The July Hit List: Gage & Tollner, Le Pavillon, Queens Night Market, and More

If there’s one restaurant that embodies the phrase “New York is back” it’s Gage & Tollner. Between the team’s meticulous restoration of the iconic Brooklyn chophouse to seven styles of martinis, towering seafood towers, pillowy Parker House rolls, and all the chops, dining here is a portal to the past and a reminder that the best of restaurants warm your insides. Did we mention there’s Baked Alaska?

After last summer’s COVID-induced hiatus, Queens Night Market has returned to Flushing Meadows Park in all its glory. Every Saturday night all summer long, you can find Belizean conch fritters, Salvadoran pupusas, Korean squid skewers, Afghan mantu, Malaysian kaya toast, and plenty more to feast on in celebration of the city’s most diverse borough. (Note that the open air market is operating as a ticketed event through July 10, so that show runners can get their sea legs back.)

Daniel Boulud’s stunning new seafood restaurant is the perfect reason to get dressed up and make your way to Midtown Manhattan. You’ll find lush trees inside and out, white tablecloths, and wicker chairs — and artful compositions like octopus with peas, pistou, and relish, and roasted lobster with purple potatoes and watercress velouté. An homage to tip-top French dining in New York, past and present.

Part lifestyle shop, part plant-based café and bar, Aunts et Uncles is all that, and a vibe unto itself. Enjoy mofongo, Beyond Beef patties made by nearby Immaculee Bakery, and roasted cauliflower in spicy peanut sauce inside the bright, colorful space — and stay awhile.

A collab from chef Sol Han (Ai Fiori, Le Coucou) and the prolific restaurant group Hand Hospitality (Atoboy, Her Name is Han, Jua), LittleMad infuses Korean flavors with French technique — as you might expect considering the players. Here, oysters are done with tomatillo chojang; noodles with crispy duck skin and umami foam; and bossam with marcona almond and anchovy. That saying about two great tastes? Very, very true here.

KIT (short for “Keep In Touch”) is a culinary cooperative run by chef Libby Willis of the late MeMe’s Diner, and it sits in the same Prospect Heights location that MeMe’s once did. In the current incarnation, Willis offers prepared foods and pastries, wines are for sale from Black Cat Wines, DACHA 46 serves pelmeni and Eastern European cakes during brunch, and jelly cakes by Solid Wiggles are up for grabs. In other words, there’s a lot to love.

Bunny, which quietly opened in Bed-Stuy two years back, then closed throughout most of the pandemic, is again serving elegant Turkish food like spicy potato-stuffed filo cigars with Bavarian sweet mustard, and chicken schnitzel with red cabbage slaw. The lovely family-run restaurant is a casual affair: Simply DM them on Instagram to make a reservation. 

There’s a new spot to drink wine and eat snacks, except it’s not so new at all. In fact, it’s the second location of the long-cherished Lower East Side natural wine bar. Here as on Broome St., you can graze on oysters, charcuterie boards, and patata bravas while enjoying bottles off the stellar list. Pro tip: Unlike the Manhattan location, the Bushwick outpost boasts a full liquor license (read: cocktails). 

In the mood for an adventure? Head to Roosevelt Island for a dinner (or brunch) accompanied by killer views. Anything At All comes from the LA-based restaurateurs behind Winsome and Genghis Cohen, and features coastal comfort food: charred cabbage with herbed yogurt, and crunchy chickpeas, plus a wagyu burger with smoked bacon, American cheese, green tomatoes, and grilled onions. Get there by subway, ferry, or tram — your pick.

What was once a hideaway for old-school New Yorkers and the sceney fashion crowd is now a front-and-center Soho institution for classic cocktails and steak au poivre. Perhaps that’s due to a post-pandemic craving for old haunts, but more likely, it’s thanks to the French restaurant’s European-style outdoor setup. Either way, summer is a lovely time to lap up Raoul’s essential New York energy.

Logical Conclusion. Echo of Nothing. Gender Neutral. Fans of Threes’ chuggable lagers and IPAs will recognize these names. And those who’ve visited the cult-favorite brewery at its tap rooms in Gowanus may also know that the grub comes courtesy of the Meat Hook. That’s true in Greenpoint now, too, so gather your friends, have a few rounds, and order from a full menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads, and fries … grade-A summertime food.