The Best New Restaurants in New York City
Why bother looking for the best new restaurants in New York City? Especially when this town has an embarrassment of fabulous restaurants. Happily for us, the kitchens of most spill over not just with good food but also long histories and colorful stories. But sometimes, the most exciting thing you can do is hit the buzzy new spot, the kind of place where people would fall over themselves to get a table—whether that’s simply to eat that great new dish they've heard so much about, or to see and be seen, or both. Lucky for you, our Big Apple-based editors, always with their ears to the ground, have rounded up their favorites from the city’s many new openings below.
How we choose the best new restaurants in New York City
The best new restaurants in New York City stretch across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Every business on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveler journalist who knows the destination and has personally tried the restaurant in question. When choosing new spots, our editors consider both high-end and affordable eateries that offer an authentic and insider experience of the city. We’re always looking for standout dishes, a great location, and warm service—as well as serious sustainability credentials. In terms of how we define ‘new,’ we've chosen to focus on restaurants that have opened within a year of the publish date. When you work your way through the list, check back in: We'll update this guide regularly as new restaurants open in New York City.
And now, here's our selection: find swanky Italian seafood joints, 11-seat omakase counters, and a Brooklyn neighborhood joint where you may have to fight for a table—but we promise it's worth it. Here are the best new restaurants in New York City.
This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
Melissa Hom/TheodorarestaurantTheodora
$$$Miss Ada fans are already flocking to Theodora, the third Brooklyn restaurant by chef Tomer Blechman, and with good reason. With a Mediterranean menu focused on dry-aged fish, seasonal produce, and open-fired dishes, it’s just as flavorful as the dips and shawarma plates found at its sister restaurant, with a slightly more upscale vibe that lends itself to birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion dinners (fair warning, you may balk at some of the small plate pricing—come with a group to try a little bit of everything). Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, the Fort Greene restaurant was packed on my recent Sunday evening visit; there’s a mix of bar seating (with spots saved for walk-ins), tables, and booths, with decor to match the seafood-heavy menu—I wanted to swipe the decorative fish skeleton for my own kitchen. As for what to order, the Za’atar Kubaneh ($15), which looks like a savory cinnamon roll and is served with flavor-packed schug, tomato aioli, and harissa sauces, is made for Instagramming but is also savor-the-last-bite delicious. Other standouts were a creamy black cod ($31) served with green asparagus, pea shoots, and snap peas, and the smoky, spicy garlic lima beans (a special the night I went), which I could’ve eaten three servings of. If you’re drinking, there are plenty of fun ingredients woven into the cocktail menu ($18 a pop), from feta and harissa to artichoke and caperberry, as well as a natural wine menu and two zero-proof options, including the popular Phony Negroni. —Madison Flager, senior commerce editor
Carbon Stories/Bar MadonnabarBar Madonna
$$I’m putting Bar Madonna on this list—in spite of the team’s insistence that their newly-opened Williamsburg baby is a BAR and NOT a restaurant—on the technicality that their food menu is fabulously substantial and substantially fabulous enough to warrant inclusion. Bar Madonna arrives in North Brooklyn as unpretentious, low-lit, and quietly serving some of the city’s finest plates—tender octopus alla griglia with spicy radish and mint ($21), a caesar salad of grilled romaine and wild boar bacon ($17), and a smashed meatball parm ($19). The last of these—a double smashburger bedecked in the mozzarella and tomato sauce trappings of its namesake—is delightful not just because it’s good but also because I can’t believe I haven’t seen it before. Pair it with the Nonna’s Half and Half, a killer martini with both gin and vodka ($17), and you’re really cooking with butter. You can’t go wrong with any of the beverages, and true cocktail connoisseurs will appreciate the Brooklyn Special (coffee, Michter’s rye, Fernet Branca, cherry, also $17). —Charlie Hobbs, associate editor
Noah Fecks/Chica & the DonrestaurantChica & The Don
$$$Gramercy Park finally gets the vibey, late-night restaurant it deserves with Chica & the Don, the latest endeavor from Nick Semkiw (currently partner at popular Lower East Side rum bar Las' Lap) and Executive Chef Michelle Chan. Advertised as refined Latin American street food, the creative menu draws inspiration from the team’s heritage in Nicaragua, The Dominican Republic, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico. My personal favorites were the arroz chaufa (Peruvian style lobster and shrimp fried rice) and the elote cups (charred corn kernels, tajin, kewpie, cotija). Other standouts included the roasted chicken (fired table-side), several different ceviche and empanadas options, and tapas you will most definitely be craving if you stumble through here at midnight: think short rib and plantain quesadillas, crispy yucca fries, and puffed chicharron. As you’d expect, the cocktails are fun and flavorful—the refreshing Meloncito is the perfect summertime tipple with flecha azul tequila, lime, grand marnier, honeydew melon, and pineapple; or if you’re in the mood for rum, the Cabana Verde is a fresh twist on a mojito with a hint of kiwi. Open until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday with music and dancing on the weekends, this is a place to fully embrace the sobremesa tradition, with comfy booth seating ideal for swapping stories and sharing dishes long into the night. —Hannah Towey, associate editor
Katrine Moite/BungalowrestaurantBungalow
$$When Bungalow opened in the East Village this spring, it didn’t take long for it to join the ranks of restaurants that are impossible to get into. Certainly, there was the promise of an excellent Indian meal but equally, there was excitement—especially among the diaspora—to be in the same room as Chef Vikas Khanna, erstwhile at Michelin-starred Junoon and the host of MasterChef India. When I visit, ducking through its marigold-draped front door and into a lobby bar, he’s working the room like a celebrity, dispensing hugs and smiling for selfies. Bungalow is Khanna’s joint venture with Jimmy Rizvi, of Gramercy's GupShup, and a nod to the diverse span of Indian cooking, from Kashmir at its crown all the way down to Kerala. Here, you’ll find everything from a sweet potato chaat served on Delhi’s streets in spring to Chitranee, a Jewish-Indian chicken curry with shishito and tamarind, and sheermal, a spongy bread that’s a delicacy in places like Lucknow and Hyderabad. For our meal, we sat in an airy room filled with greenery and light streaming in through a glass-pane roof. The restaurant is named after the English word for bangla or a single-story home, coined during India’s colonial past to indicate a particular style of house that included spacious verandahs, overhanging roofs, and large gardens. The decor isn’t the only throwback. Khanna’s take on Goan shrimp balchão is inspired by the cream puff cones of traditional Indian bakeries and the molten Black Forest cake is a nod to a popular childhood birthday cake in India, but finished off with gulab jamun-flavored ice cream and cherry compote. As we leave, Khanna plucks a flower off a fragrant bouquet of Nargis—a Daffodil variant that grows in the upper reaches of the Himalayas—and hands it to me to tuck into my hair. “It’s how we treat our guests,” he said. As we walk out, large groups of diners are pouring in. I think to myself: He’s going to need a lot of Nargis tonight. —Arati Menon, global digital director
Francesco Sapienza/SawarestaurantSawa
$$There’s a burst of lovely Levantine restaurants opening in New York right now, and Sawa is a reminder that this is only good news. The bright little Lebanese spot comes alive in the evening with vibe-y music and groups of friends sharing hunks of lamb and unbelievably creamy hummus. And it’s no ordinary hummus—beef cheeks, braised til they’re so soft you can cut with a spoon, sit atop the $17 mezze dish. From there, we tucked into a chicory salad, colorful with pomegranate seeds (also $17), and extremely garlicky crispy potatoes that you’ll love or hate (I loved, $12.) But the thing I can’t stop thinking about, and that I will go back explicitly for? The raw lamb kibbeh nayeh ($22). Ground with bulgar and sumac, and meant to be scooped up with a crispy pita chip, my server politely disclosed that it was mainly popular with Lebanese guests who already knew and loved the dish. I couldn’t resist—and thank God I didn't. I can still taste the creamy blend of spices and olive oil that made this dish more interesting than any tartare I’ve ever had. Expect to see me alone, at the bar, with that and a cocktail any day of the week. Or maybe a nonalcoholic rose-water lemonade, because their spirit-free menu is pretty good, too. —Megan Spurrell, senior editor
Patrick Dolande/TadhanarestaurantTadhana
$$$“Hole in the wall” takes on a whole new meaning with Tadhana, a new Filipino restaurant with a 16-course tasting menu. Chef Frances Tariga, who was notably on Top Chef, came from the Philippines to New York in 2011, and masterfully showcases her native cuisine throughout a thoughtful dining experience. The restaurant space was previously a coffee shop, with an unassuming facade opening to just 24 seats. Bread service started our meal off with Igorot whole grain and wild rice bread) served with a spicy coconut jam and Kesong Puti (homemade Filipino cheese), while our next course was creatively showcased in a hollowed-out green velvet book (yes, a book, which opens to reveal fresh vegetable spring rolls and anchovy fritters with bean sprouts and sweet potato). The rest of the tasting menu consisted of traditional flavors with modern touches, leading up to two dreamy dessert bites: a liquid-nitrogen-frozen jackfruit crunchy treat and mochi donuts topped with shaved truffle and smothered in liquid dark chocolate. Tadhana’s journey of flavors will set you back $185, but you will be left smitten thinking about all the unique flavors that your palate just enjoyed. —Emily Adler, associate social media manager
Paul Quitoriano/YingtaorestaurantYingtao
$$$Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan isn’t exactly synonymous with haute contemporary cuisine; in the neighborhood, you’re more likely to battle for seats at drag bingo than a tasting menu. But this Chinese fine dining concept is a handsome new arrival, bringing boat-loads of polish—a black marble bar and kitchen counter; brass chairs and tabletops, stealthy splashes of scarlet—and skillful focus. Chef Jakub Baster (an alum of Monsieur Boulud’s eponymous Daniel and La Dame de Pic at the Four Seasons Hotel Megève in the French Alps) offers only two options for dinner at Yingtao: the eight-course tasting menu ($165) or a four-course pre-fixe ($90); customize it with low- and no- ABV cocktails or the wine pairing (all of it brilliant, and curated and served by the affable drinks director Bobby Snyder). As for the food itself: stunning. A Hong Kong-raised friend joined me for the full tasting and we were both mightily impressed by the techniques and inventiveness that remixed regional Chinese classics from places like Shanghai, Xi’an, and Guangzhou. I inhaled the kampachi—a.k.a. yellowtail or amberjack—topped with caviar; a silky tofu dish served with celery root; the crab noodles with a soy yolk and smoked flying fish roe; the hake with spring vegetables; and a coconut dessert of nian gao, a rice cake most often served during the Lunar New Year. The service is attentive and the kitchen well-oiled—the galley is open entirely to the dining room, a stage where diners can watch the cooks move efficiently and silently. All that said, any praise I have is secondary to the true vote of confidence and affirmation of Yingtao’s success that I witnessed during my visit: a large and festive group composed of Chinese mainlanders in their Crazy Rich Asians best, proudly taking photos with the crew, eager to spread the good word of Chinese American cooking at its finest. —Matt Ortile, associate editor
Chris Coe/Cafe MadorestaurantCafe Mado
$$One evening, a month or so after the Michelin-starred Oxalis celebrated its fifth anniversary, I posted up to my “local” hoping to squeeze in an early seating for what was, in my mind, one of the city’s best (for value and quality) tasting menus. To my great sadness, I found it shuttered. A few months later, the unassuming storefront in Prospect Heights has reopened, albeit with a new name and personality. Cafe Mado, named for Marie Louise “Madame Mado” Point, the wife and business partner of the father of modern French cuisine, Fernando Point comes from the team behind Oxalis and Clinton Hill wine bar Places des Fêtes—chef and partner Nico Russell was a reassuring presence when I visited—and many of the waitstaff remain, poised and attentive. The big change comes from the shapeshifting Mado does throughout the day, starting with bakery service in the morning, complete with baked goods coming from sister establishment Laurel, recently opened in Brooklyn Heights. Then, as the day unfolds, Mado transitions into an all-day cafe, offering sandwiches and tartines for lunch and heartier small plates for dinner. The space has been reorganized to cater to this: they’ve created an open area in the front with high-top tables, and moved formal seating to the back. While the tasting menu may be gone, the produce-driven cooking remains, with the menu leaning on a “seasonally changing pantry of ferments, vinegars, and misos.” Standout dishes included what might be one of the best pissaladières I’ve had with anchovy, Taggiasca olives, and on focaccia from Laurel; perfectly blanched asparagus sitting pretty on an excellent bagna cauda; the Tony, a grilled mortadella sandwich made with a sesame-seeded English muffin-style bun that’s a tribute to Anthony Bourdain; and a poised-for-summer fava bean pici brightened with mint and lemon. Another highlight? The sunny back garden that welcomes walk-ins looking to relax with a glass or two from Mado's perfectly curated wine list. This is where you'll find me, all summer long. —A.M.
Gloria Xu/RamrorestaurantRamro
$$Queens is the most ethnically diverse borough in New York City—in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records—so it seems only natural that a Filipino chef and a Nepali mixologist have come together to create Ramro, a laidback eatery in Astoria that serves a $99 six-course tasting menu on Saturdays. Reservations for all three seatings (5 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9 p.m.) are elusive, but the a la carte experience (served from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays) is distinctly its own and delicious. Sit at the kitchen counter and let Ravi Thapa, the Nepali owner-operator-bartender, and Raymund Embarquez, the Filipino executive chef, talk you through each dish and drink anyway. Some personal favorites: cauliflower dressed with honey and togarashi ($15); the skewers of longanisa—a spiced-and-sugared sausage I grew up eating in the Philippines—made with Japanese wagyu beef ($10); skate wing in a coconut sauce served with puri ($27); a pistachio-and-coffee take on silvanas, a Filipino meringue dessert ($11); and a brilliant cheddar ice cream (another classic Filipino treat) blanketed in parmesan cheese ($7). Here, the scene is chill (a casual crowd willing to pay for good food), the cocktails creative and low-ABV (they’ve only a beer-and-wine license), and the portions just right (for each person, I reccomend a starter, a main, and a dessert). The crew told me they’re still tinkering with the menu—Nepali inspiration is primarily found in the glass, not yet the plate; I already have a reservation to try a mussels dish in a ginger broth with scallion oil—but Ramro is already a fantastically unique and ambitious kitchen that’s worth the trip. Even the most commute-averse New Yorkers should make the trek from Brooklyn to Queens—and bring their out-of-town guests with them. —M.O.
MorirestaurantMori
$$$Omakase spots are popping up all over New York City these days—and at so many different price points—but true quality, hospitality, and expertise are still few and far between. Enter Mori, a new contemporary omakase spot offering an assortment of seasonal fish and seafood flown directly from Japan. Led by Chef Solomon Halim & Chef Andre Wijaya, opening chefs for Catch & Shuko respectively, Mori offers an assortment of creative and flavorful dishes at a fairly-priced $125 for 16 courses. Notable highlights include the smoked hamachi with a homemade truffle emulsion (they’ll be selling this by the bottle soon…you’ll want to drink it) and their perfectly sized hand rolls, like the king salmon with taro root—a glorious combination of textures. Dinner is topped off with a delicious sweet bite—sometimes overlooked in an omakase meal—of a matcha mascarpone cookie with white chocolate. The cozy yet swanky dimly-lit atmosphere of the 11-seat counter is a more-than-welcome addition to the NYC omakase scene, and the highly courteous team will make sure you’re well taken care of for any dining occasion. —E.A.
Alice Gao/San SabinorestaurantSan Sabino
$$$The seafood-heavy sister restaurant to the inimitable Don Angie was the hardest table in town to book well before it opened. If you are fortunate enough to elbow your way into a Resy, or walk in to snag one of their wooden bar stools, take your time. Start with a cocktail. We did negronis and note-perfect dry martinis, finished with a thick peel of lemon, just like they are on the Amalfi. The space itself recalled the fabled Italian coastline, with warm, sunny yellows and pops of Mediterranean blues, but an impressive bar with hand carved stools and leather booths make the place feel every part of an upscale West Village restaurant. And then, the food. After stints at Torrisi and the helm of Don Angie, chef Angie Rito knows a thing or two about Italian-American cuisine, which is how San Sabino classifies itself. Though here, she reinvents it even further. Contrary to red sauce norms, the menu is heavy on lighter dishes, like exceptional salads (the tricolore Sabino is their take on a Caesar) and crudos (the spicy tuna with broken arancini was my favorite bite of the night) and a smart, tight selection of pasta dishes. I resisted the urge to get meatballs and Sunday sauce manicotti and went full fish, because, when in Amalfi…. The crab-filled farfalle was delicate and wonderfully sauced as was the lobster triangoli. We had to order the restaurant’s viral dish, the shrimp parm, with heads popping out from layers of red sauce and cheese, sizzling on a silver platter. Risking backlash, I will say that it was good, but it’s not a can’t-miss. Instead, opt for an additional dish of what Rito does so exceptionally here - the fresher, lighter seafood (another crudo, or perhaps the halibut). And if you (like me) still need that fix of more on-the-nose Italian American, it is nice to know that Rito’s meatball spiedini—deliciously seasoned, served on a skewer—can be ordered with any dish, on the side. —Erin Florio, executive editor
restaurantBar Birba
$Is it possible to write objectively about something you’ve fallen head over heels in love with? In writing about Bar Birba, I will try. Located just around the corner from my apartment on the far-west frontier of Bed-Stuy—Franklin Avenue, just below Greene—this place is the dreamy, dimly-lit, casual café of my dreams. Everyone deserves one in their neighborhood—not least of all because the food is fairly priced. Over the course of several visits, I’ve enjoyed the pitch-perfect caponata ($8) atop plush fornarina (pizza crust, no toppings, $4) as my starter, twice making annoying “mm” sounds while eating to express my pleasure. Also not to be missed are the Polpette dell’Alessandra, meatballs of beef and pork in bright red sauce ($8), and an 8-inch quarter pan portion of pizza—dealer’s choice, ranging from $8 to $10. There’s a novella of a wine list, with by-the-glass options obscurely scrawled on a mirror above the bar. That’s intentional—the owner would rather you chat with your server to land on an option. —C.H.
Jason Varney/CoqodaqrestaurantCoqodaq
$$You don't dine at Coqodaq so much as experience it. This latest entry from Simon Kim's Gracious Hospitality Management (the people behind nearby darling COTE Korean Steakhouse) is a “fried chicken cathedral” that purports to sling a healthier take on the dish by using cultured oil and a gluten-free batter blend with rice flour. While I cannot speak to its efficacy in that department, what I can report is a startling zero on the digestive issues post-feast—a first for food that is indeed deeply fried. It helps that it's delicious, with the signature fried chicken bucket ($38 per person) coming with roasted chicken consommé, copious ban-chan, cold noodles, and a delicate seasonal frozen yogurt to finish. One of the great splurges of your lifetime—and it's a splurge I do recommend making, if only just once—is the golden nugget, which comes topped with either ocean trout roe ($16 per piece) or Golden Daurenki caviar ($28 per piece). —C.H.
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Nicole Franzen/SailorrestaurantSailor
$$On the restaurant-rich stretch of DeKalb near Fort Greene park, the September-opened Sailor has already found its sea legs. The neighborhood bistro from restauranteur Gabriel Stulman (Joseph Leonard, Fairfax) and chef April Bloomfield (The Spotted Pig, The Breslin Bar) manages to pull off a refined nautical theme—clock the glass diorama with a sailboat in it behind the bar, and the framed portraits of sailors unknown on the wall—with dishes that trick you into thinking they're simple but will make your eyes go wide. There's a toast topped with an herbaceous 'green sauce' and fluffy grated parmesan ($10); roasted fennel with goat cheese that you'll text at least one person about ($14); mussels cooked in wine and served on toast with a fennel aoili ($16); plus an ode to Zuni Cafe's anchovy with celery and parmesan ($10). What also stands out is how many items clock in under $15 (and frankly, those small plates were my favorites), including the house wines at $9 a glass. It feels like the kind of place you could go once a week—if it weren't so hard to get in.—M.S.
Justin Belmondo/SwoonysrestaurantSwoony's
$$It seems everywhere is serving the grown-up happy meal—burger ($26) and a martini—right now. At Swoony's, a new Carroll Gardens spot from the Cafe Spaghetti team, I'm not even mad at more of the same. They do it perfectly. And to be clear, the menu has plenty more to it, from a crab louie ($18) and clams casino ($18), to a hanger steak with "cowboy butter" ($33)—there's a retro Americana thing going on here, if you hadn't noticed—but take a look around the humming dining room and you'll see the thousand-island topped double-patty and martini spinoffs are a draw for many guests. But everything just tastes and feels good here, from the inviting glow of the dining room, to the splashes of wine suggested by the expert team. This is in the further end of Carroll Gardens, and thank god—I hope the trek means I won't have to fight with as many people to keep getting a reservation and coming back. (By the way, the burger is very good, but the short rib au poivre is unforgettable.) —M.S.
Melissa Hom/Bar MillerrestaurantBar Miller
$$$I eat like an animal at the top of the aquatic food chain—all I want is seafood, all the time, ideally raw. So I'm on the scent with new sushi spots, and was excited to put Bar Miller to the test. It comes from the Rosella team, where I joyfully take myself from time-to-time (usually, dining solo, enjoying a chirashi bowl in a window seat before meeting friends for a comedy show at Club Cumming—it's a thing for me). The team focuses on sustainable seafood which feels like the only way forward in sushi, so the idea of seeing this come to life in a small 8-seat omakase restaurant had me counting down the days until my reservation. At $250 for 15-courses over two hours, it was absolutely worth it—and astounding to watch humble porgy from New York waters turned into delicate nigiri, and a lush arctic char make me excited to support a move away from mass salmon consumption. Everything was served on trippy dishware from Helen Levi, all of which I need to buy pronto, and it was what omakase should be. Not just dinner, but an experience. —M.S.
Don CevicherestaurantDon Ceviche
$For a long time, the Don Ceviche stall in Essex Market has been the only place I can count on for quick, easy, tastes-like-I'm-in-Peru ceviche. Their limes have just the right zing; their seafood, crisp and cool, is delicately tossed in a blend of chili and citrus. A new, shoebox-sized location in the East Village expands on the concept (hey, it's still bigger than the stall!). There's a bright tiradito (sort of like sashimi, but dressed with a punchy sauce; $20) that reminds me of the dishes I'd eat on terraces the summer I lived in Lima. There's, of course, several types of ceviche. And there are also homestyle dishes, like seco a la norteña ($29)—fall-off-the-bone beef in a cilantro sauce—that hit differently than the fare at upscale Peruvian spots around the city. For the moment, you might not find this spot on your Instagram feed. Pop in before you do. —Megan Spurrell, senior editor
restaurantMontague Diner
$Diners are a dying breed in New York City. Once dime a dozen, you’re now more likely to see a local favorite fall victim to high rents or anonymous condo developments than open up or resurrect itself, which is why Montague Diner in Brooklyn Heights feels like such a pleasant surprise. Much like S&P Lunch in Midtown or Three Decker Diner in Greenpoint, Montague is among a string of classic diners across the city that has been rescued and refurbished to serve patrons old and new. Formerly the long-running Happy Days Diner, which closed in 2022, the space has been taken over by a group of mostly film producers and directors (with credits including Uncut Gems and Catfish), to engineer an aesthetic that draws on Depression-era diners—right down to the specific shade of green paint on the walls. When myself and senior editor Megan Spurrell stopped by there for lunch on a recent Friday it was packed with a crowd spanning all ages—recently established locals skipping out on work at the end of the week and retirees playing out their Friday routines—all chowing down on well-executed classic diner dishes that weren’t trying to be anything else. What we ordered: an impeccable tuna melt, crispy French fries, a well-dressed Caesar Salad, and a pickle dish that I would rate with a 10/10 crunch level. We’re already plotting our return for dinner, when it will be more appropriate to order the “Giant Grilled Cheese + Bottle of Chilled Red” or the “Mozzarella Sticks + Orange Wine” deals. —Lale Arikoglu, articles director
Sebastian Lucrecio/PostcardrestaurantPostcard
$After over a decade living in New York, there are few things I will stand in line for at this point—but a few weeks ago, I discovered that an egg salad sando ($9) from Postcard is apparently one of them. From the same team behind its neighbor Nami Nori, this shoebox-sized spot in the West Village serves a small menu of Japanese sandwiches and pastries from inside a cutesy, Wes Anderson-ified space (think block colors of red and yellow, and wallpaper featuring ginkgo leaves) that has Tik Tokers waiting down the block for its light-as-air, gluten-free sandwiches. We ordered a spread that included the aforementioned egg salad, which was simultaneously fluffy yet rich, as well as a chicken katsu ($14) that left me yearning for more (okay, I was really hungry, but I do think it should be bigger), and an array of fruit fillings like strawberry, grape, and orange ($9). Pair it all with a strawberry milky featuring an extra shot of matcha and brown sugar boba ($11.50)—IFYKYK. —L.A.
Colin Clark/Foxface NaturalrestaurantFoxface Natural
$$$A number of hyped New York restaurant openings in the past 6 months have revealed a trend—for one, the concepts and aesthetics of many spots you can't get a reservation at defy quintessential categorization, which comes across in both menus and dining rooms. (he second is that people are generally split on what they think of these places. Foxface, which describes itself as "a natural continuation of Foxface sandwiches," (somewhere I never went) is an embodiment of the above, and I'm one of the people who really enjoyed it. Dishes on the ever-changing menu range from goose barnacles ("simply boiled, eat with your hands;" $48), to a hiramasa "pastrami" ($25) with horseradish and a rye crisp, to the kangaroo katsu for 2 ($69) which the internet can't stop talking about. The common thread between these dishes, which range wildly in their influences, is that the out-of-the-box ingredients are all tended to, and altered, in house. That pastrami treatment comes from an in-house smoking; fermented ají dulce (on the bluefin tuna), and cultured butter served with sourdough and pickles, are all made on-site. Sure you can try kangaroo, but you don't have to—the dry aged duck breast, with fermented parsnip ($46), is what I keep thinking about. Join the Resy waitlist for the best chance of getting in, and go for the counter if you can. Definitely ask for wine recommendations (who knows what to pair with sweetbreads anyway?). —M.S.
