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The Manhattan Heatmap: Where to Eat Right Now

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134111232008_10_hasmaps%20%283%29%20%281%29.jpgMore often than not, tipsters, readers, friends and family of Eater have one question: Where should I eat right now? Restaurant obsessives want to know what's new, what's hot, which favorite chef just launched a sophomore effort, what Michael White is up to these days. And while the Eater 38 is a crucial resource covering old standbys and neighborhood essentials across the city, it is not a chronicle of the "it" places of the moment. Thus, we offer the Eater Heatmap, which will change continually to always highlight where the foodie crowds are flocking to at the moment.

Check out the map of Manhattan's 12 hottest restaurants below, and stay tuned for the Brooklyn and Queens maps later this week.



08/02/12: Added: Murray's Cheese Bar, Governor, Lake Trout, Swine
09/06/12: Added: Blanca, Pork Slope, Pok Pok Phat Thai, Porsena Extra Bar, Dassara, All Good Things
10/04/12: Added: Ichimura at Brushstroke, Salumeria Rosi Il Ristorante, Barraca, Pig and Khao, Calliope, The Leadbelly
11/20/12: Added: El Toro Blanco, Gaonnuri, L'Apicio, Bill's, The Butcher's Daughter, The Library
12/06/12: Added: Chez Sardine, Willow Road, Tribeca Canvas, Sen
01/03/13: Added: The Marrow, Salvation Taco, Hanjan, Mighty Quinn's, Louro, Le Philosophe
02/07/13: Added: The General, Circolo, Cole's Greenwich Village, American Flatbread Tribeca Hearth, Maysville, The Cleveland
03/07/13: Added: Pearl & Ash, Montmartre, Manzanilla, Clarkson, Feast
04/04/13: Added: Carbone, Alder, Kajitsu
05/02/13: Added: ABC Cocina, Uncle Boons, Lafayette, Little Prince.
06/06/13: Added: Costata, Betony, Tanoshi Sushi, Harlem Shake, The Musket Room
07/11/13: Added: Charlie Bird, Estela, Sushi Dojo, The Butterfly

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Charlie Bird

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Robert Bohr's Italian restaurant has a fun vibe, a comfortable dining room, and a menu that's full of winners. But the service is the most impressive part of the equation. The servers here are knowledgeable and attentive in a way that you don't always find at hip Downtown hot spots like this, and rising star sommelier Grant Reynolds will make sure you find something great to drink, no matter how much you want to spend. Charlie Bird is one of the year's big surprises.

Estela is the new home of chef Ignacio Mattos, who developed a cult following at Isa in Williamsburg. He's joined by former Blue Hill beverage director Thomas Carter, and restaurateur Mark Connell. The menu features snacks, shareable small plates, and a few entrees, plus cocktails and over 20 wines by the glass. Mattos's cuisine draws influence from Europe, America, and South America.

The Butterfly

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The Altamarea Group's newest venture is a relaxed Tribeca cocktail bar and restaurant with a slightly retro vibe. Right now, Eben Freeman is mixing up American classics like the Brandy Old Fashioned and the Grasshopper, and Freeman might also introduce a list of his greatest hits somewhere down the road. The menu from Michael White and his crew includes riffs on American comfort food favorites like patty melts, spinach and artichoke dip, and fried chicken.

Sushi Dojo

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Sushi Dojo is the new East Village restaurant from 27-year-old chef David Bouhadana, who previously worked for Morimoto. Bouhadana is serving a $45 10-course omakase that's already attracting some buzz from the sushi snobs.

At Betony, former Eleven Madison Park executive sous chef Bryce Shuman is serving modern American cuisine in a relaxed setting. The food is similar in spirit to what you might find at EMP, except that everything is offered a la carte, and most of the entrees are priced in the mid-20s. Eamon Rockey, formerly of EMP and Aska, is running the front of the house.

The Musket Room

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Matt Lambert, a veteran of Saxon + Parole and Public, recently opened this casual new restaurant in the old Elizabeth space. The Musket Room has a handsome dining room and a menu that's inspired by the chef's New Zealand heritage. The menu includes quail with "bread sauce" & roasted onions, seared foie gras, duck with carrot & huckleberries, and tofu gnocchi.

Costata

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Costata is Michael White's return to the old Fiamma space, where he first garned acclaim from the New York critics seven years ago. At this modern, very comfortable restaurant, chef Bianco is serving many of his signature pasta dishes (including the sensational, must-order "Garganelli Della'Fiamma"), plus slabs of dry-aged premium beef. Costata is aiming for straight crowd-pleaser, and the early word suggests that White is delivering the goods. In spirit and price point, this restaurant is similar to Marea and Ai Fiori.

Harlem Shake

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Tanoshi Sushi Sake Bar

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[Photo: Foursquare]

ABC Cocina

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This spinoff of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's wildly popular ABC Kitchen offers market-driven Latin-influenced small plates, many of which are cooked in a wood-fired oven. The menu includes things like spring pea empanadas, crispy fish tacos, poached prawns with paprika, fluke with green chili dressing, and beef tenderloin "burnt ends" with chimichurri. ABC Kitchen's Dan Kluger is overseeing the kitchen here with chef de cuisine Ian Coogan.

Lafayette

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Lafayette is the blockbuster French restaurant from chef Andrew Carmellini and restaurateurs Luke Ostrom and Josh Pickard. You can have a big, decadent meal here feasting on steak frites and foie gras terrines, but the menu is also full of lighter dishes too, like the excellent, earthy duck au poivre. The front space at Lafayette features an all-day patisserie with bread from James Belisle and pastries from Jen Yee.

The chef Wylie Dufresne, who has been pushing the envelope at his Lower East Side restaurant wd-50 for the past decade, branches out with Alder, in the East Village. This new restaurant eschews tasting menus in favor of an à la carte selection of items like rye pasta with pastrami, Caesar salad "nigiri," pigs in a blanket, and other Dufresne takes on dishes from the pub canon. The food complements an impressive beverage program from Kevin Denton. Jon Bignelli, a wd-50 vet, is executive chef.

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Charlie Bird

Robert Bohr's Italian restaurant has a fun vibe, a comfortable dining room, and a menu that's full of winners. But the service is the most impressive part of the equation. The servers here are knowledgeable and attentive in a way that you don't always find at hip Downtown hot spots like this, and rising star sommelier Grant Reynolds will make sure you find something great to drink, no matter how much you want to spend. Charlie Bird is one of the year's big surprises.

Estela

Estela is the new home of chef Ignacio Mattos, who developed a cult following at Isa in Williamsburg. He's joined by former Blue Hill beverage director Thomas Carter, and restaurateur Mark Connell. The menu features snacks, shareable small plates, and a few entrees, plus cocktails and over 20 wines by the glass. Mattos's cuisine draws influence from Europe, America, and South America.

The Butterfly

The Altamarea Group's newest venture is a relaxed Tribeca cocktail bar and restaurant with a slightly retro vibe. Right now, Eben Freeman is mixing up American classics like the Brandy Old Fashioned and the Grasshopper, and Freeman might also introduce a list of his greatest hits somewhere down the road. The menu from Michael White and his crew includes riffs on American comfort food favorites like patty melts, spinach and artichoke dip, and fried chicken.

Sushi Dojo

Sushi Dojo is the new East Village restaurant from 27-year-old chef David Bouhadana, who previously worked for Morimoto. Bouhadana is serving a $45 10-course omakase that's already attracting some buzz from the sushi snobs.

Betony

At Betony, former Eleven Madison Park executive sous chef Bryce Shuman is serving modern American cuisine in a relaxed setting. The food is similar in spirit to what you might find at EMP, except that everything is offered a la carte, and most of the entrees are priced in the mid-20s. Eamon Rockey, formerly of EMP and Aska, is running the front of the house.

The Musket Room

Matt Lambert, a veteran of Saxon + Parole and Public, recently opened this casual new restaurant in the old Elizabeth space. The Musket Room has a handsome dining room and a menu that's inspired by the chef's New Zealand heritage. The menu includes quail with "bread sauce" & roasted onions, seared foie gras, duck with carrot & huckleberries, and tofu gnocchi.

Costata

Costata is Michael White's return to the old Fiamma space, where he first garned acclaim from the New York critics seven years ago. At this modern, very comfortable restaurant, chef Bianco is serving many of his signature pasta dishes (including the sensational, must-order "Garganelli Della'Fiamma"), plus slabs of dry-aged premium beef. Costata is aiming for straight crowd-pleaser, and the early word suggests that White is delivering the goods. In spirit and price point, this restaurant is similar to Marea and Ai Fiori.

Harlem Shake

[Photo]

Tanoshi Sushi Sake Bar

[Photo: Foursquare]

ABC Cocina

This spinoff of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's wildly popular ABC Kitchen offers market-driven Latin-influenced small plates, many of which are cooked in a wood-fired oven. The menu includes things like spring pea empanadas, crispy fish tacos, poached prawns with paprika, fluke with green chili dressing, and beef tenderloin "burnt ends" with chimichurri. ABC Kitchen's Dan Kluger is overseeing the kitchen here with chef de cuisine Ian Coogan.

Lafayette

Lafayette is the blockbuster French restaurant from chef Andrew Carmellini and restaurateurs Luke Ostrom and Josh Pickard. You can have a big, decadent meal here feasting on steak frites and foie gras terrines, but the menu is also full of lighter dishes too, like the excellent, earthy duck au poivre. The front space at Lafayette features an all-day patisserie with bread from James Belisle and pastries from Jen Yee.

Alder

The chef Wylie Dufresne, who has been pushing the envelope at his Lower East Side restaurant wd-50 for the past decade, branches out with Alder, in the East Village. This new restaurant eschews tasting menus in favor of an à la carte selection of items like rye pasta with pastrami, Caesar salad "nigiri," pigs in a blanket, and other Dufresne takes on dishes from the pub canon. The food complements an impressive beverage program from Kevin Denton. Jon Bignelli, a wd-50 vet, is executive chef.

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