{"id":334775,"date":"2026-09-01T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/334775\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T12:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T12:00:12","slug":"the-best-new-restaurants-in-nyc-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/334775\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best New Restaurants in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n After a soft opening in August, the famous taqueria\u2019s New York outpost reopens on September 8.
\n Illustration: Naomi Otsu\n <\/p>\n

Welcome to Grub Street\u2019s rundown of restaurant recommendations that aims to answer the endlessly recurring question, Where should we go? These are the spots our food team thinks everyone should visit, for any reason (a new chef or the arrival of an exciting dish, or maybe there\u2019s an opening that has flown too far under the radar). This month: hype tacos, high-end scallops, and whether Park Slope has secretly become the best restaurant neighborhood in New York?<\/p>\n

Hed<\/a> (Chelsea)
The very friendly staff at this new Thai spot doesn\u2019t like to call its $126 prix fixe a \u201ctasting menu.\u201d Rather, it\u2019s a modern Thai \u201csharing progression\u201d designed to be enjoyed as a group across multiple dishes. The first three courses \u2014 oysters, grilled scallop and rice noodles, and lobster in a deep, earthy broth \u2014 are standard for all diners. Even I, oyster ambivalent as I am, couldn\u2019t deny how far a bit of Thai seafood sauce and chile jam could take these little guys. From the fourth course on, however, choice is on the menu: Between the mains, I preferred red-curry fried chicken, toupe topped with its own crisp skin, and southern Thai crab curry. The space is beautiful, deep-toned, muraled, and loungey thanks to a smooth, jazzy soundtrack that runs through the night. \u2014Shay Cohen<\/p>\n

20 Blocks<\/a> (East Village)
A whimsical new sandwich shop has entered the chat: 20 Blocks feels like a direct competitor with Brooklyn mainstay Court Street Grocers<\/a> or the newer, worker-owned<\/a> Sea & Soil<\/a>. The paper-wrapped menu at 20 Blocks is slimmer, however: two mainstays plus a rotating third. The crowd-pleaser is the Turkey Town, served on honey whole wheat with a juicy fried green tomato and Cajun mayo. My pick, though, was the Corn Star \u2014 charred corn and Havarti on milk bread \u2014 which reminded me of my favorite sandwich at the now-closed Crema Cafe in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the rotating slot: the Fly Fish, with smoked-trout dip and dilly beans, could earn a permanent place on the roster. The house chips (denoted on the menu by a tiny drawn house) and puppy chow are also must-orders, the latter featuring strawberry jelly to add a tang to the Midwest\u2019s favorite dessert. \u2014Zach Schiffman\u00a0<\/p>\n

All of Our Picks, Mapped<\/p>\n


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See the Map<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

28 Nomad<\/a> (Nomad)
\u201cCan you Wellington it?\u201d is a question chefs love to ask. Cody Mao of 28 Nomad\u00a0has his answer: The restaurant\u2019s signature dish is a miniature Wellingtoned scallop, a fat mollusk swaddled in mushroom and leek and prettily crimped pastry. It\u2019s an adorable entry to the genre, and a hotshot\u2019s demonstration of skill. Not everything at this restaurant, which opened quietly a few months ago on a corner in Rose Hill, hits that high, but there\u2019s enough that works to keep things interesting. Mao and his partner, Samuel Park, met working front of house at Atomix<\/a>, and before that, Mao cooked at Aska<\/a>, which helps explain the spirit of experimentation on the menu. (In the chef\u2019s own words about Korean rice cakes studding a dessert of ice cream and pork floss: \u201cI just put in something weird.\u201c) Weird for its own sake is not always a workable proposition, but for every sea-pineapple bibimbap \u2014 made with a semi-obscure rock-dwelling sea squirt (yes, that\u2019s what it\u2019s called) \u2014 there\u2019s Sichuan-peppercorn popcorn chicken, and really, who\u2019s going to say \u201cno\u201d to that? \u2014Matthew Schneier<\/p>\n

El Califa de Le\u00f3n<\/a> (Flatiron)
After a summer of waiting, New York finally got a little preview opening of this lauded CDMX import<\/a>, which serves exactly one thing: tacos. There are three options for beef and one for pork, all of which arrive in the form of griddled slabs of meat draped over warm fresh tortillas. (If you are a vegetarian, go elsewhere; the lone meat-free taco is nothing special.) These tacos are as spartan as it gets, topped only with a squeeze of lime and one of two salsas: bright and green, or smoky and red. Early criticism has focused on one taco in particular that costs $19. Is that too much for a taco? It\u2019s a lot. Is it too much to pay for a quarter-pound of rib-eye steak, which is what this taco contains? That\u2019s up to you. The restaurant will take reservations when it reopens in the second week of the month<\/a>, but don\u2019t be tempted to make a meal out of it. Instead, treat it like a place to get a quick bite and drink \u2014\u00a0maybe while waiting for a spot to open up at S&P<\/a> around the corner? \u2014 the way you might treat one of this city\u2019s many oyster bars. This one just happens to have margaritas, too. \u2014Alan Sytsma\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apapach\u00f3<\/a> (Park Slope)
A crudo or two have become de rigueur at every restaurant selling $18 glasses of wine, but rarely do they feel transcendent. This tuna aguachile cured my crudo cynicism: The fish itself is barely adorned, chopped and layered over avocado with some jicama shreds and a cilantro sprig. In actuality, the meaty cubes serve as the garnish for the spoonable pool of aguachile negro, dark and fruity from pasilla peppers with a recognizable dash of soy-sauce umami in the background, and it\u2019s thick enough to stick to the three fresh tostadas on the side. Follow this with the slow-cooked short-rib enchiladas norte\u00f1as, another show of the kitchen\u2019s salsa skill, this time with a rich mole rojo to match the braised meat. Both are easily shared with a companion in the dimly lit dining room, while a long, separated bar makes it easy to drop in for pescado al pastor tacos.\u00a0\u2014Tammie Teclemariam<\/p>\n

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