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.
May
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.)
Le Daniel Boulud's restaurant group is taking over the old Augustine space in the Beekman Hotel in FiDi. Le Gratin (opening May 6) 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.
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.
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.
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 pieces like shima aji, chutoro, and torched bronzini.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
The name of this brasserie is meant to evoke happy childhood memories. (It's a play on the French slang word for "kid.") The menu here is full of classic French dishes like a croque monsieur, steak frites, and pâté en croûte, and this looks like a great spot for a casual date night in the West Village.
Aromi
A wood-burning brick oven is the centerpiece of this Italian restaurant in Carroll Gardens. In addition to 10 different kinds of puffy-crusted pizzas, you'll also find calzones, antipasti, and a handful of pastas on the menu. You can enjoy all of these things in the backyard (once winter finally decides to give up).
A third (two-story) location of Momoya is now open in Soho. The first floor has a 12-seat sushi bar, while the second has seating for larger groups. For $150, you can get an omakase (only available at the bar) or an eight-course kaiseki with items like abalone and wagyu beef. A large variety of appetizers, sushi sets, and signature rolls are also available.
Just Pho You
Just Pho You is a Vietnamese restaurant on Broadway near 101st Street with eight different kinds of beef phở (as well as chicken and veggie versions) and fried chicken wings stuffed with minced pork and shrimp. Once this place is fully up and running, the menu will be a bit larger.
This vegetarian Indian street food spot has more than 30 locations across the country, and they just opened their first in Manhattan. Honest started as a street cart in India in the late 1960s, but now you can get their pani puri, bhel, and vada pav in Greenwich Village. If you're an NYU student, stop by for lunch.
Lime & Salt
Given the name of this place in Rego Park, you should probably start your meal with one of their $10 margaritas. Lime & Salt calls itself a cantina and taqueria, so it's no surprise that you'll find tacos, burritos, and fajitas on the menu. But they also have items like edamame and a warm pretzel with spicy beer cheese.
Joël Robuchon and Per Se vets have opened an upscale French restaurant in Tribeca where you can get a six-course tasting for $180 (with an optional $95 wine pairing). The prix-fixe includes dishes like scallop tartare with beet gazpacho sorbet and miso-glazed roasted squab, but there's also an à la carte menu. You'll probably see a lot of dressed-up folks in the space filled with green velvet booths and brass accents, so think of this place for your next special occasion.
Enoteca
The people behind pastry shop Dulceria in Harlem have opened a wine bar and tapas spot right next door. You can enjoy small plates like ham and bechamel croquetas and bacalao-stuffed piquillo peppers—as well as wines from Chile and Spain—in the narrow dining room.
The team behind Olmsted and Maison Yaki has been busy lately. Right next to their recently-opened Patti Ann's Bakery (formerly Evi's Bäckerei) in Prospect Heights, you'll find this new restaurant serving comfort food like pigs in a blanket, potato chips with onion dip, and cherry ketchup-glazed duck meatloaf. You might be wondering who this Patti Ann is, and the answer is: chef Greg Baxtrom's mom. To make sure his dad didn't feel left out, Greg had his father come into town and build out this new space.
Towa
The people behind LittleMad and Atoboy have opened yet another restaurant in Nomad. (They really like that neighborhood.) Their latest concept features a nine-course kaiseki meal for $100, and there's also an à la carte menu with dishes like kanpachi carpaccio, truffle croquettes with minced beef, and a soba noodle soup with grilled duck breast.
7th Street Burger
One of our favorite new burgers in NYC is now available in Greenwich Village. The menu at 7th Street Burger only has four options: a cheeseburger, a double cheeseburger, an Impossible burger, and fries. If you love White Castle, you probably won't be able to get enough of the grilled, onion-heavy, and gooey American cheese-filled burgers here.
The next time you want both caffeine and Indonesian comfort food, check out Warkop in Hell's Kitchen. In addition to a variety of coffees and teas, this place has make-your-own Indomie instant noodle bowls with toppings like eggs, cheese, corned beef, and shrimp. You can also get starters like creamy cheese corn and fried tofu, and nothing on the menu costs more than $7.
The thing about speakeasies is you can pretty much pick any theme to hide a bar. How about a locksmith and shoe repair shop? Why not? Even the Instagram for Keys & Heels barely reveals that this Upper East Side spot is all about cocktails, which start at $18. A few "lounge bites" like salmon tartare cones and mini tacos are also available. This place is only open Thursday-Saturday, and reservations open up every Tuesday at noon.
Dar Yemma
Dar Yemma translates to "mom's house" in Arabic, and that's a pretty good name for a restaurant to draw people in (even if only subliminally). This Moroccan spot in Astoria offers items like a kofta sandwich-and-salad combo, platters with merguez and chicken kababs, and lamb shank and vegetables that come served in beautiful tagines.
The owners of two Irish pubs (Hartley's and Grace's) are trying their hands at a different type of bar in Columbus Circle. All & Sundry—open until 4am every night—is described as a "classic NYC tavern with a whimsical romantic spirit." Expect dishes like shrimp cocktail, burgers, and smoked baby back ribs. This place also has a seven-hour champagne Happy Hour that starts every day at noon.
Eyval
This new Persian spot is from the team behind Sofreh and Sofreh Cafe—and the space is attached to the latter in Bushwick. Live-fire cooking and street foods are the focus here, so expect the grilled skirt steak with sumac yogurt and peel-and-eat tiger shrimp to have smoky flavors. All the cocktails, such as the gin martini made with saffron and orange bitters, cost around $15.
If you read this update every week, you know there's been a string of recent openings offering sub-$100 omakase meals. The streak continues (in case you were worried). This new restaurant in Chelsea has an $85 12-course menu that comes with an appetizer and sushi. If you want 17 courses, including additions like wagyu and foie gras, it's $128. You can save some money by bringing your own alcohol (as long as you don't bring sake), but there's a $25 per bottle corkage fee.
Three Momofuku vets have opened Nudibranch, which started as an upscale tasting menu pop-up in the East Village. (This permanent spot is in the same neighborhood.) For $75, you can choose one dish from each of the three sections of the menu, and you can expect things like frog legs with lemongrass, shrimp with hot honey granola, and picanha with Thai basil and taro.
This new Taiwanese restaurant in Greenpoint is named after chef Eric Sze's mom (Wenchi) and wife (Wenhui). If some of the dishes here look familiar—like the seaweed fries, fly's head, and lo ba beng—it's because they can also be found at Wenwen's sister restaurant 886. But this place isn't just 886 Version 2.0. New items like fried rice with pork jowl and a whole fried chicken are available as well.
Originally slated to open last fall, this Mexican cafe (the original is in Bed-Stuy) finally has a second location in Williamsburg. The menu is mostly the same as the other location's, but there are a few news things like a tinga quesadilla, a black bean and queso fresco memela, and a breakfast gordita.
Andrew Bellucci, who used to make pizza at Rubirosa, has opened his own place in Astoria that's about a 10-minute walk from Bellucci Pizza, where he used to be a partner. While the official grand opening is slated for April 2nd, Andrew hosted a "slice drop" last Saturday, which included vegan margherita and vodka sauce slices. There's another one planned for March 19th.
This sister spot to Tuffet has opened in Greenpoint, and although it's primarily a bar, you can also get cheese plates and thick-crusted, rectangular pies with toppings like pepperoni and delicata squash here. Pizza is served daily from 3-10pm (or until they run out), and the bar is open until 2am on weekends.
After hosting cooking classes and dinner parties throughout the pandemic, Jaz Rupall decided to take things to the next level and open this restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. The food is from Northern India and includes things like chana masala, ginger yogurt-marinated chicken, and lamb biryani.
The team behind Mao Mao and Lamoon, which closed last summer, has transformed Lamoon's old Elmhurst space into Jai Sang Ma, a spot that focuses on charcoal-grilled skewers and other street food found outside schoolyards around Thailand. About a dozen skewers are available, including one with pork marinated in condensed milk and honey and another with squid, spicy cilantro sauce, garlic, and fish sauce. Until they get their liquor license, this place is BYOB.
Takumi Omakase
If you don't think omakase sushi for under $100 is a trend in NYC these days, you haven't been paying attention. (Just scroll down to learn about more recent openings offering these types of meals.) For $85, you get 75 minutes to get through 15 courses here that include pieces of uni and wagyu beef. This place is BYOB.
Three partners, one of whom has been a cocktail expert since way before "mixology" was a word people used, have opened a new bar together offering $5 Lone Stars. The basement space at this Lower East Side spot also features cocktails that cost between $10 and $15 as well as an alcoholic version of Dole Whip, which you may be familiar with if you've ever been to Disneyland.
Housed in the former Du's Donuts space next to The William Vale hotel in Williamsburg, Isla & Co. is serving dishes influenced by food from Australia, Europe, and Southeast Asia. This place serves brunch every day with things like scrambled eggs with sambal and a smoked salmon benedict, while dinner includes items like pork sausage rolls and Thai green vegetable curry. Their sister restaurant, Isla, just reopened in the Hotel Hendricks in Midtown.
This new cocktail lounge on the Lower East Side has a full food menu with bar snacks like veggie nachos and honey grilled cheese along with entrées like penne alla vodka and steak frites. Cocktails cost $17, but you can also get some of them in carafe size for $90. If you're feeling kind of low, the neon "You Are Royalty" sign on the wall might help you perk up.
Melissa Rodriguez was the executive chef at Del Posto, and she now has a new concept in part of the space that used to house that Chelsea restaurant. The menu centers around wood-fired pizzas (nothing is cooked with gas), and in addition to pizzas topped with guanciale and octopus, the menu has things like a whole branzino, a New York strip, and cauliflower prepared over an open fire. (There's another restaurant and cocktail lounge opening in the same space soon.)
In a game of cuisine bingo, you might win with just Oti coming up on a ping pong ball. This Lower East Side place calls itself an "American restaurant with true Romanian roots" and they describe their dishes as "Eastern Europe meets Turkish food meets some Latin flare." If you're not intimidated by whatever is going on here, you can stop by for one of two tasting menus priced at $75 (two courses) or $125 (three courses)—both include tax and gratuity.
Flynn McGarry, who started cooking seriously before most people learn to drive, has a new wine bar around the corner from his restaurant Gem on the Lower East Side. Interestingly, this place is only open Monday through Friday for walk-ins, and there are a few dishes available like smoked mackerel with artichokes and green olives.
Diem Eatery
Diem Eatery offers a ton of teas and caffeinated drinks like cortados, macchiatos, and Vietnamese iced coffees, all of which will go nicely with this cafe's selection of gelatos and sorbets. This Brooklyn Heights spot also has some bánh mì (including two versions made with steamed eggs) and a few bún bowls.
This Japanese restaurant that originated in LA is now open in the Citizens food hall in Manhattan West. Yes, you can order seaweed salad, vegetable tempura, and California rolls, but you'll also find several steak options (like the Australian wagyu ribeye) and their signature spicy tuna tartare that comes on top of grilled rice.
Peppercorn Station
Hopefully, Peppercorn Station is the start of a restaurant concept that centers around spices. (Who says no to Cinnamon Station?) If that ends up happening, we'll all remember it started with this Sichuan spot just south of Bryant Park. Aside from some expected dishes like dan dan noodles and ma po tofu, there are items like noodles with crab and bone-in chicken with taro.
Castamar
This West Village restaurant calls itself a tapas place, but the focus here isn't just on Spanish food. Expect duck tartare with gochujang and fried brussel sprouts in addition to some larger plates like lamb chops with a rum apricot glaze and pappardelle with lobster, mussels, clams, and shrimp. The loft space for this spot has a skylight, which is a little more relevant this week given we're about to get an extra hour of sunlight.
Food halls in NYC don't seem to compete these days unless there's a place to order drinks, and that's probably why JACX&CO in Long Island City has a new bar. Now, when you order a truffle blue crab hand roll from Temakase or a smoked mozzarella, pecorino, and mushroom pizza from Beebe's, you can have a beer, cocktail, or glass of wine to go with it.
Buena Onda
Buena Onda (which is a slang for "cool" in Spanish) is a Mexican restaurant on the Upper East Side with a focus on mezcal cocktails. There are a few TVs here in case you want to catch some of a Yankees or Mets game (oh wait, maybe not) while you snack on barbacoa quesadillas, rajas and cheese tamales, and lengua tacos (all of which cost $14 or less).
Eavesdrop is a music-themed cocktail bar in Greenpoint designed with acoustics in mind, and the DJs here play stuff that's more suited for hanging with friends in your living room than it is for jumping around in clubs. (We'll report back on what that means for dancing.) In addition to cocktails, there's a Japanese-influenced menu with snacks like charred miso carrots and sticky rice with bacon, scallions, and mushrooms.
Justin Bazdarich, the chef behind Oxomoco and the recently-closed Xilonen, is part of the team at this seafood-focused Mexican restaurant in Soho. Doors open March 4, and you can expect a menu with Baja California-style crudos, seafood tostadas, and whole fish in masa batter.
After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, Una Pizza Napoletana—which started in Jersey in 1996—reopened its Lower East Side location with a complete renovation. (The Atlantic Highlands location closed last September.) They'll be open Thursday-Saturday from 5pm until they're sold out. Expect the same wood-fired margherita pies with Sicilian sea salt and a rotating selection of fruit sorbettos.
Ramen is the main focus at this new spot in Park Slope. You can choose between set bowls of miso, shoyu, and tonkotsu ramen or customize your own broth, noodle shape, and toppings. Appetizers, which include things like okonomiyaki and takoyaki, mostly cost less than $7. If you want to dine in, there are a few tables here that look a little like wooden school desks, so maybe bring that book about quantum physics for some light reading during your meal.
As everyone knows, all the cool bars in NYC are at Rockefeller Center. But seriously, Pebble Bar (from the team behind Ray's and Grand Army) is trying to flip the common perception of Midtown by opening up a four-story townhouse bar in an area usually reserved for very tall Christmas trees. Raw bar items are available, as well as dishes like steak tartare, crab cakes, and whipped chocolate ganache with passion fruit. The decor looks like an upscale hotel lobby, and the entire top floor is used for private events.
This Middle Eastern restaurant near 87th Street and 1st Avenue is serving food with "elements of Israeli, Moroccan, and Lebanese cuisine infused with flavors from Provence, France." Lashevet also labels themselves as a coffee house, and they have an entirely vegetarian menu during the day. Stop by for shakshuka and a falafel pita sandwich, or get some meat dishes like lamb meatballs and hanger steak marinated with skhug during dinner.
The team behind Zou Zou's in Manhattan West has a new fourth-floor cocktail lounge—with an outdoor terrace set to open at the start of spring (if it ever gets here). One of their many house cocktails is the "Fresh Prince" with white rum, dill, cucumber, yogurt, and aloe. After a few of those, snacks like Scotch olives with merguez and zucchini fries with herb aioli might be in order.
February
With the recent openings of both Dhamaka and Semma, Chintan Pandya and Roni Mazumdar are on a bit of a hot streak. Their new Indian-style fried chicken spot in the East Village offers small and large fried chicken sandwiches with mint chutney and scallion yogurt as well as chili chicken pieces, cauliflower bites, and pakora. The space has limited seating (it seems like a lot of takeout will happen here) and nothing costs over $12.
Antidote
This new restaurant in Williamsburg specializes in Sichuan and Shanghainese food. The chefs here trained in Shanghai and are now cooking dishes like spicy cumin lamb, crab tofu, and sliced beef in chili oil. There's also a large selection of small plates and dim sum, and the spacious dining room is dotted with potted plants.
La Brasserie
The Les Halles space on Park Avenue South (where Anthony Bourdain used to work) is now a brasserie associated with the nearby La Rotisserie. The restaurant was opened by Francis Staub—the person behind the Staub cookware brand—and you can expect classic French dishes like steak tartare, steak frites, and duck breast with pomme purée.
The name of this new place in the West Village may make you think they sell lattes and perhaps a muffin—and probably not much else. But El Condor has a full menu with items like roti sandwiches with pulled lamb shoulder, congee with black rice and Japanese eggplant, and smoothies that contain three espresso shots. Every seat here has a power outlet, so this all-day cafe is a good option if you want to get work done in a setting where you don't also sleep.
The team behind Laut opened a new, takeout-only Southeast Asian spot near Union Square. Chard's menu is designed to make you think of late-night comfort food you'd find at hawker centers in places like Singapore and Malaysia. You can get starters like fries with sambal and salted egg aioli and mains like char siu and wontons with noodles.
Namkeen opened its second location in Williamsburg (the other is in Jersey), and the halal menu focuses on fried chicken plates. Some of the chicken items have Pakistani flavors while others lean more into Nashville style. You can specify different heat levels, the hottest of which is called "BLAOW!" (Props to anyone who says this out loud while maintaining a serious face.) There are a few places for you to sit down here, and most things cost $12 or less.
Chanson Le Salon
The Tribeca location of Patisserie Chanson, which opened late last year, is adding a fine dining dinner service with French dishes like duck à l'orange, filet mignon au poivre, and citrus-infused sea bass. You can still grab a kouign amann or an everything croissant here up until 5pm—but, at night, this place switches to a dinner venue with an à la carte menu.
This plant-based Mexican spot in the East Village has dishes like panko-breaded oyster mushrooms tacos, quesadillas filled with jackfruit, and an all-day breakfast burrito. The narrow room looks like a good place to grab a quick, casual meal. Rosario Dawson's ex-boyfriend certainly seems to be enthused about this spot.
Fito
Fito serves South American-influenced small plates and pizzettes (like one topped with mozzarella and chorizo) along with a small selection of wine and cocktails. Expect pork belly on a chimichurri crostini and deviled eggs with aji amarillo and bacon. This place is located near the northeastern tip of Fort Tryon Park in Fort George, so it might be good to check out after a bike ride along the West Side.
The seasonal menu at Lore involves "flavors and techniques of diverse cultural origin," with dishes like a baked puff pastry samosa and wild mushroom ragout with buckwheat spätzle. Situated on a corner in Park Slope, this restaurant has a charming exposed-brick interior, and it seems like an appropriate setting for a date night.
Ensenada
Aguachiles, shrimp tacos, and ceviches inspired by the versions in Peru and Mexico are a few of the things you'll find at this Latin American spot in Williamsburg (opening February 18). Ensenada is sourcing their masa from For All Things Good, and they'll have dozens of mezcals on hand.
UnPublished
This new hidden bar at the Pod Hotel on 42nd and 9th is inspired by underground parties that happened in the early 2000s. (How exactly this inspiration plays out is unclear at present.) Food comes from this spot's sister supper club concept called Serafina in the Sky, and options include items like Roman-style pizzas and burrata with caviar. You have to somehow get a "ghost number" for a reservation, and there's a terrace here with a retractable roof.
Roam
A Queens native has opened this new sports bar in Forest Hills where you can watch Steph Curry put up 50 points at Madison Square Garden and remember that time when the Knicks were one pick away from drafting him (good times). This bar has 10 TVs, live music, and snacks like boneless wings, spinach and artichoke dip, and kung pao cauliflower.
Matsunori
If you love omakases but don't want to go to a place where you have to spend more than the cost of a new pair of AirPods, Matsunori might be a good option for you. For $68, this sushi spot on the Lower East Side offers a 14-course omakase at a 10-seat counter. You can also BYOB, but you'll only have an hour to get through a bottle of sake. (That's the time limit for each seating.)
The first thing you should know about this place on the Lower East Side is that you must be at least 18 years old to enter (not kidding). This sex-positive dessert shop has cupcakes and cookies with names like Lick Me, Spank Me, and I Like It Rough, and you can also grab either a Dicky or Va-JayJay waffle. The storefront is meant to resemble a vintage ice cream parlor, so consider this place for a nostalgic/playful date.
Coletta
Everything on the menu at this new Italian restaurant in Kips Bay is vegan and kosher. You'll find dishes like sunchoke and "scallop" risotto and "steak" marsala—which are actually made with king oyster mushrooms and seitan respectively. Some pastas and brick oven pizzas can be made gluten free, and there are large glass displays filled with bottles of wine.
This new spot has set up shop inside The Breakers in Williamsburg—just find the neon "Order Here" sign over the window that looks like a coat check. Tito Papas is serving Filipino bar food like adobo pork belly bao and fried chicken sisig tacos, and they sometimes offer specials like Mexican elote bowls.
The Bronx Brewery and Bastard Burgers
A second location of The Bronx Brewery (the other is in The Bronx) has opened in the East Village. The space here will have a fully-functioning brewery—used for more experimental beers—in the middle of the seating area. A Swedish-based chain called Bastard Burgers is providing smashed patty-style burgers, and they can make anything on the menu vegan upon request.
Charles Pan-Fried Chicken
The original version of this popular fried chicken spot in Harlem shut down last year, but a new location has opened on the Upper West Side, with another in Harlem on the way. Other than their famous pan-fried chicken, you can get things like smothered turkey wings, smoked pulled pork, and sides like black eyed peas, yams, and cheesy grits.
You'll find this new lounge on the 101st floor of a building in Hudson Yards next to a restaurant named Peak (hence, the name). This doesn't seem like a place that you should come to wearing shorts and flip flops. From 10:30pm-2am, Thursday through Saturday, you can get cocktails or bottle service while you look down and contemplate how so many people coexist in this city.
Forever Thai
The decor at this Thai spot in Bushwick incorporates a lot of greenery—including around the entire front door. The menu here has specials like squid ink fried rice with octopus and pad thai with lobster tail. If you come for lunch, you can get a set meal between $10.95 and $12.95 until 4pm.
Avrilililly’s
This new bakery in Hamilton Heights is worth a visit if you're looking for some cakes and cupcakes decorated with flowers. They also have a variety of gelato (and gelato sandwiches), which you can enjoy on one of their hot pink booths. Get a tour of the space here.
The Landing
Penn 1, a very tall office building adjacent to famous landmarks that host professional basketball teams and lots of trains, has a new restaurant and lounge called The Landing. We can see this place being a good option for people who work in the area because they start serving breakfast—like avocado toast and pancakes—at 8am. During lunch and dinner, you'll find items like lemon chicken orzo soup and grilled branzino. Be aware that this spot is only open on weekdays and closes at 8pm.
The trend of high-end sushi restaurants opening in NYC continues with Ito in Tribeca. No thinking will be required here (except when it comes to what you'd like to drink) because there's only one omakase menu available for $285, which is served at a 14-seat counter. This place also has an 8-person private dining room in case you're too good to be around strangers.
Yes, this city has a lot of bagel shops. But who says no to another? Other than bagels, this new spot in Williamsburg has pastrami, egg, and cheese on rye, latkes, and (as the name implies) plenty of smoked salmon.
Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill
A second NYC location (the other is in Columbus Circle) of this restaurant has opened in the former Blue Ribbon Federal Grill space in FiDi. Unlike other Blue Ribbon concepts that have a more singular focus, this one features a mashup of Japanese and American food. You can get sushi, sashimi, and maki as well as skirt steak and steamed Maine lobster. A 14-piece omakase that starts at $125 is also available, and this spot is open from Monday through Friday for both lunch and dinner.
Dumpling N’ Dips
A very Saint Marks-y spot has appropriately opened right on Saint Marks Place near 3rd Avenue. The menu centers around different kinds of dumplings like pork seaweed, mushroom taro, and octopus. Nothing on the menu is more than $11.95 (the cost of the kale noodles and signature dumplings set), and if you don't think there will be a lot of students eating here, we think you're wrong.
If you've walked by the Hotel Chelsea on 23rd Street at any point after the year 1930, you probably noticed the bright red neon sign for this Spanish restaurant. After closing in 2018 for renovations, this historic establishment is open again—but with only around 65 seats, down from 220. Expect dishes like paella with seafood and rabbit, preserved tuna with leeks and tomato, and lots of sangria.
Island Shack
This new restaurant in Fort Greene was opened by somebody who worked for years at multiple Caribbean restaurants in NYC including Peppa's Jerk Chicken. The food here is influenced by the owner's Trinidadian background and includes items like curry goat roti and pumpkin broth with shrimp, lobster tail, and conch.
Kumi
Las Vegas is known for importing popular restaurants from around the country. But with Kumi, the opposite happened. The original is in Mandalay Bay, and now there's a location in the Le Méridien New York hotel just south of Central Park. In the large space that sits around 130, you can eat modern Japanese items like green tea smoked chicken and miso glazed black cod as well as Korean-influenced dishes like gochujang glazed salmon and galbi braised short rib.
Ramen Ku-Raku
If In the Heights has inspired you to randomly break out into song and dance uptown, check out this place the next time you do so. Ramen Ku-Raku in Washington Heights has plenty of ramen (all around $15) in addition to rice bowls like katsu don and a surprisingly large selection of steamed and fried gyoza.
The team behind Bakeri bakery has opened this new pizzeria in Ridgewood. Expect puffy-crusted pies topped with things like prosciutto, burrata, ‘nduja, and pickled jalapeños. This place also has rosemary-topped focaccia that looks soft enough to rest your head on.
Pho BK
As you can probably guess by the name of this new Vietnamese restaurant in Borough Park, there is plenty of phở on the menu here (15 different varieties to be exact). Other items offered include chả giò, bánh mì, and bò lúc lắc. This place seems like a good option for takeout or delivery if you live nearby.
Padoca Bakery
A second Padoca Bakery has opened on the Upper East Side. (The other is in the same neighborhood on East 67th.) “Padoca” is a Brazilian term that means neighborhood bakery, so it’s no surprise that you can find pão de queijo here. There are also sweet items like banana chocolate chip loaves and orange olive oil cake.
Ani Ramen
A mini ramen empire from New Jersey is introducing itself to Battery Park City. The eighth location (and the first in NYC) of Ani Ramen has set up shop at the Hudson Eats food hall in Brookfield Place. Expect chicken and vegetable-based broths with your choice of add-ons like ajitama, crispy tofu, and panko shrimp. Do some post-meal shopping at the adjacent mall if you’ve been wearing the same three athleisure outfits for several years now.
This multi-purpose cafe in the East Village is serving coffee, espresso, and small bites as well as non-alcoholic “magical elixirs” every day until 3pm. We’re hoping the magic in these elixirs will make us think it’s summer already. This place also has merch like tinctures, soap, and artwork for sale, and there's a schedule of evening events that you can find here.
After planning a debut during the spring (then summer) of last year, Maggie Hall’s is finally open in Astoria. This bar has a Happy Hour every day of the week where you can get $2 off any item on the menu. There’s also trivia every Monday night in case you want to be reminded of just how much knowledge you’ve forgotten from high school.
January
People would think of the government in a more positive light if any of its various branches supplied food as good as what’s served at Dept. of Culture in Bed-Stuy. The $60 tasting menu—offered during two seatings each night, mostly at a communal table—consists of three Nigerian dishes, such as mushroom suya, followed by a dessert. With its BYOB policy and all-vinyl soundtrack, this place will make you’ll feel like you’re at a dinner party in an NYC apartment. You can only make reservations via Instagram DM.
Mena
Chef Victoria Blamey, who took over for Alfred Portale at Gotham Bar and Grill, has opened her own restaurant in Tribeca. The menu here is influenced by the chef’s hometown of Santiago, Chile, and it features dishes like scallops in a squash leche de tigre and sqaub with fermented radicchio. At 50 seats, the space should feel fairly intimate.
Saint Tuesday is a new underground cocktail bar located below the Walker Hotel in Tribeca (just a few doors down from Mena). All cocktails are $19, and the bar is open every night until 2am. This spot also has live music, in case crowd noise isn't enough for you.
Bangkok Degree
Located near the northwest corner of Prospect Park, Bangkok Degree is a new Thai restaurant with a large menu that includes dishes like papaya salad and pineapple fried rice in addition to less-common items like braised prime rib in massaman curry. The lush greenery hanging from the ceiling will remind you of a tropical rainforest, which might be nice this time of year.
The Nines
This new piano bar is located directly above Acme in Noho. The Nines is calling itself a supper club, and it's modeled after traditional hotel lobby bars that provide drinks, food, and entertainment. The space has red velvet drapes and cheetah print carpet, and you can order dishes from a menu that features a lot of seafood (think uni, raw oysters, and tuna tartare). When you stop by, a pianist might be playing anything from jazz to a piano cover of “Shallow” (sans Lady Gaga's vocals).
This spot with a sunny-sounding name claims to be the greatest cocktail bar in the universe. That statement seems rather difficult to prove, but if true, it's fortunate that you only live a train ride away. Speaking of trains, this place is located inside the 50th Street downtown 1 subway station. You can come here and grab what we can only assume are unmatched cocktails Monday through Saturday until 2am.
If you’re the type of person who doesn’t understand why there’s only one day a year dedicated to fright and dressing up in costumes, this new place might appease you. It's a horror-themed bar in Ridgewood, and it has coffin wallpaper and a print of Frankenstein seemingly abducting a small child. They’re still waiting for their liquor license, but for now, you can get mocktails and food like focaccia with cashew cream, a fried tofu sandwich, and vegan haggis.
Bar Cicchetti
Fabio Viviani, whom you might remember from his many appearances on Top Chef, has opened his first NYC restaurant in the Motto Chelsea hotel. The dishes here are inspired by Fabio’s childhood in Florence, Italy and include crispy duck salad, n’duja Roman pizza, and whole fried rockfish.
PLNT Burger
Another Top Chef alum, Spike Mendelsohn, has brought the first NYC location of his plant-based burger chain to Union Square. The all-kosher menu has burgers made with Beyond Meat as well as chicken substitute sandwiches and sweet potato fries. So far, this place seems to have at least one prominent fan.
First we got Ci Siamo and Zou Zou’s, and now this recently-opened food court in Moynihan Train Hall has even more new dining options for anyone who spends time around Penn Station. This place has a full-service bar called The Bar (which should be easy to remember), and popular vendors like Jacob’s Pickles and Burger Joint will be setting up shop here as well. A few places are already open, and most will be operational by mid-February.
Miriam
A second location of this Mediterranean spot (the other has been in Park Slope for 17 years) has opened on the Upper West Side. Expect dishes like goat cheese crostini, lamb shawarma, seafood paella, and a separate brunch menu. This new location is right next to Beacon Theatre, so keep it in mind the next time you have tickets to a show there.
Edith’s started as a pop-up in the Paulie Gee’s space before opening a brick-and-mortar sandwich and bagel counter in Williamsburg. Now, the team has a new flagship restaurant just up the street, with a dining room and a grocery store selling Jewish food staples. The all-day menu here includes dishes like chicken schnitzel, a labneh yogurt parfait, and a smoked fish plate—and there are plenty of baked goods to pick up as well.
This new all-day cafe and bakery serves pastries like the ones you’d find in Venice, Italy. In addition to a large variety of croissants and tarts, there are also berry mousses and a BEC sandwich on brioche. The next time you play hoops or tennis at nearby McCarren Park, come here for a quick snack afterward.
Sei Less
If you see a door hidden within a mural at 38th and 7th, it’s probably the entrance to this new Midtown speakeasy restaurant. Sei Less (opening January 15th) will be serving chicken satay, edamame dumplings, and rock shrimp tempura in a massive space that seats up to 350. There will also be a few private rooms with TVs, in case you need somewhere to eat a meal while watching a Knicks game in peace.
Sanyuu West
This new Japanese restaurant in Chelsea is offering a $78, 15-course omakase menu with the option to pay extra for supplemental nigiri. During any of the three nightly seatings, you can get items like pickled cocktail tomatoes, yellowtail with banana pepper, and ikura with baby spinach and egg yolk. Make reservations via text at (347) 725-6580.
Mala House
Flatiron could use more Chinese restaurants, so this new Sichuan spot should be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Expect dishes like wontons in chili oil, spicy beef noodle soup, and dry pepper chicken.
Other Half Brewing
What started as a pop-up at Rockefeller Center is now a permanent taproom on 48th Street near 5th Avenue—the first for Other Half in Manhattan. (Their other two NYC locations are in Carroll Gardens and Domino Park.) There are plenty of brews on draft as well as cider and seltzer, and this place also has an outdoor beer garden for when the weather’s nice (probably not now).
Nina's Great Burrito Bar
New places named after Ninas seem to be popular as of late (scroll down to December openings to read about a recently-opened bar in Soho). This Mexican restaurant on the Upper West Side offers at least four different kinds of salsas to go with their burritos and other items like carnitas tacos and octopus tostadas. On Fridays and Saturdays, you can hang out here until 2am.
A second Queens location of this Afghan spot (the other is in Astoria) has opened in Long Island City. Look for the same marinated lamb chops and various kebabs that made the original so popular as well as some new menu items that will be exclusive to this counter-service outpost.
33 Lafayette
This new spot in Fort Greene is serving Haitian food like fried turkey with red beans and rice and shredded herring with peppers and onions, with a Happy Hour that runs from 5pm-7pm. They’re doing a soft opening at the moment, so be sure to check the website for current hours.
Tomo21 Sushi
The space in Greenwich Village that used to house the beloved Tomoe Sushi is now home to the similarly named Tomo21 Sushi. The chef is the same, but the place is under new ownership. From the looks of it, the space and menu haven’t changed much—you can still get butter enoki mushrooms in tin foil, spicy king crab, and plenty of nigiri. Also worth noting: This spot is BYOB.
A fifth location of this popular taqueria, which started in Chelsea Market back in 2013, has set up shop on Lafayette Street near Bleecker. We predict a human traffic jam happening here often, as this Noho block also has an outpost of Levain Bakery.
Uncle Lou 快樂人
Uncle Lou is a new Cantonese spot in Chinatown with a menu that seems to go on forever. The restaurant is steps away from Columbus Park, so if you’re out and about on a not-so-frigid day, it might be a good idea to grab a selection of dim sum, braised duck, and preserved egg with pork congee to eat outside.
The team behind Sobre Masa opened a tortilla factory with a taqueria last year in Bushwick, and that tortilleria has now expanded with a coffee and retail shop. From 7am-3pm, Tuesday through Saturday, you can get Mexican pastries like almond-flavored conchas, tamales, Oaxacan coffee, and, of course, tortillas that are made on the premises.
Rokstar Chicken
The next time you need yogurt, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and Korean fried chicken, head to the Food Bazaar in Douglaston that has a new outpost of Rokstar Chicken inside. There’s a small counter set up there where you can order a whole chicken, some wings, or boneless pieces with sauces like hot soy garlic BBQ and Korean sweet chili.
The enthusiasm for birria tacos in NYC continues at Birria Mania in Bay Ridge. Here, you’ll find birria incorporated into items like pizza, cheesesteak, and ramen. The dining room has a huge mural on the wall with Frida Kahlo and Biggie, and there are sombreros all over the ceiling.
Fraunces Tavern in FiDi has a new piano bar above their restaurant, and it’s appropriately named The Piano Bar Upstairs. Thursday through Saturday, you can get cocktails, wine, and beer in this new space along with items like raw oysters, cheeses, and braised short rib sliders. You should probably also expect some live music.
Canto
Cute and charming Italian restaurants in the West Village will always be a thing. Canto is the latest entry in this category, and their space seems especially appropriate for a date night. The dining room is open for dinner daily (with lunch on Thursdays and Fridays), and there are plenty of vegetarian options, including a bunch of salads that are $16 each.
Simply Noodles
Looking for some spicy mala rice noodle soup or a bowl of dan dan noodles to keep you warm? If so, Simply Noodles on the Upper West Side is serving those dishes alongside other noodle bowls and small plates like pork belly buns and wood ear mushroom salad. Try this place after a long walk in Central Park, which is just a few blocks away.
Sands of Persia
There’s a new hookah lounge in Astoria. In addition to a selection of mocktails, this place serves savory dishes like kebabs and plenty of desserts (including shakes that pay homage to both Lindt Lindor and Ferrero Rocher chocolates). The shishas look quite decorative, and the space has a luxurious feel, so it could be a good place to roll up in a Lambo.
December
Mezcali
Two best friends have opened a Mexican restaurant in FiDi with a menu that pays homage to the food they loved growing up in Southern California. The dining room has distressed wood, brick walls, and a concrete bar where you can appropriately order one of several mezcal cocktails. Food and drinks are up to half off during Happy Hour, which runs Monday through Friday, 3pm-6pm.
The Sushi Noz team has opened another upscale restaurant in Chelsea with an omakase-style menu that changes regularly and consists of about 30 courses. There will be two seatings for dinner at a seven-seat counter. Meals here cost $400, so if you don’t have a monthly car payment, consider redirecting your “savings” towards Noz 17.
Pho House
A variety of rice vermicelli dishes, pho, and bánh mì dominate the menu (alongside a few appetizers like summer rolls and chả giò) at this new Vietnamese restaurant in Gramercy. Most of the food costs between $10 and $16, and this place will likely become a top-of-mind option for easy takeout or delivery for nearby residents. If you come here in person, you’ll see colorful bubble tea artwork on the wall to go along with the dedicated coffee and boba bar inside.
Taqueria Al Pastor
One of our favorite places to get tacos now has a second outpost near Borough Hall. The offerings here include tacos with crispy fish, grilled cactus, and, of course, crispy marinated pork from a trompo with cubes of pineapple. Quesadillas, tostadas, burritos, and volcanes (baked tortillas with grilled Monterey Jack cheese) round out the menu.
Another established neighborhood spot that was forced to close during the pandemic is back open. Prohibition, which has been around since 1996 on the Upper West Side, has new decor that gives off Boardwalk Empire vibes, but with a lot less violence. This place still has plenty of live music, and you can grab cocktails and food like cheesesteak egg rolls, bourbon baby back ribs, and wild mushroom risotto while you’re there.
TLK
What started as a delivery-only operation called Tiger Lily Kitchen during the pandemic is now TLK in a brick and mortar space in the East Village. The food here is inspired by the cooking of the owner’s mother (who’s from Hong Kong), and the menu is mostly vegetarian. It includes items such as celery root steak, spicy grilled Japanese eggplant, and curry fish steamed in banana leaf. TLK is open Wednesday through Sunday for dinner.
A second Fish Market (the other is in South Street Seaport) just opened on Avenue A near 11th Street, and, just like at the original restaurant, the menu here is full of American, Chinese, and Malaysian dishes like fried mac and cheese, spicy prawn soup, and beef rendang. There are also several dishes with “Mama’s” in the name, which somehow makes us want to order them more. Free shots used to (and still may) be passed around at the original location, and we hope that spirit is still alive at this new spot.
Ozakaya
There’s a definite aquatic theme happening at this Japanese restaurant in Prospect Heights with fish artwork hanging from the ceiling and bathroom wall tiles that make you feel like you’re underwater. There are sushi rolls on the menu, but the focus seems to be on plates like hamachi kama, katsudon, and curry over rice. Ozakaya is only open for dinner, Monday to Sunday.
After originally planning a May debut, this Korean restaurant is now open in Bayside. You’ll find cuts here that are available at most KBBQ places like galbi and bulgogi, as well as a few lesser-seen options like beef tongue. Not in the mood for KBBQ? This place also serves items like ttok-bokki, sundubu jigae, and dolsot bibimbap every night until midnight.
Mari
The chef behind Kochi has another restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen focusing on street food-inspired Korean hand rolls. This place has one option for dining: a 12-course, $125 tasting menu that includes eight types of hand rolls with fillings like soy-marinated salmon with caviar, shrimp with crispy leeks, and roasted pork belly with ssamjang. Mari is open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, 5pm-10pm.
There’s been a recent trend of restaurants being named after mothers and grandmothers. (It’s our job to notice these things, so you’re just going to have to trust us on this one.) This new bakery in Prospect Heights, named after chef Greg Baxtrom's mom, is from the team behind Olmsted and Maison Yaki. Aside from savory pastries like everything pretzel rolls and broccoli and raclette croissants, there are also some sweet items like cinnamon rolls and caramel-chocolate-hazelnut brest. The setting looks like it caters to the grab-and-go crowd.
Chocolate Cortés, a fourth generation chocolate company from Puerto Rico, is opening another location of its restaurant (the original is in San Juan) in Mott Haven. In addition to sweets, there will also be savory dishes like serrano ham croquettes, churrasco, and a smoked pork sandwich. (Many of these items incorporate chocolate in some way.)
Casa Dani
Another week, another Manhattan West restaurant opening. Casa Dani is a Spanish and Mediterranean spot from chef Dani García, who’s been involved with several restaurants in Spain and used to have a place called Manzanilla in NYC. The menu is quite large and screams: “Come with a group of friends.” It has both a dedicated tapas section (most items cost between $9 and $17) and a paella section—a version of the dish with cornish hen is $62, while one topped with bone-in ribeye is $130.
La Devozione
La Devozione is a new one-stop-shop Italian concept in Chelsea Market from a company based in Gragnano, Italy that’s one of the world’s largest exporters of dry pasta. The Oval, which is an upscale $165 pasta-only tasting menu restaurant within La Devozione, is now open with a large selection of wines to choose from. You’ll also find a spaghetti to-go counter, a pasta retail shop, a casual spot with starters and seasonal pastas called A Tavola, and a nine-seat coffee and cocktail bar surrounding The Oval.
Myron Mixon’s Pitmaster Barbeque
Myron Mixon has quite the resume—not only is he a five-time world barbecue champion, but he’s also the mayor of a town called Unadilla, Georgia. This Hoboken location of his namesake restaurant is his second (the other is in Virginia), and it has smoked meats like brisket, pulled pork, and sausage, as well as sides like baby back mac and cheese and peach BBQ baked beans. (A family meal for $70 might be a good alternative to whatever laborious holiday feast you’re planning.) You should also know that this spot is BYO beer and wine.
Cucina 8 ½
What used to be the French restaurant Brasserie 8 ½ in Midtown is now an Italian-American place with a very similar name. (The address is 8 1/2 West 57th Street.) Pizzas, a full crudo bar, and pastas like rigatoni pomodoro are available from 5pm-11pm, Monday through Saturday. The restaurant is near a huge Apple store, in case you need to go there for any holiday-related shopping. We’re pretty sure it won’t be that busy this time of year.
Nina's x Liquid Lab
Have you ever noticed a big greenery-filled courtyard that looks out of place (in a good way) while walking down Crosby Street? That’s the Nomo Soho Hotel, and it now has a cocktail lounge and club celebrating the art scene in Soho throughout the years. Thursday through Sunday, you’ll find a lineup of cocktails here like the SoHo Confidential with tequila, passion fruit, and red pepper puree. A dedicated food menu is coming soon.
The team behind Lido has opened what they’re calling an “international sports gastro pub” in Harlem. That label seems pretty accurate, seeing as how this place is showing international sports, such as soccer, on large screens, alongside food and drinks. Dishes here include chili topped with avocados and scallions and beef sliders with blue cheese or cheddar. If you have trouble finding this pub, look for the huge mural of a fox outside.
After this legendary dim sum banquet hall closed earlier this year, Jing Fong is back near the corner of Centre Street and Baxter Street. The new location is starting out with only takeout and delivery, and, once the indoor dining room opens, it’ll be a fraction of the size of the old space. Old favorites like har gow and crispy chicken remain, but there are also new items like crispy crab fried rice and silky egg tofu.
Sally Can Wait
The next time you want a Cubano with yucca fries and a chicken liver sandwich with whitefish dip in the same sitting, Sally Can Wait on the Lower East Side is the perfect spot for you. This Jewish-Latin place is also a cocktail bar with drinks like the “Miami Vice,” which is half frozen piña colada and half strawberry daiquiri.
Calvin Eng, a former Win Son chef, just opened a new Cantonese-American restaurant in Williamsburg called Bonnie’s. Named after Eng’s mother, Bonnie’s has everything from a whole stuffed rainbow trout to a “cha siu mcrib” sandwich on a milk bun. The place is already drawing crowds—but, thankfully, there are seats reserved for walk-ins.
Sushi W
A new Japanese restaurant on the Upper West Side wants to give you exactly one hour to eat some fish. This spot has three omakase options that range from $33 (only available at lunch) to $63 (15 pieces of nigiri and two hand rolls), and all of these meals are served within a 60-minute time frame. You can also order from a full à la carte menu, and you should be aware that prices include gratuity.
The Parlour Room
This new Midtown bar and restaurant looks like a fancy library that could be in a Sherlock Holmes story. Cocktails—some of which are presumably made with the hand-cranked shaker on display—start at $17, and the in-house whisky sommelier will help you choose from 400 different bottles. If you get hungry, you can grab some lobster and shrimp wontons, a vegetarian lasagna for two, or a selection of raw bar items.
The Irish Arts Center in Hell’s Kitchen has a new cafe on the ground level that, unsurprisingly, embodies all things Irish. Dishes like Irish cocktail sausages, potato and leek soup with black pudding, and traditional Irish brown bread scones are available, as well as a bunch of Irish whiskey. Even the furniture is supplied by a craft designer based in Northern Ireland.
The L’Artusi team has been busy this year. They just launched a cafe and sandwich shop next to their recently-opened B’Artusi in the West Village, and this takeout-only spot is serving items like cacio e pepe scones, frittatas, and a variety of sandwiches and salads. Via Porta is open daily from 7am-3pm.
After closing its original location earlier this year, Café China, a longtime favorite of ours, has reopened in a new space on 37th Street near 6th Avenue. Stop by for some tea-smoked duck, boneless pork trotters, and spicy soft shell crab. (There’s also dim sum, with most items costing $9.)
Barnyard Express
Barnyard Cheese Shop, which closed earlier this year, has been resurrected as a weekend-only store in the East Village. Barnyard Express is serving sandwiches, charcuterie, soups, and desserts Friday through Sunday from 10am-3pm. Maybe opt for something from this place over that cold Kraft Singles sandwich you’re thinking about making.
Tacombi
A new location of Tacombi is now open, and it’s just a short walk from Forest Hills Stadium. You know what they say: tacos and Bon Iver go together perfectly. Okay, probably no one has ever said that. Regardless, this spot is serving the same crispy fish tacos, chicken burritos, and pitchers of margaritas that this mini chain has become known for.
Bar Lula
At this new spot in the East Village (from the team behind The Wayland and Good Night Sonny), food is cooked using Mexican ingredients and French techniques. You can order things like roasted octopus with pistachio mole, a mushroom masa crepe with Oaxaca cheese, or a drink from the very extensive mezcal and tequila menu.
Mandalay Club
Myo Moe, the chef/owner behind Rangoon, has created a menu inspired by the city of Mandalay in Myanmar with items like spicy pig head slaw and egg curry bites. You can order delivery or pick up your food from a takeout window in Long Island City from Wednesday to Sunday, 5pm-9pm.
New Spicy Village
There seems to be some sibling drama brewing that involves this new Chinese restaurant on the Lower East Side and Spicy Village just a few blocks away. New Spicy Village offers the same spicy big tray chicken dish that’s made Spicy Village so popular, and other menu items include oxtail with hand-pulled noodles, soup dumplings, and beef brisket casserole. Most dishes cost less than $10.
The team behind Via Carota and Bar Pisellino has opened an American restaurant in the West Village inspired by the communal spirit and heirloom recipes of the Shakers. Eventually, they’ll be serving stuff along the lines of pickled oysters and pot pie for dinner—but the dining room isn’t open yet. If you want to get a preview, you can stop by the tavern area for drinks and snacks like country ham and rarebit from 4pm-10pm, Tuesday through Sunday.
Malii Gramercy
A sister restaurant to Malii in East Harlem has opened in Gramercy with a very large menu that includes a “Must Try” section with a few clay pot and stewed beef items. It looks like a good option for a casual dinner any night of the week, and there are daily lunch specials from 11:30am-4pm.
Naked Tomato
Located next to his Hudson Yards Miznon location, chef Eyal Shani has a new casual Mediterranean restaurant. Every meal starts with a large variety of small plates like tahini with tomatoes, fried Italian hot pepper, and eggplant steak, so this seems like a good place to bring a group for sharing.
Marian’s
Chef Christian Rowan told his grandmother that he would name his first restaurant after her, and now he’s done just that. This new American spot in the West Village is only open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday, and they’re serving dishes like clam chowder pot pie, short rib pappardelle, and their version of Pop-Tarts with seasonal fillings.
Beer Run
A new location of Beer Run (the original is in Chelsea) has opened in Hamilton Heights with its glorious logo of a runner double-fisting two beers, arms raised in triumph. That’s probably all you need to know, but this place does have both local and international beers, which you can drink there or take home with you.
Known for being one of the few places to get Chicago deep dish pizza in NYC, Emmett’s has opened a second location in the West Village serving tavern-style pizzas, which are thin, round, and cut into squares. There are also pastas, baby back ribs, and a house burger on the menu. The wood-paneled room looks like a cozy house in the woods.
Alameda was a Covid restaurant casualty, but the team behind that spot has a new Spanish seafood bar close to the water in Greenpoint. You can sit at their long wooden bar or in one of their short booths, have a martini, and order items like the seafood tower, sardine tins, or fresh oysters. This bar should be a great place to meet a few friends and get some light starters before heading to a dinner somewhere else nearby.
Burger Joint recently reopened in the Thompson Central Park New York, a hotel that was formerly named both Le Parker Méridien New York and the Parker New York. The menu still has burgers, fries, and... not much else. This place has always been known for being hidden, but the lines should help reveal its location once you walk into the hotel (whatever it happens to be named at the time).
Ssäm Bar reopened in the South Street Seaport space previously occupied by another Momofuku restaurant, Bar Wayō, earlier this year, and it now has a new dining room upstairs with tabletop grills and two private karaoke rooms. The menu has raw items like sea scallops with kohlrabi, old Ssäm Bar favorites like a selection of American country ham, and, of course, meats like smoked pork belly with gochujang glaze for the grills. If you can manage to not overcook anything while belting out Run the Jewels, that’s objectively impressive.
Nangman BBQ
As a society, we’re slowly working our way through every possible restaurant concept, and now we can check one more off the list with Nangman BBQ in Chelsea, which celebrates both Korean BBQ and glamping. The mostly-beef-and-pork items for the grill start at $30 and go up to $46, and there are also large-format meals for two to six people.
One day (probably soon), we’ll be able to feel like we’re standing in the middle of a basketball court and watch a game happen around us without wearing bulky headsets. That’s kind of what The Lab at The Bronx Brewery is like—an area embedded in the middle of the facility where you can be in the middle of the brewing process while you order a chopped cheese empanada or chicken schnitzel sandwich. Getting beer probably makes sense too.
If you like both agnolotti and staring at really large trees with colored lights, this Italian restaurant near Rockefeller Center might be a good option for you. The menu has entire sections dedicated to crudos, pastas, pizzas, and mains like Long Island duck and Dover sole, and the inside looks like a well-curated furniture showroom. We can see a lot of business meals happening here.
Suram
We haven’t seen a sushi spot open on the Upper West Side in a little while. Aside from a standard selection of sushi, sashimi, and rolls, Suram also has three types of ramen, as well as spicy tuna and jalapeño on hot crispy rice. If you’re looking for your next casual restaurant where your check probably won’t reach triple digits, this might be it.
November
This popular all-day cafe from LA has opened a location in the West Village, which means you can now enjoy their signature oatmeal griddle cakes (in varieties like banana nut, blueberry, and chocolate chip). Not in the mood for breakfast? Grab a cheeseburger or a fried chicken sandwich. The restaurant is open daily from 8am-3pm.
Gotham
The third iteration of Gotham Bar and Grill has opened in the same space it’s occupied since the 1980s. The original was known for its tuna tartare, and a version of that dish is still on the menu — along with veal sweetbreads, arctic char, and Berkshire pork belly. We predict a lot of expense-account meals happening here.
A new cocktail bar with tropical vibes is now open above Gage & Tollner in Downtown Brooklyn. The cozy space is full of ominous green spherical lamps (that may or may not be hibernation pods for aliens), and it should be a good place to have a rum cocktail while you wait for a table at the downstairs restaurant.
Joy Love Club
A Chinese-French place has opened in Chelsea, and the menu seems to encourage dining with friends, as it has sections labeled “Small Plates” and “Dim Sum Tapas.” You’ll also find items like braised duck with caviar, fried multigrain rice with Chinese sausage, and truffle beef with asparagus.
Botte
A second location of Botte (the other is in Astoria), which specializes in Roman cuisine, opened recently on the Upper East Side. The large menu has pizzas, charcuterie boards, and homemade pastas, in addition to several small plates like octopus carpaccio, eggplant rolls, and fried zucchini.
Bird Dog
Bird Dog is a new spot serving both Italian and Southern dishes in the West Village, with a menu that includes pork shoulder and broccoli rabe, honey-glazed chicken wings with Calabrian chilis, and pimento cheese with ranch baked crackers. The space is tight (you’ll make some new friends), and the menu is exclusively prix fixe, with three options ranging from $65 to $110.
Bar Milano
Eataly has a new restaurant called Bar Milano. Unsurprising, the menu draws inspiration from Milan, and it includes dishes like crispy saffron risotto, braised beef agnolotti, and seared black cod. A roving negroni cart is also present to satisfy your gin and Campari needs.
Wuish
Over in FiDi, you’ll find a new dim sum spot in the bottom of a Four Points by Sheraton hotel. Hours run 6am-10pm daily, so this might be a good option if you’ve been out all night downtown and start to notice that the sky isn’t dark anymore. The lunch menu is served until 5pm, and it includes dim sum, congee, and noodles.
Lindens
The Arlo Soho Hotel is now home to Lindens, a restaurant with an extensive raw bar and items like thyme Parker House rolls, kabocha squash ravioli, and pizza. Most of the starters cost between $10 and $16, while pastas and mains run $18 to $29. Located right near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, this place could be your escape from sitting in traffic after work on a Friday.
Zou Zou's
The team behind Don Angie and Quality Bistro has opened an Eastern Mediterranean spot in Manhattan West just steps away from Citrovia (a confusingly lemon-centric art installation). The menu is centered around the restaurant’s wood-fired grill and has dishes like ember-roasted eggplant, lobster tagine, and mushroom kibbeh.
The owners of Ayat have opened a new Palestinian spot in Brooklyn Heights. Dishes are served family style, and the restaurant is open every day from 11am-11pm. From the looks of it, there’s a pizza oven, a seafood bar, vertical spits, and lots of flowers both inside and out.
Jeremy Salamon, the former chef at The Eddy, has opened Agi’s Counter (named after his grandmother) in Crown Heights. The Eastern European and Jewish-American menu includes palascinta (rolled crepes with cheese, brown butter, and poached pear), lebarkase (a pork pâté and fried eggs sandwich), and Hungarian donuts (only on Sundays). Hours run 7am-3pm daily, so stop by when you need to grab a casual breakfast or snack near the Brooklyn Museum.
When the yogurt that already expired four days ago just isn’t worth the risk, get your daytime sustenance at this bakery that has set up shop in Astoria after months of selling cinnamon apple danishes, blueberry whoopie pies, and cheddar chive buttermilk biscuits in temporary locations. It’s open 8am-3pm Thursday through Friday and 10am-3pm on the weekends. (Bread loaves are only available on Saturday and Sunday.)
We’re intrigued by the name of this new spot in Chinatown where you can get claypot rice with various meat and vegetable combinations. What does the “46” mean? (The address is 42C Mott.) Also, who are these rookies, and what sport do they play? This place is only open Thursday through Sunday, and nothing on the menu costs more than $7.50.
After a recent temporary residency in FiDi, The Migrant Kitchen has found a new permanent home on the Upper East Side. This Middle Eastern and Latin restaurant donates one meal to a New Yorker in need for every meal purchased, and the menu consists of items like a grilled halloumi and chorizo bowl, avocado on manoushe, and a roasted smoked pork family meal that serves five.
Following a 2019 pop-up that generated very long lines, this popular sandwich shop from Florence is now open in the Theater District serving flatbread sandwiches with ingredients like cooked ham, Tuscan lard, pistachio cream, porchetta, and nduja. It looks like a good option for grabbing a quick bite when you’re running late to see Wicked.
A new spot with a clever name in Jamaica, Queens is serving a menu with all zabiha items, including a variety of burgers (of course), wings with your choice of sauce, and rice platters. It’s an order-at-the-counter place, and most items cost between $10 and $15.
An AYCE Korean BBQ spot recently opened in Long Island City with a menu that has more than 20 cuts of meat along with sides like bean paste stew and spicy fried rice cakes. The restaurant is spacious and looks like an ideal place to bring three or four friends (or strangers).
After many years of operating restaurants in NYC, Laurent Tourondel has opened another new spot in Chelsea that has no menu. Your choices are limited to skirt steak, a field green salad, and unlimited fries for $28. Redirect your decision-making energy to choosing between a martini and a Manhattan. (The answer is both).
All fans of dessert purveyors with Santa Clause-like logos can rejoice. Beard Papa’s — a chain that sells cream puffs stuffed with vanilla, green tea, and chocolate filling — has a new location in a second-floor space on St. Mark’s Place. Mix shell and cream flavors to match your mood for the day, and consider stopping by before your next dinner party.
A Korean spot has taken over the old The Meatball Shop space on the LES. If you’re wondering about the name, +82 is the country code for South Korea. All the plates, which include yellowtail crudo, boneless fried soy garlic chicken thighs, and seared scallops in black bean sauce look shareable and cost between $14 and $26. It’s open for dinner Wednesday-Sunday.
Jack & Charlie’s no.118
This new American restaurant at the corner of Greenwich Avenue and West 13th Street aims to remind you of old New York supper clubs and speakeasies. They’ve got a raw bar, duck meatloaf, a prime rib special on Fridays and Saturdays, and a long list of martinis. Pour one of their “Casino Royale” martinis out for Daniel Craig’s last stint as James Bond. We mean figuratively of course. This place just opened so don’t ruin their new floors.
If you signed a lease with a free month of rent recently, consider spending your savings on this new restaurant in Midtown just down the street from the MoMA. A former chef from Brushstroke is serving a 11-course kaiseki tasting menu for $300 per person. The menu currently includes chawanmushi with uni, sea bass with foie gras, and Maine lobster ikura with rice. Choose one of two nightly seatings at 5pm or 8pm, Tuesday-Saturday.
Winning a coin flip is much easier than winning the lottery. In the spirit of not having to choose from a bunch of numbers for the NY Lotto, Sobak in the Lower East Side has only four items available on their menu: bibimbap, unagi don, egg bap, and a daily limited wagyu bowl. It looks like a small space, so it seems like a good idea to get takeout and eat in Seward Park.
