Andy Baraghani inside his soon-to-open restaurant, Ditto.
Photo: Scott Semler; Prop Styling: Maggie DiMarco./
Everyone needs a neighborhood joint, that back-pocket place where it’s easy to stop by without making a reservation a month in advance, order dinner without looking at the menu, and return again and again whenever the mood strikes. (Ideally, that happens quite often.) The city’s restaurateurs know this as well as anyone, and many are, right now, busy building the reinvigorated pizzerias, high-energy brasseries, overachieving cafés, and down-home country kitchens that — if all goes according to plan — will feel lived in from the moment they open their doors. Each of the 23 spots on this list is a wholly original creation — a nouveau cha chaan teng, a Turkish hot spot, a Mexican cocktail bar — that, taken together, speak to the power of familiarity: Who doesn’t want to drop in to a dining room and feel at home from the first visit?
While Keith McNally’s son George opens his first restaurant (Faux in Tribeca), Dad’s former Soho canteen will become Straker’s, British chef Thomas Straker’s American arrival. His style, as at the London original, is English food with an Italian influence: Expect potato galettes with crab, tuna-belly carpaccio, and various flatbreads from the open kitchen’s wood-burning oven. 59 Grand St.
Mid-September is the target debut date for Bar à Part, the long-in-the-works offshoot of Jenni Guizio and chef Maxime Pradié’s Zimmi’s. The plan is for an all-day wine bar and café with baked goods from executive pastry chef Clodagh Manning and an emphasis on homemade charcuterie from Pradié. 72 Bedford St.
This city’s most restless French chef has combined his Upper West Side properties into a single entity: Brasserie Boulud. The burgundy leather banquettes and all-day hours will no doubt draw tourists and theatergoers plus any neighborhood parents looking to placate their toddlers with ultraflaky croissants. 1900 Broadway
Austin Johnson, last seen at One White Street and Rigor Hill Market in Tribeca, is striking out on his own at H. Valley, a market featuring the expected array of pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and rotisserie chicken to go, plus unique additions like a weekends-only omelet station and housemade dog food. 569 Hudson St.
Most of this city’s diners have never heard of Michael Silber, even as he has quickly become one of the restaurant industry’s power brokers. He’s spent the past few years helping finance a roster of hot spots; Smithereens, Bistrot Ha, Penny, Bridges, and Borgo are just some of the restaurants that count him as an investor. At the same time, he’d been looking to open his own project while trying to find a partner. Then he came across Andy Baraghani’s cookbook, The Cook You Want to Be, which Silber says he read cover to cover in a single sitting. The two met at an event, then for breakfast, and again for coffee, and together they came to realize they both felt the city’s dining scene had a void: a middle ground between fast-casual and fine dining.
Although Baraghani says he drew inspiration from many of his favorite cafés — Sqirl in Los Angeles, the Ottolenghi deli in London’s Notting Hill, and Mocca in San Francisco — he saves his highest praise for City Bakery, which closed its last New York location in 2019. “It had this incredible chaos from this rotating cast of construction workers, students, professionals, professors, and interns,” he says. “They made it vital for the neighborhood.”
The partners will attempt to re-create that incredible chaos at Ditto. Baraghani’s colorful, polished cooking will be the heart of the all-things-to-all-people environment. At the front, hanging shelves are stocked with pantry items including vinegars and spices.
Persian accents appear across the menu, but Baraghani emphasizes that Ditto is not an Iranian restaurant. He says it’s meant to showcase how he would cook for anyone who came over to his apartment and asked, “What do you have to eat?” The answer is fresh Greenmarket produce with lots of acidity as well as New York staples like egg salad (a “high stakes” item he hasn’t yet perfected for public consumption), breakfast sandwiches, and “really great coffee.” The team has installed a spit that spins thick pieces of cauliflower and other vegetables and another for meats; kuku sabzi, the herb-laden Persian frittata, gets the sandwich treatment; and there will likely be a ginger-mushroom rice porridge with turmeric. Barghani is especially excited about rotating soft-serve flavors that could include sourdough and caramel, melon, amaretto-cookie crumble, and tonka bean with toasted coconut.
The high-ceilinged space, with walls drenched in a vibrant blue, feels made for daytime service, but Baraghani and Silber say dinner will arrive down the road, along with a list of wine and cocktails. (A back seating area will be reservable for private parties.) Baraghani knows the term neighborhood restaurant is overused, but he wants Ditto to be whatever his neighbors need it to be. “I just want New Yorkers to make their impression on this space,” he says. “I want it to be a place that they come to on repeat.” 13 E. 16th St.
Chez Fifi partner Justin Wands is readying Cafe Wands, where pastry chef Camari Mick’s high-end PB&Js and breakfast sandwiches vie for attention with superpremium coffee offerings, including $40 pours and reservation-only cupping experiences. 215 Union St., Carroll Gardens
Fish and chips from Chippy’s.
Photo: Courtesy of Chippy’s
Patricia Howard and Ed Szymanski are taking their famously airy, lace-edged fish and classic chips from Dame and making the dish the star at Chippy’s, a counter-service joint slated to open in October. They’re also adding an 18-seat wine bar, Friars, which will have its own entrance at the same address. 21 E. 7th St.
After nearly a decadelong hiatus, Carnegie Deli’s glowing signage will light up Seventh Avenue in late September. The pastrami and cheesecake haven’t changed; the décor has, courtesy of a face-lift from the firm that designed Hamburger America. (The Wall of Fame remains intact.) 834 Seventh Ave.
Chef Albin Vincent turned the Upper East Side into a destination for standout Sri Lankan and Southern Indian cooking at Lungi. Now, he’s expanding to Queens with Ghungroo, an Indian gastropub with a full tandoor menu, Indian beers, biryani, and more. 31-19 Newtown Ave., Astoria
After serving banana-leaf-wrapped branzino, rum cocktails, and grilled skewers at pop-ups all over Brooklyn, Red Hook Tavern’s executive chef Bun Cheam is aiming to open a much-anticipated permanent location of his Cambodian restaurant and cocktail bar, Hōp, in November. 358 Van Brunt St., Red Hook
Photo: Scott Semler
Over the years, the near-century-old Sam’s was always closed in August. Louis Migliaccio, the owner, decamped to Italy for the month, depriving his regulars of pizza and parms until he returned and reopened well after Labor Day. The restaurant’s new owner, Georgia Fulton, inadvertently honored that tradition this year when she pushed a planned midsummer reopening to September 10. Fulton wasn’t vacationing, however; a film crew took up residence in the space for two weeks this summer. Continue reading …
Jon Neidich’s Golden Age Hospitality — responsible for spots like the Nines and Le Dive — has moved into the corner space that was previously home to the Silver Spurs diner and the Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream flagship. Now, it will be Saint Denis, a French bistro with a Parisian sidewalk setup; food including escargot, salmon rillettes, and moules marinières from chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley (last seen at the View); and a cocktail list from Sarah Morrissey (last seen at Le Veau d’Or). 490 La Guardia Pl.
Pimento cheese and biscuits have a long history in this part of town, as anyone who remembers the Commodore’s early days and the original Egg can attest. Ferguson’s Country, from the team behind the wine bars Baba and Baba Cool, keeps that tradition alive. The new spot has a functioning jukebox, pitchers of beer, shrimp and grits, moonshine liquor, and a catchy nickname: Ferg’s. 732 Lorimer St., Williamsburg
Ferg’s.
Photo: Dave Fitz
Next door to their hit bakery, Hani’s, Miro and Shilpa Uskokovic are turning their attention to hardpack ice cream, sundaes, and slushies at Neighbors Famous Ice Cream. Miro is dusting off his recipes from his time as Gramercy Tavern’s pastry chef for a rotating selection of scoops that will change with the season. 69 Cooper Sq.
Hommali’s tom yum seafood cocktail.
Photo: Courtesy of Hommali
Three Bangkok transplants are serving curries and beef tartare with larb spice at Hommali. Chef Chattchakorn “Benz” Khajornchaisan and general manager Kritayanee “Air” Promsarin met working at Eleven Madison Park; along with operations lead Pichalak “Picha” Srigungvarl, they’ll welcome guests to dine at their large communal table as well as a cozy eight-seat bar. 28 Seventh Ave. S.
Harrison Ginsberg helped make Fidi’s Overstory one of the world’s buzziest bars. Now, he’s returning to street level (and repartnering with former Overstory co-owner Jeff Katz) on Bar CC, a velvet-lined nook next door to Crane Club that goes all in on opulence. Chef Melissa Rodriguez will handle snacks, including caviar with potato chips and chicken skin that nods to poutine. 85 Tenth Ave.
Another happy return: In mid-September, John Fraser will open Ondîne in what was once Snack Taverna (where he held his first head-chef position). The menu leans into French stalwarts like steak haché au poivre and swordfish à la moutarde. 63 Bedford St.
Photo: Scott Semler
After growing up in Hong Kong, the chef Lucas Sin appeared on this city’s culinary scene in 2017 with Junzi Kitchen, a fast-casual Chinese chain with homestyle noodles he started developing during his senior year at Yale. He has hosted several popular web series (including Street Eats on YouTube) and spent time abroad researching his first cookbook, Cha Chaan Teng: Comfort Food From Hong Kong’s Iconic Diners, which will be published this fall. Coinciding with the book, he began hosting his own pop-up dinners in the city, serving dishes such as dual-sauced yin-yang fried rice, tofu-skin shrimp rolls, black-pepper brisket with potatoes in a clay pot, and mochi French toast that’s battered, deep-fried, and draped in a thick layer of condensed milk. Continue reading …
Mark Chou has cooked at Frenchette, Le Bernardin, and Blue Hill, among others. Now, he’s the face of his own spot, Dragonne, in the landmarked room that was once Anita Lo’s gone-but-never-forgotten Annisa. Chou’s high-technique experience shines through on his debut menu, which includes a 14-day dry-aged duck with boudin noir and plum as well as seared foie gras with Sorana beans. 13 Barrow St.
Enrique Olvera has turned his all-day café Atla into Bar Cosme, which he says will channel the “evening energy” of his highly regarded Flatiron restaurant. Tequila drinks by Sebastian Tollius are the main draw, and there’s a menu of raw and “slightly cooked” seafood plus homemade tortillas. 372 Lafayette St.
Do cockles and sujuk belong in a dish together? Cavalier is a Turkish-inspired spot (with an ’80s-swank dining room) that, care of chef Mason Lindahl and co-owner Yasmin Kaytmaz, will answer this question once and for all. Get a bottle of natural wine to go with your plate of goat cheese, cabbage, and stewed apricots. 1 E. Broadway
After antagonizing both meat lovers and vegans at Eleven Madison Park by removing animal products from the menu, then adding them back, Daniel Humm will be in crowd-pleaser mode at Humm. He’s using produce from Magic Farms, his exclusive upstate supplier, and has even teased the return of his once-famous foie-stuffed roast chicken from the NoMad. 435 Hudson St.
A salad from Humm.
Photo: Jovani Demetrie
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