9 New Restaurants to Visit in the New Year
SHARE
Liz Barclay / Lalo
January might be the most popular month for starting diets (according to Google), but really, winter is hardly the time for any of us to be eating light or skipping meals. Can you imagine eating a salad in the middle of a snowstorm? Neither can we. Instead, start the new year by checking out the latest restaurants to open in NYC, including the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant ever, the first market-driven solo project from a Jean-Georges protégé, and an iconic 1920s speakeasy that’s been resurrected as a full-fledged restaurant.
Union Square Cafe
Union Square Cafe: After a long year away, Danny Meyer’s intimate, inimitable neighborhood cafe has returned, this time to a new home on 19th Street. Chef Carmen Quagliata welcomes new and veteran customers with an updated menu, including a braised lamb shank with salsa verde, though classics like the gnocchi and pan-roasted chicken are as comforting as ever.
101 E 19th St., Gramercy/Flatiron
Loring Place: Dan Kluger, formerly the executive chef at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC Kitchen and ABC Cocina, finally ventures off on his own with Loring Place, a seasonal American restaurant named after the section of the Bronx where Kluger’s father grew up. The chef, who has also worked in the kitchens of Union Square Cafe, Tabla, and the elite Core Club, utilizes a wood-burning oven and a wood-fired grill to draw global flavors from local ingredients. On the menu: handmade pizzas and pastas, suckling pig with apple chutney, roasted black bass, and Peking duck.
21 W 8th St., Greenwich Village
Blake Lane: Diego Moya (Casa Mono, Cure Supper Club, Hemlock) brings feel-good California cuisine to Manhattan’s Upper East Side with Blake Lane, where every meal of the day is an opportunity for wellness. On the menu: satisfyingly balanced bowls like the chicken confit (leg and thigh with red curry broth, cabbage, and rice); courgetti (spiralized squash, basil pistachio pesto, roasted tomato, avocado, poached gulf shrimp); herbal teas and tonics, and even healthy-ish cocktails.
1429 3rd Ave., Upper East Side
Reggie Shiobara / Tim Ho Wan
Tim Ho Wan: Hong Kong’s legendary dim sum chain, known as the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant, makes its North American debut with a new opening in the East Village. Known as the “dim sum specialists,” Tim Ho Wan’s menu features dim sum classics BBQ pork buns, pan-fried turnip cakes, steamed egg cakes, prawn dumplings, braised chicken feet, and ribs with black bean sauce. All items are priced at $5.50 or lower. A mango slushie, made exclusively for the New York location, is also on the menu.
85 4th Ave., East Village
Tavo: This contemporary Mexican restaurant from Julieta Ballesteros (Crema, La Loteria, China Latina) draws inspiration from French and Asian cuisine to create a richly diverse menu. What to get: the Peking duck carnitas, deviled corn chow fun, and Cuban lasagna.
615 Hudson St., West Village
Chumley’s
Chumley’s: Once a beloved speakeasy frequented by prominent American writers like John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chumley’s on Bedford Street is one of the most legendary parts of Greenwich Village. In 2007, a collapsed wall forced the bar to close its doors, but now, nearly a decade later, Chumley’s has returned as a full-fledged restaurant under the ownership of Alessandro Borgognone (Sushi Nakazawa). The chef is Victoria Blamey, an alum of Atera.
86 Bedford St., West Village
Liz Barclay / Lalo
Lalo: Gerardo Gonzales, formerly of El Rey Luncheonette, has taken over the space that once belonged to Winnie’s, a beloved Chinatown karaoke bar that closed in 2015. On the menu: carnitas with corn nuts and white sauce served with housemade flour tortillas, chamoy char siu ribs (ribs in a Mexican sour plum sauce); pollo asado and green pineapple hot sauce (a whole roasted chicken brined in beer and citrus), and hominy and charred octopus.
104 Bayard St., Chinatown
Samesa: Inspired by the Middle Eastern food of Michigan and the halal and shawarma carts of New York City, Samesa is the passion project of Max and Eli Sussman, Detroit-born brothers who grew up on the flavors of Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, and eventually found themselves working in New York. Samesa’s whole menu is full of childhood favorites that grew into adult obsessions for the Sussmans, like the chicken shawarma with tahini buttermilk, fish kofta with pickled red cabbage, and roasted beet dip with pumpernickel pita.
495 Lorimer St., Williamsburg
Paul Wagtouicz / Yves
Yves: At Yves, chef Daniel Berg (formerly of Locanda Verde and Daniel) uses bright, seasonal ingredients to elevate brassiere classics. Don’t miss the Burrata Cremosa (lobster jus and seared baby leek) or the potato gnocchi (Berg’s take on New England clam chowder with manilla clams, bacon, and celery), and stick around for the craft cocktails.
385 Greenwich St., Tribeca
Next on
