The NYC dining map keeps shifting fast. May kicks off with another wave of high-profile openings clustered in Brooklyn, a few quiet closures, and a couple of summer arrivals that are already booking up curiosity. Here’s what’s new — and what’s gone — heading into the first weekend of May.
Quick Bites (TL;DR)
- Open: Arthur (Greenpoint), Bar Chimera (Lower East Side), Cote 550 (Manhattan), Balera (Williamsburg)
- Coming Soon: El Camaron Peludo (West Village), Jeju Noodle Bar’s second location (Nolita)
- Closed: Brooklyn Brine (Greenpoint storefront), Sushidokoro Mekumi (Hudson Square)
Brooklyn
Arthur — 645 Manhattan Ave, Greenpoint is the bistro Greenpoint has been quietly waiting for. Chef Kevin Finch, formerly of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, opened the doors on April 10 with a Parisian-bistro-meets-New-American menu that swings between garlic-heavy beef tartare with black garlic oil and barbecued scallops finished tableside with beef consomme. There’s a butter-washed gin brioche martini that’s already getting passed around tables, and a small but serious snail-skewer-and-oyster section that suggests Finch is having fun. The room is small. Reservations are smart.
Balera — Williamsburg quietly slipped onto the scene with Roman-style thin-crust pizza and a kitchen that stays open late on weekends with a DJ in the corner. It’s the kind of opening that doesn’t lead headlines but ends up being the place your friend keeps texting you about.
On the closure side, Brooklyn Brine shut its Greenpoint storefront after roughly a year on the block. The pickle brand isn’t disappearing — wholesale and online operations continue — but the retail counter is gone.
Manhattan
Bar Chimera — Lower East Side is the most overheard name in NYC bar conversation right now. The three-in-one concept (a wine bar, a martini bar, and a whiskey temple under one roof) opened April 18 and has been running near capacity ever since. Pick your room based on your mood and your patience for a wait.
Cote 550 also opened April 18, the latest from the Cote Korean Steakhouse team. Expect the same precision and the same butcher-shop aesthetic, scaled up.
El Camaron Peludo — West Village isn’t open yet, but the team behind Taqueria Ramirez has confirmed a summer debut. The concept — a casual Mexican seafood wine bar with influences from Spain, Japan, Mexico, and the U.S. — is one of the more genuinely interesting summer announcements on the calendar. Watch this one.
Jeju Noodle Bar — Nolita is opening a second location in May. The new outpost will introduce dishes that aren’t on the original West Village ramyun menu, which is enough reason for the regulars to make a second pilgrimage.
On the closing side, Sushidokoro Mekumi in Hudson Square abruptly shut after only six months. The eight-seat counter specialized in seafood from Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture and ran 18-course tastings at $300. A short, sharp run.
Queens & The Bronx
Quieter outer-borough movement this week. The bigger Queens story is still the steady drumbeat of new arrivals in Long Island City and Astoria’s Greek-and-Italian corridor, but no major opening or closing announcements crossed the wire in the last 48 hours specifically for Queens or the Bronx. Watch this space — Smorgasburg’s expanded outdoor season tends to push fresh announcements every weekend through late May.
What to Watch
The Greenpoint/Williamsburg axis is doing the most heavy lifting in early May, the LES bar scene is still absorbing Bar Chimera’s gravity, and the West Village’s summer pipeline is shaping up to be one of the more interesting in years. We’ll be tracking it daily.
Spotted an opening or closing we missed? Tip the desk.
