4 days ago
The NYC Restaurant Openings You Should Know About This August
This is Eater's guide to all the new restaurants, bars, and cafes that have opened this week. Throughout August, we'll update the list weekly. When we've been to a place, we will then include an abbreviated number of openings on our heatmap to let you know the ones we like. If there's an opening in your neighborhood that we've missed, let us know at ny@
August 14
Nolita: The Thai Diner's next trick is Mommy Pai's, a new casual takeout window dedicated to chicken fingers, which opened on Friday, August 8. There are grilled or fried chicken fingers, with flavors like lemongrass or Muay Thai, with garlic, soy, fish sauce, and coriander, along with sauces like Heavenly BBQ (capturing the flavors of the Thai beef jerky known as heavenly beef), or the noom green sauce. There are also sides like a Thai take on Johnnycakes and fruity drinks. 203 Mott Street, at Kenmare Street
Penn District: Serano's Italian opened on Tuesday, August 12, joining the growing dining district around the Javits Center, with house-made pastas like spinach ricotta ravioli, Sicilian-style square pizzas (developed with help from a Roberta's alum), panini, and tomato and burrata salads. Serano's, a sibling spot to nearby Friedman's, carves out lots of room for gluten-free diets on the menu. 132 West 31st Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues
Sunnyside: A new scone-dedicated bakery, the Sconery, opened in Queens on Tuesday, August 12. Expect flavors like cinnamon and fruit ones. Owner and founder Sheila Connolly was previously baking her scones at farmers markets in the city and Westchester. 39-39 47th Avenue, between 39th Place and 40th Street
Upper East Side: Meet Libbi, an upscale Mediterranean restaurant from the team behind Midtown East's kosher Italian spot Abaita, which opened on Monday, August 11. The brightly lit space with room for 50 starts with a marbled counter outfitted with delicate pastries. Chef and owner David Donagrand leads a polished sit-down menu full of pesto pasta, egg-topped asparagus, and fluffy pancakes. 205 East 81st Street, between Second and Third avenues
August 7
Pastas galore at Tortelli. Tortelli
Carroll Gardens: There's a new Brooklyn pasta shop courtesy of a trio of Italian food experts: Tortelli opened on Wednesday, August 6, from co-owners James Mather (who worked as a cook and chef at places like Lilia, Misipasta, Maialino, Roman's, and Lupa), Silvia Barban (the owner and chef of LaRina Pastificio and Briscola Trattoria, from Italy), and Vincenzo Ruggiero (owner of Mozz Lab). The menu features the namesake stuffed pasta, among others. There are dine-in and takeout services, as well as uncooked pastas and other Italian food products, and tiramisu. 359 Sackett Street, near Smith Street
East Village: The East Village Indian restaurant Ishq co-owners opened a new neighborhood fast-casual spot, KebabishQ (styled as KEBABISHQ), on Wednesday, August 6. The menu features halal charbroiled kebabs, hutneys, dahi puri, kulfi, and more. 128 Second Avenue, near St. Marks Place
East Village: Glorious Pakistani chopped cheeses are now available in New York courtesy of Nishaan, which opened in early August. Owner Zeeshan Bakhrani's approach to building the halal menu stems from his upbringing — the sandwich is made of a patty-shaped kebab and a chopped cheese, taking the chapli kebab spices like adobo and cinnamon, cooking the meat on a griddle, mixing in pepper jack and American cheese, and dropping it all in a hoagie. 160 First Avenue, between Ninth Street and 10th streets
Greenpoint: Lower East Side's Mexican-themed La Contenta added a second location in Brooklyn on Thursday, August 7, taking over the old Hungry Burrito space with a menu full of tacos, nachos, enchiladas, and margs.1079 Manhattan Avenue, between Eagle and Dupont streets
Greenpoint: Kub Kao, which opened on Thursday, August 7, brings Brooklyn bowls of warm jasmine rice and fragrant Thai staples like spicy green curry, tangy papaya salad, and crispy fried fish. 988 Manhattan Avenue, near Huron
Hell's Kitchen: Hudson Local, which opened on Tuesday, August 5, brings a new spot to the neighborhood for sampling cheddar cornbread, Hudson Valley steelhead trout, and steak all in one sitting. Well-traveled chef Samuel-Drake Jones also oversees Hudson Vu, which opened in May. Opening highlights include home-made fettuccine, Benton's country ham with summer melon, and grilled cabbage with tomato curry, which channels his time in London. The bar team is Los Angeles's Alta Adams, and a wine list curated by a former L'Atelier de Robuchon sommelier. 653 11th Avenue, near 11th Avenue
Upper East Side: A new below-street-level Cambodian cafe, Artara Coffee, opened in early August, as reported by East Side Feed. Along with standard coffee and espresso drinks, there are matchas with options like matcha floats, mango matcha lattes, and ube matcha foams. 214 East 82nd Street, near Third Avenue
Earlier this summer
East Village: The new Baos & Bowls specializes in hand-pulled Shanghai noodles, which are wok-fried and tossed in soy sauce, bok choy, and scallions. The sleek red restaurant, which opened on Monday, July 28, also offers a cucumber salad slathered in house-made garlic sauce, rice bowls, and a dim sum section starring soup dumplings. A liquor license is reportedly en route, per EV Grieve. 401 East 13th Street, at First Avenue
East Village: The bar formerly called Heaven Can Wait transformed into Lucinda's Honky Tonk + Juke Joint in late July. The reimagined space, once home to other music venues like Coney Island Baby, Lola, and Brownies, is a partnership between Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, Laura McCarthy, and Kelley Swindall. Lucinda's describes itself as a soulful Southern honky-tonk, with live country music Fridays, live-band karaoke Saturdays, and a jukebox packed with country classics. 169 Avenue A between 10th and 11th streets
Flushing: Billed as a modern American restaurant with Asian flair, Blu Ember is the latest project from Balance Hospitality Group (Moli, Hinoki, and Miku Sushi in Greenwich, Connecticut), which opened in June. Situated at the foot of the new Westin Flushing LaGuardia Airport Hotel, Blu Ember showcases prime steaks, sushi, a raw bar, an omakase counter, and items cooked on a charcoal-fired Japanese binchotan grill. 137-49 Northern Boulevard, between Linden Place and Leavitt Street
Jackson Heights: Angel Indian Restaurant expanded with a second location in the same neighborhood on Tuesday, July 22. 75-18 37th Avenue, between 75th and 76th streets
Midtown: Hospitality vet Josh Kessler (Barnea, Bonito, Lotus Room) brings fancy Italian fare to the heart of Grand Central with the late July debut of Bucatini. Along with its namesake noodle, home-made with a choice of sauces, there's lots of antipasti like seared octopus and eggplant rotolo, skillet-based focaccia, and pizza from its Brazilian-born chef Augusto Ferreira. 2 East 45th Street, near Fifth Avenue
The corn, goat curry and oxtail at Lélé. Lélé
Midtown: This huge new Afro-Caribbean restaurant Lélé, which opened in late July, is led by chef Rúnar Pierre Heriveaux, an alum of Iceland's Michelin-starred Reykjavík's Óx. He showcases his Haitian heritage and French training across a menu full of green curry shrimp, fruity hamachi, and hot honey peanut chicken. The bar, which claims to be the city's first equipped with a robot bartender, delivers beachy cocktails complete with coconut water ice cubes and ginger wine floats. The three-story dining room is covered with velvety, tropical-themed furniture and chandeliers, all set to an Afrobeats soundtrack and sporadic live music. 237 Madison Avenue, between East 37th and 38th streets
Mott Haven: A do-good cafe called Nourish opened for all-day service on Wednesday, July 31, in the Bronx with a catch-all menu featuring baked goods, steak frites, Korean fried chicken bites, and creative cocktails. All proceeds help support youth in the Bronx via the nonprofit Oyate Group. The site that formerly housed Chocobar Cortes features a bakery that opens at 7 a.m. until everything is sold out, with breakfast and lunch served until 4 p.m. Dinner goes from 5 p.m. to late. 141 Alexander Avenue, at East 134th Street
Upper East Side: Uka Omakase slides into the uptown neighborhood in late July with 16-course tasting menus priced at an approachable $56 per person. Rotating highlights include uni flown in from Hokkaido, smoked kampachi, raw scallops, and seared salmon with foie gras. 238 East 60th Street, near Second Avenue
