Too close to call
Vital Restaurant of the Summer report, Eddie Huang's pop-up, tortilla waitlist, Pies 'n' Thighs, Elbow Bakery, MORE
RESTAURANTS • ROTS
Restaurant of the Summer report
With the season officially arriving this Friday evening at 10:41p, it’s a good moment to reflect, once again, on one of FOUND’s annual obsessions: the Restaurant of the Summer (“a freshly opened place that captures the spirit of that particular season — not unlike a song of the summer”).
At this point last year, we confidently declared just-opened Rezdôra sequel Massara the Restaurant of the Summer for 2024. (Some ROTS committee members later suggested reopening the race for Le Veau d’Or, which snuck open in July. Alas, with its dimly lit interior, it did not meet the ROTS requirement of “a true lightness.”). While we’re not quite ready to pick a winner this season — watch this space! — we do have some thoughts on a very competitive race:
An early favorite has emerged in Le Chêne, the diamond-cut-chic new French restaurant that opened late last month on Carmine Street. Its bewitching mix of Parisian-style cooking and art-elevated ambiance just feels like summer, even if, as they recently told us, they’re putting off sidewalk seating until next year.
Chef Paul Carmichael’s extremely cool, extremely delicious Caribbean spot Kabawa opened too early in the spring to qualify for the ROTS crown, but it may well be the Party of the Summer (POTS).
Similarly, chef Eddie Huang’s Gazebo (see below for our on-the-scene report from last week’s debut) would no doubt be in the running, but per a recent (and unanimous) committee ruling, pop-ups do not meet eligibility requirements.
Several high-profile spots from pedigreed teams have seen planned spring openings slip, and may yet emerge as candidates. They include Chateau Royale, a new French restaurant from the Libertine team which hopes to open next month in its Thompson Street townhouse; Bartolo, further west in the Village from the Ernesto’s team; La Boca, chef Francis Mallman’s forthcoming Argentinian restaurant at the new Faena hotel in Chelsea (taking reservations for August 3 onward); and in Williamsburg, I Cavallini, the new Italian restaurant from The Four Horsemen crew that also aims to open in July.
Eight more restaurants have already opened and meet our eligibility requirements. You can find them in our Restaurant of the Summer Nines, also below.
Have you already found your ROTS? Please, you must hit reply or email found@foundny.com to let us know.
RESTAURANTS • Intel
