This is Eater’s guide to all the new restaurants, bars, and cafes that have opened this week in January 2026. Throughout the month, we’ll update the list weekly. When we’ve been to a place, we will then include a few openings on our heatmap 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.
Bushwick: Ace’s Pizza opened a new location in late December. It’s the fourth location. 423 Troutman Street, at Wyckoff Street
Crown Heights: To-go spot Tamalería La Madrina opened late last year from owner Artemio Baltazar of Taqueria Milear, and his wife, the chef and co-owner, Marisol Lopez. The specialty is tamales – made from corn masa and wrapped in fresh corn husks or banana leaves, with fillings like birria and pollo mole. There’s a larger menu, too, including breakfast burritos. 735 Nostrand Avenue, at Sterling Place
East Village: A new bakery dedicated to salt breads opened in Manhattan last month, by the team behind Japanese noodle restaurants Okiboru. Justin’s Salt Bread opened on Sunday, December 28. The counter-service spot serves the carbs as well as lattes like the salt matcha and salt coffee. 58 Second Avenue, between East Third and Fourth streets
East Village: Burgerhead opened a second location in this neighborhood; the menu includes burgers and beef tallow fries, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, and shakes. 145 Second Avenue, at Ninth Street
Harlem: The spacious CopperLeaf Bakery opened in December with baguettes, sourdough bread, and pastries made on premise. Its extended menu includes breakfast sandwiches, salads, lunch toasts, and wine. From Friday through Sunday, it offers an aperitivi hour with cocktails, mocktails, and charcuterie and cheese plates. 2118 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, between West 114th and 115th streets
Lower East Side: Sourdough takeout spot Hots Pizza opened on Saturday, January 3, with slices and pies. Slices range from $4.50 to $6.50. More specialty options include a mushroom pizza with creme fraiche and smoked mozzarella and “the Hots,” a pizza with spicy pork sausage, hot peppers, and red onion. 181 East Broadway, between Rutgers and Jefferson streets
Midtown: Brasa Peruvian Kitchen, the fast-casual Peruvian chain with locations in NYC and Toronto, opened its newest location on Monday, January 5. Its customizable bowls and salads feature ingredients like spicy rocoto peppers from the Andes, large-kerneled Peruvian corn, and quinoa. 685 Third Avenue, between East 43rd and 44th streets
Midtown: The neighborhood gets a new Italian spot, Elia’s Casa Bianca, which opened December 19. Look for a robust menu of starters, salads, straightforward and unusual pastas, main courses from fish stew to steaks, and more. 398 East 52nd Street, at First Avenue
Noho: Buddy Buddy, a “nut butter coffee bar” with locations in Brussels and Paris, opened its first cafe in NYC on Friday, December 19, serving drinks like an iced latte with peanut butter and raspberry puree and a mocha made with cacao and hazelnut butter. Its milk options include a peanut-butter milk made in-house, available for no upcharge, and the menu states that cross-contact with peanuts and tree nuts is “unavoidable.” 340 Bowery, between Great Jones Street and Bond Street
Noho: The Hamptons-based Indian cafe Hampton Chutney Company opened a new location in Manhattan on Tuesday, January 6. The company opened its first location in Amagansett in 1997 and expanded to Manhattan in 2001, running two cafes until 2021. It serves dosa with an assortment of fillings, like potato masala with roasted tomatoes, spinach, and cheese; grilled chicken with goat cheese; and arugula, avocado, and fresh tomato. 2 Astor Place, near Broadway
Park Slope: Thai restaurant and bar DOK opened in early January, as spotted by Park Slope Living. In addition to classics like pad Thai and basil fried rice and hearty dishes like lenk zab, a tart and herbal pork rib soup, the restaurant offers a selection of drinking food, like kai yang, grilled chicken with a spicy tamarind sauce. 339A 2nd Street, near 5th Avenue
Soho: California’s Croft Alley opened serving breakfast, brunch and lunch favorites similar to the menu in Los Angeles. 210 Sixth Avenue, at King Street
Sunnyside: Stellar Ethiopian Eritrean food truck Makina finally opened its Queens restaurant on Friday, December 12, 2025. Eden Gebre Egziabher’s menu includes East African dishes like berbere-sliced prawns, chicken tibs, and lamb alicha, plus coffee and drinks. 46-11 Skillman Avenue, near 46th Street
Times Square: Cue 48 opened on Wednesday, January 7 in the Hyatt Regency Times Square. True to chef Sani Hebaj’s Brooklyn roots, the restaurant will pay homage to NYC staple foods, serving pastrami sandwiches, beef empanadas, matzo balls with gravy dip, and more. It will be open every day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. 1605 Broadway, between West 48th and West 49th streets
Upper West Side: Not to be confused with Absolute Bagel, New Absolute Bagel opened December 29 in the former home that was Absolute Bagel for 30 years, West Side Rag reports. Ownership has changed but the new partners hope to attract the same loyal customers, and then some. 2788 Broadway, between West 107th and 108th streets