This is Eater’s guide to all the new restaurants, bars, and cafes that have opened this week in September 2026. Throughout the month, we’ll update the list weekly (see: August, July, June, May, April, March, February, January). When we’ve been to a place,
we will then include a few openings on our heatmaps (Manhattan,Brooklyn,Queens, cocktail bars) to let you know the ones we like. If there’s an opening in your neighborhood that we’ve missed, let us know at ny@eater.com.
September 2
Spotlight
Midtown: iDen’s Beijing Duck House opened on Tuesday, September 1, in what had been La Grenouille, a now-shuttered New York institution since the 1960s. The new high-end duck restaurant follows the sibling location in Vancouver that opened six years ago. The chef, Matt Chen, had run the kitchen of Le Palais in Taipei — apparently the first restaurant in Taiwan to receive three Michelin stars. The opening menu features a $200 tasting menu as well as a la carte options like a duck-egg yolk roll; surf clam and okra salad; venison with Sichuan-pickled vegetables; and the Beijing duck, which starts at $128. 3 E. 52nd Street, between Fifth and Madison avenues
And the rest…
Chelsea: Showy clubstaurant STK Steakhouse has expanded its presence in the city, opening a spacious second location in Chelsea in mid-August. Diners — the space can fit 200 of them — will find the same steaks, seafood, cocktails, and “DJ-driven dining” (per a press release) that have kept the Midtown location going for nearly two decades. The restaurant will launch a seasonal pumpkin-focused menu beginning Wednesday, September 9, which includes offerings such as crab-stuffed shrimp in pumpkin cream sauce and pumpkin spice margaritas. The space was previously home to another flashy den of meat: Salt Bae’s Nusr-Et Steakhouse, which closed in 2024. 412 W. 15th Street, between Ninth and Tenth avenues
Chinatown: The team behind Essex Street’s old-timey photo booth Retrography unveiled a secret new cafe called Behind The Booth in the back on Wednesday, August 26. The slim-and-stylish setup specializes in an “unexpected” wine list and “ice cream you wouldn’t have ordered anywhere else,” per an opening message. 15 Essex Street, between Canal and Hester streets
Greenpoint: Acclaimed Lone Star pitmasters Jonny White and Chuck Charnichart brought Brooklyn a legit Texas barbecue joint on Sunday, August 30, with the opening of Kirbee’s. Their respective restaurants — Goldee’s in Fort Worth and Barbs B Q in Lockhart — are some of the best barbecue joints in the country over the last several years, with Michelin nods, James Beard nominations, and more. Charnichart’s barbecue plate features her South Texan and Mexican takes on barbecue: pork ribs with lime zest, brisket with Mexican spices, charro beans, and the iconic green spaghetti. White’s is more modern, with brisket, ribs, turkey, potato salad, and coleslaw. Each will include pickles and bread. Kirbee’s works like a true Texas barbecue: People line up outside the black-and-red storefront and place their orders at the first window; their orders will be cut up and plated inside; and then they’ll pick up their trays at the second window; after which they can either find a table in the 24-seat dining room. 55 McGuinness Boulevard South, between Engert Avenue and Newton Street
Greenpoint: Cozy corner coffee shop Loco Cafe opened in the small 500-square-foot space that was previously home to short-lived Viva La Pizza and Pizza Prince on Saturday, August 29, and the minimalist replacement inside has a winking cup of Joe logo. 626 Manhattan Avenue, at Nassau Avenue
Greenwich Village: The swanky martini destination Chateau Royale has been flipped into the more neighborhood-y Floradora, which opened on Thursday, August 27. The new menu features snacks such as mozzarella sticks and pigs in a blanket, alongside French dip sandwiches, burgers, disco fries, chicken paillard, two-layer oxtail lasagna, and more. (The drinks menu, meanwhile, leans into tiny ’tinis and other “sorta-’tinis.”) As owners Cody Pruitt and Jacob Cohen have told Eater NY, the flip was motivated by a desire to make the restaurant “more accessible, price-wise, as well as cuisine-wise, and vibe-wise, so we can see our neighbors more often;” diners at Chateau Royale tended to order the burger over the pricier Dover sole. It’s the second flip this summer for Pruitt and Cohen, who transitioned Libertine in the West Village into the “seafood tavern” Capitaine in June. 205 Thompson Street, at Bleecker Street
Upper East Side: Bright-orange Italian restaurant and pizzeria La Collina opened on Tuesday, August 18, for lunch, dinner, and brunch. Red and white pies join a namesake mozzarella salad and mains like Mediterranean sea bass with celery root puree or sirloin steak surrounded by roasted potatoes, plus a coconut Negroni or limoncello elixirs at the bar. A $34 two-course lunch option during the week features thinly sliced eggplant followed by tonnarelli cacio e pepe or tagliatelle Bolognese. 1431 First Avenue, at East 74th Street
West Village: NYC’s summer of Thai food continues on Wednesday, September 2, with the debut of Hommali from a trio of friends from Bangkok. The contemporary new spot rooted in Thailand’s beloved jasmine rice also offers a tom yum seafood cocktail; dry-aged duck breast served with fermented chile sauce; and penang curry with beef cheeks. A bar with a knack for fermentation and infusions slings drinks like the Tomato — a take on the michelada and a spritz, which includes a Singaporean rice wine made with jasmine and sticky rice. 28 Seventh Avenue South, near Leroy Street
Williamsburg: Small Change, a new bar from the team behind the Last Resort in the East Village and One Trick Pony in the West Village, opened in June in the former location of Lady Jay’s (which occupied the space for almost 15 years). The large backyard remains ready for group hangs, now with an awning of plants. Happy hour runs from 4 to 7 p.m., featuring draft beers and well drinks for $5, plus other drink specials. The beer-and-shot combo runs $8 all day. 633 Grand Street, near Leonard Street
Williamsburg: Finally, Ugly Baby has returned, having opened its new location on Thursday, August 27, in the corner spot that once housed Emmy Square Pizza. The restaurant first opened in Carroll Gardens in 2017 and quickly picked up a fervent following, who praised the restaurant’s intensely spicy dishes and its commitment to southern Thai dishes that were, at the time, less commonly found in the city. The popular and beloved restaurant closed in the final days of 2024, citing that chef Sirichai Sreparplarn was “tired and just needs a long break.” Sreparplarn is still behind the new version of Ugly Baby, which will have double the capacity of the original location and will feature a wider range of dishes. In Ugly Baby’s absence, some of its former employees went on to open Hungry Thirsty in the same location; it also welcomed a Manhattan sibling last month, the fiery Hungry Spicy. 364 Grand Street, between Havemeyer Street and Marcy Avenue
