Restaurant Week is back in New York City this summer, giving diners a chance to try prix-fixe menus at restaurants across the five boroughs.
While many New Yorkers may be looking to snag a table at a buzzy spot in Manhattan or Brooklyn, the Bronx has its own lineup of under-the-radar restaurants that showcase the borough’s food scene and the cultures that shape it, serving up everything from Caribbean favorites to vegan dishes.
Only four Bronx restaurants are participating in this summer’s Restaurant Week, the biannual program offering prix-fixe menus ranging from $30 to $60. More than 600 restaurants across the city are participating, making the Bronx’s presence relatively small.
Still, there’s something for everyone, from Caribbean classics to vegan options. Here’s what to expect at the Bronx restaurants participating in Restaurant Week.
Flava of the Bronx
Flava of the Bronx is participating in Restaurant Week until August 31st.Photo courtesy of Flava of the Bronx.
Where: 3114 Third Ave
What: Caribbean cuisine
Price: $30 lunch and $60 dinner
Located in Woodstock, just minutes from the Hub, Flava of the Bronx is serving Caribbean cuisine, from classics like West Indian curry goat to creative fusion dishes like tacos with Jamaican oxtail.
When owner Harry Headlam got into the restaurant business in 1998, he saw an opportunity to bring Caribbean cuisine, like from his native Jamaica, to the South Bronx, where the market was primarily saturated with Latin American restaurants.
He decided to open up Flava of the Bronx when he saw the Third Avenue storefront for sale and saw that he could expand business with a bar and lounge as well.
This is Flava of the Bronx’s third time participating in restaurant week, drawing new people in. Headlam said he’s seen new customers, from all different backgrounds, trying out their food.
“We’re looking for more to get people to come more, come out more to support Restaurant Week and Caribbean restaurants in general,” Headlam said.
“[With] prices, you have to be very creative to stay to keep your doors open and come with different services that are able to actually have people interested in coming to your place.”
Flava of the Bronx is participating in Restaurant Week until August 31st.
Bronx Beer Hall
The Bronx Beer Hall partnered up with Braisin’ Hell, also located inside the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, for their prix-fixe dinner menu.Photo by Kailee Pierce.
Where: 2344 Arthur Ave
What: Beer hall and dishes from local Arthur Ave restaurants
Price: $30 lunch and $45 dinner.
Tucked inside the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, Bronx Beer Hall has been serving as a gathering place for Bronxites and visitors for more than a decade.
Owners Anthony and Paul Ramirez first came up with the idea for the beer hall while running a pop-up shop for their Bronx-themed merchandise company, From the Bronx, at the market in 2011. They noticed that people kept lingering in the space — even after the beer was gone — and saw an opportunity to create a communal spot where people could eat, drink and hang out.
The Bronx Beer Hall opened in 2013 and has since made collaboration with other local businesses a central part of its identity. The restaurant doesn’t have its own kitchen, instead partnering with nearby Arthur Avenue businesses to bring food into the beer hall.
For Restaurant Week, its lunch and dinner menus highlight two of those partners: No Fork NYC, an Albanian-owned pizza and sandwich shop, and barbecue from Braisin’ Hell.
The lunch menu features No Fork’s thin, sesame-crusted pizza, while the dinner menu focuses on Brazen Hell’s barbecue, with customers able to choose an entrée, two sides, craft beer or wine, and dessert.
Thin, sesame-crusted pizza from No Fork on Crescent Avenue is another local business appearing on the Bronx Beer Hall’s Restaurant Week menu.Photo by Kailee Pierce
For the Ramirezes, Restaurant Week is about more than offering a one-time deal. They see it as a way to introduce new customers to the Bronx Beer Hall — and to the local businesses they partner with.
The point of Restaurant Week is to get people to try restaurants and venues that they normally wouldn’t go to,” Anthony Ramirez II said.
“It encourages folks who normally wouldn’t come out to the Bronx to come try us out, and [for] people that aren’t aware that the Bronx Beer Hall serves food also come and see what kind of food we’re offering.”
The Beer Hall has participated in Restaurant Week for roughly a decade, making it one of the Bronx’s longtime participants. The Ramirezes say they hope first-time visitors become regulars after discovering the space.
“We straight up hope it makes them come back when it’s not Restaurant Week,” Ramirez said. “It’s an opportunity to show up and hopefully we become someone’s new favorite place.”
Bronx Beer Hall is participating in Restaurant Week until September 6th.
Code Red Restaurant and Lounge
Code Red Restaurant and Lounge is participating in Restaurant Week through August 31st.Photo courtesy of the Office of the Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
Where: 1320 East Gun Hill Rd.
What: Caribbean restaurant and bar
Price: $30 lunch and $45 dinner.
Located in Laconia, Code Red Restaurant and Lounge is offering $30 lunch and $45 dinner prix-fixe menus featuring its Caribbean-American fusion dishes.
Appetizer options include jerk chicken egg rolls and crispy calamari, while entrées range from roasted branzino to grilled shrimp and steak. Each prix-fixe meal includes an appetizer, entrée, side, dessert and beverage, making it one of the more generous deals among the Bronx’s Restaurant Week offerings. Guests can also add a signature cocktail for an additional $10.
Code Red Restaurant and Lounge is participating in Restaurant Week until August 31st.
Mae Mae Cafe & Plant Shop
Falafel bowl, mushroom mole with jollof rice, and chicken soup from Mae Mae Café and Plant Shop. Photo by Lesley Cosme Torres
Where: 2417 Third Ave.
What: Plant-based cafe and bar
Price: $30 lunch
Founded in 2021 by Liz Neumark, founder and CEO of hospitality group Great Performances, Mae Mae Cafe & Plant Shop combines food, plants, art and community in a green and lush space.
The café emphasizes fresh, high-quality ingredients, with produce sourced in part from Great Performances’ 60-acre organic farm in Kinderhook, New York. Its menu is primarily plant-based, though the café also offers some meat options.
With coffee, tea, cocktails and food served in a lush, plant-filled setting, Mae Mae is as much a community gathering space as it is a restaurant. The café also hosts events and gatherings, reflecting Great Performances’ roots in the arts and its focus on bringing people together.
For Restaurant Week, Mae Mae offers diners another opportunity to explore the café and its approach to plant-forward dining while checking out one of Mott Haven’s community-oriented food spots.
Mae Mae Cafe & Plant Shop is participating in Restaurant Week until September 6th.
