
You'll find a small bar and lots of potted plants and flowers at this Thai spot in Oakland Gardens. A three-course lunch special is available on weekdays until 3:30pm, and the menu has items like ginger soup with soft tofu, zabb wings, and a variety of curries. Thai Social seems like a good option for takeout or delivery if you live nearby.
photo credit: Anne DeMelo
Little Rascal
A second Little Rascal (the other is in Nolita) is now open in Greenpoint, and this new spot is focused on cocktails (including one with Fruity Pebbles), natural wines, and local beers. The space includes stained glass, an old-timey record player, a curved bar, and a lot of brown leather seating. They're still working on their food menu, which you'll get to enjoy in their big outdoor garden in the back that actually has grass (which looks fake, but still).
A couple of Mermaid Inn vets have opened this restaurant in Crown Heights with a blue and yellow facade that makes it hard to miss. The kitchen has a wood-fired grill, and the menu features items like charred asparagus, hamachi crudo, and Moroccan-spiced chicken with butter beans. Try this place for dinner after a long day at the nearby Brooklyn Botanical Garden or Prospect Park.
This Union Square Singaporean cocktail bar from the Laut team is above Chard (another recent opening by the same restaurant group). Drinks here include a highball made with tequila and fish sauce and a gin-and-salted-egg-vermouth martini. If you want a snack, dishes like soy-seasoned jelly fish and duck tongue braised in ginger and scallions are available.
A former captain at Scalinatella decided to open his own Italian spot with a fireplace on the Upper East Side. A few items like lobster, risotto, and veal medallions can be prepared "a piacere" (to your preference), so if you have a favorite kind of risotto, you might be able to request it. You can even ask for a dish that isn't on the menu as long as it's Italian, and the kitchen will try to make it.
If you want to be reminded of somewhere that isn't filled with skyscrapers and honking horns, sit at the bar here and enjoy a large backdrop of a mountain. This new restaurant in Cobble Hill offers slow-cooked chicken with green peppercorn sauce, eggplant with garlic sauce and chili oil, mapo tofu, and other Szechuan dishes. Shan is currently BYOB.
El Cartel in Hell's Kitchen is the second iteration of this Colombian restaurant. (The first was run by the owner's mother in Queens about a decade ago.) Expect beef empanadas, fried whole red snapper with plantains, and steak with eggs, rice, and chicharrón.
photo credit: Jenna Murray
Wiggle Room
You'll find squiggly pink neon lights, black and white striped tables, and a disco ball at this new bar from the Mister Paradise team on Avenue A. House cocktails, like the slam dunk disco with mezcal, white miso, and apricot, are all around $17. We're pretty sure there'll be a lot of dancing here, which you'll be able to take part in Thursday through Saturday until 4am.
Instead of spare ribs, brisket, and sausage, you'll find smoked Impossible "meat," pulled jackfruit, and chopped/glazed portobello mushrooms here. Everything at this fast casual BBQ spot in Flatiron is vegan including the fried waffle with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. You can also grab their BBQ sauce, dry rub, and hot sauce to go.
photo credit: Shoo Loong Kan
Shoo Loong Kan
This Szechuan-style hot pot chain with over 1,000 locations is setting up shop at Tangram, a big development in Flushing. Originally from Chengdu, SLK's first NYC location features a courtyard with red lanterns and a pool with live carp. Choose from a bunch of different items like beef tripe, pork meatballs, and various types of seafood to cook in your simmering broth.
May
All types of restaurants open every week in NYC, but when a Cajun or Creole spot comes along, it really gets our attention because they're rarely seen. This place serves both types of cuisine, and unsurprisingly, the menu features gumbo (a recipe inspired by the owner's grandfather). You'll also find cheese and crawfish as well as andouille and shrimp jambalaya and a bone-in pork chop with dirty rice here.
Thirteen Water
There seems to be no shortage of new sub-$100 sushi omakase spots this year. Thirteen Water in Alphabet City offers 13 courses for $75 with nigiri that includes salmon with ikura and fried leeks, tuna with truffle, and scallop with uni. Each seating is limited to an hour, so expect your courses to come quickly.
Pine & Polk, a retail shop in West Soho with a focus on women- and minority-owned brands, has a hidden cocktail bar called PS. The swanky-looking space has leather and velvet seating, and the house cocktails (like one made with mezcal and avocado) are $18-$26. If you get hungry here, there are several boards with items like pimento cheese, fruit, and chorizo.
photo credit: Leena Culhane
Bella Dea
The team behind Crudo e Nudo in Santa Monica is behind this seafood spot in the West Village, and they may have just started a timesharing restaurant trend. By day, this restaurant's space is Breakfast by Salt's Cure (one of our favorite places to grab a bite in the morning), and by night, the room transforms into Bella Dea. You'll find dishes like tuna tartare toast, tinned fish with butter crackers, and several crudos on the menu.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
L’Appartement 4F
L'Appartement 4F appropriately started as a small bakery operation out of an apartment by a couple as a way to help pay for their wedding. That couple (still saving for that ceremony in France) now has a brick and mortar spot in Brooklyn Heights, and you can expect croissants, baguettes, and cookies with chocolate chips and tahini.
The Sushi by Bou team has opened a plant-based omakase restaurant (located inside Plant Bar) in Nomad. You pay $65 and get one hour to go through 15 courses that include potato veloute with matcha foam, spaghetti squash nigiri, and maki made with shiso and pickled radish. The omakase bar has only eight seats, so don't plan a big group dinner here.
B&B Bagels
You'll find 22 different kinds of spreads and cream cheeses as well as plenty of sandwiches filled with things like lox, pastrami, eggs, chopped liver, and more at this new bagel shop on the Upper East Side. The shop's name comes from the initials of the couple who own this place. Consider coming here for a carb-loading session before running a lap in Central Park. (Walking it is fine too.)
photo credit: Bird In Hand NYC
Bird in Hand
Bird in Hand is a bar on 146th Street and Broadway, and they're serving a seasonal menu of small plates to go along with local beers and cocktails. Their long room has hardwood floors and custom black and white tiles, and it looks like there's a ton of space for you and a few friends. This place is open until 1am, Tuesday-Saturday.
The name of this Nolita spot, opened by the Wayla and Kimika team, translates to "throwback" in Thai. This place is supposed to be reminiscent of old school restaurants in Phuket that served Chinese-influenced Thai dishes. Shareable starters here include a salad with kale and roast duck, and there are eight stir-fried and soupy noodle dishes. (There's one with roast chicken and scrambled eggs.) Also, this week's theme for openings is short words in pairs. (See Zaab Zaab and The Woo Woo below.)
The Grand Banks team has another seafood restaurant in Tribeca, but this time it's not surrounded on all sides by water. However, the huge shark hanging in the dining room still makes you feel like you're in an ocean-adjacent place. Holywater has a large selection of fruits de mer (including a $300 omakase) as well as New Orleans-style dishes like crawfish étouffée and chicken/andouille gumbo on Mondays.
If merely standing around and drinking is insufficient for you, Secret Pour in Bed-Stuy might become one of your new favorite bars. There are plenty of activities here like pool and an Infinity Game Table that's somehow not Marvel-related. There's also a jukebox, trivia nights coming soon, and an event space where you'll eventually get to expose your soul on poetry nights.
Zaab Zaab in Elmhurst specializes in Isaan-style food (dishes from the Northeast part of Thailand). Expect to see spicy and sour green papaya salads on a lot of tables and other dishes like fried whole striped bass with lemongrass and braised baby back ribs in a hot pot. If the weather's nice, sit in the compact and open-air little seating area out front with a white fence and bright yellow chairs. This place is open until 1am every day except Tuesday, when it's closed.
Given the name of this place, the owners could have gone with a raincoat theme, but they thankfully opted for records instead. When you walk into Vinyl Steakhouse, you'll see a wine bar in the front and huge black and white photos of Debbie Harry and Run DMC in the dining room. Aside from cuts of beef like a bone-in ribeye and a $139 porterhouse for two, there are also lighter dishes like a kale salad and sushi on the menu.
Saito
The Sushi Nakazawa team has opened a new Japanese izakaya in Nolita. The focus here is on sake and small plates that feature seafood like tuna steak with mushrooms and maguro tartare with caviar. Both owners of this place have wives with the same maiden name. (Hint: It has five letters and starts with an "S.")
Gugu Room is a "Filipino-Japanese izakaya" on the LES that serves dishes that lean more Filipino (kare-kare), lean more Japanese (hamachi kama), and combine both cuisines (chicken karaage with calamansi ginger ailoli). House cocktails made with ingredients like Japanese whiskies and wasabi ($16-$18) can be ordered at their copper-topped bar.
Natural wines are the focus here, but you can also order cocktails (mostly $14) like a mezcal margarita and a strawberry lime daiquiri. If you get hungry, this place has French small plates like artichokes with dijon aioli and tuna niçoise. You might want to check out this new wine bar on the LES if you're a fan of other spots by Le Dive's restaurant group (e.g., Le Crocodile and Ray's).
Eyal Shani, the chef who started Miznon, has a new Eastern Mediterranean spot in Greenwich Village. The menu changes daily and focuses on seasonal ingredients like white asparagus and bok choy. The kitchen also bakes fresh bread like focaccia with sour cream, tomato, and green chili.
You'll find brioche cream puff donuts in addition to lavender and grapefruit poppy varieties made with sweet rice flour at this dessert spot in Nomad. This place also offers house-made soft serve and speciality drinks made with oat milk. The smart move is to show up around 10am or 2pm. (That's when Bear Donut bakes its two batches of donuts every day except Monday, when it's closed.)
The team behind The Mermaid Inn, which has one of our favorite lobster rolls and is usually known for its seafood spots, has opened this Mexican restaurant in Greenwich Village. The menu has birria tacos and a whole roasted trout as well as a large selection of tequilas and mezcals. Happy Hour is 4:30pm-6:30pm every day.
photo credit: Josh Sells
The Woo Woo
General '80s nostalgia and the TV show The Deuce are inspirations for this speakeasy near Times Square. Find The Mean Fiddler bar on 47th Street, head down a graffiti-filled staircase, and you'll see a fake sex shop with a bookcase filled with VCR tapes. (That's the door.) All cocktails are $16, and this place has snacks like fish tacos and buffalo chicken spring rolls.
This restaurant is set up to make you feel like you're at a dinner party at somebody's home on the LES. The space includes a backyard atrium where you can order steak tartare, chicken with Calabrian relish, and a chamomile martini. Bongos is a cool spot for a second date when you want a place that isn't strictly a bar and serves some food.
Oiji closed temporarily last month, but its owners have a new upscale Korean restaurant in Flatiron that's designed to remind diners of a traditional home in Korea. Only a five-course $125 prix-fixe menu is available in the main dining room. But if you sit at the bar, you can order items ranging from chili lobster ramyun to galbi with pomme purée à la carte.
This Philly import from Michael Solomonov (the chef behind Zahav) is on the roof of the Hoxton Hotel in Williamsburg. Laser Wolf is a shipudiya, or Israeli skewer house, so you can expect grilled sirloin, lamb, and chicken as well as fish like spicy Spanish mackerel. If you can get a reservation before 10pm, congratulations. (You can find our review of the Philly location right here.)
Daniel Boulud's restaurant group is taking over the old Augustine space in the Beekman Hotel in FiDi. Le Gratin is a casual restaurant modeled after the bouchons and bistros in Lyon, where Boulud grew up. You'll see quenelle de brochet au gratin (made with pike, cheese, and mushroom sauce) on the menu and a list of wines from the regions around Lyon.
Lumlum is a Thai restaurant in Hell's Kitchen opened by two sisters who grew up about 50 miles outside of Bangkok. The space has bamboo-lined walls and an overall beachy feel, and the focus here is on seafood. Expect grilled cuttlefish with chili lime dressing, whole steamed fish with herbs, and a crispy crab omelette.
The Campaign Against Hunger has opened a cafe in Edgemere with all profits going towards the organization's efforts to fight food insecurity in the city. They're serving relatively inexpensive and healthy items like vegetable soup, grilled salmon, and vegan wraps with $5 lunch specials offered each week. This restaurant will also offer a job training program.
Unexpected, saucy, and over-the-top subs are the goal at this sandwich spot in Williamsburg. You can stop by and get turkey and cheddar with hoisin, sriracha, and mayo or Korean BBQ short rib with ranch and sesame rice wine vinaigrette on Dutch Crunch bread. Sandwiches cost between $17-$24, and they look pretty huge.
Chino Grande
If you're in Williamsburg and you feel the need to belt out "Drivers License" in front of a room of strangers, you can do that at Chino Grande in Williamsburg. This restaurant has karaoke starting at 10pm every night but Tuesday (when they're closed), and before you sing your song of choice, you can grab some food like a little gem salad topped with furikake, fried chicken with coconut ranch, or lobster au poivre.
photo credit: Giada Paoloni
Ocafe
A second outpost of Ocafe is now open at Ostudio, a place in Bed-Stuy where "makers gather under one roof." You can get coffee and pastries here during the day, or you can come by in evening when the space transforms into a wine bar (called Ostudio at Night). The dinner menu includes steak tartare and piadina with mortadella as well as dishes from a rotating chef-in-residence.
photo credit: Noah Fecks
Cafe Spaghetti
You can get spiedini with lemon and anchovy, chicken milanese, and, you guessed it, two different kinds of spaghetti (pomodoro and alle vongole) at this new Italian spot in Carroll Gardens. When it's nice out, you can sit in their ivy-filled backyard garden where you might run into one of the chef's famous friends.
At this new Mexican spot in Prospect Heights, you can get a torta ahogada, a staple in Jalisco. This sandwich is filled with beans and carnitas (or grilled oyster mushrooms) then placed in a pool of chile de árbol sauce. There are also birria and lengua tacos and chilaquiles available for brunch. Cruz del Sur calls their torta the perfect hangover cure. (You could also just not drink so much.)
Hiyake Omakase
Hiyake Omakase on the LES is a lantern-filled spot where you can get sushi, yakiniku, or a combination of both. Cuts like strip steak and ribeye can be grilled right at your table, and the sushi omakase includes shima aji, chutoro, and torched bronzini.
photo credit: Champers Social Club
Champers Social Club
This all-day cafe in Soho is attached to a new retail store called Feste, which sells party planning essentials. The wine list focuses on champagne and you can order snacks like tater tot grilled cheese, deviled eggs, and flights of caviar and Ruffles potato chips. The cafe also has additional space downstairs for private parties.
April
The owners of Nakaji have opened this upscale Japanese restaurant in Chinatown. For $165, you get a 14-course yakitori omakase that lasts about two and a half hours and features small plates as well as Amish chicken and seasonal vegetable skewers. Most of the seating is at a wooden, U-shaped chef's counter that surrounds a green marble grilling station.
photo credit: Viva Birria
Viva Birria
The brick and mortar storefront for this Lower East Side taqueria—which started as a pop-up in 2019—is built to resemble the side of a food truck. (Actual food trucks aren't allowed in this neighborhood.) Unsurprisingly, this place has birria tacos with ingredients like beef and jackfruit that you can dip in consommé.
Little Myanmar
The family behind Yun Cafe in Jackson Heights has opened this new Burmese spot in the East Village. You'll see several salads and soups from Yun Cafe on Little Myanmar's menu, in addition to dishes like fried beef and masala crab curry. You can also drink some Burmese teas and juices at one of the few tables in their narrow space.
Behind some velvet curtains in the lobby of the Arlo Soho hotel, you'll find this new speakeasy with live music and burlesque (opening April 29). Foxtail is an "homage to midcentury glamour," and the vibe will remind you of an era when Don Draper was pitching campaigns to Lucky Strike. Alcoholic punches (with party size bowls from $95-$120) are featured on the drink menu, while the food menu has dishes like hamachi ceviche and a cheeseburger.
Hand Hospitality, which already has a bunch of restaurants in Nomad, has opened another spot in the neighborhood called Palpal. Korean street food from a wok is the inspiration for the menu, which has dishes like anchovy egg fried rice and soy sauce monkfish. The space, with its dark gray walls and exposed orange pipes, has an industrial feel, and nothing costs over $19.
Rodo is another name for the scotch bonnet pepper, which is featured in the homemade hot honey sauce at this new West African street food spot in Bed-Stuy. The eight-item menu includes a suya plate, joloff, and akara.
This all-day cafe in Midtown has glass doors that fully open to the street when the weather's nice. The menu is inspired by Brazilian and Portuguese food, so expect baked items like pão de queijo and pastel de nata as well as sandwiches and bowls that are good lunch options if you work nearby.
This upscale seafood restaurant in the Meatpacking District focuses on mussels, and they serve their mussels with a bunch of different sauces. Some lean Italian (cacio e pepe, pesto, etc.), while others are a little more out there—chocolate banana M&Ms, for example. The extensive raw bar has crudos and ceviches, which you can enjoy in the loungy dining room filled with velvet seating.
Kyu
This restaurant from Miami (with another location in Mexico City) is centered around wood-fired and smoked meats and fish, which start at $30 and go up to $205 for a wagyu tomahawk steak. The menu at this new Noho spot—influenced by multiple Asian cuisines—includes items like Korean fried chicken, stone pot Thai fried rice (with duck or king crab), and yakiniku baby back ribs.
photo credit: Martiny's
Martiny's
Partially owned by the former head bartender at the recently-closed Angel's Share, Martiny's is a new Gramercy bar in a space that used to be a studio for a sculptor named Philip Martiny. Expect pricey cocktails in the mid-$20 range and fancy bar bites like karaage with caviar. In case you were wondering, yes, they serve martinis.
photo credit: Daniel Dorsa
Oddly Enough
This Bed-Stuy bar (which is already busy) is a "queer space for all." It has exposed brick walls and plenty of tables, and you'll probably hear some loud music from the '70s when you stop by. In addition to house cocktails, you can get dishes like a tinned fish plate, beans in celery root stock, and raw radishes with smoked trout roe.
You can get breakfast tacos in the morning and dishes like chalupas, grilled mushroom tacos, and cod steamed in banana leaf for dinner at this all-day Mexican restaurant in Williamsburg. Named after a hairless dog breed (the Xoloitzcuintle), this spot has views of the Williamsburg bridge and a separate bar downstairs with tequila and mezcal-focused cocktails.
Mahsil
This restaurant in Flushing is serving pizzas with ingredients like bulgogi and shrimp, as well as your standard varieties like pepperoni, BBQ chicken, and Hawaiian. Given the other items on the menu like Spam fries, spicy rice cakes, and Korean fried chicken, it's no surprise that this place has four huge refrigerators filled with beer.
photo credit: Tim Saccenti
Cafe Balearica
If you consider yourself a disco person, you might want to check out this two-floor bar in Williamsburg. The main floor is bright with colorful decor inspired by the Balearic Islands, while the downstairs space has leopard print seating, a disco ball, and a dance floor.
Vegan Hood
The owners of Vegan Hood are "bridging the gap between veganism and the 'hood." Their first brick and mortar location on Frederick Douglass Blvd and 114th Street is serving 100% plant-based food like vegan fried chicken, mac and cheese, and "oxtails" made with soy.
Two grandsons of Carmen "Titita" Ramírez Degollado, a well-known chef in Mexico, are opening Casa Carmen in Tribeca on April 14. Most of the restaurant's recipes come from Titita herself, and they include duck tostadas, enchiladas de mole, and shrimp with salsa negra. For drinks, there will be few house cocktails and a large list of tequilas.
Live jazz is played nightly at this new piano bar on the Upper East Side. Inside, you'll see palm tree wallpaper, black leather seating, and tall wooden shutters between tables. Cocktails cost $18-$22, and there's a small selection of snacks like sausage rolls and caviar with potato chips. This place is open until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays and until 2am every other night.
Located inside the Park South Hotel near 28th Street and Lexington Ave, GG Tokyo (named after the Golden Gai district in Tokyo) has a large L-shaped bar and a neon installation of a mermaid filling a sake cup. This Japanese restaurant has sushi, sashimi, and hand rolls on their menu, in addition to small plates like cold somen noodles and agedashi tofu.
Cafe Turkiye
This all-day Turkish cafe in Astoria serves baked items like borek, simit, and pogaca, as well as dishes like kofte, beef kebabs, and lamb manti. They also have a large selection of desserts like baklava and kunefe, which you can enjoy with a Turkish coffee on their outside patio.
Named after a song by The Breeders, No Aloha is a new bar in Bushwick that has a first-floor lounge with a DJ booth and a second-floor space with Miami Vice vibes. You'll see zebra print walls and furniture, neon accents, and a disco ball planter. A new pizza spot is serving up New England-style pies inside this place as well.
Valentine’s Pizza
One of the owners of Greenberg's Bagels has opened Valentine's Pizza next door to his bagel shop in Bed-Stuy with one of the owners of Williamsburg's Leo. The pizzas offered here are pretty straightforward (think margherita, white, and pepperoni), and you can get 18-inch pies or individual slices.
photo credit: Gongo
Gongo
This speakeasy in the East Village is located down some stairs hidden at the back of Mine Craft Sushi, a casual izakaya that opened last year. You'll find sake and Japanese-inspired cocktails and mocktails here to go along with dishes like a rolled omelet with red crab and roast duck cured in konbu.
North Bar
North Bar is located two blocks from the Hudson River in Tribeca, and the bar's name is a reference to what that river used to be called in the late 1800s (River North). All their cocktails cost $18, and a handful of beers from local breweries are on tap. If you get hungry, you can order dishes like fried grilled cheese, zucchini fritters, and crab cake sliders.
This new wine bar from the Oxalis team in Clinton Hill has already made our Hit List. As the name suggests, this spot is doing its best impression of something you’d find in Paris’ 11th arrondissement. The wines by the glass are predominantly from Spain and Chile, and the limited food menu revolves around meats, cheeses, and little bites of chilled seafood. The space is long and narrow, with white brick walls and tweed banquettes, and there’s a big bar near the open kitchen for when you can’t snag a reservation. You can assume that will be often.
This rooftop lounge located on the 47th floor of the Park Lane hotel on Central Park South has both an indoor area and an outdoor patio. DJs spin every Friday and Saturday, and in addition to cocktails, you can get food like a seafood tower and spicy chicken sliders. The views alone should make this bar a good place to go if you want to impress a date.
Genki Omakase
We've lost count of all the sub-$100 sushi omakase spots that have opened this year. This restaurant is just south of Washington Square Park and is offering a 13-course meal that starts with a Kumamoto oyster and includes pieces of kanpachi, unagi, and the seemingly-ubiquitous wagyu-uni combo. Just like another recent opening, this place is BYOB and the omakase costs $68.
Brooklyn Hots
At Brooklyn Hots, the main attractions are the trash plates, which are based on the Garbage Plates made famous in Rochester. The house version comes with burger meat, cheese, home fries, macaroni salad, onions, hot sauce, and mustard. You can also get other items here like hot dogs and salads. This place is BYOB, and the corkage fee is waived if you bring bottles from the natural wine store next door.
Blessing
A couple who has lived in Brooklyn for more than 40 years recently opened their first restaurant in Williamsburg. Most of the menu consists of Taiwanese dishes like lu rou fan, sesame noodles, and popcorn chicken, but there are also items like Japanese chicken curry and Sichuan-style dan dan noodles. If you're just in the mood for something sweet, they have a fairly large selection of bubble tea.
A second NYC location of this popular hand roll spot from the people behind Sugarfish has opened in Midtown. Set menus, which include three to six hand rolls, range from $17-$33. (But you can always order à la carte.) All prices include gratuity here, and they don't take reservations. If this new location is anything like the other one in Nomad, you'll want to get here early to avoid long waits.
Shanghai Eats
You'll see wooden beams and potted plants against a gray brick wall at this new Shanghainese spot in Flushing. Expect dishes like drunken chicken, fried pork chop noodle soup, and a selection of dim sum. Shanghai Eats seems like a good place to go for a casual lunch or dinner.
Scoville Hot Chicken
This chain from Atlanta has opened its first NYC location on the Lower East Side. As the name implies, the focus here is Nashville hot chicken sandwiches. There are five heat levels to choose from, and the most intense one (reaper) is about 800 times spicier than a jalapeño pepper. If you want to do that to yourself, go for it.
March
photo credit: Mino Brasserie
