Hot Plates, Cool Rooms

The city that never sleeps is also the city that never stops eating. This season’s crop of new restaurants brings daring flavors, design-forward spaces, and the kind of buzz that makes New York dining legendary.

Hints of fall in the air reliably ignite a desire for big city dining. New York supplies a dazzling array of delicious options recently opened and more promised. 

The biggest news is the reopening of the landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel following an eight-year renovation with three restaurants: Lex Yard, Peacock Alley and Yoshoku Kaiseki.

Peacock Alley is now a full-service restaurant with emphasis on classic cocktails. If you haven’t gotten over sticker shock at $20 Martinis, there’s no way to be prepared for its $40 Martini. Think of it like you’re paying rent for your table. PDT’s Jeff Bell is the cocktail maestro.

Babbo is back! Mario Batali founded the trail-blazing Italian restaurant and  was later ousted due to a sexual harassment scandal. It’s  being revived by restaurateur Stephen Starr and chef Mark Ladner who was once Mario’s right hand man. They are betting that the new  Babbo can get past Mario. 

There’s usually some big news from uber Chef Daniel Boulud but this year he took the remarkably  bold step of closing his three popular restaurants near Lincoln Center. He’s in the process of constructing a giant French Brasserie in the combined space at 64th and Broadway. Rockwell Group is handling the design. The 7,500 square foot Brasserie Boulud will be open in time for the holidays.

France is having a moment beyond Daniel. Fauchon Paris celebrates the French art de vivre in its boutique and restaurant on the edge of Bryant Park.

The iconic restaurant was founded in 1886 by Auguste Fauchon. Restaurant Associates collaborates on exclusive pastries and dishes and seasonal surprises.

The French luxury department store Printemps makes a big splash at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway.

It boasts a total of five restaurants overseen by celebrated chef Gregory Gourdet and operated by Kent Hospitality Group. At its flagship Maison Passerelle, Gourdet explores the cuisines of former French colonies. Think duck confit atop a West African-inspired spinach stew bright from the flavors of ginger and chili. 

If you’re a Francophile hankering for duck a la orange, lobster thermidor, or chicken cordon bleu, Cody Pruitt  and Jacob Cohen (the team behind Libertine) are ready to serve you updated versions of French classics at Chateau Royale “a love letter to the Golden Age of New York French Restaurants.” A restored historic carriage house in Greenwich Village houses the bar on the first floor and the dining room on the second. The bar is inspired by iconic Parisian bars like Harry’s New York and the Ritz. Drinks include Martinis, Kir Royale and Bee’s Knees Milk Punch. 

Also in the Village, a young French wife and husband  team bring a very modern Parisian feel to the table. Alexia Duchêne and Ronan Duchêne Le May, recently arrived from Paris, worked with a Parisian decorator to create their chic La Chene. Chef Alexia rocketed to stardom on the French version of Top Chef. Ronan is a former maître d’ of Café Boulud. Duchene’s Fois Gras Lucullus appetizer is inspired by her time in Copenhagen with toasted brioche and sea buckthorn gelee. Her oeuf mayonnaise is an homage to the tuna melt, one of her favorite New York dishes. Ronan oversees the front of house and beverage program.

Richard Farnabe, an alum of Daniel and Jean-Georges,  creates modern French-American fare at Maison Nur on the Bowery. The restaurant is the latest venue of hospitality impresario Nur Khan.  Menu highlights include  tuna tartare with sun-dried tomato and pine nuts and Colorado rack of lamb with roasted maitake mushrooms and bone marrow bordelaise. The cuisine is complemented by cocktails from mixologist Charlotte Voisey. A luxe interior features a gilded ceiling, marble top bar, and museum quality pieces by artist Damien Hirst.

If you’d rather pretend you’re in Spain, the new Bartolo at 310 West Fourth Street in the West Village is just the ticket. Chef Ryan Bartlow insists the dishes at Bartolo are “equal or comparable if you were transported to Madrid.” On offer are ajo blanco, a chilled almond crema and Madrid-style tripe with morcilla red wine braised oxtail.

Or why not hop down to Mexico. Oyamel from Chef Jose Andres is a lively Mexican restaurant in Hudson Yards featuring a variety of tacos and ceviche as well as substantial Cochinita pibil and lamb barbacoa. Guacamole is served in molcajetes with warm chips. The most popular Margarita is topped with a frothy cloud of salt air that puts a more pedestrian salt rim to shame. How do they achieve this Modernist touch? It’s an emulsification of salt, lime, water, and sucrose esters made with an immersion blender.

Shaver Hall, a stylish food court is bringing the former Lord & Taylor department store on Fifth Avenue and 38th street back to life. It’s named for the legendary president Dorothy Shaver who ran Lord & Taylor from 1945 until her death in 1959. The store has been closed for six years and is now owned by Amazon and the building has been named Hank.

Dallas based The Food Hall Co. is overseeing the 35,000 square foot project which includes two full-scale restaurants and a number of vendors including an omakase restaurant by Michelin-starred chef BK Park, a Mediterranean concept Zazu, Brooklyn’s F&F Pizzeria and Taqueria Al Pastor.

Wildly popular Jacob’s Pickles has relocated to the Upper West Side and doubled its space. Fans can expect their favorite Southern comfort food dishes such as honey chicken biscuit sandwiches and fried pickles as well as  “porch sipping” cocktails.

The Houston based high-end Indian restaurant Musaafer (meaning traveler) opened in late August in the landmark TriBeCa Hope Building which features vaulted ceilings and a marble façade. Its opulence, spread over 10,000 feet on two floors, references such architectural splendor as the Taj Mahal. Executive chef Mayank Istwal traveled throughout India for two years researching dishes. 

Len Len, a new Thai bar and restaurant inspired by Bangkok’s 1970s shophouses and farmers’ markets, has opened in the Flatiron District. Spago alum Korean-American Chef/Restaurateur Peter Ki Suk Tondreau helms the kitchen. Bartender Robert Lam-Burns, most recently of Maison Premiere, adds Southeast Asian touches to classic drinks, such as his culinary-inspired Papaya Salad cocktail.

86 Bedford Street, once home to famous literary haunt Chumley’s, is now home to The Eighty Six steakhouse. It’s run by Catch Hospitality Group Mark Birnbaum, Eugene Remm and Tilman Fertitta who also owns Landry’s and is U.S. Ambassador to Italy. It promises the “burger of your dreams,” luxurious steaks, and a Martini menu.

Beverly Stephen, the former executive editor of Food Arts, is co-owner of the culinary travel company Flavor Forays.