Openings season
RESTAURANTS • Fall Preview
What better than a crisp Labor Day to usher in September, the very best month to be a New Yorker in New York? Everyone’s returned from la-la land, back in the city, ready to get down to work. And play! Fortunately, fall brings what’s usually the most exciting stretch of NYC restaurant openings, a phenomenon we call Fall Restaurant Rush. At FOUND, we track it obsessively.
In September, we will seek to be among the first inside at:
Borgo (Nomad-adjacent), the first Manhattan restaurant from esteemed Williamsburg restaurateur Andrew Tarlow
Brass (Nomad), a French brasserie from the Contra/Wildair team at the Evelyn Hotel, where they also run The Tusk Bar
Cafe Commerce (Upper East Side), chef Harold Moore’s longtime standout, once serving robust American cooking in the Village, reborn uptown
The Otter/Sloane’s (Soho), Empellón chef Alex Stupak’s seafood spot and cocktail bar at The Manner, Standard International’s new hotel
Acru (Greenwich Village), eclectic $95 per tasting menu spot from an Atomix alum (in partnership with the Atomix restaurant group)
Bananas (East Village), wild Asian-American creations from former Blue Ribbon and BondST chefs
In October, or thereabouts, we’ll be sizing up:
Time and Tide (Flatiron), Top Chef winner Danny Garcia takes the helm at this seafood restaurant, conceived by the late chef James Kent (and operated by his restaurant group)
Cafe Zaffri (Gramercy), wherein the Raf’s team debuts a Levantine restaurant within The Twenty Two, a hotel/membership club import from London
Santi (Midtown), former Marea chef Michael White’s gala return to NYC; Italian, of course
Chez Fifi (Upper East Side), Sushi Noz owners try their hands at a French bistro
Heroes/Pearl Box (Soho), vibemaster Ariel Arce turns a three-floor carriage house into a new restaurant and bar on West Broadway
Clemente Bar (Nomad), upstairs from Eleven Madison Park, chef Daniel Humm expands to open a cocktail bar with elevated (vegetarian) snacks and a small (vegetarian, obv) tasting counter
Zimmi’s (West Village), a new neighborhood bistro from Jenni Guizio, recently of Rockefeller Center’s Lodi
Sal Tang’s (Cobble Hill), Cafe Spaghetti/Swoony’s owner Sal Lamboglia teams with Nom Wah vet Wilson Tang on a new Cantonese American restaurant
Pitt’s (Red Hook), Agi’s Counter chef takes over the old Fort Defiance space
Beyond that, we’ll keep our eyes on openings including Smithereens (East Village), serving updated New England clam shack cuisine, and the extremely anticipated Bar Kabawa (East Village), where longtime Momofuku chef (and company head of culinary development) Paul Carmichael debuts a Caribbean restaurant. NFT/sushi restaurant Flyfish Club (Lower East Side) may be ready for its bow, too. Chef Daniel Boulud’s steakhouse La Tête D’Or (Flatiron) is targeting a November opening. And Seahorse, the perpetually forthcoming John McDonald seafood spot at the revamped W Hotel in Union Square, has to open eventually, right?
That nip in the air is our sign that the Rush is on. See you on the field. –Lockhart Steele