Since March 16, 2020, when the state first temporarily closed indoor dining, hundreds of new restaurants have opened, including a kebab spot uptown, an Los Angeles restaurant import, seafood boutique now with sandwiches. Here’s a roundup of the restaurants and bars that opened in January. This list will be updated weekly. If there’s an opening in your neighborhood that we’ve missed, let us know at [email protected].
Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.
January 19
Carroll Gardens: Court Street Coffee and Books is now open offering a wall of used books and serving “locally sourced specialty coffee and pastries,” reads the website. 421 Court Street, between Second and Third places.
East Village: Current Coffee, a small coffee stand at the Bowery Market on the corner of Bowery and Great Jones Street, has opened in the former location of Blank Street Coffee, EV Grieve reports. 348 Bowery, at Great Jones Street
East Village: After years in the works, the Roberta’s team debuts an Italian restaurant and wine bar today, called Foul Witch. The restaurant was a concept the team piloted at Frieze Art Fair back in 2018, and, according to a representative, keeps alive some elements from the well-reviewed Blanca tasting menu restaurant they operated in Bushwick, only reformatted to be a la carte and more casual. 15 Avenue A, near East Second Street
East Village: Born from the pandemic, From Lucie is a cake pop-up turned bakery. Owner Lucie Franc de Ferriere covers her cakes in flowers, as an ode to the French countryside where she grew up. 263 E. 10th Street, between First Avenue and Avenue A
Flushing: Downtown Flushing’s new 24,000-square-foot food hall at the Tangram mall is up and running, with some half a dozen vendors open and another handful on the way. The lineup includes CoocooCachoo, serving hot chicken sandwiches; Cruncheese, a Korean corn dog chain; boba chain I’Milky; egg tart shop Na Tart; banh mi chain Joju; Soft Swerve ice cream; and Qing Shu for spicy hot pot. Five more vendors, including an outpost of Thai restaurant Zaab Zaab, are opening soon. 133-33 39th Avenue, at Prince Street
Flushing: Witch Toppoki, the first location of a chain restaurant specializing in all-you-can-eat rice cakes, is now open. The restaurant has a second location planned for Bayside in late January before it expands to Manhattan and across the country. 146-13 Northern Boulevard, between 146th and 147th streets
Midtown: From chef Tony Inn, an alum of the three-Michelin-starred Masa, comes Taru, a modern Japanese restaurant that’s also home to a 10-seat omakase counter called Kotaru. The menu is upscale, with nigiri, sashimi, and temaki priced by the piece (around $5 to $25 each) and a 16-ounce A5 wagyu strip steak served at Taru priced at $750. 30 W. 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues
Prospect Heights: Park Slope’s Winner bakery is on an expansion tear. First came the next-door restaurant, called Runner Up. Then came the takeout counter in the Prospect Park Picnic House. A butcher shop with sandwiches is the latest arrival. WIN, which stands for What’s In a Name, is open from Friday to Sunday for now, with a couple of sandwiches for takeout. The space will also house a nighttime bar from the same team. 747 Franklin Avenue, Sterling Place
Nomad: Avocaderia, a fast-casual chain serving lots of you-know-whats, opens its flagship location in Nomad this week, the New York Times reports. The restaurant with four locations in the city is spread out over two floors. 245 Fifth Avenue, at Fifth Avenue
Times Square: Celebrity chef Rick Bayless has opened his second NYC Tortazo following the one in Nomad, with a menu that nods to Mexico City. it’s a fast-casual walk-up window featuring dishes like smoked salmon ceviche tostadas and salsa negra mushroom tacos. 1441 Broadway, near 41st Street
Tribeca: Caliza, a new downtown Mexican restaurant and mezcaleria is now open, from Tribecan Josh Lebowitz, according to Tribeca Citizen. 378 Greenwich, at North Moore Street
Tribeca: A hidden lounge adjacent to Smyth Tavern, Mercer Street Hospitality’s Galerie opened this week, a wood-paneled cozy cocktail bar with two fireplaces and an emphasis on art. Visit here for classic cocktails and bar bites like caviar on crispy potatoes, pigs in a blanket, and shrimp cocktail. 85 W. Broadway, at Chambers Street
Upper West Side: Smash burger chain 7th Street Burger continues to takeover NYC this week. The restaurant opened its sixth location in Manhattan this week. Additional outposts on the Lower East Side and Midtown are listed as coming soon online. 424 Amsterdam Avenue, near West 80th Street
West Village: Lin & Daughters is now open from Becky Lin, a first-time restaurant owner, who grew up in the family restaurant business on Long Island. The fast-casual restaurant serves chicken curry or beef dumplings, peanut noodles, and bubble tea. Lin says her restaurant name is in reference to her own daughters, but also the daughters lost to China’s one-child policy, which her own family was affected by. 181 W. Fourth Street, near Jones Street
Williamsburg: The team behind Ukrainian Nolita bar Slava and the East Village’s Pineapple Club now have a new cocktail venture, the Bee’s Knees in Williamsburg. 65 N. Seventh Street, near Kent Avenue
January 12
Bed-Stuy: Ginjan Cafe, the second location of a West African coffee and juice shop, is now open on Nostrand Avenue. The menu is limited to drinks for now, with a full food menu of pastries, plantain wraps, and crispy fattaya to come says co-owner Rahim Diallo, who opened the first location of the shop with his brother Mohammed in Harlem in 2019. 335 Nostrand Avenue, at Quincy Street
Bed-Stuy: The chefs behind Landhaus in the shuttered Berg’n food hall, have opened a tavern called Three Maples, the New York Times reports. The restaurant’s menu lists fish and chips, a $15 burger and beer deal, and an order of maple bacon that was once crowned the city’s best by the Village Voice. 1452 Fulton Street, near Tompkins Avenue
Bryant Park: Miami-based health food chain Carrot Express has opened a second location near Bryant Park. The restaurant made its New York debut in Flatiron last year, with a third location slated to open in Midtown later this year. 135 W. 41st Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway
Carroll Gardens: Beers from Hill Farmstead, Hudson Valley, and other coveted breweries have a new home at Queue Beer, a craft beer bar owned by Shane Monteiro, a former buyer at Carmine Street Beers in the West Village, which his family has operated for the past decade. The new bar is one of few, if not the only, craft beer bars in the city of Indian ownership in New York, and soon Indian savory and spicy snacks will be available from the bar. 500 Smith Street, at Garnet Street
Chinatown: New to Canal Street is East Season Restaurant, which went viral on TikTok this week after one of the owner’s children shared news of the opening to a quarter of a million viewers. The storefront specializes in bowls of barbecued meats, including char siu and duck. 244 Canal Street, between Centre and Lafayette streets
East Village: Couple Jesse Merchant Zuñiga and Javier Zuñiga, Hart’s and Contra alums, respectively, started an ice cream brand called Bad Habit during the pandemic. Last weekend, they opened a headquarters for production that doubles as a wine bar and savory snack spot called Caleta. From 2 to 5 p.m. ice cream is sold out of containers to stay or to-go, then, starting at 5 p.m., Caleta offers wine and small plates, as well as more elevated desserts, like a baked Alaska, using Bad Habit ice cream. 131 Avenue A, near St. Mark’s Place
Gowanus: ByClio, a comeback of sorts for chef Clio Goodman, who ran the East Village’s Puddin’ desserts shop over a decade ago, is now open. The bakery is taking orders for custom cakes online, with slices of cake — fenugreek gooseberry, vegan carrot, and other flavors — and baked goods available in person. 400 Third Avenue, near Sixth Street
Lower East Side: Playita is the latest spot to highlight Mexican mariscos, or “beachy bites” as owner Iris Avelar calls them. A menu lists shrimp and fish tacos, Mexican-style shrimp cocktails, and ceviche, as well as meat and veggie dishes. Avelar is a co-owner of La Superior taqueria in Williamsburg; for Playita, she collaborated with former La Esquina executive chef Nicholas Cox on the menu. The restaurant is standing-room-only for now. 202 Clinton Street, near East Broadway
Lower East Side: Tipsy Shanghai, a restaurant chain that claims to have been founded in 1905, has debuted its sixth location. The menu lists xiao long bao, Wuxi pork ribs, red bean zongzi, and abalone lo mein. 189 East Broadway, at Jefferson Street
Prospect Heights: A new pizzeria and cocktail bar opened in December on the much-disputed border of Prospect Heights and Park Slope. Called Parashades, the restaurant from an alum of Carroll Gardens pizzeria Pizza Moto serves pies strewn with pepperoni cups, capers, Buffalo chicken, and blue cheese. 241 Flatbush Avenue, near Bergen Street
West Village: Gab’s, a New American bistro with French influences, is the latest to arrive in the Village. The menu, from chef Nate Ashton of Mimi, nearby, includes a $30 burger, pork ribs, and raddichio with stracciatella and mint. 76 Carmine Street, near Seventh Avenue
Williamsburg: Rockaway Beach favorite Super Burrito is heading inland with this second location that opens on Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue today. The menu is the same as down by the water, meaning burritos (smothered or handheld) stuffed with al pastor, carne asada, grilled shrimp, and other fillings are served until 10 p.m. A built-out bar is waiting on a liquor license. 320 Bedford Avenue, near South Second Street
January 5
Barclays Center: Vegan barbecue spot Pure Grit has set up shop at Barclays Center, a spokesperson for the business tells Eater. It’s the first expansion for the eight-month-old restaurant, which opened in the Flatiron District in May. The menu lists jackfruit nachos with cashew cheese and smoked Impossible brisket.
Bed-Stuy: Neighborhood seafood market Shipwreck Seafood Boutique is known for its reasonable prices and fried foods. In December, the shop expanded with a small takeout counter called the Wreck with lobster rolls, fried and fresh fish, po’boy sandwiches, and more. 627 Throop Avenue, between Fulton and Decatur streets
Bushwick: A new vegan snack shop Yough made its debut in December. 203 Knickerbocker Avenue, near Jefferson Street
Clinton Hill: Oh.Sweet.Mason, a baking business that started in 2015 and has been in search of a storefront ever since, is settling down in Clinton Hill. The bakery will now offer its cake jars and red velvet brownies from Bowl, a cafe specializing in all-day breakfast bowls and wraps. 466 Grand Avenue, near Fulton Street
Long Island City: Following the fast-casual Korean Little Banchan Shop in Long Island City, restaurateur Hooni Kim opened the attached Meju in December. The tasting menu counter, which doubles as a fermentation studio for Little Banchan, features a seven-course meal for $185 per person. Reservations can be made on Tock. 5-28 49th Avenue, near Fifth Street
Long Island City: Rokstar Chicken, a Korean fried chicken business that started in a Douglaston supermarket in 2021, opened a second location in a Food Bazaar Supermarket in December. The short menu lists boneless chicken, chicken sandwiches, wings, and sides like truffle fries. 4202 Northern Boulevard, inside the Food Bazaar supermarket
Midtown: Two Staten Island brothers and restaurateurs have teamed open to open their first joint venture, the Mediterranean White Olive. Greek and Turkish dishes like keftedes, baked shrimp with lemon potatoes, lamb chop, knafeh, and baklava ice cream, round out the menu, according to the New York Times. 39 W. 55th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues
Noho: Gjelina, the Los Angeles restaurant lauded for its vegetable-centric menus, opens its Manhattan outpost this week. The 1,700-square-foot space is spread out over two levels, with bar seating, a larger back room, and tables throughout. The menu lists bottarga pizza, a charcuterie plate, and a drinks list heavy on natural wines. 45 Bond Street, between Bowery and Lafayette Street
Union Square: Gen Korean BBQ House, a national chain with more than 30 locations spread across California, Arizona, and Texas, has taken over a corner location that previously housed the neighborhood’s 5 Napkin Burger and next-door Taman Falafel. The restaurant stays open until 4 a.m. daily with an all-you-can-eat dinner special for around $30. 150 E. 14th Street, at Third Avenue
Union Square: The team behind Southeast Asian restaurants Wau and Singapura have opened Jelas, a new bar that claims to specialize in clarified cocktails. There are five cocktails to start, including riffs on the Singapore Sling and margarita made with ingredients that have been milk-wash clarified. The bar is standing room only, with space for 12 people. No reservations. 17 East 13th Street, between University Place and Fifth Avenue
Upper West Side: Kebab aur Sharab opened in December, also from prolific restaurateur Salil Mehta (Laut, Laut Singapura, Wau, among many others). Known for his Southeast Asian restaurants, he’s now turning his attention to Indian food, with dishes like purple sweet potato chaat, Kerala-style fish curry, a venison ghee roast, and kebabs like one with fried corn cakes, in a dining room outfitted with a peacock feather ceiling. 247 W. 72nd Street, near West End Avenue
West Village: L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, the acclaimed, century-old Naples pizzeria that appeared in Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling novel Eat Pray Love, opened in Manhattan on Christmas Eve. The menu lists pizzas, salads, and sandwiches, but Eater critic Robert Sietsema recommends sticking to the classic Margherita pie. 2 Bank Street, at Greenwich Avenue
Williamsburg: The second location of Queens party spot Sushi On Me is now up and running. There are more seats at the Williamsburg counter and the price point is higher — $129 in Brooklyn versus $89 in Queens — but count on unlimited sake and an unconventional omakase with Thai touches. 742 Driggs Avenue, near South Second Street
