NYC’s Most Exciting Restaurant Openings in Fall 2023

It’s been a safe restaurant year so far and, as we anticipate the energy of fall, we’re hoping that translates to the restaurant scene. There are more openings than can fit in this fall preview (we’ve covered deep pockets bankrolling a collection of giant Midtown restaurants; a handful of shuttered places coming back to life; and more) but those on this list have the potential to be innovative, authentic, and or exciting for one reason or another. Among them you’ll find a Filipino restaurant from the award-winning team behind Dhamaka; a Mexican soup spot hidden below Jackson Heights seafood hit, Mariscos El Submarino; a taste of New Orleans in Fort Greene; and many more.

The Dhamaka team is opening a Filipino restaurant

In September, Unapologetic Foods’ Dhamaka crew is opening a new restaurant centered around the homeland of its chef de cuisine: Eric Valdez’s new place is called Naks (an expression of surprise and delight in Tagalog) where he’ll show off food of the Philippines. The dining room offers two places to eat. One serves a kamayan tasting menu, where food is served family style and diners are encouraged to eat with their hands; the other is a la carte, with dishes that include lechon liempo, the pork belly dish with bamboo shoot salad and pinakbet ilokano (vegetable stew); kanto fried chicken; and a crisp goat belly with goat blood and ginger. Culture is on display in the cocktails, with drinks like Para sa Paborito Kong Apo, a burnt citrus drink (with elements that would be used to help cure a cough or fever) served over ice with an infused chile liquor. The design is inspired by street food stalls in Manila, Valdez’s hometown. Look for woven rice baskets and repurposed light fixtures, carved wooden doors that lead to the kamayan room, and an enclosed backyard. 201 First Avenue, near East 12th Street, East Village

The outside corner of a restaurant. — The exterior of Sailor.

Manhattan restaurant vets head to Brooklyn

It’s been a while since chef April Bloomfield’s cooking has been accessible to New Yorkers, after her partner Ken Friedman was accused of sexual harassment at the Spotted Pig, with complaints that Bloomfield hadn’t used her power to stop it. Fast-forward through the pandemic, and past the closings of that restaurant and others, to a new era and a new partnership: The nautical-looking Sailor in Fort Greene is a team-up of Bloomfield and Gabriel Stulman of West Village staples like Joseph Leonard, Jeffrey’s Grocery and Fairfax.

The 1,000-square-foot restaurant will eventually offer both lunch and dinner, with around 35 seats inside, including the bar, and potentially around the same outside. Reservations open on September 20. Look for dishes like herb-roasted chicken, mussels, and pork shoulder with vinegar. 228 DeKalb Avenue, near Clermont Avenue, Fort Greene

An overhead photograph of a plain pie with burnt cheese and crust bubbles. — Chrissy’s Pizza will open to walk-in customers in September.

An Instagram pizzeria allows walk-in ordering

In August, Eater reported, that Chris Hansell, the man behind some of the city’s most coveted pizzas (the rapper Action Bronson is one of his many fans) took over the old Superiority Burger space on East Ninth Street. This September, Hansell is officially opening the doors on Chrissy’s Pizza for walk-ins after more than a year of only pre-orders. We’re hoping that means it’ll finally be easier to get our hands on a pie. 430 E. Ninth Street, between Avenue A and First Avenue, East Village

Smash burgers served as history intended

Burger scholar George Motz loves burgers so much that he’s written a book about them, traveled the country in search of regional varieties, developed a following on his burger YouTube channel, and served what he says was around 30,000 burgers from his window down a slide during the pandemic. His next project, an homage to classic hamburger joints of the past, Hamburger America will open in September in Soho. It’s a partnership with Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper, behind the small chain of Schnipper’s burger spots. With 50 seats, the menu will be limited to Motz’s signature Oklahoma fried onion cheeseburger and a regular smash burger with mustard, pickle, and onion. A third burger will rotate monthly, highlighting a regional style. Hamburger America will also serve fresh cookies, egg creams, and Rhode Island’s coffee milk. 51 MacDougal Street, near Sixth Avenue, Soho

A tasting menu counter. — The interior of Nōksu.

A Korean restaurant lands in a New York subway station

Bobby Kwak and Joseph Ko, the duo behind the popular Baekjeong Korean BBQ, have teamed up with former Per Se and Silver Apricot chef Dae Kim to open Nōksu in September. The 12-seat, tasting menu restaurant is located in a former barbershop and newsstand down the staircase of the subway station on the northeast corner of Broadway and 32 Street. It’s where Kim will serve dishes with abalone and surf clam, mountain yam, mackerel, smoked quail, and venison. Expect around 15 courses starting at $225 with two seatings each night. 49 W. 32nd Street, at Broadway, Herald Square

A collection of dishes and drinks inspired by Bangkok on a wooden table. — Bangkok Supper Club opens later this month.

The owners of Fish Cheeks are opening a supper club

In September, Jennifer Saesue and Chat Suansilphong, two of the owners of the Thai restaurant Fish Cheeks, are opening Bangkok Supper Club in the West Village. The restaurant gets its name from the style of service: Everything — the massaman curry with beef cheeks, an order of chicken wings stuffed with sticky rice — is meant to be shared. Chef Max Wittawat is manning a charcoal grill; he’ll use it to prepare brined beef tongue, marinated chicken, and other foods that channel Bangkok, where he’s from. It’s the first new restaurant from Saesue and Suansilphong since they opened Fish Cheeks in 2016. 641 Hudson Street, between Horatio and Gansevoort streets, West Village

Golden brown cubes of fried dough set in a wire basket with a white cloth on a brown circular plate set on a light wooden table — The pop-up Back Alley Bread is now Bread & Butter bakery in Ocean Hill.

A pop-up bakery settles into a permanent home

Autumn Moultrie and Brian Villanueva of Back Alley Bread, a pandemic-born pop-up, have become known for their angel doughnuts (a play on the beignet), savory pastries, patties, and more. In September, the duo is staying put with a full-blown bakery called Bread & Butter. As such, it will sell sweet potato Parker House rolls and honey nut squash loaves with tahini and apple butter. In addition, there will be chicken biscuit pot pies, veggie patties, cacio e pepe focaccia, and Frito pies. Moultrie says the shop will be more than just a bakery: It will feature “programming that uplifts the community, and combats hunger,” like cooking classes and meal credits for students experiencing food insecurity. 53 Rockaway Avenue, between Marion and Sumpter streets, Ocean Hill

A spread of dishes from Oti. — Oti aims to put a modern spin on Romanian cooking.

Modern Romanian cooking comes to the Lower East Side

After years of working in the art world, Elias Popa — who grew up in Romania and several states in America — started tinkering with his mother’s Romanian recipes she had long kept in a notebook. In 2022, he became the chef-in-residence at the Lower East Side events space Sommwhere. In September, Elias will open his first standalone restaurant of his own: Oti. A menu lists the eggplant spread zacusca, sarmale (Romanian cabbage rolls), and pastries made with the Romanian cheese called telemea. Dinner finishes off with a complimentary bowl of gummy bears “for nostalgia,” says Popa. 40 Clinton Street, near Stanton Street, Lower East Side

A rising-star chef rethinks bar food

Chef Yara Herrera has been behind redeveloping the menus for Xilonen, the former vegan taco spot from Oxomoco, Sobre Masa, the Mexican restaurant and tortilla factory, and most recently, at wine bar restaurant Margot. For the first time, Herrera is adding “owner” to her credentials, joining the team behind Ridgewood wood-fired hit, Rolo’s, and Radio Bakery in Greenpoint. Hellbender Nightime Café, set to open in October, will feature a bar menu with snacks like quesadillas and Oaxacan cheese sticks: “Our play on the mozzarella stick,” Herrera says. Agave-based cocktails are in order, as well as several margaritas, and agua frescas. 68-22 Forest Avenue, at 68th Road, Ridgewood

An underground massage parlor becomes a menudo shop

In 2020, Alonso Guzman and Amy Hernandez changed the city’s Mexican food scene with Mariscos El Submarino: Their small seafood shop in Jackson Heights helped put mariscos on the map. In October, the couple will attempt to do the same with menudo. The Mexican soup is made from tripe and sometimes trotters, corn kernels, and onion in a red broth. Restaurants like Evelia’s Tamales, in East Elmhurst, serve the soup under another name, pancita, meaning “little stomach,” but there aren’t any restaurants devoted to its craft. Hence the name: La Menuderia. The restaurant is located in a former massage parlor below Mariscos El Submarino. 8805 Roosevelt Avenue, near 88th Street, Jackson Heights

A gloved hands scoops baked mac and cheese onto a beef patty with American cheese. — Datz Deli, the inventor of the mac and cheese beef patty, is opening another location.

A viral dish goes on a citywide tour

Datz Deli, a corner store in a residential neighborhood in eastern Queens, is behind one of the year’s most popular dishes online: a Jamaican beef patty filled with oxtail meat and macaroni. It’s expected to make its inventor, Josh Dat, more than $1 million this year. That’s just the beginning, he says: “I want a Datz Deli in every major city.” He’s starting with a second location on the Lower East Side that opens in October. The menu will be identical to his first store in Hollis, Queens, but the layout is different: It’s more Subway sandwich shop, less neighborhood bodega. “Nothing is going to be able to imitate the original,” he says. 69 Clinton Street, near Rivington Street, Lower East Side

One of the year’s top Mexican spots is opening a taqueria

Gerardo Alcaraz and Chris Reyes, the chef and owner of the upscale Mexican restaurant Aldama, will open Tacos and Tostadas El Chato in October. From a small stand in the Market Line food hall, they want to compete with the city’s top taco chain: Los Tacos No. 1, which started in a food hall itself in 2013. The new taqueria will specialize in a handful of meats, like carne asada, al pastor, and tripe. Chicken tacos are on the menu — “It’s a food hall,” Reyes says — as are seafood tostadas inspired by a summer pop-up. The restaurant is located next to a stand run by the Ukrainian diner, Veselka. 88 Essex Street, at Delancey Street, Basement Level, Lower East Side

A fried shrimp sandwich cut in half. — New Orleans-inspired sandwiches will appear on the menu at Strange Delight.

Fort Greene gets a taste of New Orleans

In November, Anoop Pillarisetti will bring the flavors of his native Louisiana to Strange Delight in Fort Greene; the restaurant is a partnership with fellow Shake Shack alum Michael Tuiach and the chef Ham El-Waylly. There are several types of oyster preparations on the menu, including chargrilled — a nod to New Orleans icon, Casamento’s. In doing pop-ups, Pillarisetti says they found there was unexpected excitement around their sandwiches, so they’re doubling down with versions like a shrimp, oyster, peach, and Creole cream-cheese sandwich; along with seasonal sandwich specials (soft shell crab, fried green tomato). Bartender John deBary will offer versions of a Sazerac and the Ramos Gin Fizz. Sommelier Miguel de Leon, of Pinch Chinese acclaim, has put together a list of biodynamic bottles. 63 Lafayette Avenue, near Fulton Street, Fort Greene

The Frenchette team takes over a decades-old haunt

In 2019, it was reported that Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr had purchased Le Veau d’Or, a restaurant that had been open on the Upper East Side since 1937. This fall, the duo is bringing the same expertise from their celebrated French spots Frenchette and Le Rock to overhaul a once-storied, 80-year-old establishment. 129 E. 60th Street, near Lexington Avenue, Upper East Side

Cafe Spaghetti is getting a sibling in Carroll Gardens

What will Swoony’s be when it opens this fall? Apparently, not Italian like its Carroll Gardens sibling, once described as the “anti-Carbone.” This time around, Bensonhurst native Salvatore Lamboglia is creating a menu he has described as “American”; it’s still coming together, but will offer mostly classics — martinis, burgers — and then some. 215 Columbia Street, near Sackett Street, Carroll Gardens

The Most Exciting Restaurant Openings in New York City This Fall

The Dhamaka team is opening a Filipino restaurant

Manhattan restaurant vets head to Brooklyn