New Restaurants
New Nightspots
Coming Soon
Chinatown Brasserie
Both regional Chinese specialties and Chinese-American classics will get the royal treatment (e.g. multiple lobster and steak preparations, deluxe dim sum) at this NoHo brasserie scheduled to open the third week of May in the old Time Cafe space (380 Lafayette St.; 212-533-7000). Expect restaurateurs Joshua Pickard and John McDonald (Lever House, Lure Fishbar) to put their stylish stamp on the venue, which will feature a downstairs lounge pouring Singapore Slings and other specialty cocktails till 2 AM nightly.
Harry's Café & Harry's Steak
The ground-floor space of Wall Street's landmark India House, longtime home to Harry's at Hanover Square, is being reborn on May 12th as Harry's Café and Harry's Steak (1 Hanover Sq.; 212-785-9200), two distinct but related eateries. With its 47-ft.-long black-walnut bar and New American menu (e.g. crispy lobster spring rolls, a tuna burger), the more casual cafe is expected to attract the young Downtown residents who swarm nearby Stone Street hangouts. Meanwhile, dealmakers can retire to the more intimate and clubby steakhouse, which will feature a reserve wine list, as well as the space's original murals of monks making wine.
Le Cirque
The third incarnation of Sirio Maccioni's celebrated restaurant is set to open in the Bloomberg building at One Beacon Court (151 E. 58th St.) on May 31st. The main dining room will feature whimiscal bent-wire art inspired by Alexander Calder, while the focal point of the separate bar area will be a 27-ft.-tall wine tower. Chef Pierre Schaedelin will return to the restaurant after a stint working as Martha Stewart's private chef; his menu will mix French classics like Châteaubriand with more contemporary dishes. There will also be a small-plates menu at the bar.
7 Square
Time Hotel is closing Océo (224 W. 49th St.) the first week of May to make way for this New American chophouse opening in the fall; while the room will have a new look and design, its chef will remain the same.
Good Deals and Other News
Up In Smoke?
NYC has seen a rash of recent 'cue arrivals but the trend may have reached its saturation point. At least a handful of BBQ joints have shuttered in the past months, including Pearson's Texas BBQ, Rib, Smoked, Smoke Shack (fka Maroons Smoke Shack) and Tennessee Mountain.
Marcus Samuelsson welcomes guest chefs Kristoffer Luczak and Calvin Soh of the Raffles Hotel in Singapore for a weeklong celebration (May 16–21) of Southeast Asian cuisine; highlights of the lunch and dinner menus (offered in addition to the usual Scandinavian ones) include otak-otak (a spicy mackerel fish mousse) and Nyonya sea bass (with spicy ginger flower sauce and black nut).
Chef Laurent Tourondel (BLT Prime, among others) has been appointed executive chef of this new Midtown brasserie; his updated menu includes French classics such as steak tartare and duck à l'orange.
Sara Jenkins, who made a splash cooking at 50 Carmine, has recently landed at this TriBeCa Italian.
Kevin Garcia, the former chef de cuisine at Del Posto, has replaced chef Tom Valenti, who left this Southern Italian earlier this year to focus full-time on Ouest; Garcia is expected to implement a new menu in July after he gets to know his clientele.
New chef Daniel Humm (formerly of San Francisco's Campton Place) has instituted a prix fixe–only dinner menu featuring three courses for $68; his new market-driven menu is rooted in Provence and includes such signature dishes as artisanal foie gras with golden raisin brioche and African kili pepper, and Jamison Farm lamb herb roasted and braised with tomato confit and niçoise olives.
A Lower East Side location (17 Clinton St.; 212-253-2303) of Carroll Gardens' popular Italian noshery has opened.
Until its old wine inventory is gone, the bottles at this East Village Japanese newcomer are half off.
After a fire temporarily closed it earlier in the year, this handsome SoHo seafooder is set to reopen this month.
Mainland
On May 7th, this contemporary East Side Chinese is opening an outdoor cafe area secluded from car and foot traffic; the lounge's daily two-for-one, late-night happy-hour specials (10 PM–midnight) will also be available outside.
Patrons tired of waiting for a table at this authentic Thai in Hell's Kitchen may find relief in a new nearby branch at 402 W. 47th Street (212-315-4441).
No luck scoring a reservation at Thomas Keller's culinary oasis? A lull in lunchtime dining during the warmer months means you might have an easier time enjoying the chef's creations in the afternoon, when seven-, nine- and vegetarian nine-course tasting menus are available for $210 per person.
Williamsburg's bustling Thai-Japanese is opening a Manhattan branch this month dubbed Planethailand 212 (30 W. 24th St.; 212-727-7026); the menu at the new location will focus on the Thai part of the equation.
On Monday nights, this Brazilian-Italian East Villager offers free samba lessons from 6–7:30 PM; complimentary hors d'oeuvres and wine tastings will add to the party vibe.
Silverleaf Tavern
Though its bar remains open, the restaurant at this Murray Hill American (43 E. 38th St.; 212-973-2550) has closed.
The new dishes on Bill Telepan's spring menu include roasted blue prawns ($16.50), pea carbonara ($17) and artichoke-crusted king salmon ($27.50).
Tony Luke's
This Philly cheese steak specialist (576 Ninth Ave.) is temporarily closed for a major renovation; it will reopen the third week in May with 50 seats and a sports bar.
- Bayou
- Bleu Drawes Cafe
- Blue Star Oyster Bar
- Broomedoggs
- Gumbo Cafe
- Heirloom
- Josephs Citarella
- Le Pain Quotidien (1336 1st Ave. branch only)
- Les Moules
- Mandoo Bar (University Pl. branch only)
- Parish & Co.
- Sabor
- Sushi Rose
- Tennessee Mountain
- Yujin
- Zeytuna (161 Maiden Ln. branch only)