Fall in New York always brings a rush of restaurant openings, but this year, some of the city’s biggest names are using the season to try something different. Daniel Boulud is combining three longtime Lincoln Center restaurants into one sprawling brasserie.
Daniel Humm is heading downtown with a more casual follow-up to Eleven Madison Park. Enrique Olvera is turning the former Atla into a bar, while London chef Thomas Straker is taking over the old Lucky Strike for his first restaurant outside the U.K.
And this is only part one. Eater NY’s fall restaurant preview continues Thursday, September 10, on Eater New York Substack — sign up online — with another batch of openings we’re watching, including Galo, chef Nuno Sousa’s intimate Portuguese restaurant in the West Village; the ambitious three-in-one One Bryant Park; Kalo, a wood-fired Greek restaurant on the Upper East Side; the Swaine sisters’ namesake Williamsburg neighborhood restaurant Swaine’s; Cafe Wands in Cobble Hill; Romy, which is taking over the former Little Prince in Soho; and Norte, the more casual Mexican steakhouse sibling to Cuerno.
Some of the openings we’re watching most closely are more personal. Former Theodora chef Vitor Mendes is drawing on his Amazon rainforest travels for Iara, his first restaurant. Cookbook author Andy Baraghani is opening his first restaurant, Ditto, near Union Square. Zimmi’s is giving pastry chef Clodagh Manning a bigger showcase at the 15-seat Bar à Part, while former Red Hook Tavern staffers Bun Cheam and Cait Callahan are opening a full-fledged Cambodian restaurant with their former boss.
There’s plenty of nostalgia in the mix, though rarely as a straight revival. The Kisa team is resurrecting the country buffets David Yun and Steve Choi grew up with around Atlanta. At the Public Theater, the longtime team behind Joe’s Pub is opening the Astor, a tavern inspired by old New York supper clubs and neighborhood restaurants. And several familiar spaces are getting entirely new lives under new operators.
We’ve already been zeroing in on some of the season’s other major openings, too: fish shop from the Dane’s duo, Chippy’s; CC’s at the Crane Club; Bar Charmantfrom Eugene Remm; and Calabash, where baking star Camari Mick is exploring her own Black ancestry in a West Village restaurant opening this fall. On Tuesday, September 9, Bronx-born Top Chef semifinalist Lana Lagomarsini opens Creola on the Upper East Side, built around a tasting menu that explores the Black culinary diaspora. And in Red Hook, two Fort Defiance alums are part of the trio behind Val’s, a new neighborhood diner taking over the former Pitt’s this fall.
Taken all together, this fall’s openings run from blockbusters to tiny neighborhood restaurants, but overall, we’re seeing chefs going more casual, experienced operators striking out with more personal projects, and restaurants designed as much for regulars as for opening-night buzz. Here are the New York restaurants we’re most excited to see this fall 2026.
MANHATTAN
A Korean-owned, Southern-styled buffet lands in the East Village
Good Time Country Buffet
166 First Avenue, between East 10th and 11th streets, East Village
From: David Yun, Steve Choi, and Yong Min Kim, the team behind Kisa and C as in Charlie
Opening: Mid-September
The Kisa team is reviving the country buffets they grew up with around the South with a $26.99 all-you-can-eat spread of fried chicken, rib tips, collard greens, mac and cheese, and rotating Southern specials. The carpet, mismatched wallpaper, and drop ceilings are deliberately faithful to the form. But nostalgia isn’t the only point. “Maybe around now, when things are very expensive, what if we bring this affordable country buffet back to the city?” Yun tells Eater. “What if we can bring back the era of the buffet?”
The Public Theater gets a dining update
The Astor
425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, Noho
From: Serge Becker, Josh Pickard, Paul Salmon, Kevin Abbott, and NoHo Hospitality partners Luke Ostrom and Andrew Carmellini, with managing partners Jersey Katz and Michelle Cunha, all in partnership with the Public Theater
Opening: Mid-September
The team behind Joe’s Pub, which has operated inside the Public Theater since 1998, is expanding its nearly three-decade partnership with the theater with a new restaurant, the Astor, taking over what used to be the restaurant called the Library. Chef Angel Monge is working with chef-partner Andrew Carmellini on a menu inspired by old New York taverns, supper clubs, and neighborhood restaurants, with dishes including Devilish eggs, steak Diane, and French mushroom dip with au jus. Bar director Darryl Chan handles cocktails, including riffs on martinis, Manhattans, and Bijous, while Josh Nadel oversees the wine. Serge Becker designed the wood-paneled, red-banquette space as a hidden bohemian tavern layered with posters, playbills, photographs, and other artifacts from the theater’s history, plus new murals and portraits by artist Andre Carrilho. Joe’s Pub is a separate space that Carmellini’s group operates and will remain unchanged. Bar Torino is also opening in the theater, a second location following the one in Hudson Yards.
A star pastry chef gets the spotlight
Bar à Part
72 Bedford Street, at Commerce Street, West Village
From: Zimmi’s owners Maxime Pradié and Jenni Guizio, with wine director Cory Holt
Opening: Mid-September
The team behind Zimmi’s is expanding next door with Bar à Part, a tiny 15-seat wine bar and cafe. The plan includes small plates, an extensive wine list, as well as savory and sweet pastries from acclaimed pastry chef Clodagh Manning. The Ireland native, who previously worked at London’s now-closed Lyle’s, has become one of the reasons to visit Zimmi’s in her own right; Bar à Part will put her work more squarely in the spotlight.
Daniel Boulud goes big across from Lincoln Center
Brasserie Boulud
1900 Broadway, between West 63rd and 64th streets, Upper West Side
From: Daniel Boulud and the Dinex Group
Opening: Mid-September
Daniel Boulud is combining his three longtime restaurants across from Lincoln Center into one sprawling 10,000-square-foot brasserie designed by Rockwell Group. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Brasserie Boulud will have a large central bar, private dining rooms, and a tucked-away speakeasy. The menu leans classic French, with seafood towers, French onion soup, steak frites, lobster souffle, and boudin blanc, along with the return of Boulud’s cult-favorite DB Burger. Pre- and post-theater menus will return, too, while mornings will bring coffee and croissants to enjoy at the restaurant or to go.
Fine dining vets open a Southern-leaning spot in the West Village
Legion
140 Charles Street, at Greenwich Street, West Village
From: Truman Parsons, chef de cuisine Emilio Cerra, beverage director Nathaniel Hawn, and service director James Franchini
Opening: Mid-September
This menu draws particularly from Charleston and New Orleans, where Truman Parsons spent much of his childhood, with Southern ingredients and traditions filtered through his viewpoint. Diners can order a la carte or opt for a $155 tasting menu, with dishes including grilled bay scallops with country ham XO and sweet corn sabayon, trout with pecan-brown butter and ham hock-braised chrysanthemums, and smoked Iberico and foie gras sausage with pomme puree and gumbo. Angel biscuits, baked to order, are glazed with rose honey, chicken jus, and brown butter and served with cultured fennel butter.
A team behind a three-star Michelin spot loosens up in the West Village
Humm
435 Hudson Street, between Leroy and Morton streets, West Village
From: Daniel Humm Hospitality
Opening: October
Daniel Humm is heading downtown with Humm, a more casual restaurant from the team behind Eleven Madison Park and Clemente Bar, taking over the former (beloved) En Brasserie. The a la carte menu will be seasonal modern American. Pierre Yovanovitch is designing the restaurant with a focus on art, with works connected to artists including Francesco Clemente, Rashid Johnson, Louise Bourgeois, and Roni Horn.
A London chef imports his Instagram-famous cooking to Soho
Straker’s NYC
59 Grand Street, at West Broadway, Soho
From: Thomas Straker
Opening: October
London chef and internet butter evangelist Thomas Straker is taking over the former Lucky Strike, Keith McNally’s now-closed Soho fixture, for his first restaurant outside the U.K. Straker opened his Notting Hill original in 2022. And after lockdown, cooking videos — and a liberal deployment of butter — made him a social-media star. The New York restaurant will center on an open kitchen surrounded by steel and green stone, leather banquettes, dark wood, and warm lighting. Expect the modern British cooking style with Italian leanings that defines his London restaurant.
Amazon rainforest ingredients make their way to New York
Iara
205 Allen Street, near East Houston Street, Lower East Side
From: Former Theodora chef de cuisine Vitor Mendes
Opening: Fall
Chef and owner Vitor Mendes is drawing on the Amazon for his modern Brazilian restaurant. The menu includes tucupi broth with butter beans; Bahian red snapper stew; tuna with tapioca crisps and smoked trout mousse; and grilled picanha with cassava fries, meant to be dipped in açaí ketchup. Desserts include seasonal takes on Brazilian flan, such as pumpkin, plus complimentary brigadeiros. The restaurant also draws on Mendes’s travels through the Amazon rainforest, where he reconnected with his birth country after his father died.
An award-winning cookbook author opens his first spot
Ditto
13 East 16th Street, between Union Square West and Fifth Avenue, Union Square
From: Cookbook author and former Bon Appétit editor Andy Baraghani
Opening: October
Andy Baraghani has spent years developing recipes; now he’ll get to put them on a restaurant menu of his own. The cookbook author and former Bon Appétit editor is opening Ditto with business partner and investor Michael Silber. The restaurant is meant to be casual and will take walk-ins only.
A famed Mexican chef gets into the nightlife scene
Bar Cosme
372 Lafayette Street, at Great Jones Street, Noho
From: Enrique Olvera
Opening: Fall
Enrique Olvera may have closed his decade-old all-day Mexican restaurant Atla, but he’s holding onto the address for something new. Bar Cosme will be a bar first, with drinks developed by Sebastián Tollius, formerly of Clemente Bar. Food won’t be an afterthought, though: There will be prix fixe and a la carte menus, along with tortillas, salsas, and dishes cooked asador-style.
A long-awaited Filipino American cocktail bar
June Baby
197 Second Avenue, between East 12th and 13th streets, East Village
From: Co-owners Roxanne Diaz Bangalan, Darwin Pornel, and Ben Rojo
Opening: Fall
Finally, co-owners Roxanne Diaz Bangalan, Darwin Pornel, and Ben Rojo are opening their Filipino American cocktail bar in Manhattan this season. Pornel had been the director of operations at Paradise Projects (behind bars like Mister Paradise and Elvis) and bartended at the Nomad Hotel; Rojo runs LA bar No Smoking and now-shuttered East Village spot Black Emperor. The drinks and food highlight the Filipino diaspora. The former includes Calamansi Hi-Ball, the ube colada, and the Turon-Tado, a daiquiri made with jackfruit and caramelized bananas. Then, for food, there’s lumpia, salt-and-pepper chicken wings, and a burger tribute to In-N-Out.
BROOKLYN
Tamil pop-up glows up to a full restaurant
Mythily
129 Havemeyer Street, between South First and Grand Streets, Williamsburg
From: Top Chef season 21 contender Rasika Venkatesa
Opening: Mid-September
Rasika Venkatesa is turning her New York City pop-up, named after her grandmother, into a full-on Brooklyn restaurant this fall. She competed in season 21 of Top Chef, was named one of Time Out New York’s Best Young Chefs in 2025, and worked in San Francisco spots such as the French Laundry and Mourad. The restaurant Mythily serves up a Tamil and South Indian menu, with dishes like Green apples and fennel with a stracciatella soaked in rasam, stuffed eggplant curry, and tilefish with raw mango-coconut curry. Drinks include low-ABV and nonalcoholic drinks with cordials, ferments, and spiced-up shochus made by the team.
A full-on Cambodian restaurant lands in Red Hook
Hōp
358 Van Brunt Street, near Sullivan Street, Red Hook
From: Former Red Hook Tavern staffers Bun Cheam and Cait Callahan
Opening: November
Cheam and Callahan are partnering with their former boss, Red Hook Tavern’s Bill Durney, and his Four Clover group on a full-on Cambodian restaurant and cocktail bar. Its name is the Khmer word for “eat.” Expect beef skewers, prahok ktiss, a funky Khmer pork dip, whole branzino roasted in banana leaves, and wok-fired dishes including fried noodles and charred vegetables.
QUEENS
A 9,000-square-foot karaoke bar and restaurant lands in Long Island City
Rewind
45-57 Davis Street, between Jackson and Skillman avenues, Long Island City
From: Beverage director Ken Chen and chef and partner Alexander Lee
Opening: Mid-September
Rewind is a 9,000-square-foot underground restaurant, cocktail bar, and karaoke lounge coming to Long Island City. Diners enter by pressing a “rewind” button on an ’80s-style boombox that opens onto the bar, where beverage director Ken Chen, formerly of Taipei’s Indulge Experimental Bistro, is building cocktails around tea, the Chinese zodiac, and the five elements. Partner Alexander Lee’s menu includes truffle mushroom congee, Taiwanese fried chicken, and wagyu donburi. Beyond the restaurant are eight private karaoke rooms inspired by Hong Kong cinema, vintage recording studios, and other retro references. Rewind will also host a monthly guest-bartender series featuring bartenders from New York spots including Stone & Soil, Yawning Cobra, and Red Sorghum.
