NYCGuide
The NYC Hit List: The Best New Restaurants In NYC
We checked out these new restaurants—and loved them.
The Hit List is where you’ll find our favorite new food and drink experiences in NYC. We track new openings across the city, and then visit as many as we can. While this is by no means an exhaustive list of every good new spot, one thing you can always rely on is that we’ll only include places that we have genuinely checked out.
Our goal is for this list to be as diverse as the city itself—inclusive of a wide range of cuisines, price points, neighborhoods, chefs and owners of all backgrounds, and the multifaceted communities within the industry. If you think we missed a great new place, we want to hear about it. Shoot us an email at nyc@theinfatuation.com.
Whether you’re looking for in-person dining, takeout, or delivery, The Hit List is here to help you find a great new spot to support. Read on to find your new favorites.
THE SPOTS
The takeaway breakfast burrito with crunchy hash browns won this New Mexican spot a cult following at its old location. Now open as a vibrant all-day cafe in Bed-Stuy, Ursula offers this burrito on a plate, smothered in chile sauce and cheese—as well as many other sandwiches and small plates that are worthy of a long lunch or a casual date night. In the evening, snag a seat at the bar overlooking the open kitchen and watch the cooks make cheffy little dishes like snap peas with pecan salsa macha while you sip a cocktail made with palo santo-infused rum.
Unlike many of its French-small-plates contemporaries, Ella Funt didn’t go the minimalist route. And we really appreciate that. With its gilded bathroom and multicolored ceiling, this East Village spot is about one disco ball away from feeling like a house party—and the modern French food is just as fun as the space. Sit at a table near the neon-lit kitchen, or grab a bar stool next to some people wearing platform loafers and eat a tartine topped with uni, burrata, and chili oil.
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We’d been lurking on Little Egg’s IG page like a thirsty dog for months before it opened. Not only because it’s the resurrection of Egg, a Williamsburg brunch staple that closed in 2020, but because of a new addition to its otherwise familiar menu: the egg katsu sando. And now that we’ve finally had it, we’re giddily telling everyone about the custardy steamed egg, which is panko-fried with a crisp tissue paper crust and topped with pickled shallots, arugula, and a bright yuzu kosho mayo. The sandwich is well worth the 15-minute wait to nab a table in a sunny, yolk-colored nook inside.
It’s hard to neatly categorize this addition to the Winner mini-empire. It’s an all-day cafe, but also a wine bar. It has American and Italian dishes, but also Japanese and Caribbean ones. We’ll just call it our favorite new place to eat and drink in Crown Heights. This location recently expanded from a to-go window and now has seating at a long bar and in a skylit back room. Ask your server about a natural wine they’re into, and pair it with a cheeseburger that drips down your hands. Or get the duck terrine with spongy, crusty bread—it has our vote for the best sourdough in NYC.
Welcome to your dream outdoor wedding reception spot in Park Slope. Completely enclosed by tall, vine-covered walls, the relaxing, plant-filled back patio at Bar Vinazo might even make you forget that you’re in the middle of Brooklyn. Inside this Spanish wine bar from the people behind Fausto and LaLou there’s a louder, more energetic vibe, and cork-top bar stools that compel you to order from an extensive list of glasses and bottles. The small plates are portioned more like snacks—we recommend the boquerones and sobrasada.
Whether you’re preparing for your next seaside vacation or just patiently awaiting the new season of White Lotus, let Ma-dé’s pastel mermaid chic and fresh scallops take you away from whatever hot pile of trash you had to pass by to get there. Unlike its sister restaurant Wayan next door, Ma-dé doesn’t officially identify as Indonesian. But the Southeast Asian influences are there, with things like sambal and calamansi making appearances in their kaleidoscopic seafood and vegetable plates, some served on Indonesian dinnerware. With all that rattan around you and a beach party soundtrack to set the mood, you can almost smell the sea salt. But we wouldn’t sniff too hard. You’re still in Nolita. Lose yourself in another makrut lime cocktail instead.
We kind of wanted to hate the $29 dry-aged brisket hot dog at Mischa, a new Midtown restaurant from the guy who previously brought us $125 wagyu fajitas. Instead, we found ourselves wondering why hot dogs aren’t always served with chili and five sauces. Or why a $29 hot dog should feel wrong if a great $35 burger feels right? Besides the soignée hot dog, Mischa seems destined for power spot status, with big velvet booths, a sprawling bar, and bathrooms the size of small studio apartments—with one major difference: It’s actually fun. A surprisingly playful menu includes XL tater tots, a deviled egg presented in the style of an île flottante, and desserts, like a sunflower-shaped buckwheat honey cake, that are worth coming back for.
Dining at Greywind feels like a party at a Nora Ephron main character’s townhouse. Bookmark this Hudson Yards spot for your next anniversary or birthday, because it has “special occasion” written all over it. From the chef behind Loring Place, Greywind shares a focus on seasonal produce, but is more polished. You could make an entire meal out of fancy snacks like house-made “cheese-its”, and a ricotta focaccia so pretty it looks like it belongs in a Chelsea art gallery. But resist the urge, because you definitely also want mains like the grilled Louisiana shrimp, and dessert is non-negotiable (get the dark chocolate tart).
Superiority Burger started as a humble (aka tiny) East Village shop hawking veggie burgers that caused lines around the corner. They've since gotten a glow-up, moving into what looks like a diner-themed disco in the old Odessa space. The quinoa-based burgers are as good as ever, but the expanded menu is truly unique. We have a hard time choosing between the perfect twice-baked russet and the East Village It Girl of baked potatoes, a white sweet potato topped with chopped pickles and labneh. Decision paralysis truly sets in when it’s time for dessert. Superiority comes from former Del Posto pastry chef Brooks Headley, so anything sweet here kinda rocks, but the psychedelic tapioca pearl pie is by far the coolest-looking dessert in the case.
Hainan Chicken House is a modern Malaysian spot on the Sunset/Borough Park border, and you should make plans to go ASAP. They’re making some of the best Hainanese chicken and rice in the five boroughs, wrapped up in a big square of butcher paper to evoke the feeling of a Hawker stall. The space has a modern farmhouse aesthetic, with wall tiles and decorative plates showcasing different chicken breeds. You’ll want to get some classics like their namesake dish and the excellent curry laksa, but there should be an order of their schmaltzy Hainanese chicken liver mousse on your table, too. On the weekends they rotate through some worthwhile specials (recently, it was Singapore Chili Crab) so pay attention to the whiteboard behind the counter.
From the team behind Nolita's Musket Room, Raf’s is a cozy new spot in Noho that feels like a modest chateau. In the candlelit space, you‘ll see vintage iron chandeliers, an open kitchen with a wood-burning oven, and ceilings painted with clouds that might lower your blood pressure if you stare at them long enough. The menu is French and Italian, and, while it isn’t especially groundbreaking, the food is just as comforting as all those fake clouds. Try the roast chicken served under a pile of fresh herbs, and get the olive oil-soaked fluke crudo. Breakfast and lunch are coming soon.
Decades in Ridgewood is making some of NYC’s best new pizza. The room feels like a Pizza Hut that got a high-fashion glow up, and the combination of neon-green accent lighting and a playlist of ’80s radio hits strikes just the right balance of nostalgia. Most of the tables are two tops, and there’s plenty of seating at the bar, so this is better for catch ups and date nights than big groups. Pizza is the main attraction, and we can’t stop thinking about how the crust manages to be thin, crisp, fluffy, and charred in all the right places. There’s no wrong answer when it comes to toppings, but we love the Big Cheese with added pepperoni. Save room for a slice of tiramisu layer cake at the end of your meal.
Come to Principe in Soho for their impossibly pillowy ndunderi and a scene filled with people who treat every week like it’s Fashion Week. This spacious seafood-focused, Italian-inspired spot looks like it used to be a stylish boutique, with concrete walls, dramatic glass chandeliers, and a raw bar station set up like a DJ booth. Start with the marinated tuna on a daikon disc or the creamy lobster salad, followed by the colatura-dressed sucrine salad and the big crispy chicken cutlet that tastes like a McNugget.
Bar Mario is a new Italian spot in Red Hook that’s about to be your new favorite date night spot. This place is small, but they make the most out of every square inch, from the single large corner booth in the back tucked beneath a dazzling avant-garde chandelier to the ample two-tops and spacious bar. We already have a go-to order here—negroni, caesar salad, agnolotti, and cheesecake. The spaghetti hangover, described by the server at “puttanesca on steroids,” is not to be missed. Most things on the menu here are under $30, and you won’t feel like you’ve been served a kid’s portion of pasta.
When you feel like you’ve seen, done, and eaten all that NYC’s overwhelming omakase scene can offer, go to The Office of Mr. Moto. This St. Mark’s speakeasy requires you to decode an email before your visit to get the entrance code, and is filled with eclectic Japanese antiques. The 21-course meal ($195) is focused on hyper-seasonal ingredients flown in daily from Japan, so expect pieces like shirako or the rare red gurnard that you don’t get at other sushi spots in this price range. Stop by the lounge for a drink after your dinner and listen to the vintage player piano.
Before there were Carbones in Vegas and Hong Kong, there was a place called Torrisi Italian Specialties on Mulberry Street. That spot closed in 2015—but with the opening of Major Food Group’s Torrisi Bar & Restaurant, things have come full circle. Located a few blocks from the original Torrisi, this place feels like a victory lap. It has all the pageantry you expect from the people who brought you the Midtown duck press, and it’s in a huge space with sky-high ceilings and crushed velvet booths. The menu is mostly Italian, but some of the most worthwhile dishes—like a pastrami-style short rib—take inspiration from the surrounding neighborhood.
Ariari is another Korean spot from the team behind Palpal and LittleMad. Like a lot of their restaurants, this place in the East Village warrants a priority visit—especially if you love seafood. Start with the poached octopus with white kimchi followed by crispy rice that’s sweet and rich from uni cream. You’ll see groups around you sharing big simmering cauldrons of soup, as well as couples out for a casual date night. The noise level at this relatively small spot stays mellow, so you don’t have to shout when saying things like: “I wish more places like this would open up around me.”
