New York's Best New Restaurants

By Adam Sachs
December 18, 2013
Courtesy of Pearl & Ash
New York is…well, that’s a hard sentence to finish. Almost as hard as figuring out which of this season’s new crop of restaurants to try next. The defining element of New York’s dining scene is its endlessness—of range and ambition and new openings—plus a style that eludes easy summation. See the Food Lover’s Ultimate NYC

It’s a food culture that celebrates a self-consciously genre-referential throwback like Carbone, a West Village spot from Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone that conjures the late, great Italian red-sauces of our collective imaginations.

Related: Best Places to Eat Like a Local

It’s also one that sustains 12-stool, unapologetically expensive, avant-garde Blanca in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. There’s no menu and minimal décor (the mounted head of a 700-pound tuna springs forth from one otherwise bare wall), plus an impressively eclectic vinyl selection. 

The city welcomes outsiders; Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok and Danny Bowein’s Mission Chinese were both imported from elsewhere and embraced by locals as their own. And also outside thinkers like Ignacio Mattos, whose tapas restaurant Estela is a small wonder.

Related: Best Brunch Spots in NYC

New York is…ever changing, full of surprises, and more delicious than ever thanks to these restaurants, the best places to eat right now.
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Noe DeWitt

T+L reveals the best places to eat in New York City—and the brilliant chefs behind them.

New York is…well, that’s a hard sentence to finish. Almost as hard as figuring out which of this season’s new crop of restaurants to try next. The defining element of New York’s dining scene is its endlessness—of range and ambition and new openings—plus a style that eludes easy summation.

It’s a food culture that celebrates a self-consciously genre-referential throwback like Carbone, a West Village spot from Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone that conjures the late, great Italian red-sauces of our collective imaginations.

It’s also one that sustains 12-stool, unapologetically expensive, avant-garde Blanca in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. There’s no menu and minimal décor (the mounted head of a 700-pound tuna springs forth from one otherwise bare wall), plus an impressively eclectic vinyl selection.

The city welcomes outsiders; Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok and Danny Bowein’s Mission Chinese were both imported from elsewhere and embraced by locals as their own. And also outside thinkers like Ignacio Mattos, whose tapas restaurant Estela is a small wonder.

New York is…ever changing, full of surprises, and more delicious than ever thanks to these restaurants, the best places to eat right now.

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Innovator: Blanca

Anthony Falco

Carlo Mirarchi’s 20-odd-course menu ($195) is one of the most inventive and enjoyable in the city. 261 Moore St., Brooklyn; blancanyc.com. $$$$

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Out-of-Towner: Pok Pok NY

Evan Sung

Portland, Oregon’s Andy Ricker brings his authentic northern Thai cooking—laap pet isaan (chopped duck salad); Vietnamese fish-sauce wings—to waterfront Brooklyn. $$

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Neo-Classicist: Lafayette

Noe DeWitt

A traditional French brasserie menu from Andrew Carmellini (the Dutch; Locanda Verde) and a grand dining room by Roman & Williams make this the splashiest downtown opening of the year. 380 Lafayette St.; lafayetteny.com. $$$

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Brooklyn “It” Couple: Nightingale 9

Daniel Krieger

Arkansas-born chef Robert Newton and partner Kerry Diamond brought enlightened Southern food (and cult fried chicken) to Carroll Gardens with Seersucker. Now they’re putting a Southern inflection on Vietnamese cuisine, inspired by their trips to that country. 345 Smith St., Brooklyn; nightingale9.com. $$$

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Nordic: Aska

Noe DeWitt

Everything a small, serious Brooklyn restaurant should be: tiny (just 18 tables), thoughtful, and tucked in back of a bar-cum–art gallery in Williamsburg. But Aska also has Swedish-born Fredrik Berselius, a chef with a delicate touch and a truly personal take on the New Nordic approach to food. 90 Wythe Ave., Brooklyn; askanyc.com. $$$$

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Auteur-Gone-Casual: Alder

JaegerSloan

Were it run by anyone else, Alder might be just another cool East Village joint in the modern mold (small plates; artisanal cider on tap; exposed beams). But this is the à la carte outpost of Wylie Dufresne (WD-50), where he and executive chef Jon Bignelli offer inspired reinventions of things-you-know: French-onion-soup rings; rye pasta with shaved pastrami. 157 Second Ave.; aldernyc.com. $$$

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Little Empire: Montmartre

Courtesy of Montmartre

Gabriel Stulman goes old-school French—pâté grand-mère; coquilles St. Jacques with crème fraîche and Gruyère—in a sweet space in Chelsea. 158 Eighth Ave.; montmartrenyc.com. $$$

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Oeno-Preneur: Charlie Bird

Noe DeWitt

A tiny but light-flooded wedge of SoHo with an Italian-ish menu, boom-box art on the walls, and a buzzy, wine-soaked vibe, courtesy of sommelier Robert Bohr and chef Ryan Hardy. 5 King St.; charliebirdnyc.com. $$$

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Otaku Enabler: Kajitsu

Evan Sung

Enlightened Japanese vegetarian cuisine comes to Murray Hill at Ryota Ueshima’s serene temple of shojin ryori cooking. 125 E. 39th St.; kajitsunyc.com. $$$

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Innovator: Atera

Nathan Rawlinson

A flurry of finely constructed tastes, served at an elegant dining counter in TriBeCa, from Mugaritz alum Matthew Lightner, whose food is serious but never pedantic. 77 Worth St.; ateranyc.com. $$$$

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Out-of-Towner: Whiskey Soda Lounge NY

Noe DeWitt

Just next door to Pok Pok, Ricker’s new bar is ideal for pre– or post–Pok Pok drinks and salty-spicy snacks. 115 Columbia St., Brooklyn; whiskeysodalounge-ny.com.

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Neo-Classicist: Betony

Noe DeWitt

Eamon Rockey and Bryce Shuman dazzle midtown with grown-up glamour, polished service, and an amazing foie gras, studded with ham hock and served with black garlic and consommé. 41 W. 57th St.; betony-nyc.com. $$$$

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Brooklyn “It” Couple: Reynard

Courtesy of Wythe Hotel

The married pair behind Diner and Marlow & Sons—which helped define rustic, twee Williamsburg chic—recently opened this airy, French-inspired bistro in the Wythe Hotel. 80 Wythe Ave., Brooklyn; reynardnyc.com. $$$

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Nordic: Luksus

Signe Birck

A 26-seat Scandi-inspired restaurant inside a Greenpoint beer bar, from Danish brewing phenom Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergspø and chef Daniel Burns (actually from Nova Scotia, but close enough), who has cooked at the Fat Duck and the Momofuku test kitchen (and formerly ran the pastry program at Noma, in Copenhagen). 615 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn; luksusnyc.com. $$$$

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Auteur-Gone-Casual: The Elm

Evan Sung

The boneless, fatty, and deeply, movingly lamb-y roasted lamb neck with charred-eggplant purée is reason enough to cross the river to Williamsburg, where the brooding Paul Liebrandt does his brainy thing at this accessible if slightly cold-feeling restaurant in the King & Grove hotel. 160 N. 12th St., Brooklyn; theelmnyc.com. $$$

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Little Empire: Chez Sardine

Noe DeWitt

This quasi-izakaya epitomizes the Stulman approach: keep it small and stylish, be nice, and offer plenty of well-named cocktails (like You and Me and 686 Dancin’ Fools). 183 W. 10th St.; chezsardine.com. $$$

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Oeno-Preneur: Estela

Noe DeWitt

Ignacio Mattos’s personality and particularity come through in every dish—nearly all of them hits—and Thomas Carter will help you find just the bottle you were seeking. 47 E. Houston St.; estelanyc.com. $$$

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Innovator: NoMad

Courtesy of NoMad

The second, looser-but-still-lovely opening from the genius pair behind Eleven Madison Park is famous for its truffle-and-foie-stuffed chicken for two, but we like it best for chef-owner Daniel Humm’s creative way with vegetables and the stylish embrace of the (many) dining rooms. $$$

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Brooklyn “It” Couple: Marco’s

John Von Pamer

Francine Stephens and Andrew Feinberg go regional Italian (with great cocktails) in the exposed-brick space that formerly housed Franny’s, their beloved pizzeria (now relocated down the block). 295 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn; marcosbrooklyn.com. $$$

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Little Empire: ZZ’s Clam Bar

Noe DeWitt

Torrisi and Carbone’s newest has great cocktails, astoundingly good roe toasts, and an astronomical price tag. 169 Thompson St.; zzsclambar.com. $$$$

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Otaku Enabler: Sushi Nakazawa

Joey Di Nardo/Mpire Creative

Daisuke Nakazawa is an acolyte of Jiro Ono (star of Jiro Dreams of Sushi). That translates into long lines for the 10 seats at his counter in the West Village, as well as exceptionally beautiful fish and rice. 23 Commerce St.; sushinakazawa.com. $$$$

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Out-of-Towner: Mission Chinese Food

Jasmin Sun

Oklahoma native turned San Francisco hipster hero Danny Bowein isn’t hung up on authenticity: he wears shorts with his chef’s jacket and cooks pastrami kung-pao style. Bowein’s brain-obliteratingly spicy food is the most fun to be had on the Lower East Side in forever. 154 Orchard St.; missionchinesefood.com. $$

Editor's Note: Mission Chinese closed temporarily in fall 2013 for a revamp.

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Little Empire: Carbone

Daniel Krieger

Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi are at their suave best here, channeling memories of meaty, muscular red-sauce Italian. 181 Thompson St.; carbonenewyork.com. $$$$

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Oeno-Preneur: Pearl & Ash

Courtesy of Pearl & Ash

Great wines, upscale bar food, and rocking 80’s power-jams on the Bowery draw a fun, late-night food-industry crowd. Patrick Cappiello’s wine list is fairly priced and full of cult finds, while Richard Kuo does assured takes on such classics as steak tartare. 220 Bowery; pearlandash.com. $$$

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By Adam Sachs