The 18 Best New Restaurants In NYC - New York - The Infatuation (2024)

When new restaurants open, we check them out. We subject our stomachs and social lives to the good, the bad, and more often than not, the perfectly fine. And every once in a while, a new spot makes us feel like Adam Sandler at a sweatpants sale. When that happens, we add it here, to The Hit List.

The Hit List is where you’ll find all of the best new restaurants in New York. As long as it opened within the past several months and we’re still talking about it, it’s on this guide. The latest addition might be a buzzy new restaurant with caviar priced by the bump. Or it might be an under-the-radar lunch counter, where a few dollars gets you something that rattles around in your brain like a loose penny in a dryer.

Keep tabs on the Hit List and you'll always know just which new restaurants you should be eating at right now. (If you're looking for more Brooklyn spots, check out our borough-specific Hit List, too.)

​​New to the Hit List (6/17): Bánh By Lauren

THE SPOTS

We’ve been looking forward to Bánh By Lauren’s opening for months—and the pandemic-era popup business turned elegant Chinatown bakery does not disappoint. Their signature pandan honeycomb cake is as pleasurably chewy as a lively conversation, while the moist, flavor-packed chinese sausage, cheddar & chive scone may be even more exciting. There’s also a Vietnamese-inspired coffee menu to play around in: We’ll be drinking the big-time refreshing, sweet-and-sour iced Lime Drip all summer. The bakery is currently open from Thursday to Sunday.

Gangjang gejang, raw crab marinated in soy sauce, has become a favorite of TikTokers and a staple of mukbang videos in the last few years—and Rice Thief has blown up right alongside it. Formerly a ghost-kitchen delivery service, this family business now has a small but lively brick-and-mortar Korean restaurant in Long Island City. Round up some pals (the dishes here are family-sized), crack a bottle of makgeolli, and order up platters of both soy and spicy mixed seafood. The sweet red shrimp and the creamy crab roe in particular are bites we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

The result of a collaboration between two powerhouses of Eastern European cooking—Veselka and Katz’s Deli—the pastrogi, a pastrami-stuffed pierogi, is only available for a limited time at Veselka’s new Williamsburg location. The restaurant, which sits in the shadow of the BQE on Lorimer Street, is just as comforting and vibrant as the original. A message on their menu board above the open kitchen reads “Veselka is love. PS: Please share it.” There’s no finer way to do that than coming with a couple of friends, splitting stuffed cabbage with mushroom gravy and a side of perfectly grilled kielbasa, several dozen pierogi, and golden-brown blintzes to finish.

Getting an everything bagel fresh out of the oven at Utopia is like winning the lottery—especially at the buzzy new Murray Hill location of the legendary Whitestone bagel specialist, where the everythings run out almost as soon as they’re dumped into their wire basket. But no matter which variety you end up with, your patience for standing in line will be rewarded with a warm, notably puffy bagel. Get it as a sandwich you can really sink your teeth into, overloaded with scallion cream cheese and sliced nova.

Somehow, the swimming pool-sized skylight isn’t our most-favorite thing about Kin Gin, a Japanese restaurant in the Hotel on Rivington. That honor goes to the tontoro, a juicy, nutty grilled pork jowl, glazed in rich brown miso and garnished with crunchy peanuts. Alternate bites of this with sips of the Bakohan, a creamy yet sharp yogurt, gin, and lemongrass co*cktail. This is a good spot for taking in a drink and some afternoon sunshine on the Lower East Side, and grabbing a fancy izakaya dish or two while you’re at it.

We love burgers. We love cheese. We really love fried cheese. And, as it turns out, we really, really love burgers with fried cheese. The Dominican smashburger at El Sazón R.D. in Chinatown is on another level, thanks to an assist from a delightfully squeaky slice of golden-brown queso blanco. But the more traditional Dominican food at this counter-service restaurant, which opened in February, is also great. We like the pork mofongo and the lusciously creamy morir soñando—and the lunch special (meat, rice and beans, water or soda) is a very reasonable $11.95.

Hi. It's June. Have you eaten spring peas yet? You're running out of time. Head to Cafe Mado in Prospect Heights, where the peas are just slightly charred and served with squeaky-soft cheese, and lots of herbs. As our neighbor sitting at the bar said, "I wish peas could always taste like that." From the team behind Place des Fêtes, and located in the old Oxalis space, this all-day cafe works for a breakfast sandwich in the morning, a pan bagnat at lunch, or a dinner of small, vegetable-forward plates in the back dining room— which resembles a sunlit secret garden.

This New Orleans-inspired Fort Greene restaurant has been teasing its opening since last fall. Now it’s finally here, serving Bubba Gump quantities of seafood. They have oysters six ways, a few different dips (crab, smoked fish), and an exhaustive catalog of shrimp dishes, the most noteworthy of which is a sandwich on milk bread with Dukes mayo and giardiniera. Get that, and pair it with some natural wine. The casual front area is saved for walk-ins, but you can also book a table in the back room that looks a bit like a fancy retro diner.

Lucia Pizza’s tiny, sit-down alimentari, which is directly behind their Soho slice shop, is a pizza party for adults. The menu features all our favorites, like the creamed spinach slice, in personal pizza form. There’s also wine, and small plates like caesar salad, and whipped ricotta with orange blossom honey. Plus tiramisu. We know, we know—this sounds like the makings of a tough reservation. But when we stopped by on a recent Friday night at 7pm, we only waited 15 minutes. According to our calculations, it won't be like this for long.

Just in time for summer, Mariscos El Submarino has a second location in Greenpoint (in the former Mitica spot), with a perfect little patio in the back. Mariscos’ aguachiles and tostadas are a Jackson Heights classic, but their big cauldrons of raw fish become peak day-drinking food when you bring them outside. On a nice weekend, there might be an hours-long wait for the handful of patio tables‚ but even if you end up inside, you'll get to eat their excellent aguachile negro or equally formidable verde. Get one of these for the table, then fill out your meal with the cheesy shrimp tacos el gobernador and the craken, a pressed octopus taco that goes great with an icy michelada.

There are few parties livelier than dinner at Sammy's Roumanian, and fewer parties still that will have you dancing the hora and ordering frozen vodka by the bottle. The beloved, nearly half-century-old Jewish steakhouse closed in 2021, and it’s back in a new Lower East Side location. Former regulars will not be disappointed. The house entertainer continues to deliver parody songs (we have a soft spot for "The Girl From Emphysema") from his electronic keyboard, and a pitcher of golden schmaltz still graces every table. They have a $75 prix fixe (with the the option to order a la carte on Thursdays and Sundays): The signature Romanian tenderloin—an absurdly large, garlicky skirt steak—is good, but the chicken liver, mixed tableside, is great.

This booth in Flushing's New York Food Court is devoted to all things crab roe, a Shanghainese favorite. The roster here includes crab roe mooncakes, crab roe spring rolls, crab roe soup dumplings, and more—but our favorite dish so far is the silky crab roe with noodles, which comes with wood ear mushrooms, pickled vegetables, and a soy egg. You won’t regret ordering widely at Xie Bao. If the counter spot went full concert merch stand and started selling crab roe posters and crab roe T-shirts, we'd probably load up on those too.

The best mall food in America might very well be at Burmese Bites in the Queens Center food court in Elmhurst. With this new outpost inside Mona Kitchen & Market, they may have claimed the title of best quick lunch in Midtown East, too—but we’d travel to any neighborhood for the larger-than-life flavors of their ohno kaukswe, a comforting coconut-chicken ramen, or nan gyu kaukswe, an udon noodle salad with tender minced chicken and roasted bean powder. This small booth serves just four dishes (all $15 each) between 11am-3pm on weekdays, and you can’t go wrong with any of them.

There are plenty of Filipino kamayan-style meals around town, but the $185 tasting menu at Tadhanà on the Lower East Side is less banana leaf and more liquid nitrogen. The seven courses (with several more small bites) are full of high-end flourishes and made-for-social media moments: like smoke billowing over wagyu ceviche with uni, and a pair of tiny appetizers hidden inside a hollowed-out book. There's a pretty sweet Pinoy hip-hop playlist and it’s BYOB, so plan accordingly for a splashy, fun date. We’ll be back for their punchy house-made aged vinegar, just as soon as they start selling it.

You could, technically, bring a date to Bar Madonna, huddle in a corner on a hunter green banquette, and limit your consumption to mezcal, vermouth, and Fernet Branca. But if you don’t eat here, you’re missing out. Pop into this Williamsburg co*cktail lounge, and try what is essentially a messy smashburger made with one giant meatball. Supplement with a grilled caesar and some Calabrian chili wings, and don’t forget to check out the painting in the back from KidSuper.

As tough reservations and painfully expensive entrees become the norm, Kisa leans in the opposite direction. Modeled on the quick, casual restaurants that cater to Korean cab drivers, this walk-in-only spot on the Lower East Side offers a few set meals for $32. Choose a protein like spicy pork or stir-fried squid, then enjoy it alongside an abundance of bottomless sides. On your way out, grab a black bean latte from the coin-operated coffee machine that blends right in with all the retro decor. It’ll only cost you a quarter—and they’ll give you one with your bill.

We’ve had a little surge of restaurants serving great Levantine food on the Hit List lately: Huda, Frena, and now Sawa in Park Slope. This Lebanese spot has big windows and an open kitchen, so you’ll be welcomed by the sights and smells of pita being rolled out and baked in their domed oven. Start with a minty arak co*cktail or a glass of red from a very high-altitude vineyard in Lebanon, and some of that fresh pita, alongside muhammara and a thick hummus—to which you should add beef cheeks and pine nuts. Don’t skip the kibbeh arnabiyeh, a large lamb shank in tahini, or the whole dorade in a tomato-pepper stew, but keep in mind that portions are large. We’d recommend bringing a couple of friends.

Thumping bass, fake vines, and a celebrity chef are all potential red flags. But we’ve had some seriously good food at Bungalow. This East Village restaurant channels the spirit of a retro Indian clubhouse, with sprawling rugs, rattan chairs, and an excess of chandeliers. Its menu, on the other hand, goes the modern route. Try the tart, architecturally interesting purple sweet potato chaat, then spend some quality time with the Rajasthani pulled lamb in a thick, chocolate-brown curry. Reservations are scarce, but you can always put your name in for a table, then find somewhere to hang for an hour or so. The front co*cktail lounge, for example.

Crudo fatigue is the firstest of first world problems, but just when we thought we were sick of raw seafood and wine, here comes Penny, a new seafood bar in the East Village. The 31-seat counter is situated above its sister restaurant Claud, and you might think snacking here before a full dinner downstairs is the move. But Penny is worth your full attention. Start with the icebox, a luxurious raw bar selection on a personal tray of ice, and then stick around for stuffed squid, whole lobster, and a creamy oyster roast with puff pastry on top. The shoulder-to-shoulder set-up is slightly chaotic, but when everyone oohs-and-ahhs with you at your rare red rice sake order, you’ll appreciate the camaraderie.