Nearly three years after COVID forced many restaurants to close, the New York dining scene is reopening, with some old favorites and plenty of new options. The best local restaurants are still packed, but it’s easier to grab a walk-in seat, even during peak dinner hours on Monday night.
If you’re a fan of the original cronut, don’t miss a visit to Dominique Ansel Bakery. The bakery is also famous for frozen s’mores, magic souffles, waffle affogato and more. For dinner, try a savory dish like the grilled octopus salad with sour buckthorn at SoleLuna in Sunnyside. Or, head to Bar Jamon in Gramercy for Spanish tapas with a big wine list and fun cocktails. Marcus Samuelsson’s Hav & Mar takes up the vast space of a former Starrett-Lehigh building in Chelsea, and offers a creative menu that pulls from his Ethiopian and Swedish heritage.
For a casual, reliable pizza in Midtown, there’s Motorino. The ambiance is cool and feels like your neighborhood spot, and the thin crusts fresh out of the wood-burning oven are perfectly chewy. Or try the grilled octopus salad and spaghetti alle vongole at the new SoleLuna, in a sunny, welcoming space.
In the Theater District and Times Square area, Playwright is a go-to for Irish whiskey and burgers. You can also find great lekei ramen (a mix of fatty pork-based tonkotsu and soy-based shoyu) at E.A.K. Izakaya, in the Theater District. For seafood, the aguachile at Jackson Heights’s tiny El Submarino has been hugely influential since it opened in 2020 and inspired a new wave of interest in Mexican seafood dishes. best local restaurants near me