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Two diners sit at a table dissecting a massive whole lobster adorned with pasta in an orange sauce.
Bad Roman, an “unhinged” new restaurant, that opened in Manhattan.
Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

The 15 Hottest New Restaurants in Manhattan, March 2023

Homestyle Moroccan, a hidden-gem Italian, and fast-casual Balkan food are among the list this month

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Bad Roman, an “unhinged” new restaurant, that opened in Manhattan.
| Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Eater editors get asked one question more than any other: Where should I eat right now? Here, we’ve put together a map of the latest Manhattan debuts drawing NYC’s dining obsessives.

New to the list in March: Tara Kitchen, one of the best new Moroccan restaurants to have opened in years; Etrusca, an unexpectedly exciting Italian restaurant for Fidi; Balkan Streat, a fast-casual Balkan spot in the West Village, and Bad Roman, an unhinged new experience from the Quality Branded team.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

For more New York dining recommendations, check out the new hotspots in Brooklyn and Queens.

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Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi

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Top Chef star, Kwame Onwuachi, who opened two shortlived fine-dining establishments in Washington D.C., returned to his hometown New York City to open his first restaurant here. Tatiana, which debuted in early November, is the crown jewel restaurant inside of the  $550 million overhaul at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. Onwuachi pays homage to his Bronx roots, with a menu that includes a crudo-style escovitch, a truffle chopped cheese, and patties, in a high-end dining room with color-changing cloud pendants.

A shallow bowl with halves of grapes, radish, and other vegetables and fruits.
Tatiana is Kwame Onwuachi’s first NYC restaurant.
Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Bad Roman

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From Quality Branded comes this over-the-top, sort-of-Italian (read: unhinged) restaurant in a 250-seat dining room in Columbus Circle. Think of it as a Buca di Beppo version of a fern bar meets White Lotus-level decadence, one story below the Michelin-starred Per Se. Look out for inauthentic twists on authentic dishes, built for fun: pepperoni cups with ranch meant to be eaten by hand, ravioli steak, shots in toy car glasses, and trompe l’oeil lemon cheesecake desserts. A two-pound lobster covered in Calabrian pasta and basil is the most expensive thing on the menu at $95.

Gnocchi are arranged on a plate with globules of caviar against a tiled background.
Caviar gnocchi.
Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Five Acres NYC

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Greg Baxtrom made a name for himself in Prospect Heights with Olmsted, his fine-dining restaurant, followed by his more casual Japanese French Maison Yaki, and family-friendly comfort joint Patti Ann’s. He now has his first Manhattan restaurant, the latest marquis spot to debut in buzzy Rockefeller Center, with plenty of smoke-show drama, in cloche-reveal dishes like the oysters Vanderbilt and the s’mores dessert.

Oysters with cloche filled with smoke.
Smoke-show drama at Five Acres.
Scott Semler/Eater NY

Hav & Mar

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Chef Marcus Samuelsson opened his first New York City restaurant in almost a decade in November. The menu, which emphasizes seafood, highlights the Swedish and Ethiopian flavors Samuelsson grew up with, dressed up in a 5,000 square-foot, 125-seat Chelsea restaurant, where mermaid motifs appear throughout. The chef says Hav & Mar, “is a reflection of Black joy and excellence.”

A midcentury collection of tables and chairs in a restaurant, overseen by a pair of black mermaids,
A mermaid theme appears throughout the interior design.
Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross, owners of Court Street Grocers, have opened  S&P, located in the former home of Eisenberg’s, one of Manhattan’s last old-school lunch counters that closed during the pandemic. Here you won’t find much of a change on the menu aside from classics that are better than you remember them. They include tuna melts, peanut butter and bacon sandwiches, pastrami on rye, matzo ball soup, latkes, cheeseburgers, and egg cream.

A pastrami sandwich on a plate with a pickle.
The pastrami at S&P.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Balkan StrEAT

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This new fast-casual spot serving burek, yeasted doughnuts, cevapi, and Balkan-style burgers comes from William Djuric, an alum of Bouchon Bakery, Gramercy Tavern, and Momofuku Ssam Bar. The menu is split into several categories: baked goods, a grill section, and full plates with items like stuffed pork schnitzel rolls with kashkaval cheese, goulash, and cabbage rolls. A second East Village location is set to open this spring.

Chevapi at Balkan Streat at a metal tray.
A chevapi plate from Balkan Streat.
Max Flatow/Balkan Streat

One of the borough’s best new spots arrived last summer in the form of Claud. This restaurant masquerading as a neighborhood wine bar found a fast following online with its escargot croquettes and massive slices of devil’s food cake, and both live up to the hype.

An overhead photograph of hands tugging at bread and scooping vegetables from a bowl on a busy table.
Escargot croquettes, shrimp, and other dishes at Claud.
Teddy Wolff/Claud

Lord’s

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In this follow-up to fish-and-chips hit, Dame from Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard, look for British nose-to-tail fare, that Eater says is “gutsy.” Dishes rotate but might include pig’s head, scotch eggs, and meat pies of the day — seafood takes a backseat.

A golden, oblong meat pie covered in a golden pastry shell with other plates of food surrounding it.
A spread from Lord’s from chef Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard.
Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Ariari is one of more than a dozen restaurants in the Hand Hospitality portfolio, replacing the team’s former East Village restaurant Oiji. At Ariari, raw seafood dishes take the stage, but there are also chicken skewers, lamb stuffed fried pepper, steamed monkfish, and spicy seafood udon noodles.

Fish served with lettuce wraps.
Fish served with lettuce wraps.
Ariari

Husband-wife duo Jesse Merchant Zuñiga and Javier Zuñiga, who met working at Wildair and Contra, debuted a headquarters for their ice cream brand, Bad Habit, last month. By day, containers are sold at the East Village establishment, and by night, they’re selling small plates, including creamy mussels toast, as well as wine. They’re also offering spiffed-up ice-cream-based desserts like baked Alaska.

Orange mussel toast.
Mussel toast.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Torrisi Bar and Restaurant

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Torrisi Bar and Restaurant is a revival of sorts for Torrisi Italian Specialties — the Nolita restaurant which closed in 2015 — reborn in the historic Puck Building. Since its original incarnation, Major Food Group has been on a global expansion tear, bringing its theatrical red-sauce hits like Carbone to other cities. At Torrisi, the team attempts to keep things local by infusing some New York elements in dishes like chopped liver, and an octopus dish said to be inspired by a Baxter Street Vietnamese restaurant.

The chopped liver with Manischewitz.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Foul Witch

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The Roberta’s team debuted its long-promised Italian restaurant and wine bar in the East Village last month. At the moment, no pizza is served, but you won’t miss it, when you try one of the several small plates of pasta, like veal tortellini or the goat garganelli. While Roberta’s fine dining restaurant Blanca remains closed, this is a more casual a la carte sibling.

Two plates, one with pasta the other with meat.
Goat garganelli.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Tara Kitchen

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Chef Aneesa Waheed is already something of a Food Network celebrity, having appeared on Guy Fieri’s Grocery Games and Beat Bobby Flay; she also has her own line of jarred sauces and a cookbook, too. Her new restaurant, Tara Kitchen, which got its start upstate and down the Jersey Shore, offers some unusual Moroccan dishes compared to the city’s other restaurants, including r’fissa, chicken seasoned with fenugreek and saffron and bathed in cured butter called smen that’s on its way to becoming cheese. The menu also lists over 20 kinds of tagines.

A round cast iron tray with chicken stew.
Chicken m’chermel at Tara Kitchen on Church Street.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Playita

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This new Lower East Side spot focuses on Mexican mariscos from Iris Avelar, who is also a co-owner of La Superior taqueria in Williamsburg. There are fish tacos, Mexican-style shrimp cocktails, and ceviche, but the carne asada tacos are so good they almost overshadow the seafood theme. Don’t miss vegetarian dishes like tortilla soup, either.

A small cup of tortilla soup is topped with crumbly cheese at Playita, a new Mexican restaurant on the Lower East Side.
Tortilla soup.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Etrusca

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Elisa Da Prato is the chef and owner of Etrusca, who spent her childhood shuttling between El Paso, Texas, and Barga, Italy, a hilltop town in Tuscany’s northwest. Tucked away on Stone Street in Fidi, the restaurant has no sign to speak of, and an interior that looks like a Tuscan farmhouse with bunches of dried herbs and ropes of garlic on the walls, and flickering candles on rustic wooden tables. Look for a brief menu of Italian dishes, many of them dressed with mushroom dust and flowers.

Tiny fish filets laid out in a rib cage formation.
Cantabrian anchovies at Etrusca.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi

Top Chef star, Kwame Onwuachi, who opened two shortlived fine-dining establishments in Washington D.C., returned to his hometown New York City to open his first restaurant here. Tatiana, which debuted in early November, is the crown jewel restaurant inside of the  $550 million overhaul at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. Onwuachi pays homage to his Bronx roots, with a menu that includes a crudo-style escovitch, a truffle chopped cheese, and patties, in a high-end dining room with color-changing cloud pendants.

A shallow bowl with halves of grapes, radish, and other vegetables and fruits.
Tatiana is Kwame Onwuachi’s first NYC restaurant.
Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Bad Roman

From Quality Branded comes this over-the-top, sort-of-Italian (read: unhinged) restaurant in a 250-seat dining room in Columbus Circle. Think of it as a Buca di Beppo version of a fern bar meets White Lotus-level decadence, one story below the Michelin-starred Per Se. Look out for inauthentic twists on authentic dishes, built for fun: pepperoni cups with ranch meant to be eaten by hand, ravioli steak, shots in toy car glasses, and trompe l’oeil lemon cheesecake desserts. A two-pound lobster covered in Calabrian pasta and basil is the most expensive thing on the menu at $95.

Gnocchi are arranged on a plate with globules of caviar against a tiled background.
Caviar gnocchi.
Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Five Acres NYC

Greg Baxtrom made a name for himself in Prospect Heights with Olmsted, his fine-dining restaurant, followed by his more casual Japanese French Maison Yaki, and family-friendly comfort joint Patti Ann’s. He now has his first Manhattan restaurant, the latest marquis spot to debut in buzzy Rockefeller Center, with plenty of smoke-show drama, in cloche-reveal dishes like the oysters Vanderbilt and the s’mores dessert.

Oysters with cloche filled with smoke.
Smoke-show drama at Five Acres.
Scott Semler/Eater NY

Hav & Mar

Chef Marcus Samuelsson opened his first New York City restaurant in almost a decade in November. The menu, which emphasizes seafood, highlights the Swedish and Ethiopian flavors Samuelsson grew up with, dressed up in a 5,000 square-foot, 125-seat Chelsea restaurant, where mermaid motifs appear throughout. The chef says Hav & Mar, “is a reflection of Black joy and excellence.”

A midcentury collection of tables and chairs in a restaurant, overseen by a pair of black mermaids,
A mermaid theme appears throughout the interior design.
Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

S&P

Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross, owners of Court Street Grocers, have opened  S&P, located in the former home of Eisenberg’s, one of Manhattan’s last old-school lunch counters that closed during the pandemic. Here you won’t find much of a change on the menu aside from classics that are better than you remember them. They include tuna melts, peanut butter and bacon sandwiches, pastrami on rye, matzo ball soup, latkes, cheeseburgers, and egg cream.

A pastrami sandwich on a plate with a pickle.
The pastrami at S&P.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Balkan StrEAT

This new fast-casual spot serving burek, yeasted doughnuts, cevapi, and Balkan-style burgers comes from William Djuric, an alum of Bouchon Bakery, Gramercy Tavern, and Momofuku Ssam Bar. The menu is split into several categories: baked goods, a grill section, and full plates with items like stuffed pork schnitzel rolls with kashkaval cheese, goulash, and cabbage rolls. A second East Village location is set to open this spring.

Chevapi at Balkan Streat at a metal tray.
A chevapi plate from Balkan Streat.
Max Flatow/Balkan Streat

Claud

One of the borough’s best new spots arrived last summer in the form of Claud. This restaurant masquerading as a neighborhood wine bar found a fast following online with its escargot croquettes and massive slices of devil’s food cake, and both live up to the hype.

An overhead photograph of hands tugging at bread and scooping vegetables from a bowl on a busy table.
Escargot croquettes, shrimp, and other dishes at Claud.
Teddy Wolff/Claud

Lord’s

In this follow-up to fish-and-chips hit, Dame from Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard, look for British nose-to-tail fare, that Eater says is “gutsy.” Dishes rotate but might include pig’s head, scotch eggs, and meat pies of the day — seafood takes a backseat.

A golden, oblong meat pie covered in a golden pastry shell with other plates of food surrounding it.
A spread from Lord’s from chef Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard.
Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Ariari

Ariari is one of more than a dozen restaurants in the Hand Hospitality portfolio, replacing the team’s former East Village restaurant Oiji. At Ariari, raw seafood dishes take the stage, but there are also chicken skewers, lamb stuffed fried pepper, steamed monkfish, and spicy seafood udon noodles.

Fish served with lettuce wraps.
Fish served with lettuce wraps.
Ariari

Caleta

Husband-wife duo Jesse Merchant Zuñiga and Javier Zuñiga, who met working at Wildair and Contra, debuted a headquarters for their ice cream brand, Bad Habit, last month. By day, containers are sold at the East Village establishment, and by night, they’re selling small plates, including creamy mussels toast, as well as wine. They’re also offering spiffed-up ice-cream-based desserts like baked Alaska.

Orange mussel toast.
Mussel toast.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Torrisi Bar and Restaurant

Torrisi Bar and Restaurant is a revival of sorts for Torrisi Italian Specialties — the Nolita restaurant which closed in 2015 — reborn in the historic Puck Building. Since its original incarnation, Major Food Group has been on a global expansion tear, bringing its theatrical red-sauce hits like Carbone to other cities. At Torrisi, the team attempts to keep things local by infusing some New York elements in dishes like chopped liver, and an octopus dish said to be inspired by a Baxter Street Vietnamese restaurant.

The chopped liver with Manischewitz.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Foul Witch

The Roberta’s team debuted its long-promised Italian restaurant and wine bar in the East Village last month. At the moment, no pizza is served, but you won’t miss it, when you try one of the several small plates of pasta, like veal tortellini or the goat garganelli. While Roberta’s fine dining restaurant Blanca remains closed, this is a more casual a la carte sibling.

Two plates, one with pasta the other with meat.
Goat garganelli.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Tara Kitchen

Chef Aneesa Waheed is already something of a Food Network celebrity, having appeared on Guy Fieri’s Grocery Games and Beat Bobby Flay; she also has her own line of jarred sauces and a cookbook, too. Her new restaurant, Tara Kitchen, which got its start upstate and down the Jersey Shore, offers some unusual Moroccan dishes compared to the city’s other restaurants, including r’fissa, chicken seasoned with fenugreek and saffron and bathed in cured butter called smen that’s on its way to becoming cheese. The menu also lists over 20 kinds of tagines.

A round cast iron tray with chicken stew.
Chicken m’chermel at Tara Kitchen on Church Street.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Playita

This new Lower East Side spot focuses on Mexican mariscos from Iris Avelar, who is also a co-owner of La Superior taqueria in Williamsburg. There are fish tacos, Mexican-style shrimp cocktails, and ceviche, but the carne asada tacos are so good they almost overshadow the seafood theme. Don’t miss vegetarian dishes like tortilla soup, either.

A small cup of tortilla soup is topped with crumbly cheese at Playita, a new Mexican restaurant on the Lower East Side.
Tortilla soup.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Etrusca

Elisa Da Prato is the chef and owner of Etrusca, who spent her childhood shuttling between El Paso, Texas, and Barga, Italy, a hilltop town in Tuscany’s northwest. Tucked away on Stone Street in Fidi, the restaurant has no sign to speak of, and an interior that looks like a Tuscan farmhouse with bunches of dried herbs and ropes of garlic on the walls, and flickering candles on rustic wooden tables. Look for a brief menu of Italian dishes, many of them dressed with mushroom dust and flowers.

Tiny fish filets laid out in a rib cage formation.
Cantabrian anchovies at Etrusca.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

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