Decades-Old Harlem Bakery Make My Cake Opens a Third Location — and More Openings

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants across the city continue to move forward with openings, sometimes because their concepts could be adapted for takeout and delivery, but more often because their owners saw no other choice but to forge ahead. Since March 16, 2020, when the state first temporarily closed indoor dining, hundreds of new restaurants have opened their doors, including neighborhood sake bars, late-night hangouts, rooftop restaurants, and Texas-style bakeries.

Here’s a round-up of the restaurants and bars that opened in June. This list will be updated weekly. If there’s an opening in your neighborhood that we’ve missed, let us know at tips@eater.com.

June 24

Bushwick: The Ten Bells, the pioneering Lower East Side bar that helped put natural wine on the map in the United States, heads to Brooklyn with a new location. The menu includes canned fish, a rotating drinks list, and soon, a happy hour advertising dollar oysters and $6 glasses of wine. 65 Irving Avenue, near Starr Street

Downtown Brooklyn: An all-day lunch counter serving cauliflower steak and chickpea meatball sandwiches has opened on Flatbush Avenue. Flatbush Counter comes from Michael Roberts, a former chef at Park Slope farm-to-table restaurant Flatbush Farm, which closed in February 2017. 295 Flatbush Avenue, near Willoughby Street

East Village: Roughly a month after the opening of Asian Wave on East Sixth Street, a new restaurant, called Miso Sushi, has opened in the same location. 328 East Sixth Street, between First and Second avenues

Harlem: Aliyyah Baylor, the third-generation baker behind Make My Cake, opens a third location of her Harlem cakeshop this week. In addition to its usual menu of baked goods, the new bakery is making sweet potato cheesecake, peach cobbler, and a Southern potato doughnut inspired by the now-closed Georgie’s Donuts on West 125th Street. Baylor opened the first location of Make My Cake in 1995 with her mother Joann Baylor. The pair currently operates two bakeries in Manhattan, the original at 2380 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem and another that came later at 775 Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side. The latest bakeshop is located next door to I Like It Black, a neighborhood coffee shop and cafe from the same team. 409 West 125 Street, at Morningside Avenue

Koreatown: Joomak, the roving, pandemic pop-up from a team of Union Square Hospitality alums, settles into a permanent space this week dubbed Joomak Banjum. The restaurant is led by pastry chefs Jiho Kim, formerly of the Modern, and Kelly Nam, previously of Electric Lemon in Hudson Yards. 312 Fifth Avenue, between West 31st and 32nd streets

Roosevelt Island: Named after a line in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Anything At All is one of Roosevelt Island’s most notable restaurant openings. The 140-seat restaurant comes from owners Marc Rose and Med Abrous, known for Los Angeles restaurants Winsome and Genghis Cohen. 22 North Loop Road, between West and East Loop roads

Upper West Side: Nine months after closing due to the pandemic, Old John’s Luncheonette makes a comeback this week with an elongated bar and a menu of homemade desserts. The revamped version of the decades-old restaurant, backed by restaurateur Louis Skibar, operates under the name Old John’s Diner. 148 West 67th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue

Williamsburg: Terasa North Ninth is now serving Balkan cuisine from the corner of Bedford Avenue and North Ninth Street, including somun, a grilled flatbread, and cevapi, a stuffed sandwich with beef sausage. The restaurant’s balkan taco, made from slow-roasted lamb, has so far been the biggest hit, according to Giselle Grncarski, who owns Terasa with Predrag Grncarski and Bojan Milosevic. A concise list of cocktails includes a Negroni and Aperol spritz on tap. 145 Bedford Avenue, at North Ninth Street

Williamsburg: John McNulty, a cocktail veteran behind Swine and Katana Kitten, branches out with his first standalone bar. Thief is a half-step up from a dive bar he says, a neighborhood hangout where customers can sip small-production orange wines and tall boys of Miller High Life at the same table. 595 Union Avenue, at North 11th Street

Lower East Side: Mictlán Mexico is now open in the former home of the Fat Radish, a seasonal British restaurant that closed last August after a decade. The Orchard Street newcomer serves lamb barbacoa, octopus ceviches, and — of course — tacos de birria. A sizable vegan menu includes meatless chorizo, al pastor made from seitan, and chilaquiles with vegan sour cream and cheese. 17 Orchard Street, near Canal Street

Lower East Side: Taking over the former location of Pizza Beach this week is Lower East, a restaurant focused on noodles from restaurateur Jonathan Morr, who also owns Bond Street in Noho. This new restaurant is serving more than a dozen noodle dishes, most of which are gluten-free and vegetarian. 167 Orchard Street, at Stanton Street

June 17

Dumbo: Japanese import % Arabica has opened its first-ever U.S. coffee shop and roastery in Brooklyn. Don’t miss the “green bean corner,” where customers can pick from a selection of coffee beans and have them roasted on the spot in a process tailored to individual coffee-drinking preferences. 20 Old Fulton Street, between Elizabeth Place and Everit Street

East Village: Another smashburger shop, 7th Street Burger, has landed in lower Manhattan with a small menu of the essentials: cheeseburgers, Impossible burgers, and fries. The restaurant is takeout and delivery-only, according to its website. 91 East Seventh Street, near First Avenue

East Village: Coffee, breakfast burritos, and tomato ricotta danishes are on the menu at Cafe Sandra, a cozy neighborhood hangout that opened in early June. 194 First Avenue between East 11th and 12th streets

Financial District: Sleek West Village coffee shop and market the Elk has expanded into downtown real estate development Brookfield Place. The second location is stocked with pastries, smoothies, and coffee sourced from Portland, Maine hotshots Tandem Coffee Roasters. On the second floor at 250 Vesey Street, between West Street and North End Avenue

Greenpoint: There is no salsa on the menu at Salsa but there are a slew of Neopolitan-style pies at this new pizzeria from Naples native and Brooklyn restaurateur Mike Bancale. 40 Clifford Place, at Meserole Avenue

Greenwich Village: Chef Christian Ortiz and business partner Trent Walker are highlighting the food of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula at upscale restaurant Yuco. Ortiz, a Dominican New Yorker who studied at Le Cordon Bleu, is taking a French approach to Mexican cooking. His a la carte and tasting menus include items like oxtail in mole, heritage chicken tamales, pork belly al pastor, and a soup based on elote. A small selection of tacos, made with squash blossom and crispy octopus, are priced between $16 to $22 each. 33 West Eighth Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues

Lower East Side: At hotelier Ian Schrager’s revamped downtown hotspot Public, Jean-​Georges Vongerichten’s critically panned restaurant has been replaced with Peruvian spot Popular, featuring a menu built by Peruvian chef Diego Muñoz and run by chef and restaurateur John Fraser. The pair are also behind two other food and beverage spots on the property: Cantina & Pisco Bar, serving ceviche and pisco cocktails, and Louis, a ground-floor cafe and coffee shop. 215 Chrystie Street, between East Houston and Stanton streets

Midtown: Banana pudding and cupcake connoisseur Magnolia Bakery has opened a location inside the fancy new Moynihan Train Hall, after previously shutting down its basement Penn Station location. Inside the main hall at Moynihan, located between Eighth and Ninth avenues and 31st and 33rd streets

Nomad: Hand Hospitality, the restaurant group behind Her Name Is Han and Izakaya Mew, opened its first full-scale restaurant since the start of the pandemic earlier this month. Little Mad, helmed by former Le Coucou chef Sol Han, is anchored in Korean flavors with French and Italian influences. 110 Madison Avenue, between East 29th and 30th streets

Soho: Following a smash NYC debut in the East Village, Korean corn dog champion Two Hands has now opened up a Soho shop where diners can load up on mozzarella and sausage dogs covered in potato cubes, Hot Cheetos powder, and crispy rice puffs. 250 Mott Street, between Prince and East Houston streets

June 10

Bath Beach: Order a custom cake...and chilaquiles con carne at Los Angelitos Cake & Grill. The seemingly oddball menu also features tacos, nachos, tortas, and a wide range of options from the grill, including cheeseburgers and omelettes. 1708 86th Street, between 17th Avenue and Bay 16th Street

Bensonhurst: This Brooklyn neighborhood boasts a large Chinese community and many of the restaurants specialize in Cantonese dishes. With the opening Spicy Bai Chuan Restaurant, Sichuan cuisine gets a spotlight with expected favorites like mapo tofu and dry pot dishes. 6916 18th Avenue, between Bay Ridge Avenue and 70th Street

Bushwick: There’s a new vegan- and vegetarian-friendly option in Brooklyn for breakfast and lunch at the newly opened Lunna’s Cafe. The meat-free menu here includes strawberry-stuffed French toast to start the day and Lunna’s Creamy Avocado Salad (teeming with chickpeas, black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, mixed greens, and a zippy balsamic vinaigrette). 157 Central Avenue, between Willoughby Avenue and Suydam Street

Coney Island: Just in time for the reopening of Coney Island, La Tombola offers a mix of favorites popular along the boardwalk (think: steamed shrimp, lobster rolls, and disco fries) alongside more traditional Italian fare like Neapolitan-style pizzas and spaghetti with meatballs. 2102 Riegelmann Boardwalk, near West 21st Street

East Harlem: From sommeliers Yannick Benjamin and Mara Rudzinski comes Contento, a restaurant and wine bar with an eye toward accessibility. The bar is outfitted with a lower, wheelchair-accessible counter, while a portion of the wine list has been devoted to women and BIPOC wine makers. The menu of sweet potato ceviche and toasted corn nuts comes from partner and Peruvian-born chef Oscar Lorenzzi. 88 East 111th Street, near Park Avenue

East Village: Accidental Bar is now open in the former space of neighborhood wine bar Lois, which temporarily closed last October but has decided to hand over its lease to owner Austin Power. The bar specializes in local and imported sakes, while a list of beers and wines from the original bar remains. 98 Avenue C, between Sixth and Seventh streets

Flatiron District: Former Legacy Records chef Henry Zamora has opened Tacos Güey, an upscale Mexican restaurant in the former home of cocktail bar Flatiron Lounge, which closed in December 2018. 37 West 19th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues

Greenwich Village: Critically acclaimed fish and chips pop-up Dame opened its full-service restaurant last weekend. But for a few 10 p.m. dinner tables, tables at the restaurant are currently booked two weeks out. 87 MacDougal Street, near Bleecker Street

Hell’s Kitchen: The West Village’s Taco Mahal is taking its internet-famous chicken tikka masala naan “tacos” uptown. The casual Latin-Indian restaurant, founded by Danikkah Josan, the daughter of Puerto Rican and Indian parents, opens on Ninth Avenue today. 653 Ninth Avenue, between West 45th and 46th streets

Midtown: The Gerber Group, which is behind Mr. Purple on the Lower East Side, gets another hotel space with the opening of Nearly Ninth inside the Arlo Midtown. It’s open all day for coffee, drinks, and an Italian-leaning menu — all with rooftop views. 351 West 38th Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues

Midtown East: Antonio Salvatore, a southern Italian chef who received his first Michelin star in Monaco this year, is behind Midtown newcomer Casa Limone. The two-story, 133-seat restaurant serves Italian pastries in the morning, Neapolitan-style pizzas for lunch, and a menu of pasta and seafood dishes for dinner. 20 East 49th Street, near Madison Avenue

Nomad: Barn Joo, the Korean-American restaurant with locations in Midtown Manhattan and Union Square, has opened a third outpost in Manhattan, serving small plates and open, taco-shaped hand rolls. 816 Sixth Avenue, at West 28th Street

South Street Seaport: Carne Mare, the latest from chef Andrew Carmellini (Locanda Verde, Bar Primi, Lafayette), opens today at the recently renovated Pier 17. First announced in March of the Before Times, the two-story Italian chophouse is now serving a menu that includes whole fish and 10 different cuts of steak. 89 South Street, at Fulton Street

Tribeca: This rooftop bar gives off speakeasy vibes with its hard-to-find entrance through a side door of the Walker Hotel. Happy Be is full of plants and pergolas surrounding guests sipping on cocktails that riff on classics like a Tropical Negroni. 26 Cortland Alley, between Walker and White streets

Upper West Side: Fast-casual sandwich and wrap bar Wolfnights opens a new location uptown this week, its third in the city. 2675 Broadway, at 102nd Street

West Village: In parts of Texas, kolaches are similar to doughnuts or bagels, Brooklyn Kolache owner Autumn Stanford explains. Customers can find them at gas stations, boutique bakeries, and even as breakfast items at schools in Houston. But here in New York, the jam- and sweet cheese-filled pastries have been slower to catch on. Since opening the first location of Brooklyn Kolache in Bed-Stuy nine years ago, a handful of cafes have started to sell the Czech-Tex invention, but primarily in Brooklyn. Now Manhattan is getting a kolache bakery to a call its own, a walk-up counter from Brooklyn Kolache with plans to serve roughly 15 of the pastries daily, along with coffee from local roaster Kitten. There’s a few tables and chairs out front, but Stanford recommends eating her pastries in nearby Washington Square Park. 185 Bleecker Street, near MacDougal Street

West Village: Grilled, glazed, and fried chicken is the draw at Hudson Street newcomer Lucky Louie’s. The new restaurant serves the meat stuffed between brioche buns, beside heaps of mac and cheese, and atop buttermilk waffles with “not too spicy” honey butter. 535 Hudson Street, near Charles Street

June 3

Chelsea: International restaurant chain Operation: Falafel made its United States debut this week. 232 Seventh Avenue, between West 23rd and 24th streets

Dumbo: Cult-favorite brewery Evil Twin opens an all-day taproom in Dumbo this week, serving smoothie-style sours, cocktail slushies, hard seltzers, and eclectically named double IPAs. Starting in mid-June, the bar will also serve coffee from local roaster Sey at a walk-up window each morning. 45 Main Street, between Water and Front streets

East Village: Tony’s Pizza, a new neighborhood slice shop is now open on Second Avenue. The counter-service pizzeria is set to open a second location in the neighborhood, at 231 First Avenue, between 13th and 14th streets, according to EV Grieve. 128 Second Avenue, between Seventh Street and St. Mark’s Place

East Williamsburg: The team behind popular Fort Greene hangouts Walter’s and Karasu has opened an all-day restaurant and bar, where they’re eschewing some traditional hospitality industry standards. “We want things to be a little more freeform,” says Danny Minch, who opened Nite Nite in May with partner Dylan Dodd. The restaurant, located in the former space of Apollonia, which the team closed ahead of the pandemic, seats incomplete parties, encourages groups to linger, and, if you’re lucky, might even take song requests from customers. “It’s not the kind of place where you you order an appetizer, entree, get your check and then leave,” he says. “We want you to hangout all night.” Barring a decadent tonkatsu pork cutlet, everything on the menu is priced under $20, while a daily happy hour offers dollar oysters and glasses of natural wine for $9 each. Apo, an adjoining coffee shop named after Apollonia, serves coffee from local roaster Variety and bears a sawed-off version of the original restaurant’s sign. 128 Meserole Street, near Manhattan Avenue

Long Island City: New York taqueria chain Tacombi has opened its tenth location in the city, and first outpost in Queens. 27-10 43rd Avenue, between Jackson Avenue and Hunter Street

Meatpacking District: Joining the lengthy list of impossible-to-Google restaurants (see also: American Bar and Izakaya) is Best Burger, a casual restaurant and bar that opened its doors last week. In addition to serving the best burgers ($10 for a single, $12 for a double, before fries), the restaurant also claims to serve the “best cocktails,” according its Instagram. 53 Little West 12th Street, between Washington Street and Tenth Avenue

Midtown: The Company Building, a towering Midtown workspace that houses more than 150 start-ups, now has a new coffee shop called Company Culture. 43 East 43rd Street, near Madison Avenue

Nomad: International restaurant group Planta opened its ninth location, and first in New York City, last week. At the Asian-influenced Planta Queen, chef David Lee is serving vegan sushi — watermelon nigiri and California rolls made from hearts of palm — created without processed meat alternatives. 15 West 27th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Broadway

Park Slope: Ample Hills has opened its long-in-the-works scoop shop at Prospect Park West, located next door to Nitehawk Cinema. Plans to open the corner location have reportedly been in the works since 2018, according to a spokesperson, but were delayed by the company’s recent bankruptcy sale. 192 Prospect Park West, near Bartel-Pritchard Square

Soho: Following a successful launch in Miami last year, El Ta’koy is opening a location on the seventh floor of the Dominick Hotel in Soho. The restaurant comes from Cuban-born chef Luis Pous, who oversaw the expansion of international restaurant chain Asia de Cuba. 246 Spring Street, between Sixth Avenue and Varick Street

Upper East Side: French cafe and bakery Maman heads uptown this week with a new location on Third Avenue, its eighth in the city. 1424 Third Avenue, at East 81st Street