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Somehow March came and went. But we enjoyed it greatly: the return of daylight after 5pm; the blossoming of trees; and the first warm day of the season (which we full took advantage of)? Yes, we had a time this March.
A handful of restaurants and bars also sprouted onto the scene this month (several of which from our most-anticipated openings of the year list). From a raw bar and a cocktail lounge inside New York’s 55,000-square-foot Parisian retailer to bakeries that garnered hour-long waits, here are all the new things you should check out now.
RECOMMENDED: Nine of NYC’s most-anticipated new restaurants for spring of 2025
1. 2. and 3. Café Jalu, Salon Vert and Red Room Bar, FiDi
We’ve been patiently waiting for chef Gregory Gourdet's Maison Passerelle to open up inside Printemps. Seemingly rewarding us for good behavior, chef Gourdet has opened up three concepts inside the luxury retailer to tide us over. The all-day cafe Café Jalu is stocked with pastries, cookies dotted with Caribbean chocolate and cups of Gianduja Hot Chocolate (Haitian cacao, hazelnut, vanilla bean and sea salt). The second-floor raw bar, Salon Vert, also touches on Gourdet's Haitian roots with Creole spiced cocktail sauces and mignonette that come with a backbone of epis, a Haitian blend of green seasoning and peppers. Before leaving with bags in tow, a visit to the intimate Red Room Bar is necessary. As is an order of the Pikliz Martini or the Kafé Negroni made with Haitian coffee.
4. Confidant, Sunset Park
When you think of Industry City, you think of co-working spaces, retail and shopping and the beauty that is Japan Village. Fine dining? Not necessarily. But that is sure to change with the opening of Confidant. Chefs Brendan Kelley and Daniel Grossman, both alums from Roberta’s, opened the seasonal spot on March 19. Their combined resume Aska, Per Se, Gage & Tollner and Foul Witch, translates to a menu that follows the seasons with a program that pays special attention to dry-aging, be it aging whole ducks to Tuna Prosciutto.
5. Hear & There, Williamsburg
Earlier this month, a Please Don’t Tell alum opened a Japanese-inspired listening lounge. The alum in question is beverage director Larry Gonzalez. He oversees the chic cocktail bar, shaking up classics with a twist and even a few with bumps of caviar. A two-in-one concept, the bar hides a secretive omakase counter. Helmed by chef Mark Garcia, the counter includes two experiences: the seasonal nigri omakase ($105) and the luxury otumami omakase ($165). Its all grounded by the rhythm of music, as the walls of the wood-heavy interior feature custom speakers built right in.
6. Kabawa, East Village
Chef Paul Carmichael marked his return to NYC from Australia with daiquiris and plenty of Caribbean patties at his rum bar, Bar Kabawa. Now, he is cementing himself in the scene with the opening of Kabawa. Each night, chef Carmichael invites us to “Fill Yuh Belly” over a three-course menu of your choosing. Priced at $145 per person, the menu includes sorrel and scotch bonnet spiced Pepper Shrimp and Goat with a spicy scallop Creole. You can tell it's all personal for chef Carmichael, as he sources peppers and soursop from Flatbush’s Labay Market and his curated playlist features original compositions from his cousin back home.
7. Kora, Sunnyside
Back in 2020, Kora’s online doughnut store had a deep following. We are talking a 10,000-person long waitlist deep, all vying for a taste of its flan-filled and glossy ube doughnuts. Founded by Eleven Madison Park and Union Square Hospitality alums Kimberly Camara and Kevin Borja, the online bakery now has a spot IRL in Sunnyside. Chef Camara’s Filipino roots come out to play with ube swirled babka and the savory Spam & Cheese Pain Suisse that leaves an underlying heat, thanks to chili crisp and hot honey.
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8. Laliko, West Village
According to restaurateur Gurami Oniani, Georgia’s culinary footprint in the States remains limited. He hopes to change that with his restaurant Laliko. A first from his European-based hospitality group, the Guliani Group, Laliko is here to share the culture and cuisine of Georgia through skewers, beef stews and an ever-flowing selection of Georgian wines. Taking the classics seriously, Laliko dedicates a chef to each of its famed dishes: khachapuri and khinkali. However, you can still find exciting spins on the original, like the mother of all dumplings: the Mother Khinkali—a behemoth of a dumpling that hides six more inside.
9. Radio Bakery, Prospect Heights
Since opening in 2023, Radio Bakery has generated quite the fan base, drawing lines so long most of its goods sell out before closing time. But with the second location now open in Prospect Heights, the crowds have shifted down south and hour-long waits. If you end up braving the line, you can expect tried and true classics from the OG counter, including the everything spice focaccia and the cheesy pretzel bear claw, alongside a few new items such as the matcha mango morning bun.
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10. RAON, Lennox Hill
At Soogil, chef Soogil Lim’s first restaurant combines his French pedigree with Korean flavors. For his next act, he wanted to dive even deeper into his heritage, paying tribute to one of the area’s most famous dishes: kimchi. At the 14-seat counter, RAON weaves various preparations of kimchi into each dish, hiding white kimchi under a cloak of bluefin tuna and incorporating aged jang kimchi into the wonderfully umami Uni Gimbap. Yet the most unique bite in the city goes to the Doenjang + Scallop. The doenjang is sourced from chef Kyeongsoon Oh, a disciple of Jeong Kwan, a Zen Buddhist nun whose spiritual approach to dining was featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table.
11. Tashkent Supermarket, West Village
After more than two years of waiting, Tashkent Supermarket is now open in the West Village. A famed grocery store in Brighton Beach, the massive second location is home to Uzbek food, and lots of it. One of the largest attractions, the self-service buffet steams with Samarkand-style Plov (a meat and rice dish), stuffed blinis, borscht and more. Even better? The latest outpost has carried over the Brighton Beach prices, meaning $10 lunches can be had.
12. Win Son Bakery, East Village
Win Son Bakery has long been our favorite bakery in Williamsburg, with its chewy mochi doughnuts and an improved BEC made with a toasty brown scallion pancake. The Taiwanese bakery moved over to Manhattan this month with a second location, opening only for takeout and delivery in the East Village. The latest shop wraps even more inside scallion pancakes, including pastrami and mortadella, and has more lunch options like chicken boxes and fried chicken and smashed cheeseburgers on milk buns.