We think of Birria-Landia’s truck in Jackson Heights as a New York City landmark. So the news about their second location in Williamsburg near Metropolitan and Meeker Avenue made us want to set off some kind of taco alarm to alert anyone looking for sustenance within a two-mile radius. Queen’s Birria-Landia serves the best birria tacos in NYC, and both the menu and the long lines look exactly the same at this Brooklyn spot.

Election season 2020 calls for meals that involve excessive amounts of melted cheese and Chito Gvrito is a casual, sit-down Georgian restaurant in Gramercy where you can make that happen. From adjaruli khachapuri (a bread boat that looks like a melted cheese jacuzzi) to doughy cheese blintzes, the lactose intolerant among you should come prepared with extra-strength dairy pills.

This Bronx-based brewery opened a Soho location back in May, which operated as a home base for their expansive delivery service. Now, Torch & Crown has officially opened this huge Lower Manhattan brewery for indoor and outdoor dining. Along with cream ales and double IPAs, they’ve got a bar menu with burgers, seafood, and salads available from 12 to 9pm Tuesday through Sunday.

The owner of Dough in Bed-Stuy, a doughnut shop that closed in February 2020, just opened this new bakery in the same space on Franklin & Lafayette. Fan Fan has a rotating menu of specialty pastries like salted brown butter caramel doughnuts, sticky buns, and five different kinds of fan-fans (a mashup between Long Johns and eclairs), topped with things like yuzu meringue, prickly pear glaze, guava, and more.

This year, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected. So when we heard that Russian dishes like mushroom and potato vareniki, pork pelmeni, apple rye cake, and pear upside down cake were being sold from someone’s fourth-floor walk-up in Bed-Stuy, we somehow weren’t that surprised. Dacha, the new Russian pop-up in question, is run by two chefs who worked at Rezdora and Red Hook Tavern respectively before the pandemic hit. And if you want to find out which dishes from their rotating menu will be available this week, check out their Instagram.

Three friends who worked at Eleven Madison Park together just opened this new, counter-service Chinese spot in Flatiron. Milu mainly serves rice bowls that you can build with your choice of meat or plant-based protein like duck or cauliflower. Plus, they serve sides like pork and fennel wontons, which look like the perfect meal to eat between your 1pm and 3pm Zoom meetings.

The UWS has a new French bistro where eating steak frites in the middle of the day like a writer in Paris during the 1920s seems highly encouraged. Manny’s will have an awning over its sidewalk patio soon, but for now, their dining room covered in marble tables and antique burlesque show posters is open for full-service indoor dining.

East Village coffee fans have yet another new cafe in the neighborhood serving high-quality flat whites and pastries from Balthazar Bakery. For now, All The King’s Horses is a mostly takeout spot with limited outdoor seating, but the sign on the building next door says they’ll be expanding in Spring 2021.

Chinatown has a new micro-brewery on Madison Street that serves draft options like lychee red ale and snacks like fried pickles. The indoor space is about the size of a studio apartment, but That Witch Ales You has a huge backyard patio with games you can use to lighten the mood at your table.

If you’re looking for a spacious back patio in Kips Bay to host a birthday party or to celebrate the fact that you’ve kept your spider plant alive for the last six months, Sunday’s Well has you covered. This new bar has a big backyard patio, daily Happy Hour with discounted beer and cocktails, plus comfort food like hush puppies, popcorn chicken, and skillet mac and cheese.

One of our favorite West Village counter-service spots, Manousheh, just opened its second Manhattan location on the LES. Unsurprisingly, this Lebanese spot specializes in manousheh, a doughy flatbread topped with different meats and vegetables, but this new spot has an expanded menu of salads, mezze, sides, and sweets like ashta merry cream (booza soft serve).

Rosella is a new sushi place in the East Village with a tasting menu option, plus a full menu of a la carte dishes like laksa soup and ceviche available for takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining. In favor of sustainability, most of the restaurant’s wine is from Brooklyn’s Rooftop Reds and many of the restaurant’s key ingredients, like its fish and miso, come from U.S. farmers.

City Winery just opened a huge new wine bar in Chelsea where you can sip rosé and stare at the sun setting over the Hudson River. The indoor space has floor-to-ceiling windows facing New Jersey and seats up to 200 people at socially-distanced tables. If you’d rather sit outside, there’s a full-service waterfront patio where you can try some of the new additions to their extensive wine list.

In 2014, Eric Ripert and Aldo Sohm teamed up to open Aldo Sohm Wine Bar in Midtown, just across the way from Le Bernardin. Now, they’re opening Aldo Upstairs on the second floor of the same bar. It’s essentially a socially-distant wine cellar where you can get all of the same wines and snacks from the first floor, plus some exclusive options from a rotating list of wines curated by the bar’s team of sommeliers.

There’s a new takeout-only sandwich shop hidden underneath the Manhattan Bridge that’s serving everything from mortadella sandwiches and lasagna squares, to caviar pizza and matzo ball soup. The sign out front at this Chinatown spot says “Tony’s Brick Oven Pizza,” but walk in and check L’itos’ menu board for the latest on what’s available.

Since June, this Nigerian grocery store in Astoria has been serving dishes like egusi soup with salmon and yassa, red stew with chicken, and jollof rice from a takeout-out counter inside the market. So whether your crockpot is on the fritz or you’re in the mood for some West African soups or stews in Queens, Nneji has you covered.

Chilo’s in Bed-Stuy has been our go-to taco truck for years. And they’ve just opened a second location in Greenwood that looks like it has the same fish tacos, smoked beef tortas, and nopales tostadas we’ve always loved. With more outdoor seating in a fenced courtyard, the new Chilo’s might just be one of the best new places to eat tacos and drink mezcal in the city.

This new delivery-only dumpling spot just opened three locations in Soho, Flatiron, and on the Upper West Side all at the same time. We’re just passing this along in case you live nearby and want handmade dumplings filled with things like pork & chives, lamb & cilantro, or chicken & broccoli delivered straight to your door with minimal effort on your part.

The team behind The Handpulled Noodle just opened a new Chinese noodle shop in Harlem where you can pick between classic, thick, sweet potato, and rice hand-pulled noodles to pair with things like spicy cumin lamb stir fry or ginger chicken soup. This casual, counter-service place is only doing takeout and delivery right now, so head to their website and place your order online.

All summer long, this delivery-only Mexican restaurant made taco feasts with homemade corn tortillas and other dishes like duck confit and green pumpkin seed mole accessible outside of your average fine-dining experience. And if you haven’t tried them out, their pre-order meals are still available for delivery within Brooklyn on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and they each include a pamphlet explaining the cultural context of every dish, plus a QR code that opens a curated playlist to go along with your meal.

Vestry is a new upscale American restaurant at the Dominick Hotel in Soho where things like beets and carrots seem to be getting just as much attention as the scallops and wagyu beef. In addition to several vegetable-focused small plates, Vestry’s menu includes things like tempura, handrolls, salmon, and roasted chicken, all of which you can eat on their plant-covered outdoor patio, or inside their socially distanced dining room right now.

Take a moment to reflect on your favorite NYC bars. If any of them require a secret passcode or hushed volume inside an unmarked door, you’ll probably like the Lab at Patent Pending. It’s a new, 40-seat speakeasy in a private room behind Patent Pending in Nomad, serving things like bacon grilled cheese and caramel rum gelato in addition to cocktails from 4pm to midnight daily.

The Upper West Side has a new neighborhood pizza place that should have something for just about everyone you know. From NY style and Sicilian pies topped with chicken cutlet or caesar salad, to vegan Nutella pies topped with strawberries and bananas, Sforno is like a variety show with entertainment you can eat.

Whether you’re vegan or not, you should know about Fat Choy - a new plant-based Chinese spot from someone who used to cook at Golden Diner. This LES takeout spot serves things like rice rolls, sticky rice dumplings, and sesame pancake sandwiches with mushrooms that you can pick up from 12 to 8pm, every day except Monday.

We checked out Fat Choy and added it to our list of The Best New Restaurants on the Lower East Side.

One of the people behind LA food truck Carnitas El Momo, home to some of Best Tacos In Los Angeles, just opened a new taco spot in the East Village with the Nai Tapas team. If you squint, Amigo By Nai kind of looks like a dance club with its pink neon sign and matte black patio tables - but it’s actually a cocktail bar on 2nd Ave that likely serves the kind of carnitas you’ll find yourself thinking about in the shower.

If you head to Yard Sale Cafe, a new coffee shop in Park Slope, just to pick up a slice of chocolate babka cake and a flat white with almond milk, you’d be missing the point. This neighborhood spot doubles as an antique shop where everything on the shelves lining the walls inside is available to purchase. Think of it as a never-ending estate sale full of vintage, one-of-a-kind dinnerware that also happens to have a working espresso bar.

Ursula is a new cafe from some of the people behind Bushwick’s Awkward Scone, which closed in May. Best known for their New Mexican-style breakfast burritos, the team has brought even more green and red chile-stuffed options like sopaipillas and an egg sandwich on brioche to this new Crown Heights spot, which is now open Wednesday through Sunday.

Mika is a new beer bar in Bushwick where you can play shuffleboard on a huge outdoor patio or hang out in a giant space bubble they call the “VIP lounge.” Since July, the bar has been hosting socially-distant omakase sushi dinners, chef pop-ups, movie nights, and more, so if you want to know what’s coming up at this overachieving neighborhood place, check out their Instagram.

The people behind Williamsburg’s newest outdoor-only spot N 11th Street Cookout just opened a new indoor beer bar with axe-throwing right down the street. While it might not be the safest place to decompress after a 12-hour work day or an insomniatic episode, you can still try this place out Thursday to Sunday.

This popular counter-service Israeli spot with a location in Chelsea Market has made its way to Brooklyn in Dekalb Market Hall. And if you’re ever had a falafel craving in Downtown Brooklyn, you know that this is a big deal. Miznon will deliver its steak-stuffed pitas and rotisserie chicken plates straight to your apartment if you live nearby, or you can pick it up from their new spot and present it to your housemates as a just-because gift on a random weeknight.

If you’ve ever wondered what a vegan Mekelburg’s might be like, check out Guevara’s. This new neighborhood cafe from the Mekelburg’s team is serving things like plant-based nachos, lox bagels, and coffee from women and trans-owned coffee roasters just a few feet away from their Clinton Hill location.

East Williamsburg has a new sit-down spot from the people behind The Meat Hook, where things like pork steak, tomato tartine, and pickled baloney are served outside on a covered patio with the kind of mid-century modern dining tables that seem to only exist in Blue Dot ads.

Bar Dalia is a new tapas bar in Astoria from the team behind Mosaic, a popular cocktail bar in the neighborhood. You’ll find things like crab cakes with corn relish, chicharron, and dulce de leche-covered churros on their menu, which you can try indoors or on their spacious back patio.

Popular Nolita lunch spot Noodlelove just transformed into a sit-down Korean restaurant serving fried chicken bao buns, bulgogi cheeseburger dumplings, and wonton noodles with clam sauce. Umma by Noodlove has 24 sidewalk seats along Kenmare street where you can have a casual dinner outside right now, plus eight indoor seats that’ll be available as soon as restaurants can reopen for indoor dining.

In Guyana, German’s Soup is a restaurant staple for Guyanese and Caribbean dishes like pepperpot and cow heel soup. The first U.S. location opened two years ago in Crown Heights, and it just moved to a bigger space on Utica Avenue that’ll open for indoor dining on September 30th. In this larger space, German’s Soup will serve new hearty soup options, barbeque chicken, roti, and more.

If you haven’t taken the subway through Manhattan in a while, let us remind you about that food market in the Columbus Circle subway station where you might have picked up a few dumplings or bubble tea back in 2017. Well, that place has a new paella spot called EZ Paella that serves microwavable orders to-go. Whether you want seafood, chicken, or vegetable paella for dinner, you’ll find it here along with a few other Spanish and Venezuelan dishes like meat skewers and empanadas from 10am to 8pm daily.

Since July, this wine bar has been open for evening pours on the Lower East Side in a space it shares with Broome Street Bakery. But recently, Somm Time opened a second location on the Upper East Side that serves cheese, charcuterie, pasta, and other small plates you’ll want to snack on while sipping a glass of Nebbiolo on a weeknight.

This Clinton Hill Mexican spot quietly opened back in March, which obviously means it closed soon afterwards. Now Tarachi is back with its barbacoa tacos, empanadas, and margaritas available for takeout, which you can either eat at one of the seat-yourself tables on its sidewalk patio or take back to the folding table in your living room.

The people behind Chinese Tuxedo just opened a new cafe in Soho serving Singaporean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, and Pakistani mashup dishes. The Tyger’s huge sidewalk patio has a bunch of wicker patio furniture where you can lounge all night and try things like squid ink fried rice, crispy lamb ribs, and steamed halibut to your heart’s content.

There’s a new Mexcian street food pop-up right outside of Cevicheria El Rey on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights that specializes in tacos Arabes and cemitas. Served with cochinita pibil (roasted pork) on a giant tortilla, the food at Tlaxcal Kitchen traces back to the city of Puebla, where 19th-century Arab immigrants introduced kebabs and shawarma into central Mexican cuisine. Check out their Instagram information for more information on hours and specials.

A Long Island-based winery just opened a new outdoor tasting room in Williamsburg that’s focused on wine made in New York State. If you regularly talk about varietals like celebrities in a pop culture segment, the barrel-barricaded leather chairs on Hound’s Tree’s sidewalk patio are calling your name. And even if you’re still trying to figure out what exactly a tannin is, you can order a few glasses with some oysters and a charcuterie board from 5 to 11pm on weekdays and 12 to 10pm on weekends.

Carreau Club is a new bar pop-up in the courtyard at Industry City where you can play a socially-distant game of Pétanque while sipping on a can of beer. Reserve a court here for up to six people ahead of time or just stop by in-person to sign-up. They also have sandwiches and snacks available through October 31st.

Greenpoint has a new neighborhood bar that serves a mystery cocktail called “Pond Water” and you should probably dare someone in your life to try it. If no one takes the bait, you can still have a $4 hot dog or a New Orleans-style frozen drink on the curbside patio at Minnows everyday from 2-11pm.

Starting September 26th, Bronx Night Market will be back every weekend from 12 to 6pm at Fordham Plaza through November 1st. You’ll need to reserve a free ticket here if you want to visit the outdoor food fair and consume several orders of jerk pork tacos, arepas, kebabs, and plump bao buns within a two-hour span.

The East Village has a new plant-based smashburger spot that serves an Impossible double-patty burger you’ll probably see walking down a saucy runway in a future hunger dream. Like most vegan fast food places, they also have a bunch of desserts like soft serve and doughnuts available for takeout and delivery Tuesday to Sunday from 12 to 10pm.

In more vegan-related East Village news, Saramsam is now serving vegan Filipino dishes like mushroom adobo and pancit with Impossible ragu over on 7th Street. This new spot has a small curbside patio with a few umbrella-covered tables you can visit from 5 to 11pm Wednesday through Saturday and 12 to 11pm on Sunday.

The people behind Tacuba have opened a new seafood spot right next door to their Astoria location just in time for you to eat lobster bisque and mourn the end of summer. El Fish Shack also has lobster rolls, lobster mac and cheese, and lobster waffles that all look good enough to cry over.

This high-end sushi spot with locations in the East Village and Midtown now has a space on the UWS as well. The new location has omakase boxes that cost up to $150 each, but you can also eat a la carte options like spicy tuna maki rolls and hamachi nigiri on their sidewalk patio while people-watching along Columbus Avenue.

Since June, one of our favorite Thai restaurants in the city has been serving crab rangoons, fish sauce-coated chicken wings, and green papaya salad down at the Seaport in Fidi. And unlike the original Brooklyn location, Thai Farm Kitchen’s new Manhattan location has a covered patio, large cocktail menu, and vegan dishes that are probably good enough to make you question everything you thought you knew about tofu.

If you’ve been longing for a place to get bao buns and pan fried dumplings in South Slope, your prayers have finally been answered. Mr. Bao on 5th Avenue has a huge menu of handmade dumpling options filled with things like fried shrimp, boiled beef, and blue crab. Many of them are multicolored, but every single one is available for pick up from their takeout window and can be eaten at one of the seat yourself sidewalk tables in front of the restaurant.

Clinton Hill has tons of brownstones and corner cafes, but you’ll have a much harder time finding good Mexican food in the area. Ojala looks like it might change all of that with Oaxacan dishes like tortas, tamales, and chicken mole poblano. Try them all for takeout, delivery, or on their big backyard patio from 12 to 10 pm daily.

Since August, Bilao has been making the UES a better place with its Filipino food and covered sidewalk patio that you can eat on even when it might randomly rain for 20 minutes. Whether you’re looking for breakfast options like kare-kare for lunch or lechon kawali for dinner, you might want to give this spot a try.

You might know Nora Allen, the owner of this new bakery on the LES, as the lady helping people diagnose their struggling sourdough on Instagram earlier this year. Well, now this bread expert has opened a new weekend-only sourdough spot serving chocolate croissants, poppy miche loaves, and more from 8am to 3pm.

If you couldn’t make it out to The Hamptons this summer, head to this new nautical-themed rooftop bar at the Hilton Fashion District Hotel in Flatiron. On its reservation-only terrace 23 floors above ground, Sand Bar has swing seats and wicker chairs where you can trade oysters and ocean views for pinsas and a good look at the Empire State Building.

The UES has a new cafe serving things like sushi tostadas, fig leaf burrata, and short rib pie made with ingredients from a bunch of local farms. During the day, stop by Festivál for pastries, coffee, and cocktails on a wooden sidewalk table along 2nd Avenue. But for dinner, expect to eat a wide range of dishes from scallop sashimi and nori biscuits to flatbread melanzana and steak tartare.

Veeray da Dhaba is a new Punjabi restaurant in the East Village that specializes in things like paratha, butter chicken, curry, and paneer makhani for takeout or delivery. And if you’re looking for a new lunch spot in the area, they’ve got individual meal sets called “tiffin,” each of which includes a meat or vegetarian entree, vegetables, dal, rice, and naan for $14.

This new Hawaiian restaurant on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights is serving poke bowls, fish tacos, and french toast to-go right now. So if you’re looking for somewhere new to eat spicy salmon and mango, stop by and seat yourself on their small curbside patio.

For Burmese groceries and dishes like beef tripe soup, tea leaf salad, and a seafood salad with octopus and shrimp, try Yun Café and Asian Mart - a new restaurant inside the 74th St Roosevelt Ave subway station in Jackson Heights. This tiny, counter-service spot is takeout-only, but there are a few outdoor tables just a few feet above ground in Diversity Plaza.

Chelsea is now home to the very first New York City location of Sush1, a global chain that’s known for its affordable sushi rolls. Their menu has a range of combos, plus a build-your-own sushi box that you’ll probably want to fill with a bunch of $1 sushi roll, nigiri, and sashimi options.

Bapbap is a counter-service Korean spot inside Flushing’s New Age Market where you can pick up seaweed rice rolls filled with things like bulgogi and squid, ube soboro bread, grilled banana leaf soft serve, and more. Everything on the menu costs less than $15, and if you live nearby, you can also order their dishes for delivery.

Williamsburg has more rooftop bars than parks, and Talk Story at The McCarren Hotel is the newest one to add to the list. You’ll find a menu full of tropical cocktails, salads, sushi, and poke available for walk-in from 3pm-11pm daily. So far, it seems less crowded than some of the others spots with views of the Manhattan skyline in the area.

The team behind Osamil just opened this new Korean-American spot in Gramercy Park, where you can eat fried chicken or pork belly confit on a patio nice enough to host the world’s first curbside wedding reception. Although Cafe Salmagundi is somewhat fancy and can seat up to 40 people outdoors, you can also come here for a casual drink and some bar snacks from 5-10pm, Wednesday through Sunday.

Even if you somehow have a backyard, you’ll still want to have your backyard barbecue at North 11th Street Cookout soon. This new beer garden has a huge, turf-covered patio where you can bring your dog and eat a cheeseburger, hot dog, or some elote at a picnic table in the shadows of The William Vale Hotel. On Fridays and Saturdays, this spot is open till midnight, and on every other day (except Tuesday), they’re open till 11pm.

The name ‘For All Things Good’ might ring a bell if you’ve seen any of the pop-ups this Oaxacan spot has done at restaurants like Dame NYC in the West Village. Now, the people behind it have opened a cafe in Bed-Stuy where you can get dishes like tetelas, memelas, and tlayudas. All of the tortillas here are made with fresh masa that’s been ground in-house, and you can try them everyday except Monday at their sidewalk patio on Franklin Avenue.

The East Village has a new Caribbean spot serving Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban dishes like yucca fries with truffle and parmesan, chimi burgers, mofongo, and more. And whether you want to enjoy them on a patio table above astroturf or on your couch three stories above Avenue B is up to you - they’re open for takeout and outdoor dining till 11pm every day.

For Thai tapas-style dishes like beef and liver sausage, fried banana flower, crispy catfish with mango salad, head to the outdoor patio at this new Bushwick spot. Tong is BYOB for now, while they work on getting a liquor license, and everything on their menu is made to share while drinking and commiserating with friends.

In Greenwich Village news, there’s a new Indian spot that has a bunch of different types of biryani you can order for takeout and delivery in the neighborhood. Whether you’re craving chicken, lamb, shrimp, or vegetable biryani, you can place an order on Biryani Kitchen’s website to have someone bring it to your doorstep between 12-11pm daily.

Once a pop-up bringing high-quality caffeine to events across the city, Blank Street Coffee is an outdoor cafe on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg. Imagine a small parking lot filled with trees, potted plants, and DIY patio furniture, like cushioned-topped milk crates. That’s what you’ll find if you plan on hanging out here.

It’s not hard to find an Australian cafe that serves grain bowls and cold brew in NYC. But Gertrude on the Upper West Side also serves slices of zucchini bread with cheese and capers, free cappuccinos for kids, and more stuff that you probably won’t find anywhere else in the city.

Given that Wayla was one of our Best New Restaurants of 2019, it’s likely that this new Japanese-Italian spot from the same team will be at the top of your list this summer. Expect to eat things like uni flatbread, spaghetti made with four different types of roe, and eggplant katsu, while sitting in a wicker chair on their sidewalk patio - they’re open for outdoor dining every day from 5-10pm.

A new soul food spot on Orchard Street in the LES, Oola’s Kitchen was supposed to open before the pandemic, and they’re now officially serving food like deep fried ribs, watercress and beet salad, and a smashburger. You can stop by for outdoor dining Tuesday-Friday , or check out their website for takeout and delivery orders.

The Murray’s Cheese team has opened a new shop and restaurant - essentially a modern-day cheese emporium - in Long Island City where you can get a cheese plate, grilled cheese, and anything else that would make your lactose-intolerant friends cringe. Both spots open at 12pm every day for dine-in, takeout, and delivery, so you can put down the store-bought cheese slices and plan a meal here soon.

In rooftop news, you can now visit a bar in Bushwick called Runaway Roof. This new spot is serving cocktails and summer bar snacks like salt and pepper ribs and a tomato-watermelon salad, and they’re also hosting weekly bingo nights that are first come, first served.

The Momofuku team quietly opened outdoor dining at a new restaurant in the old Ssäm Bar space in the East Village called Momofuku 207. They’ve been doing takeout since July, but only began outdoor dining with a special patio menu, featuring spicy gochujang fried chicken, smoked pork burnt ends, and roasted peach ice cream, in mid-August. Find all the details here.

If you’re looking for something new on the UES, Horn’s Hook Tavern recently opened on 1st Avenue and 83rd Street. It’s vaguely Revolutionary War-themed, which means there are menu items like “Declaration fries,” “Lafayette’s beignets,” and, uh, “Freedom chips.”

Ramen Danbo just opened a new West Village location that has a bunch of sidewalk seating and big red umbrellas to keep you and your noodles from getting soggy. They’ve got lots of options, including several vegan ramen bowls and gyozas, available for takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining from 11am-11pm daily.

Once a tiny taco spot hidden in the back of an East Village cocktail bar, Borrachito has now moved out front with a bright-orange sidewalk patio on Avenue A. They’ve also added some new options to their meaty taco menu, including rib eye and bone marrow, adobo chicken, and carnitas. The new and improved Borrachito is open for outdoor dining and takeout from 2-11pm daily.

The Junzi Kitchen team has opened a new takeout-only spot inside of their Greenwich Village location where you can get dishes like orange chicken and beef lo mein for lunch or dinner, Wednesday- Sunday, 11:30am-9pm. Place your order through their website, or stop by in-person.

There’s a new Lebansese deli in Greenpoint serving things like za’atar breakfast empanadas and muhammara from a to-go window on Meserole Ave. You can also head inside to grab something from their mezze fridge or scan their chalkboard for specials like stuffed cabbage. And if you have any trouble finding Edy’s Grocer, just look for a corner spot with a giant lemon attached to it.

If eating high quality sushi out of a martini glass has always been a dream of yours, you can make it a reality at Kintsugi. This new upscale Soho spot has a $95 omakase, plus a few sushi sets and a la carte options, available for lunch and dinner on their outdoor patio. Walk-ins are accepted, but you can also book a table here.

Big news: One of our favorite Tibetan spots in Jackson Heights has opened a new location in the East Village with outdoor seating on First Avenue and 11th Street. This means you should probably stop by for some beef momos in the very near future.

If you’re looking for a new rooftop brunch spot in Lower Manhattan, try this upscale restaurant on top of The Beekman Hotel. You can eat things like brioche french toast, shakshuka, and lobster salad here while surrounded by rose bushes that’ll make you miss the vibrant garden you’ve never even had. They’re also open for dinner on weeknights, and you can book a reservation online.

Brooklyn Roots is a new red sauce Italian spot where you can eat spaghetti bolognese and burrata-topped meatballs in Sunset Park. Their curbside patio is open every day except Monday, but if you’d rather enjoy specials like lamb lollipops, tiramisu, or a porterhouse steak on your couch, you can place a takeout or delivery order through their website.

Drinking a matcha boba on a garden patio in Park Slope sounds like the premise of a food-centered romcom that we’d like to audition for. And this is exactly the kind of thing you can do at One More Charm, a new Thai spot in the neighborhood. In addition to their colorful milk tea options, this takeout place also has things like beef salad, fish cakes, and lava cake on its menu.

Greenwich Village has a new Chinese spot where you can pick up guokui (giant, crispy flatbread filled with things like spicy beef or pork) and take pride in the act of consuming something larger than your own head. Crop Circle also has steamed dumplings and rice noodle rolls available for takeout from 11:30am to 10:30pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

South African meats, chutneys, beers, cheeses, and more are available for pick up in-person and nationwide shipping from New York Biltong in the Greenwich Village. If you’re the kind of person who likes to impress your friends with non-boring picnic contributions, this new spot looks like a great option for you.

No promises, but there’s a good chance the vegan pasta at this new East Village spot from the team behind Plant Food + Wine will be worth your time. So if you’re looking for an upscale restaurant that treats plant-based options like the protagonist, rather than a one-dimensional supporting character, try some vegan bucatini and meatballs or spinach ravioli on Sestina’s outdoor patio soon.

The people behind Extra Fancy in Williamsburg (which closed back in February) have a new project - a Mexican spot in Long Island City. Just like at the old Brooklyn spot, Top Quality in Queens has a big back patio covered in spaced out picnic tables, and it looks like a great spot to eat chicken tamales and write a thank-you note to whoever invented umbrellas.

There’s a new upscale Williamsburg spot that serves bar food from all over the world, including things like oysters, fish and chips, spaghetti with clams, pork cheek vindaloo, and a katsu fish sandwich. You can try them all on their garden patio, which is green enough to pass for a nursery. If you decide to stop in over the weekend, expect brunch dishes like sourdough cinnamon toast and semolina pancakes.

If someone asks you, “What makes NYC special now that you’re mostly stuck indoors?” You should reply, “I can get a chicken cutlet sandwich with fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers delivered straight to my apartment.” That’s thanks to Cutlets Sandwich Co., a new delivery-only deli that you can order from online every day except Sunday. Check out their full sandwich menu and delivery details here.

If you’re not into the whole meat thing, there’s a good chance you’ve grown tired of choosing between boring bodega sandwiches and falafel. Thankfully, this new vegan sandwich shop in Dumbo serves options like a “chopped cheese” with plant-based beef, a jackfruit cuban sandwich, and even a philly cheesesteak with seitan for takeout from 11am to 10pm daily.

Time Out Market in Dumbo has reopened with seven food vendors and two bars (including Jacob’s Pickles, Fish Cheeks, and Ice & Vice). You can eat your takeout at one of the outdoor tables on their roof, or hang out in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

There’s a new live music bar in Crown Heights called Wild Birds with outdoor tables and different performers every night. Wild Birds is also hosting oyster and jazz nights on Thursdays from 4pm to 10pm where you can get a half-dozen oysters for $15 and drink frozen cocktails while you bob your head along to a saxophone solo. Check out their menu and schedule here.

The Island Oyster team (who specialize in serving oysters and cold beverages next to water that leads to the Atlantic Ocean) have a new waterfront restaurant in the West Village called Drift In. It’s right on the Hudson River path across from Christopher Street Pier, and while they’re still waiting on their alcohol license, you can stop by for a wagyu beef hot dog or a lobster BLT.

Even when it’s raining, summer days in NYC are best experienced with something ice-cold in hand. And if you want that cold thing to be Italian ice, you can try flavors like “Strawberry-Blueberry Lemon Swirl” and “Pink Peach” from The Bronx Ice, a frozen dessert takeout window with new locations on the Upper West Side and in Greenpoint. For more information on specials, hours, and new flavors, check out their Instagram.

This new beer bar in Hamilton Heights has plenty of sidewalk tables where you can drink an IPA that’s more experimental than your new summer knitting hobby, and snack on things like sandwiches, salads, and charcuterie boards. Right now, they have 16 beers on tap and they’re open every day for you and your beer drinking friends.

If you’re looking for a new restaurant where you can show off your new haircut wearing something other than running shorts, the Wicked Jane in the West Village might be your best bet. This upscale American spot is open for outdoor dinner service Tuesday through Saturday, looks perfect for a special occasion outdoor meal, and you should head to their Instagram if you want to know more about dishes like their monkfish and cauliflower puree.

You can’t tell us that a pita filled with greek sausage, fries, onions, and tomatoes doesn’t sound like something you should probably eat this summer. Unless of course, you’re vegetarian. In which case, you can try the veggie skewers or one of the loaded salad options at iSouvlaki, the new Greek takeout spot on East 12th Street in the East Village.

This new Jamaican pop-up at Bunton’s World Famous in Bed-Stuy looks like the exact place you should be eating jerk chicken tacos with sweet plantains, jerk cheese nachos, and fried fish every Sunday in Brooklyn. Not convinced? The new taco-inspired rap single they just dropped on their Instagram should do the trick. You’re welcome.

The people behind 99 Scott, a huge warehouse space in Bushwick where you may have seen a James Blake DJ set last summer, just opened a new outdoor restaurant on their back patio. And since all of their socially-distant picnic tables are surrounded by bamboo fencing, Outer Space might be one of the safest restaurants in the city to eat sourdough pizza and drink natural wine outdoors. They accept walk-ins during specified hours, but you can also reserve a table here.

Love, Nelly is a new Colombian bakery in Bushwick where you can get things like chicken empanadas, pina colada raspas (shaved ice), or a few slices of dulce de leche cake. They’re open 8am to 7pm, Wednesday through Sunday, and you can head to their website if you want to sweat with excitement while looking at their full menu of sweet and savory baked goods.

One of NYC’s few Uyghur restaurants, Caravan is a new outdoor dining option in FiDi where you can eat dishes like lamb kebabs, hand-pulled noodles, and beef dumplings. And if you’d rather take your food back to your apartment and eat it while your roommate glares at you with jealousy, just place your order at their takeout window on Pearl Street.

Park Slope now has a new neighborhood Italian spot where you can pick up homemade sauces and fresh pasta by the pound. While Pasta Lousie doesn’t offer outdoor dining just yet, this place seems like a great weeknight takeout option for when you want something more impressive than what you usually pour out of those blue boxes in your cabinet.

If you replace the acoustic guitar chords with upbeat R&B, this new outdoor rum bar in Prospect Lefferts Gardens seems a lot like Berkeley in the ’60s. The socially-distant seating at Roger’s Garden is mostly made up of colorful patio furniture that looks ideal for drinking mojitos and eating paninis in 90 degree weather. This place is open every day, except Monday, starting at 2pm.

Jell-o shots, drag shows, and glitter bombs are all things you can expect to enjoy at this new bar from the people behind C’mon Everybody. Both the curbside seating area and the back patio at this Park Slope spot are open everyday, and if you want to stay up to date on Good Judy’s event calendar, be sure to follow them on Instagram.

Sushi Lab, the hotel restaurant in Midtown with a relatively affordable omakase, isn’t new. But, Sushi Lab, the rooftop restaurant with a la carte options and omakase sets, is new and looks like a great place to bring someone you don’t plan on ghosting anytime soon. Before you make any big plans, you’ll need to reserve one of the socially-distanced outdoor tables, or a few seats at the chef’s counter, on the restaurant’s website.

If beer with notes of orange pith sounds like something you’d be into, you probably already know that you can find it at Finback Brewery in Queens. We’re just here to tell you that this brewery opened a new taproom in Gowanus with outdoor sidewalk seating. You can stop by starting at noon, Tuesday through Saturday to make a final decision on whether or not to make your Zoom name “Orange Pith” sometime in the near future.

The rolled scallion puffs from Silver Apricot look like a good enough reason to try this new upscale Chinese spot in the West Village on their own. But if dishes like poached arctic char, skirt steak, and black sesame panna cotta also sound good to you, they’re all available for takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining, Tuesday through Saturday from 4:30 to 9pm.

There’s a new pay-by-weight buffet in the East Village where you can pick up healthy-ish French dishes like baked sweet potatoes and samosas from Chad. Green Garden Buffet is open from 11am to 11pm daily, so if you decide you want something other than the usual ‘nachos larger than your head’ order after 9pm, keep this spot in mind.

We don’t want any trouble, but it’s likely that you’re not eating enough pupusas right now. The good news is you can change that by ordering lunch or dinner from this new, woman-owned, Salvadoran restaurant on Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood. Whether you want cheese and squash, revueltas, or chicharron in your pupusas, this spot has them all available for takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining right now.

For dishes like squid adobo, sisig, and lumpia outdoors, try Tradisyon in Hell’s Kitchen. This new Filipino spot is open every day except Sunday, and if you’d rather order a few dishes for lunch or dinner at home, their entire menu is also available for takeout and delivery.

If a romantic relationship with high quality sushi is the only one you’re willing to fully commit to right now, Maki Kosaka in Flatiron might be of interest. Nothing on its menu of sushi and hand roll combination sets costs more than $50. And if you want to know more about the onigiri fillings like yellowtail, snow crab, and spicy salmon offered here, you can check them all out on their website.

Blume is a new outdoor wine bar on the Upper East Side, located behind Schaller’s Stube Sausage Bar. There are only 20 tables here and they’re all painted gold with pink chairs tucked underneath them, which makes this place look like the one baby shower we might actually want to be at. So if you’re in the mood to try some Austrian wine and snack on charcuterie plates, cheese boards, sandwiches, and sorbets give this spot a try.

Every once and a while, it’s good to switch up your pizza order. And since Village Square Pizza is opening a second location in the West Village this week (July 15th), you can swap your usual pepperoni and sausage pie for a few grandma slices topped with things like mozzarella, tomato sauce, and pesto.

Ampia is a new rooftop Italian spot that has a few two-top tables inside individual greenhouses that you can reserve for lunch or dinner. The Fidi restaurant serves a bunch of seafood-filled paninis, a few pastas, and some small plates like calamari and grilled octopus. And if the greenhouses are booked, you can always eat at one of their socially-distant outdoor tables.

Whenever you’re ready to check ‘eating Flaming Hot Cheeto-coated wings’ off your bucket list, head to Brooklyn Noosh in Bed-Stuy. It’s a new outdoor spot surrounded by tall trees and string lights, with a menu that also includes some of the more classic wing flavors like buffalo and BBQ, a burger, and a few different meat kabobs. If you’d rather order takeout, you’ll find their online menu here.

The people behind The Good Batch Bakery in Clinton Hill are opening this new ice cream shop right across the street this week (July 15th). To celebrate, they’re offering a free scoop of ice cream to anyone who registers using this link, between now and Friday, July 17th. The flavors here include cookies, cakes, and other sweets from the original bakery.

This new restaurant on an aircraft carrier near the West Harlem Piers is run by the same team behind Prohibition on the UWS. And since it’s an aircraft carrier, you can drink cocktails on its massive top deck while eating lobster rolls and wondering when the engineers working on the simulation you call your life will fix all of the glitches. Check out Baylander Steel Beach’s website for more details on their hours.

A new cocktail bar from the team behind beloved Greenwich Village Italian spot Dante just opened for outdoor dining on Hudson St. In addition to negronis and other cocktails from the original location, Dante West Village is offering a bunch of specialty martinis, spritzes, and dishes like roast chicken from 3pm to 11pm, Wednesday through Sunday.

There’s a new Jewish BBQ spot that just opened in Chelsea Market and the dishes on their menu are a blend of Southern cuisine and things you’d find at a classic New York deli. From chilled borscht gazpacho and pastrami turkey breast to honey butter cornbread and brisket, you can order a bunch of entrees and sides for takeout and delivery on Pulkies’ website.

Kokomo is a Caribbean spot in Williamsburg where you can get pastas, flatbreads, and more topped with things like jerk chicken and oxtail. This black-owned restaurant opened in late June, offering delivery, takeout, and dine-in service on their outdoor patio. For more information on specials and updates, check out their Instagram.

The Beer Garage in Park Slope seems like a great spot to send someone who misses the feeling of sitting at a bar with a tall glass of beer. There are a few outdoor bar stools where you can order drafts, wine, oysters, and clams. And if you stop by this beer bar between June 29 and July 5th for its opening week, you’ll get 25% off your entire bill.

Like many restaurants on this list, Magdalene first opened in February and has since reopened for takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining. This Lebanese spot in Williamsburg has mezze like babaganoush, edamame hummus, and more, plus entrees like a falafel fried chicken sandwich and huge shrimp caesar salad that you can eat on their back patio. While you’re at it, be sure to take advantage of their natural wine selection - they’re offering 20% to 30% off every bottle right now.

Chelsea has a new American restaurant with sidewalk seating, that’s open for every day from 3pm to midnight. So if you’re looking for a spot to sit down for a spicy fried chicken sandwich and a spiked lemonade after 8pm this summer, try Merchants.

The next time you’re in the mood for fish and chips, disco fries with curry sauce, or a parfait with earl grey meringue, try this new English restaurant’s pop up in the West Village. After halting their West Village restaurant opening, Dame has opened a temporary spot with outdoor seating, and all proceeds benefit organizations like the NAACP and Harlem Grown. Stop by Dame’s summer pop up from 5 to 10pm on Tuesday through Friday or 1 to 10pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Here are just a few things you can expect from this new Mediterranean spot in Williamsburg: grilled shrimp pitas, rolled bourekas, ratatouille, and bottles of sparkling wine with labels designed by people who apparently love hand drawings, symmetry and pastel colors. Opened in June, Sami and Susu is currently offering delivery, takeout, and limited outdoor dining in the old Marajuca space on Grand Street from 12 to 9pm daily.

Now that the backyard is open at this new Brazilian restaurant in Carroll Gardens, you can eat steak sandwiches, pão de queijo (cheese bread), and brigadeiros (fudge balls), while contemplating why you didn’t rent that apartment 250 square foot apartment with the nice back patio after all. They’re open from 4pm daily and since they’ll be starting weekend brunch service on July 4th, you should follow their Instagram for menu updates.

It would be strange if this new pasta spot in the East Village didn’t have picnic kits with bread, cheese, and cured meats since they’re located within a few blocks of Tompkins Square Park. But since they do, you can pick one up the next time you’re in the area, or go for one of their Italian dinner kits, which they say will only take 20 mins to prepare at home. Forsythia is offering these kits for pick up and delivery right now and their Instagram is the best place to check for updates on their rotating three-course menu options.

There are many things you could do to remind yourself that it’s summer. But ordering a mezcal ginger margarita, an oyster platter, or a plate of fried jerk chicken on the turf-covered outdoor patio at this new tiki bar in the East Village will probably be one of the more memorable options. Pineapple Club is open from 3 to 9pm daily, and if you’d like to make an outdoor dining reservation here, call 212-697-8600.

If you’re looking for a new Kosher spot to try while taking in the outdoors, Rothschild TLV is an upscale option on the UES where you’ll find things like a short rib flatbread, lamb shank, or a piece of fish on the menu. They’re taking reservations for patio seating over the phone at 917-341-4169, but if you’d rather get takeout, you can place your order online.

Since May, this new Caribbean spot on the LES has been making Chinese bao buns filled with things like coconut shrimp, oxtail, and jerk chicken. It’s a new black-owned restaurant that you can support by ordering takeout and delivery online, and if you do it soon you’ll get 20% off their entire menu. Head to The Bun Hut’s website for more on their dishes, like chicken roti and coconut tarts.

Soothr opened its doors In May, serving Thai dishes like chicken khao soi, roasted duck with jade noodles, and massaman potato curry. And ever since then, the food photos from this East Village spot have made us want to leave everything we know about “picnic food” behind and push for Thai noodles the next time we’re picking up something to eat in a park. If you want to do the same, they’re open for pickup and delivery from 12 to 9pm daily.

For beer, wine, coffee, and pastries near the Bushwick and Ridgewood border, try this new all-day bar. Since May, they’ve served things like sugar doughnuts filled with sour cherry lime leaf jam and a bunch of other pastries that sound like something you’d find in a bakery that’s core mission is to excite you with orgasmic menu titles. So if you need to stock your bar cart and load up on baked goods, you can do both at High Low, which is only open for takeout.

The UES has a new vegan Middle Eastern spot that serves falafel bowls, pita, and shawarma filled with things like roasted cauliflower and crispy eggplant. And if you want to pick up an order from Tanam, which is just below E 79th on Lexington Ave, you can do it any weekday from 12 to 7pm. The restaurant is delivery-only on weekends.

We’re not sure what’s better, the fact that you can pick up a slice of pizza with speck and toasted walnuts from this new shop on the UWS or the fact that the spot’s website looks like a relic from the Y2K era. Right now, Pizza Collective has a few outdoor tables where you can order a carbonara square slice or a calabrese pie, but you can also just order takeout and delivery online.

This new Basque spot has a few sidewalk tables where you can eat an Iberico sandwich, spanish omelette, or grilled octopus in Soho right now, but since they’re also doing takeout and delivery from 12 to 8pm daily, you can enjoy all of these dishes from the comfort of your apartment. Recently, Haizea announced it’s offering brunch service from 11am to 5pm on Sunday and if you want more updates on what’ll be on the menu, check out their Instagram.

Since March, Sofia’s has been selling DIY meal kits for pasta, sourdough starter, and a bunch of other Italian options for an easy dinner at home. But now that their LES restaurant space is open, you can enjoy things like tuna and watermelon crudo, sourdough margherita pizza, and a glass or two from their extensive natural wine list on their garden patio from 5 to 10pm, Wednesday through Sunday.

Like us, you’ve probably been craving some great sushi. So the fact that this new East Village spot has a good-looking 12-piece sushi omakase that costs $45 and is available for takeout right now will probably excite you. They’ve also got eel unagi, akami tuna, and other seafood boxes that you can order online, from 12 to 8pm daily.

Previously an empanada delivery-only spot, Claudy’s opened a restaurant on West 242nd Street in the Bronx, with a menu of Peruvian-style roast chicken dinners, ceviche, lomo saltado empanadas, flan, and more. This new spot sits right across the street from Van Cortlandt Park, so if you’re looking for somewhere to grab food for a picnic, this is a great place to try.

After years of doing pop-ups around the city, Saigon Social has officially opened its own location on a sunny corner of the Lower East Side (formerly Mission Taqueria). They’re currently offering a rotating takeout and delivery menu of Vietnamese dishes, like a bowl of chicken pho, a banh mi burger with oxtail gravy, pork ribs, and so much more. Check their Instagram for updates.

Rangoon is a Burmese spot that you might remember from its years of doing pop ups around the city. After briefly opening a new Crown Heights restaurant in March, the team pivoted their menu toward takeout and delivery. For dishes like tea leaf salad, coconut chicken noodle soup, or prawn curry, call 917-442-0100 or place your order online.

New Greek food in Astoria might not sound like earth shattering news, but the juicy-looking meats covered in lemon juice and tzatziki sauce on Nikos Souvlaki’s Instagram have us contemplating a big shift in our weekly diet. And since this place is still doing takeout and delivery, along with dine-service on their outdoor patio, you can join us in whatever way makes you comfortable.

This new Bushwick spot specializes in Czech kolaches, which are fruit dough pastries filled with things like apricot preserves, blueberry, and sweet cream cheese. Along with the classics, Kings Kolache serves them Texas-style with things like candied jalapeno and bacon inside. If you want to get your hands on one, or try one of their good-looking breakfast tacos, Kings Kolache opens at 8am daily for takeout and delivery.

Whether you’re looking to pick up a freshly baked sourdough croissant for breakfast, a BLT on ciabatta for lunch, or a roasted chicken with butterball potatoes for dinner, this bakery in Park Slope has you covered. Winner does it all from 9am to 6pm daily, and you can pre-order your takeout by emailing info@winner.nyc. And if you want to know more about their friends and family weekly meal series, you can read more here.

This new pizza place in Park Slope is offering wood-fired sourdough pies for takeout, plus a bunch of other things you’ll probably want to eat like breakfast burritos, chicken wings with chili jam, and crispy Cameroonian croquettes. You can order online or you can text the restaurant at 718-635-1678 to schedule your pick up.

The people behind The Izakaya in the East Village have opened another Japanese spot during quarantine, and its dishes like lamb curry, cold ramen noodle salad, and Hokkaido-style fried chicken all look promising. Dr. Clark is currently offering delivery, takeout, and limited outdoor seating on Bayard Street in Chinatown.

For Sichuan dishes like chili oil dumplings, dan dan noodles, and grilled noodle wraps with sausage and cheese, try Public Village. Since March, this Chinatown spot has been offering a rotating menu of dishes for takeout and delivery, so be sure to check their Instagram to stay up to date on specials like their spicy beef jerky. You can order takeout or delivery from Public Village from 11:00am to 8:00pm daily.

One of the original chefs from Ippudo has opened his own walk-in only Japanese spot in Cobble Hill. Karazishi Botan is a narrow, brick-walled room with about ten bar seats and a menu of just three ramen options, including less common ingredients like oxtail, lemon broth, and pork bone.

This huge, bright waterfront restaurant in Long Island City serves seafood towers, steak frites, and pig-shaped charcuterie boards covered in American ham and cheeses that look good enough to make this Queens spot a go-to for dinner in the neighborhood.

If you spend a lot of time in the East 50s, you’ll be happy to hear that Omar’s - the Lebanase counter-service spot with incredible chicken shawarma - has reopened in the same space on East 55th Street. And if you’re new to the area, you might want to break up with your go-to healthy bowl place and start getting meat platters with tabbouleh, hummus, and eggplant salad for lunch here.

If you want to feel like you’re at a mountain wedding while you eat a duck leg or steak frites for dinner, try Loulou, a new French spot in Chelsea. And if you’re looking for somewhere dark to get cocktails, take the stairs down to the underground speakeasy.

We love an all-day spot just as much as the next chronically hungry busy body, but Ama’s looks especially nice. This huge Long Island City restaurant feels like an upscale diner with cement floors and fiddle leaf fig trees where you’ll want to spend hours eating piles of fried chicken, and dim sum-style seafood dishes like poke, oysters, and clams that are pushed around the room on a service cart.

The team behind Good Room, one of the best bars where you can dance in NYC, have opened a new cocktail bar in Greenpoint where you can listen to someone’s vinyl collection. There are also cheeseburgers, fried chicken sandwiches and beer on the menu in a room with a colorful mural that opens at 5pm every day.

Ras Plant is a vegan Ethiopian spot on Franklin Ave in Crown Heights where you can eat things like red lentils, beets, collard greens, and potatoes all wrapped up in a mound of injera for lunch, dinner, or weekend brunch. Whenever you try the food here, we recommend sitting as close as you can to the colorful graffiti mural that runs along the back of the casual dining room.

A narrow, candlelit natural wine bar has opened on the LES. It’s from the family behind Chamber Street Wines, so you can expect this place to be packed from the long bar up-front to the small tables in the back.

If listening to vinyl through floor-to-ceiling speakers while drinking an Old Fashioned at a marble-top counter sounds like a good time to you, try Bohemien Bar. It’s a shiny new Brooklyn Heights spot where you can eat snacks like chicken sliders and duck confit tacos.

The original location of Spicy Moon is one the best places to have a vegetarian birthday dinner in the city. And now that there’s a new West Village location of this vegetarian Szechuan spot where you’ll find a similar menu involving Beyond Beef dan dan noodles and dry pot with tofu.

Nakaji is a new omakase sushi spot in Chinatown from a chef who used to work at Sushi Inoue. To eat here, you’ll have to find the hidden entrance at the intersection of Bowery and Elizabeth Street, ring the unmarked door bell, take a seat at the modern sushi counter, and order either 12 pieces for $165, or the same omakase, plus sashimi and appetizers for $195. There is also a cocktail bar at the front of the restaurant called Bar at Nakaji, where you can order la carte sushi or a $30 cocktail omakase.

East Hae is a Korean bar that’s attached to the Urban Outfitters in Williamsburg. Before you stop reading, you should know that this place has decent-looking bar food like grilled octopus skewers, scallion pancakes, bulgogi burgers, and katsu sandwiches. Plus Happy Hour goes till 8pm, when you can get half-off of all skewers, wings, and cocktails.

This new cocktail bar in Flatiron is in an underground cellar where you might be tempted to order a whiskey neat even if you’ve never ordered whiskey in your life. If you decide to go into full hibernation mode down here, there are a handful of snacks, in addition to a full bar menu.

You’ll mostly find pastries like pineapple tarts and kuih serimuka (steamed, glutinous, layer cake) at this casual new Malaysian cafe in Chinatown. But if you want something more substantial for lunch, there’s also a plate of nasi lemak (coconut rice topped with fried anchovies, peanuts, cucumbers, and hard-boiled eggs) on the menu.

Cocktails on fire, pork buns, vegetable gyozas, and tonkatsu ramen are all things you can expect from this Japanese izakaya in Cobble Hill. So if you’re looking for a dimly lit, brick-walled room to decompress after work in the area, this place is open at 5pm, Wednesday to Sunday.

One of the chefs who used to cook at Anassa Taverna has opened his own Mediterranean spot in the Theater District. Starting at 11am every day, you can get a mezze spread or some shrimp paella at this two-floor, sit-down spot on W 47th Street.

The Izakaya has an unassuming name, impressive Japanese small plates, and now, a second East Village location that looks like what would happen if a merchandiser from Anthropologie designed the inside of an underground bunker. You’ll find some of the same dishes from the original spot at this new location, plus new ones like BBQ duck wrapped in eggplant and jalapeno fried chicken.