The 7 Best New Restaurants in New York City

Whenever people ask me what to do in New York City, my mind always turns to restaurants. Go get the steak au poivre and a martini at Raoul’s! Go to Veselka and play pierogi roulette! (This is when you order multiple kinds and can’t tell which is which, but it doesn’t matter because they’re all delicious.)

You might think that, as a lifelong New Yorker, I would list off the can’t-miss institutions like Central Park, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or The New York Public Library (and those are, of course, must-sees for visitors). But restaurants, to me, make up the lifeblood of this city. There are so many people here, from chefs to line cooks to hosts, porters, and servers, working to make excellent food and special experiences that give us all a break from reality for a while.

This spring saw the opening of so many new restaurants to add to your list, from Korean barbecue in Midtown to experimental seafood in a Brooklyn arts space, and more. If you’re looking for a place to grab a coveted dinner reservation while everyone else is off in the Hamptons or Europe this summer, look no further. Below, here are some of the best and buzziest new restaurants (defining “new” as very new, as in less than three months old) to check out in New York City. And stay tuned, because this list will be updated.

Arthur

132 Franklin St, Brooklyn, NY 11222

With its exposed brick walls, warm wood, and neighborhood vibe, Arthur feels somehow low-key and special at the same time. Opened in April by chef Kevin Finch and his wife, Alexa, the Greenpoint restaurant is inspired by Parisian bistros, with seasonal dishes that are both comforting and complex. I recommend sitting at the counter and watching the chefs do their work—and it is incredible work.

Don’t miss the brioche, which defies gravity. Is it both dense and fluffy. I want to take a nap in it. It comes out piping hot from the oven, like a cloud. There is pleasure in pulling it, rolling it apart. It doesn’t even need butter, but the butter is a welcome addition, made in-house and inoculated with blue cheese. I paired it, fittingly, with beverage director Charlotte Mirzeoff’s brioche martini, which is subtly buttery. I also loved the chocolate banana tart, which tasted like an intentionally undercooked chocolate chip banana bread with a delicate dusting of cocoa powder and rum caramel sauce. I also had a bubblegum pink rhubarb sorbet tart with amaro poured over it, which was fun.

Cote 550

550 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022

No insult to Midtown, but it’s not exactly where I want to go at the end of a workday. That said, Cote 550 was a good reason to. Swallowed up by offices and skyscrapers, Simon Kim’s three-level, multi-restaurant space 550 Madison looks like a brutalist submarine, a church, or a spaceship rising out of the avenue. You enter on the ground floor into Bar Chimera, a three-bar concept (and it does feel like a concept) which has heavenly salt bread. Downstairs, through a blue hallway, you walk into a speakeasy-esque room with a pool in the middle. This is Cote 550, and for the unfamiliar, it’s an offshoot of Cote, the clubby Michelin-starred Korean barbecue restaurant.

Cote 550 feels like a place the girls in Sex and the City would go, and Samantha would remark that it’s the hottest table in town. There are terrariums in the wall, and it’s bustling with activity. It feels like an ideal place to go with a group (and preferably one in which you’re not paying). The main event here is the Butcher’s Feast, a spread of USDA Prime and American Wagyu Beef, plus toro, cozy stews, and more that fill the table. I had a delightful (not too sweet) lychee martini to tie it all together, and loved the dessert—soft serve with a little cookie and strawberry topping.

Lonnies

112 Bond St, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Opened in late May, Lonnies is the new Boerum Hill sister restaurant of Ingas, the Brooklyn Heights bar-restaurant with juicy burgers and proper pours of Guinness. Lonnies (yes, no apostrophe) is equally as cozy, good, and neighborhood-y as Ingas. I had the Lonnies Colada, which was everything you want a pina colada to be. When I went, there were lots of people milling around, waiting for a table, creating a bit of a stir. I enjoyed the fried green tomatoes, which are served with salsa verde and boquerones, and of course, the burger.

Cleo

621 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

Opened in April, Cleo is a rotisserie chicken restaurant in the West Village, and one of a few places vying for the title of best fancy chicken (alongside Gigi’s, The Fly, and Badaboom). And while you may be asking how much you can really do with a chicken, I will say that Cleo makes a memorable one. It’s appropriately salty and moist, marinated for 24 hours in a Lebanese-inspired spice blend, and served with three sauces (zhug, labneh ranch, and red sauce). As I wrote in my notes: “The chicken was perfect.”

I also recommend the cornbread with harissa honey butter, which was not too sweet and not too spicy, a comforting pancake-like dish. Go here for an elevated casual-ish weekday dinner date or to catch up with a friend over chicken and wine. They also have a cute sidewalk set-up, good for people-watching as you go back for seconds.

Bar Susanne

6 River St, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Bar Susanne is a raw bar designed by James Beard award-nominated designer Matthew Maddy and led by chef Jackie Carnesi, known for Nura and the revamped Kellogg’s Diner. It’s the perfect place to go for sunset, with its views of the waterfront and the Williamsburg Bridge. They have a fair amount of outdoor seating, but inside is not to be missed; the large windows let in glowing light that fills the room.

It’s been a minute since I went, and I’m still thinking about the chicken liver mousse, which was the kind that melts in your mouth—smooth, whipped, light flavor—with sourdough bread that almost seemed pan-fried in butter. There’s also a large, very splittable burger, fresh oysters, a spicy and bright lobster salad, and very good French fries—thin like French cigarettes, salty, and delicious. I also loved the fluke Milanese, which was a good size and not overly breaded.

Cafe Bar J.F.

50 Withers St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Cafe Bar J.F., the new restaurant from the Llama Inn team of Juan Correa and chef Francisco Castillo, is inspired by South American taverns. When I arrive, I see plates scraped clean on a nearby table: a good sign. There are real candles, which I like, and cool people. It smells faintly of smoke, an appetizing smell. There’s the pleasant background noise of gossipy girls’ dinners and third dates. Over the music (which is excellent; I Shazamed multiple times, and was told the playlist is done by the chef), it’s quiet enough to hear your companion.

There are books and wine bottles as decor on the ledges, and a glow of warm lighting. I have a cafe bar daiquiri, which is lovely—refreshing, tart, fruity with a hint of bitterness under the sweet. The Pisco sour was frothy and dessert-like, like key lime pie. Don’t miss the clam ceviche—served in shells—plus the potato bread, which lands somewhere between a latke, a scallion pancake, and a roll, and reminded us of pão de queijo, Brazilian cheese bread. Upstairs, there’s a rooftop garden that seems like the perfect place for sunset.

Zoli

312 Maujer St, Brooklyn, NY 11206

When I arrive at Zoli on a rainy Saturday in May, the street is deserted, and I feel like I’m in a Wes Anderson movie set in industrial East Williamsburg. I step through the gray threshold into a gem of a space, a true destination. It’s a beautiful room with ultra-high ceilings, one that makes you feel like you’re on vacation—and the food is a trip.

Think: fried whitebait with kimchi salt, cold poached oysters with dashi, razor clams with kelp and chicken broth. The oysters tasted like taking a shot of the sea and chasing it with scallion oil. The chicken liver mousse had a nutty sweetness. My favorite dish was the butter beans and morels, which were soothing. Led by chef Ned Baldwin (of Houseman) and located among the Amant arts campus, the centerpiece of the space is a triptych of aquariums by artist Pierre Huyghe. The sculpture—which is home to live fish and crabs—takes inspiration from Newtown Creek, the toxic waterway between Brooklyn and Queens.

The kitchen likes to experiment, and it seems like exciting things are always happening on and off the plate (take Kim Gordon’s recent noise show at Amant, or Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s appearance on Zoli’s lush rooftop). I had a lacto-fermented nectarine sorbet that was gumlike and delicious. Baldwin is a fisherman, so you can expect sea-inspired dishes. Paired with a soundtrack of Caroline Polachek, Talking Heads, and more, it’s a good spot for an adventurous date, or simply with friends who are up for trying a few things.