It was a year no food-lover will forget \u2014 dramatic, zany and appalling\u00a0by turns. Business was robust. Confident restaurateurs launched new places almost daily.<\/p>\n
If any one trend stood out, it was the growing dominance of the \u201chaves\u201d \u2014 the large restaurant companies that grew and expanded no matter what the economic trends. Quality Branded launched Mexican jumbo Limusina on Ninth Avenue, Avra Group brought another Greek seafood giant to\u00a0the Moynihan building, and Mercer Street Hospitality Group opened Seahorse in Union Square. Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Lois Freedman brought ABC Kitchen to Brooklyn for the first time.<\/p>\n
One of 2025\u2019s themes was big restaurants from big restaurant groups. Case in point, Limusina from the Quality Branded team. Olga Ginzburg for N.Y. Post<\/p>\n
It was a different story for many smaller, more independent places.\u00a0Brooklyn lost longtime favorites Colonie and Fette Sau; Rock Center\u2019s Lodi quit after just a few years.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, diners, fed up with unbearable noise and cramped dining rooms, flocked to private clubs such as Margaux \u2014 if they could get in \u2014 and to public restaurants, such as Corner Store and The Eighty Six, where it was so hard to get reservations that they almost seemed private.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here are the most memorable hits, flops and surprises from 2025.<\/p>\n
Influencers ran amok<\/p>\n
Pei Chung posed as an influencer and allegedly dined-and-dashed at more than a dozen restaurants. lu.pychung\/instagram<\/p>\n
Posing as an influencer, Taiwanese-born beauty Pei Chung, 34, allegedly bolted<\/a> from more than a dozen Brooklyn restaurants without paying the bill. She was arrested multiple times and evicted from her fancy Williamsburg apartment for non-payment of rent.<\/p>\n But Chung\u2019s antics differed from those of scores of social media \u201cinfluencers\u201d only in their brazenness. Many less obvious shakedown artists who post regularly on Instagram and TikTok threaten restaurateurs with negative postings unless they get as much free caviar, foie gras and Champagne as they \u2014 and their followers \u2014 desire.<\/p>\n The scourge highlights\u00a0the deplorable clout of influencers who boast of having millions of followers (an often spurious claim), but know nothing about food except for the whims of their own appetites. Still, they can have more impact on a restaurant\u2019s destiny than critics who spend lifetimes studying and experiencing cuisines.<\/p>\n Veganism retreated<\/p>\n Chef Daniel Humm and Eleven Madison Park had to give up on strict veganism. Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/p>\n After years of flaunting its three-Michelin-star status, all-vegan Eleven Madison Park \u2014 smarting from the loss of private-party customers who wouldn\u2019t pay $1,000 for seeds and weeds \u2014 came to its senses<\/a> last summer and grudgingly put meat back on its menu.<\/p>\n Beef reigned<\/p>\n Steakhouses boomed in 2025. The massive Palladino\u2019s is an exciting addition to Grand Central. Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/p>\n Don\u2019t tell the environmentalists and your cardiologist: The year\u2019s biggest Big Apple openings were steakhouses, from massive Palladino\u2019s at Grand Central<\/a> to the ultra-hot Eighty Six and the Mexican-spiced Cuerno. <\/p>\n Starbucks made terrible decisions<\/p>\n With sales down in part because\u00a0customers were fed up waiting\u00a0forever to get their drinks, Starbies execs came up with a brilliant plan<\/a>: Make customers wait even longer by mandating that baristas write personal messages on every cup.<\/p>\n The best new restaurants thrilled<\/p>\n At Kabawa, Chef Paul Marmichael offered up delicious, refined takes on Caribbean favorites. Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/p>\n Seahorse occupies a stunning David Rockwell-designed space at Union Square. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n In a gleaming, David Rockwell-designed setting on Union Square, chef John Villa makes magic<\/a> with both fish dishes and land offerings \u2014 including a terrific duck a l\u2019orange \u2014 at Seahorse. Marlow East, is a welcoming, two-level, southern-themed gift to the Upper East Side. At Kabawa, chef Paul Carmichael has reinvigorated the Momofuku brand<\/a> with exciting Caribbean flavors. <\/p>\n La Grenouille lived on \u2014 sort of <\/p>\n iDen & Quanjude Beijing Duck House moved into the storied La Grenouille space. Olga Ginzburg for NY Post<\/p>\n The interiors remain largely the same, but the menu is focused on Chinese duck. Olga Ginzburg for NY Post<\/p>\n \u00a0A Chinese company transformed the former home of plush La Grenouille<\/a> into\u00a0iDen & Quanjude Beijing Duck House \u2014 but thankfully kept all of its fancy French predecessor\u2019s crimson banquettes, gold fabric walls and beveled mirrors. Instead of Dover sole deboned tableside, duck is now carved before your eyes \u2014 if you can take them off the romantic\u00a0surroundings.<\/p>\n Masa got demoted<\/p>\n Masa no longer has three Michelin stars. Anne Wermiel\/NY Post<\/p>\n The city\u2019s grand sushi temple, where a meal with wine and sake can easily run to\u00a0$1,000, lost one of the\u00a0three stars it had held for fifteen years. Meanwhile, newbie Sushi Sho, which just opened in the city early last year,\u00a0snagged three twinklers.<\/p>\n Babbo made a triumphant return<\/p>\n Babbo is back, with a new owner, a new design and a more accessible menu. EMMY PARK<\/p>\n New owner Stephen Starr and chef Mark Ladner brought Mario Batali\u2019s former flagship back from the dead \u2014 and exorcised disgraced Molto Mario\u2019s ghost \u2014with a more accessible menu\u00a0and a\u00a0beautifully redesigned second floor. <\/p>\n The peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich was reborn<\/p>\n Hani\u2019s has elevated peanut butter and jelly to exciting heights. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n At Hani\u2019s Bakery & Cafe,\u00a0former Gramercy Tavern pastry chef\u00a0Miro U<\/a>s<\/a>kokovic\u00a0<\/a>and his wife, Bon Appetit senior food editor\u00a0Shilpa Uskokovic<\/a>, have cooked up a life-changing take on the classic that\u2019s served open-face and made with freshly ground peanuts and local raspberry jam.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t