Spring is landing hard in Manhattan, with a wave of new restaurants and bars throwing open their doors in neighborhoods from SoHo to the Upper East Side. Whether you\u2019re hunting for a late-night cocktail, handmade Japanese soba, or an authentic British pub experience, this week\u2019s openings bring something genuinely new to the city\u2019s packed dining scene. Here\u2019s your insider guide to what just opened and what\u2019s closing its doors.
What You Need to Know
- Ms. Alice cocktail bar is now open at 79 Rivington St on the Lower East Side, specializing in European aperitivo culture and creative cocktails
- Soba Ulala opened at 73 Thompson St in SoHo \u2014 fresh noodles made in-house twice daily, hot and cold broth options
- Dean\u2019s, a seafood-forward British pub from the King team, is serving at 213 Sixth Ave in the West Village
- After Eden opened April 10 at 162 Orchard St \u2014 a Vietnamese coffee caf\u00e9 by day, intimate cocktail lounge by night
- Marcel opens April 16 at 945 Madison Ave in the landmark Breuer Building \u2014 Continental French cuisine from the La Mercerie chef
- Daniel Boulud has closed his Lincoln Square trio \u2014 Bar Boulud, Boulud Sud, and \u00c9picerie Boulud \u2014 to build a new two-floor brasserie this spring
The Lower East Side Gets Two New Spots Worth Your Time
The Lower East Side is making noise this spring. Ms. Alice (79 Rivington St) is now open, bringing European aperitivo culture to one of Manhattan\u2019s liveliest evening strips. Expect martinis, spritzes, and creative cocktails like Yuzu Negroni and Pickled Blueberry Martini in a bar designed for lingering. It\u2019s the kind of neighborhood spot that doesn\u2019t announce itself with fanfare \u2014 just shows up, perfectly formed.
A strong companion opening on the same stretch, After Eden (162 Orchard St) opened on April 10 with a split personality that Manhattan locals have come to love. By day, it\u2019s a Vietnamese coffee caf\u00e9 serving specialty drinks with Southeast Asian flair. When evening hits, the room transforms into an intimate cocktail lounge with Southeast Asian-inspired drinks. The hybrid model is well-suited for the LES crowd who often starts and ends the night in the same neighborhood.
Also on the Lower East Side, Bar Chucho (37 Market St) has been pouring drinks late into the night as a Mexican cocktail bar, adding to the area\u2019s already strong nightlife density. For those who want a bite alongside their drinks, Tin\u2019s (109 Ludlow St) pairs cocktails with sheng jian bao \u2014 pan-fried pork soup dumplings \u2014 in a format that makes perfect sense at midnight.
SoHo and West Village Welcome Soba and a British Pub
If you\u2019ve been craving handcrafted Japanese noodles in SoHo, Soba Ulala (73 Thompson St) is now your answer. The restaurant makes its noodles in-house twice a day \u2014 a rare commitment in a city full of shortcuts \u2014 and offers both hot and cold broths alongside a selection of small plates. The approach is minimalist and precise, which suits SoHo\u2019s design-forward sensibility.
Dean\u2019s (213 Sixth Ave, at the West Village edge of SoHo) brings something genuinely rare to Manhattan: a British pub that takes its food seriously. The team behind King brought in chefs Jess Shadbolt and Annie Shi to anchor a seafood-focused menu featuring dressed crab, Scotch quail eggs, and stargazy pie alongside a proper selection of ales and wines. If you\u2019ve been longing for a convincing London local south of 14th Street, Dean\u2019s is the answer.
Greenwich Village Gets Mediterranean
Motek (184 Bleecker St) has opened its second NYC location in Greenwich Village, and if you haven\u2019t encountered the Miami-born Mediterranean restaurant\u2019s fluffy housemade laffa bread, shawarma, and schnitzel, now is the time. The daily $5 happy hour is worth circling on your calendar \u2014 a rare and welcome gesture in a neighborhood where cocktail pricing tends to go in only one direction.
Coming Soon: The Breuer Building Awakens
One of the spring\u2019s most anticipated openings arrives on April 16, when Marcel opens at 945 Madison Ave in the Breuer Building \u2014 one of the Upper East Side\u2019s most architecturally significant addresses. The restaurant comes from the chef behind La Mercerie, with a Continental menu that leans French. La Mercerie Patisserie opens alongside it as a daytime pastry spinoff in the same building, offering a reason to visit any time of day.
For those who follow fine dining, Indienne (515 W 38th St, Hudson Yards) is bringing an acclaimed Indian fine dining concept from Chicago to NYC this spring, and Pizza Studio Tamaki (123 St. Marks Pl, East Village) is introducing a Tokyo-Neapolitan pizza style to the city \u2014 both worth watching.
What Just Closed: Lincoln Square\u2019s Boulud Makeover
On the closings side, a notable chapter ends at Lincoln Square. Chef Daniel Boulud has shuttered his three-restaurant cluster \u2014 Bar Boulud, Boulud Sud, and \u00c9picerie Boulud \u2014 to consolidate them into a single sprawling, two-floor brasserie and bar expected to open later this spring. For regulars of those three addresses, the change is significant. Boulud Sud in particular was beloved for its Mediterranean-influenced menu. The new brasserie promises an all-day format with broader reach, though it will be a spring or summer opening before anyone can evaluate the replacement.
How to Plan Your Week Around These Openings
The density of new openings right now means some strategic planning pays off. For cocktails, the Lower East Side cluster \u2014 Ms. Alice, After Eden, Bar Chucho \u2014 makes a natural evening crawl. For dinner, Dean\u2019s in the West Village and Soba Ulala in SoHo represent two very different but equally compelling options for a Tuesday or midweek meal when reservations are easier to snag. Marcel on the Upper East Side will be in high demand from the moment it opens on Thursday \u2014 check OpenTable early.
For more on what\u2019s been opening across the city this week, see our NYC Restaurant Openings roundup from April 7\u20139. And for the caf\u00e9 and coffee side of this spring wave, don\u2019t miss our guide to NYC\u2019s best new coffee spots in 2026.
