New in NYC
The openings from the past year and a half that we'd actually send a friend to, from a Roman café in Dumbo to a torta counter in Highbridge. Every opening date is confirmed, and every place is open and serving.
Checked October 19, 2026. Updated monthly; new openings arrive first in the Lovely Letter.
September 2026
MOTT HAVEN & MELROSE, BRONX
A twenty-seat wine bar on Bruckner Boulevard, with eight of those seats at a marble-topped bar. Order a flight of three 3-ounce pours (Sardinian Cannonau is on the list) and a charcuterie and cheese board.
Wine Bar
IllustrationSoft-opened September 2026
LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN
A Filipino street-food counter at Houston and Clinton, trading in soft-open mode while it waits on a gas hookup for the kitchen. For now it's drinks and pastries: calamansi lemonade, an ube latte with condensed milk, Arellano Pandesal pastries and a calamansi-glazed cinnamon roll.
Filipino
August 2026
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN
The Confidant chefs' pizza and natural-wine bar, right next door on Atlantic Avenue. The 14-inch pies use Brooklyn Granary sourdough. Order the 'nduja vodka pie, and know there's a late-night slice menu too.
Pizza
IllustrationAugust 2026
EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN
The New York outpost of a Dallas Bib Gourmand restaurant, in the old Viva Cucina corner at Second Avenue and Fifth Street. Founder Carol Nguyễn added bún riêu for New York. Order it with the bún bò Huế, and finish with a Hanoi egg coffee.
Vietnamese
July 2026
WEST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN
The first U.S. restaurant from Pablo Rivero of Buenos Aires' Don Julio, built around a long parrilla burning quebracho charcoal. Order the grilled steaks with empanadas and fainá.
Argentine
IllustrationJune 2026
LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN
Northeastern Chinese cooking from a chef with more than 20 years in Dongbei kitchens, in a room that runs through from Division Street to East Broadway. Order the guo bao rou (crisp sweet-and-sour pork), the barbecue skewers and the pork belly with pickled cabbage.
Dongbei
IllustrationMay 2026
WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN
The Llama Inn team turned their Withers Street space into a South American tavern with white tablecloths and dark wood, and kept the rooftop. Start with the grilled potato bread and cultured butter, then order the short rib with fries.
South American
IllustrationApril 2026
EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN
Hawker-centre cooking from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, in the former Foul Witch space on Avenue A. Order the laksa, satay, roasted chicken rice, nasi lemak and kaya toast.
Singaporean
IllustrationApril 2026
CARROLL GARDENS, BROOKLYN
Sal Lamboglia of Cafe Spaghetti has revived the century-old Ferdinando's Focacceria as a bar with a food menu, keeping the original tin ceiling and tile floor. Order the pane e panelle with whipped ricotta, the Sicilian arancini and a Brooklyn Special espresso soda.
Italian
IllustrationApril 2026
GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN
A neighborhood bistro with a chef's counter in the old Fulgurances Laundromat space, from Kevin Finch, who cooked at Maialino, Maaemo and Atelier Crenn. Order the snail skewer with brown butter, the beef tartare with oyster emulsion and brioche, and a brioche martini.
New American
IllustrationMarch 2026
CITY ISLAND, BRONX
Modern Greek cooking on City Island, in a room the owner designed himself with mustard velvet, tan leather banquettes and a stone bar. Order the grilled octopus, the charcoal-grilled branzino or the local porgies.
Greek
March 2026
CHELSEA, MANHATTAN
Gabriel Kreuther's wood-fired Alsatian brasserie on the ground floor of The Spiral, cooking over applewood, oak and cherry. Order the tarte flambée, the juniper-gin cured venison with blistered cherries, and cherry clafoutis with Kirsch ice cream.
French
IllustrationJanuary 2026
MURRAY HILL, QUEENS
A seven-table Korean soondae shop that makes three styles of the sausage and serves it in stir-fries and in soups simmered for 12 hours. It often sells out by midday, and takeout has its own line.
Korean
IllustrationJanuary 2026
FLUSHING, QUEENS
The first U.S. dining room of a Hunan chain with more than 100 restaurants. Order the pepper pork stir-fry and the tea-oil chicken, served family-style over rice.
Hunan
IllustrationJanuary 2026
GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN
The flour-tortilla pop-up that started in a parking lot in 2020 now has a room at Nassau and Humboldt, and the tortillas are made with Sonoran wheat and lard. Order the carne con chile taco, the mushroom al pastor gringa and a Cadillac margarita.
Mexican
IllustrationSoft-opened spring 2026
FINANCIAL DISTRICT, MANHATTAN
The downtown sibling of Flushing's Golden Mall food court is open in soft-launch mode, with more stalls still to come, in a reconditioned 1900 building on Broadway. Robert Sietsema recommends the quarter Peking duck with pancakes at Lucky Duck House and the pork zhajiang noodles at Golden Bull Handmade Noodles.
Chinese
IllustrationEarly 2026
LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN
The Ha's Snack Bar couple's bigger French bistro, around the corner on Eldridge Street. Order the tomato fried rice with escargot, the leeks vinaigrette with Maggi and mussels, and the flambéed ice cream bombe for the table.
French
IllustrationSoft-opened December 2025
UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN
New owners reopened the old Absolute Bagels storefront with many of its former staff. It opened as New Absolute Bagels and was renamed 2788 Bagels in 2026. The bagels are small, dense and craggy, and they're baked throughout the day.
Bagels
IllustrationDecember 2025
SUNNYSIDE, QUEENS
The Eritrean-Ethiopian food truck, founded in 2017, now has a dining room on Skillman Avenue. Order the lamb alicha, berbere-spiced prawns or the two-day doro wat, all with injera.
Eritrean
December 2025
GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN
Malaysian cooking from the family behind Sunset Park's Hainan Chicken House, in a red-lit room on Manhattan Avenue. Order the oxtail rendang, the char siu and the Hainanese chicken.
Malaysian
IllustrationNovember 2025
CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN
A tiny tamale shop from the family behind Taqueria Milear, just down Nostrand Avenue. Order the Oaxaqueño tamal with pork ribs and red sauce in a banana leaf, and the chicken in green sauce.
Mexican
IllustrationNovember 2025
DUMBO, BROOKLYN
A two-story Roman café in Dumbo from a co-founder of Employees Only, with a mezzanine where kids can play. Order the thin, crisp pizza and the cacio e pepe, plus a martini.
Italian
September 2025
TRIBECA, MANHATTAN
A Tribeca kaiseki-style counter where chef Manabu Asanuma's menu ends with rice and soba made from buckwheat his parents grow in Yamagata. It earned a Michelin star about two months after opening.
Japanese
Soft-opened August 2025
GRAMERCY & UNION SQUARE, MANHATTAN
Northern and Isan Thai cooking off Union Square from the group behind THEP Thai, with round booths and a marble bar. Order the Northern dry curry short rib, the Thai sausage platter and the Northern chicken herb soup.
Thai
IllustrationAugust 2025
MOTT HAVEN & MELROSE, BRONX
A café and dining room in the former Chocobar Cortés space. It's owned by the nonprofit Oyate Group, which puts all of the profits back into its programs. Order the Korean fried chicken, the duck-fat biscuits and the steak frites.
New American
July 2025
BEDFORD–STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN
A Mexico City-style cantina on Tompkins Avenue from the owners of Winona's, with dark green booths. Order the short rib asada taco on a Caramelo flour tortilla, the cheesy refried beans and a strawberry michelada.
Mexican
IllustrationJune 2025
BEDFORD–STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN
A natural-wine and oyster bar on a landmarked Halsey Street corner, from Parisian bar veteran Marc Lioussane and Bilen Gaga. Come for the weekday oyster happy hour at the bar, with a sage and orange spritz.
Wine Bar
May 2025
WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN
The second location of the NoHo Thai seafood restaurant, on Driggs Avenue. Order the coconut crab curry and the steamed branzino, plus the marinated raw crab that's served only in Williamsburg.
Thai
May 2025
CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN
Chinese-Filipino cooking on East Broadway from the Kabisera team, named for Manila's Chinatown. Order the crispy kare-kare, pancit negra, humba and turon.
Filipino
IllustrationApril 2025
ASTORIA, QUEENS
A Filipino social club in Astoria from chef Giemay Manuel, whose parents own Kabayan, with communal tables and karaoke on Thursdays. Order the sinigang wings, the pork-belly kare-kare and an ube espresso martini.
Filipino
April 2025
CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN
Isao Yamada, formerly of Brushstroke, cooks seasonal kaiseki at a Chinatown counter that earned a Michelin star in 2025. The courses end with donabe rice.
Japanese
IllustrationMarch 2025
PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN
A small Park Slope pasta room from the team behind Terre and Spes, where every dish is named for an Italian proverb. Order the black-garlic linguine, the goose-and-rabbit busiate or the pheasant agnolotti.
Italian
IllustrationMarch 2025
SUNNYSIDE, QUEENS
The Filipino-flavored doughnut pop-up's first shop, on Greenpoint Avenue. Order the leche flan doughnut, an ube doughnut and the ensaymada croissant.
Filipino
IllustrationFebruary 2025
WEST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN
The Dame and Lord's team's seafood room, cooking from the coasts of France, Spain and Italy in the old Holiday Bar space. Order the whole Dover sole with béarnaise.
Seafood
January 2025
BAYSIDE, QUEENS
The Bayside room of a Seoul restaurant that has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand since 2018, with a menu of four items. Order the dweji gomtang, a clear pork soup served with rice.
Korean
IllustrationJanuary 2025
CARROLL GARDENS, BROOKLYN
Former Ugly Baby staff took over its old Smith Street room and cook a southern Thai menu under chef Prasert Kanghae, who is from Trang. Order the salted-egg squid and the yellow shrimp curry.
Thai
Late 2025
BEDFORD–STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN
A from-scratch lunch counter on Nostrand Avenue from two chefs who met at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, with sandwiches on house focaccia, soups and a pastry case. The menu changes often, so order from the board.
Café
2025
STAPLETON, STATEN ISLAND
A Puerto Rican restaurant and bar on Bay Street from the owners of Kiosko 787 and Counter & Bodega, using the Taíno name for the island. Order the alcapurrias, mofongo and pernil with a tropical cocktail.
Puerto Rican
IllustrationSummer 2025
SHEEPSHEAD BAY, BROOKLYN
A Sheepshead Bay bistro that rolls pelmeni and vareniki by hand from family recipes, with a set business lunch and a case of homemade cakes.
Russian
IllustrationSpring 2025
THE GRAND CONCOURSE, BRONX
Gabriel Ignacio, who has cooked at Minetta Tavern and Valerie, makes tortas from scratch at a stand inside a nearly empty Highbridge supermarket. The chilaquiles torta is the one to order.
Mexican
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A free weekly letter from LovelyNYC: the new openings as they happen, what's on this week, and one lovely day in the city.