Owner Riccardo Dardha is resurrecting popular recipes from his now-shuttered Bread & Tulips at Hotel Giraffe in Manhattan. At Figlia, his new Italian spot in northern Astoria, he’s dishing out pastas as well as pizzas with dough that’s fermented for 48 hours and cooked at temperatures higher than 700 degrees. Local favorites include pappardelle with spiced braised leg of lamb, radiatore with Italian sausage and rapini pesto, and burrata pizza with chile oil on the side.

The buffet at this all-you-can-eat hot pot spot is mind-bogglingly expansive. Each guest gets their own pot with a choice of six broths like mala beef tallow and mushroom. Meats incur an additional cost and include uncommon offerings like beef tongue, spicy beef, spam, and baby octopus. In the back, the buffet is bountiful and beautiful: seven kinds of mushrooms, nine leafy greens, boiled eggs, twelve meatballs and fish balls, and eleven noodles. The sauce bar opens yet another door to flavors.

When the oldest restaurant in Little Neck — Aunt Bella’s established in 1977 — shuttered in late 2021, locals mourned. Marathon Cafe has stepped into the quiet corner storefront with Hong Kong cafe classics — milk tea, lava toast, fried chicken wings, and pork chops — that can’t be easily found elsewhere in the neighborhood. Owner and chef Kim Lee is also behind bento box shop, Simple, in Manhattan’s Chinatown. 

Owner Foti Koukounas expanded on his fast-casual concept at Avli the little Greek Tavern with an elegant spot for small plates and cocktails next door on Bell Boulevard in Bayside. Baraki offers modern riffs on Greek classics: logs of saganaki cigars drizzled with honey and thyme, spanakopita rolls filled with spinach and feta, and Cyprian BEC with fig jam and halloumi on pita.

Witch Topokki has been packed with influencers and locals who want to try the city’s only AYCE tteukbokki parlor. The assorted tteok (rice cakes) comes with surprising fillings like sweet pumpkin and mozzarella and make the base for the DIY tteokbokki. Korean comfort foods like ramen and fried chicken are also bottomless. A second location about three miles away at the former Choiga Naeng Myun spot in Bayside can mitigate any long lines. Witch is the latest venture from veteran restaurateur Sang-Jin Park, who’s behind Geo Seo Gi and Dongwon sushi in the area.

The mom-and-daughter duo behind Ooodles Noodle House — chef Deborah Yuan and her daughter Sabrina, both Bayside residents — have fellow Taiwanese Americans shouting out their dishes as “the most authentic Taiwanese” in NYC. The claims cover the menu from beef noodle soups with pickled cabbage, tomatoes, and cilantro to crispy fried chicken sandwiches; lu rou fan with soft-braised pork; and gua bao, steamed pork buns.

The eating section at the back of the fast-casual Poke Wave on Astoria’s Broadway emptied out through the pandemic so owner Christopher Tsang and his associates sat around trying to figure out what to do about “that place” behind his restaurant. The name stuck, and he turned it into a “speakeasy hidden gem kind of thing” that capitalized on his seafood sources. He tapped chef Osan Weng, with 30 years of sushi restaurant experience in Japan, to create two menus. The $148 omakase covers 18 courses including soup, nigiri, and a hand roll. In early December, he rolled out a $118 menu of 13 courses.

At least six months after taking over the lease from Maizal and putting up its own sign, Mayahuel finally opened its doors in January. It mixes up Mexican classics like the assortment of tacos with housemade corn tortillas, chile en nogada (roasted poblano pepper, ground pork, pear, apple, walnut cream sauce), and a sweet date cake. Don’t miss the mezcal cocktails with ingredients like grapefruit soda and pineapple peppercorn syrup at this self-described “goddess of agave.” A bottomless brunch menu featuring items like concha french toast is set to launch in January.

There’s an exciting new infusion of Bhutanese food from Zhego in Woodside, long a home for Himalayan restaurants like the Weekender, Dawa’s and Bhanchha Ghar — with the latter two specializing in Tibetan and Nepalese food. Zhego is a partnership of manager and former professional mountain biker Sonam Tshering Singye and chef Tobden Jamphel, who had an online following for his home-cooked meals. “We’re Bhutanese,” says Singye. “We like our cheese and our chilies. So there you go.” Get the national dish, ema datsi (long green peppers coated in melty cheese), jasha maroo (rich and slightly tangy chicken stew), and cheese momos.

Queens Village locals have been welcoming Nettie’s with open arms. The reception isn’t just for the restaurant’s infusion of Southern family-style soul food classics like turkey wings, fried catfish, mac and cheese, candied yams, and seasoned grits: It’s also about the warmth Nettie’s, a proud Black-owned business, has brought to the majority Black residential community — from the owners stopping at tables to chat with diners to their messages of generational wealth and youth guidance. Consider a visit for the convivial wing nights on Thursday and Friday as well as weekend brunch. It’s closed Monday through Wednesday.

It took months for the commissioned artist, Kevin Morel aka Kam, to turn a Kew Gardens corner store into a gem of black-and-white line art. In mid-October, Love’s Kitchen pulled up its illustrated gate, and now guests can step into a scene where art and reality blur. The actual space is a fast-casual takeout operation of burgers and Latin and Caribbean American dishes like beef stew, lomo saltado, and salchipapas.