The 23 Most-Anticipated NYC Restaurants of Spring 2016

Restaurants are listed in alphabetical order.

ABCV

Address: 38 East 19th St., Union Square

Major Players: Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Neal Harden

What to Expect: A vegetarian spinoff of ABC Kitchen with plenty of salads and roasted vegetable dishes, but no veggie burgers or mock-meats. Neal Harden, a veteran of Pure Food & Wine and Maimonide of Brooklyn, will be running the kitchen. A few months ago, Vongerichten told Steve Cuozzo: "Vegetables themselves, mushrooms, grains, roots, will be the stars."

Projected Opening: May or June

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Agern & The Great Northern Food Hall

Address: 89 E 42nd St, Midtown

Major Players: Claus Meyer and Gunnar Gíslason

What to Expect: Claus Meyer, one of Denmark's biggest culinary stars, is planning a farm-to-table restaurant inside Grand Central Terminal with a menu from Gunnar Gíslason, the chef/restaurateur behind Dill in Reykjavík. Shortly after the opening of Agern, Meyer will also debut an all-day Nordic food hall adjacent to the restaurant in Vanderbilt Hall. The Great Northern Food Hall will have five "food pavilions," serving dishes made with seasonal ingredients from New York State.  The market will also have a coffee station and a bar area.

Projected Opening: Meyer is shooting for an April opening for Agern, and a May launch for The Great Northern Food Hall

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Amada

Address: 250 Vesey Street, Battery Park City

Major Player: Jose Garces

What to Expect: Garces is bringing the Andalusian-inspired tapas from his first Philadelphia hit to NYC. In addition to small plates, the menu at the original Amada includes lamb chops cooked on a plancha, lobster paella, and a whole suckling pig. It looks like work in the dining room is nearly complete.

Projected Opening: April

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Augustine

Address: 5 Beekman St., Financial District

Major Players: Keith McNally, Daniel Parilla, and Shane McBride

What to Expect: An all-day French restaurant in the Beekman Hotel from hospitality legend Keith McNally and Cherche Midi's executive chefs Daniel Parilla and Shane McBride. The menu will include dishes like escargot, a mushroom tart, and a "petite aioli" plate with seafood and vegetables.

Projected Opening: May or June

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Barano

Address: 26 Broadway, South Williamsburg

Major Player: Al Di Meglio

What to Expect: Southern Italian fare from Rubirosa's former chef. Di Meglio will be using a rotisserie and a wood-fired oven at Barano. The menu will include a number of house-made pastas, and maybe a pizza or two. Some of the dishes will be inspired by Ischia, an island off the coast of Naples where the chef's grandmother lived.

Projected Opening: April

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Carla Hall's Southern Kitchen

Address: 115 Columbia St., Columbia Street Waterfront District

Major Player: Carla Hall

What to Expect: A fast-casual Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant from The Chew's co-host. Guests will be able to pick the heat level of their fried chicken. The menu will also include Southern-style sides like mac & cheese and collard greens. This is the space that housed Andy Ricker's Whiskey Soda Lounge until last summer.

Projected Opening: Late spring

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Chumley's

Address: 86 Bedford St., West Village

Major Players: Alessandro Borgognone, Doug Hopkins, Vito Ferrero, and Jim Miller

What to Expect: A modern revival of the storied speakeasy, which was forced to close nearly a decade ago due to structural issues with the building. Borgognone, the co-owner of nearby Sushi Nakazawa, is opening the bar along with partners Doug Hopkins and Vito Ferrero, who will oversee the day-to-day operations. One of the original Chumley's proprietors, Jim Miller, is also part of the team. The space will feature many details from the original bar, and the owners are working with a historian to recreate "the feel of the 1920s." A small menu of "well-executed classics" will be served alongside beer and craft cocktails.

Projected Opening: June

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Dizengoff

Address: 75 9th Ave, Chelsea

Major Players: Michael Solomonov, Steve Cook, and Emily Seaman

What to Expect: The Chelsea Market version of Solomonov and Cook's hit Philadelphia hummusiya will serve fresh-baked pita bread and hummus topped with things like braised lamb neck and roasted squash. Dizengoff's menu will also include salatim, similar to what Solomonov serves at his Philly blockbuster Zahav.  In the morning, Solomonov and chef/co-partner Emily Seaman will make shakshuka, and later down the road, the team will roll out a slightly more structured dinner service. Solmonov recently told Eater: "Our bread and butter is hummus, and it's kind of what we've established here in Philly, but dinner is our opportunity to have fun and try new things out."

Projected Opening: Early April

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Emmy Squared

Address: 364 Grand Street, Williamsburg

Major Players: Matt Hyland, Emily Hyland, and Lou Tomczak

What to Expect: The sequel to Clinton Hill hit Emily will offer riffs on Detroit-style pan pizzas (with the sauce over the cheese), plus Italian sandwiches like a cold cut combo and a chicken parm hero. Last fall, Emily explained her vision: "We want to be that really awesome, high-quality pizza to go, as well as a place to get your sandwiches or drink a beer and watch the game." The Hylands originally wanted to open Emmy Squared across the street from their first restaurant, but then they signed a lease on a bigger space in Williamsburg.

Projected Opening: April

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Fowler and Wells

Address: 5 Beekman St., Financial District

Major Players: Tom Colicchio

What to Expect: An American restaurant in the forthcoming Beekman Hotel from the celebrity chef/restaurateur behind the Craft empire. Colicchio is planning to serve throwback dishes like lobster Thermidor and beef Wellington. The chef recently told Eater: "For me, I always felt that the space should go hand-in-hand with the food....For some reason, when I look at what we've done design-wise, that's what it feels and wants. It doesn't want anything super modern." In addition to the 90-seat dining room, Colicchio will also operate a 70-seat atrium lounge with drinks and a more relaxed food menu.

Projected Opening: June

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Guenter Seeger NY

Address: 641 Hudson Street, West Village

Major Player: Guenter Seeger

What to Expect: A fine dining restaurant with European influences from acclaimed German-born chef/restaurateur Guenter Seeger. Prior to moving to New York, Seeger operated two acclaimed restaurants in Atlanta. On Twitter, the chef recently shared images of poached bone marrow with saffron rice, and monkfish draped with pork skin. He got a massive stove delivered to the restaurant last week.

Projected Opening: Late spring

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Ichiran

Address: 374 Johnson Avenue, Bushwick

What to Expect: The first U.S. outpost of the wildly popular Japanese ramen chain, which specializes in tonkotsu broth. The room will feature a counter with partitions for solo diners, as well as large, private booths. Guests will order via slips of paper where they can specify the strength of the broth and any requests for add-ins.

Projected Opening: June

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Impero Caffe

Address: 132 West 27th Street, Nomad

Major Player: Scott Conant

What to Expect: An all-day Italian restaurant in the INNSIDE hotel from the Chopped star. The restaurant will feature house-made pastas, plus risotto and seafood dishes. Conant is also creating the menu for the hotel's lounge area. Although Conant is a national star with popular establishments in Los Angeles, Miami, and Las Vegas, he hasn't operated a New York restaurant since his split with his Scarpetta partners a year and a half ago. Impero Caffe is actually the chef's first new Manhattan restaurant since Faustina opened in 2010.

Projected Opening: March 28

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Le Coucou

Address: 138 Lafayette Street, Soho

Major Players: Daniel Rose and Stephen Starr

What to Expect: A French restaurant in the forthcoming 11 Howard hotel from mega restaurateur Stephen Starr and Daniel Rose, the acclaimed chef behind Parisian critical darling Spring. Last year, Rose said this would be "like a Lutèce reboot, with classic French food." The chef recently shared a photo of a gorgeous, old-school stove that he will use in his kitchen. The design titans at Roman & Williams are putting the space together.

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Momosan Ramen

Address: 342 Lexington Avenue, Murray Hill

Major Player: Masaharu Morimoto

What to Expect: The celebrity chef's first-ever ramen restaurant. Morimoto's menu at Momosan will include chicken and tonkotsu ramens, as well as appetizers and a long list of sakes. Momosan will be open for lunch as well as dinner.

Projected Opening: Early April

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Paowalla

Address: 195 Spring St., Soho

Major Player: Floyd Cardoz

What to Expect: A casual Indian restaurant from the trailblazing chef behind Tabla. Cardoz will be using two tandoors, as well as a wood-fired oven that was left in the space from the previous tenant, Mezzogiorno. The chef describes this as a "no tablecloth" dining room. Back in November, Cardoz told Eater: "I want to use more indigenous Indian spicing techniques along with local ingredients...I would do a local striped bass collar poached in a traditional coconut curry, or use local Brussels sprouts in place of cabbage along with lentils."

Projected Opening: Late spring

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Pondicheri

Address: 15 West 27th St., Nomad

Major Players: Anita Jaisinghani and Nikhil Kumar

What to Expect: Houston-based chef/restaurateur Anita Jaisinghani is bringing her hit Indian restaurant/bakery to 27th Street. Pondicheri NYC will offer counter-service during breakfast and lunch, and more refined options at night. Chef Nikhil Kumar is helping run the kitchen.

Projected Opening: Late spring

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Sushi Ginza Onodera

Address: 461 Fifth Avenue, Midtown

Major Players: Akifumi Sakagami and Masaki Saito

What to Expect: A 32-seat outpost of Akifumi Sakagami's acclaimed Tokyo-based omakase restaurant. The space will feature stone walls, Bizen-yaki tiles, and maple woodwork. Masaki Saito, the chef who opened the Hong Kong location of Sushi Ginza Onodera, is in charge of the sushi bar.

Projected Opening: May

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Tsurutontan

Address: 21 East 16th Street, Union Square

What to Expect: The first American location of a 25-year-old Japan-based udon chain. Tsurutontan will offer many types of noodles, served hot or cold with a number of broth and topping options. Although udon is a popular noodle in New York right now, this city doesn't have anything quite as luxe as Tsurutontan. The restaurant will inhabit the old Union Square Cafe space.

Projected Opening: June

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Union Square Cafe 2.0

Address: 235 Park Ave. South, Union Square

Major Players: Danny Meyer, Carmen Quagliata, and Sam Lipp

What to Expect: Danny Meyer's first restaurant is reopening in a much bigger space a few blocks away. Like the original, Union Square 2.0 will offer Italian-influenced New American fare from Carmen Quagliata. Sam Lipp will run the dining room, and starchitect David Rockwell is designing the space. Meyer and his crew recently took a trip to Italy do to research for the new iteration of Union Square Cafe.

Projected Opening: Late spring

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Untitled Dan Kluger Project

Address: 21-23 West 8th Street, Greenwich Village

Major Player: Dan Kluger

What to Expect: Farm-to-table cuisine from the chef who made ABC Kitchen such a massive hit. In addition to vegetable-centric small plates, Kluger will likely serve pizzas, and grilled fish and meat entrees. Last summer, the chef remarked: "It is essentially my ABC."

Projected Opening: May

UPDATE: A rep for Kluger notes that the restaurant is now slated to open a bit later, in summer 2016.

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Untitled Fredrik Berselius Project

Address: 47 South 5th Street, Williamsburg

Major Player: Fredrik Berselius

What to Expect: Berselius and his crew are currently turning an industrial space in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge into a modern Nordic restaurant with a formal dining room and a casual lounge area. The chef previously stated that at this new restaurant, "the philosophy behind the food will be the same" as his former Williamsburg restaurant, Aska.

Projected Opening: Late spring

Lead photo, top row: Carla Hall, Floyd Cardoz, Keith McNally, Alessandro Borgognone. Bottom row: Danny Meyer, Matt & Emily Hyland, Masaharu Morimoto,Jose Garces.

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Aska

47 South 5th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11249 (929) 337-6792 Visit Website