Quick Bites: The 48-hour pulse on NYC’s restaurant scene shows a Manhattan still buzzing from a busy mid-April week. Marcel has officially opened on Madison Avenue, After Eden is now drawing crowds for Vietnamese coffee on Orchard Street, and Bar Ferdinando in Carroll Gardens continues to fill seats night after night. On the loss side, the Capital One Cafe at 72nd & Amsterdam — long a stealth Upper West Side workspace — closes its doors today, April 23.
Manhattan: A New French Player on Madison
The headline opening this week is Marcel, the new French restaurant inside the Sotheby’s building at 1334 York Avenue (with the entrance facing Madison and 75th). It opened April 16 and has been busy since night one. The restaurant comes from chef Marie-Aude Rose (formerly of La Mercerie) with executive chef Juan Moncalvo running the kitchen. Expect a 1960s-inspired dining room with custom brass fixtures, an open kitchen, and a sculpture-garden view through the windows. The menu leans classic French with modern restraint.
Down on the Lower East Side, After Eden at 162 Orchard Street has officially opened as a Vietnamese coffee bar by day and cocktail lounge by night. Chef Nancy Nguyen (of Beaucoup NYC and Eleven Madison Park) is running the culinary program — limited-run bánh mì in the morning, Vietnamese small plates after dark. Hours are generous: Tuesday through Saturday until 2 a.m., earlier closes Sunday and Monday.
Brooklyn: Greenpoint Keeps Cooking
Bar Ferdinando in Carroll Gardens is the other restaurant everyone is talking about. Sal Lamboglia (Cafe Spaghetti, Swoony’s, Sal Tang’s) opened it April 15 inside the 121-year-old former home of Ferdinando’s Focacceria at 151 Union Street. It is an all-day Italian bar and cafe, and reservations have been hard to come by since the soft open.
In Greenpoint, Arthur — which opened April 10 in the former Fulgurances Laundromat space at 188 Franklin Street — is settling into its identity as a $36-steak-and-brioche-martini neighborhood bistro from chef Kevin Finch (an Atelier Crenn alum) and his wife Alexa.
Closings to Note
The big quiet loss this week is the Capital One Cafe at 2049 Broadway (at 72nd Street), which closes today, April 23. While not a restaurant in the traditional sense, the Peet’s-served, free-Wi-Fi space had become a workhorse co-working spot for Upper West Side freelancers. With Capital One winding down its cafe footprint nationally, this branch’s exit removes one of the neighborhood’s last comfortable free workspaces.
No major restaurant closures have been confirmed in the last 48 hours beyond seasonal and previously announced shutdowns.
Quick Hits
- Pier i Cafe — Riverside Park’s seasonal Hudson-front cafe is open again for the warm-weather season.
- Tachi — Hell’s Kitchen standing sushi bar continues to draw lines for its $48 omakase set.
- Choice Brooklyn — Family-owned French-style cafe at 2040 Broadway (at 70th Street) is open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Check back tomorrow for the next 24 hours of NYC restaurant news.
