Spring is in full swing, and NYC’s dining scene is feeling it. This week brings a crop of exciting new arrivals – from a soulful Italian bar revival in Brooklyn to a high-design French restaurant inside Sotheby’s – plus a buzzed-about Korean tasting menu that just started taking reservations. No major permanent closings to report this week, which is a welcome change of pace.
Quick Bites: This Week’s Openings at a Glance
- Dean’s – British pub from the King team, SoHo (open now)
- Oyatte – Korean-influenced farm-driven tasting menu, Murray Hill (open now)
- Bar Ferdinando – Italian cocktail bar reviving a Carroll Gardens legend, opening April 15
- Marcel – French continental inside Sotheby’s Breuer Building, opening April 16
Manhattan
Dean’s – SoHo
The team behind the beloved West Village restaurant King has opened a British pub next door at 213 6th Avenue, SoHo. Named for a dayboat fisherman from chef Jess Shadbolt’s English hometown, Dean’s is the kind of unfussy neighborhood pub NYC rarely gets right – proper Guinness on tap, a menu of dressed crab on hot buttered crumpets, stargazy pie, and sticky ginger pudding. It’s walk-in only, which feels very right for the concept. Go early or be ready to wait.
Oyatte – Murray Hill
Chef Hasung Lee – a veteran of The French Laundry, Atomix, Gramercy Tavern, and Copenhagen’s Geranium – has opened his first restaurant at 125 East 39th Street in the old Kajitsu space. Oyatte is a 30-seat tasting menu experience rooted in the seasons and a close relationship with Crown Daisy Farm upstate. The menu skews Korean-inflected and deeply ingredient-driven. Reservations opened April 4 and are reportedly filling fast – worth grabbing a spot now if you’re into serious tasting menus.
Upcoming This Month
Marcel – Upper East Side (Opening April 16)
One of the city’s most anticipated spring openings lands on April 16: Marcel, a French continental restaurant at 945 Madison Avenue (the landmarked Breuer Building, now Sotheby’s headquarters). Designed by Roman and Williams, led in the kitchen by chef Marie-Aude Rose of La Mercerie fame, Marcel promises sophisticated French cooking in one of the most architecturally striking rooms in Manhattan. Reservations are live on Resy now – this one will be hard to get once reviews drop.
Brooklyn
Bar Ferdinando – Carroll Gardens (Opening April 15)
For 121 years, Ferdinando’s Focacceria served the Carroll Gardens community at 151 Union Street. When it finally shuttered, it felt like losing a piece of Brooklyn’s soul. But restaurateur Sal Lamboglia – with bar manager Ricardo Echeverri and managing partner Giovanna Cucolo – is bringing the space back to life as Bar Ferdinando, a bar-forward Italian concept opening April 15. The menu leans Sicilian: arancini, octopus salad, pane e panelle (made from Frank Ferdinando’s original recipe), and house-made focaccia sandwiches. The cocktail program is Italian-driven and ambitious. This is the reopening Carroll Gardens has been waiting for.
Closings
It’s a quiet week on the closings front – no confirmed permanent closures to report in the last 48 hours. Enjoy the good news while it lasts. We’ll keep tracking and report back as things develop.
Know about an opening or closing we missed? NYC’s restaurant scene moves fast – drop us a tip.
