New on Resy: Oiji Mi, Casa Enrique, The Lambs Club, and More

Hot New Openings

Chef-owner Brian Kim of the East Village’s Oiji brings his contemporary take on Korean cuisine to a stunning and larger Flatiron space, and you won’t want to miss the exquisitely fashioned, excitingly flavorful $125 five-course menu on offer.

This restaurant is also AAPI-owned.

Talk about returning to your roots: Though known for his sophisticated high-end French cuisine, Daniel Boulud is from the great gastronomic capital of Lyon and with Le Gratin, he pays tribute to the hearty, homey cooking of the convivial Lyonnais bistros known as bouchons. The defining dish here? The creamy potato extravaganza that is the gratin dauphinois, of course.

If you’re craving Brooklyn-style Italian-American fare, you’re going to want to score a table at this tribute to the red-sauce classics from Sal Lamboglia, who spent seven years running the kitchen at Andrew Carmellini’s Bar Primi. It’s no mystery what the signature pasta is — and talk about family-style: Lamboglia’s father will be making the tiramisu.

What could be better than pristine fish and shellfish from top seafood purveyor Aqua Best, cooked in a variety of vibrant Southeast Asian styles by chef Daniel Le (The Tyger, Hanoi House)? Don’t miss the Dungeness crab from the live tank, prepared Singaporean style — and do stop at the seafood counter around the corner on your way home for some Aqua Best goods to go.

This restaurant is also AAPI-owned.

You might think you’re on a luxury yacht — a big one — when you step into the breezy blue-and-brown dining room at Mollusca, glittering with hand-blown glass lights. And it’s appropriate: Mollusca is all about seafood, complete with a raw bar serving oysters, ceviches, and crudos, and a menu of mussels in sauces you’ve never dreamed of before (mussels in condensed milk wasabi, anyone?).

This one-time 19th-century theatrical club turned modern American (and celebrity-magnet) restaurant has reopened with none other than Michael White — who won Michelin stars at Marea and Ai Fiori — in the kitchen. There are Italian accents on the menu, but don’t miss the Stanford White burger (no relation; he was the building’s architect) with Raclette and Dijonnaise.

Philadelphia-based Israeli food star Michael Solomonov (Zahav, Dizengoff) brings his sizzling-hot Laser Wolf — focused on vegetable salatim (side dishes) and skewered meats from a wood-burning grill — to Brooklyn’s Hoxton Hotel, and it is stupendous. Special shoutout to the rattan-furnished terrace with knockout views of the waterfront and the city beyond.

Say hello to this instant classic on Mulberry Street (next door to its parent, Manero’s Pizzeria): a red-sauce refuge and pizza purveyor with a disco theme, complete with a dance music playlist and Saturday Night Fever-themed cocktails (John Travolta’s character in that hit ’70s movie was Tony Manero, after all).

AAPI-Owned Restaurants

Dining at Café China makes you feel like you’re starring in your own Wong Kar-wai film, and the beautiful vintage setting is equally matched by the exquisite cuisine where Sichuan classics shine. This new location is even grander in size, but the food and drink are just as excellent as you might remember.

Because this is a restaurant with two distinct personalities. During the day, Okonomi is a breakfast and lunch spot, serving a traditional “ichiju sansai” set meal. But come 6 p.m., it morphs into the nighttime Yuji, an unconventional ramen place that specializes in the brothless ramen called mazemen. Essential dish: the bacon and egg mazemen, which eats like a ramen carbonara.

After winning a Michelin star for his uncompromising northeastern Thai fare at the late Zabb Elee in Jackson Heights, Queens, chef Therdtus “Tony” Rittaprom took over the Upper East Side with his green papaya salad variations, Thai-style beef tartare, and other specialties, to the delight of Manhattanites far and wide.

TOWA (from the group behind Atomix and Her Name is Han) is making its mark in NoMad with its warmly minimalist dining room, innovative and far-ranging modern Japanese fare (wagyu tataki, prosciutto maki), and knockout omakase menu.

Expect fish of extraordinary quality, premium koshihikari rice, and a master’s touch at Hideo Kuribara’s sleek Tokyo-style sushi destination, named for a legendary 12th-century samurai warrior.

Look for a unique approach at this Alphabet City omakase-only destination from the Ume Hospitality Group (Shinn, Sanyuu), where offerings combine layers of smoked, cooked, and raw ingredients for innovative sushi that’s as special as it comes.

For southern Thai food with a modern twist in Williamsburg, look no further than the ornately furnished Nora, where Kittigron “Khun Oh” Lirtpanaruk (known for the Spice chain around New York and the acclaimed Arun in Chicago) serves dried pork or chicken curry, squid with spicy green garlic chile sauce, and other dishes so seductive that you’ll want to book a ticket to Phuket.

When in Queens, veer for this cool Thai establishment — furnished with blond wood, track lighting, and cane-back chairs with a laid-back vibe — which stakes a claim in nearby Flushing for its spicy zabb wings, noodle dishes, seafood entrées, and much more.

The 16-course omakase menu at this West Village sushi standout — from the group behind Thirteen Water, Shinn, and other Japanese favorites — is led by head chef Eddy Yang, a veteran of Masa and Sushi Nakazawa, which might be all you really need to know.

You won’t want to miss the two-level Soho outpost of this popular Upper West Side and Chelsea Japanese restaurant — with a 12-seat sushi bar, cocktails on the ground floor, and a plush dining room overlooking St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral upstairs. The fish and shellfish selection is unusually large, the kaiseki menu is imaginative, and the kitchen turns out everything from miso black cod to crispy duck.

Where to Drink

Add this to your list of romantic hideaways — Chez Zou is an elegant, softly lit cocktail lounge, complete with potted palms and velvet-covered armchairs, three floors up from its parent, the buzzy Manhattan West Mediterranean place Zou Zou’s. Best yet: bar director Joey Smith (The NoMad) serves up vividly flavored cocktails to match the bar bites from Zou Zou’s chef Madeline Sperling.

Because Takuma Watanabe, the longtime head bartender at the late, lamented Angel’s Share, is in full reign of Martiny’s, and his three-level Japanese-style cocktail lounge just off Union Square is something else. Enjoy craft cocktails served in exquisite custom-made glassware, and do not miss the beautiful small plates, dreamt up by Eleven Madison Park and Masa veteran Wayne Cheng.

This restaurant is also AAPI-owned.

You can trust the team behind the Michelin-starred Oxalis with a lot of things, but especially with a European-style wine bar. The excellent bottle list leans towards Spain and the south of France, and the seafood-focused menu is a delight, offering everything from tapas-style bites to a signature (and perfectly crispy) bone-in skate wing. Miam.

This restaurant is also AAPI-owned.

If you open a second place after scoring with a restaurant and bakery called Winner, what’s a better name than Runner Up? This small, mostly-outdoor Park Slope wine bar is the work of chef Daniel Eddy — whose Michelin-starred Rebelle in Manhattan closed in 2017 — so you know the food is going to be something special.

Few things go together better than fine whiskey and great music, and you’ll find that combination at this plush, softly lit hideaway on 52nd Street. The whiskey comes mostly from Japan and the music flows from a collection of international discs played on a world-class sound system (think JBL, Boenicke, and McIntosh).

Though GG stand for Golden Gai (Tokyo’s lively nightlife district) this isn’t your typical Japanese izakaya. Rather, GG is a showplace of art and design — with muraled brick walls, a neon sculpture, and Noguchi light fixtures — with a kitchen menu by Eleven Madison Park veteran Bryce Shuman (who oversees across-the-Park-South-Hotel Sweetbriar), which ranges from cold somen noodles to skirt steak chorizo hash.

Tried-and-True Favorites

This decade-old Michelin-starred Long Island City favorite from chef-owner Cosme Aguilar stands out brilliantly in New York’s ever-growing Mexican food scene. The raw materials are impeccable, the flavors are bright and true, the tacos are classic, and the mole de Piaxtla is essential.

You’ll definitely want a seat on the brick-framed patio (or in the brick-lined dining room) at this warm Williamsburg Italian restaurant, where housemade pasta from veteran chef Gary Tackett (Locanda Verde, Convivio) is a specialty. Don’t leave without the eponymous ammazzacaffè, or coffee-killer — a shot of amaro or something equally spirited to soften the caffeine effect. 

This restaurant is also AAPI-owned.

Because Galician-born chef Ruben Rodriguez reimagines tapas to stellar effect, working international ingredients like tobiko, tahini, and Kalamata olives into his small plates menu here without ever losing their Spanish accent. Pro tip: Pre-order the chef’s tasting menu if you want to experience the full range of the kitchen’s abilities. (You really do.)

You won’t want to miss the modern Mexican fare at this stylish addition to the Flatiron dining scene from chef Henry Zamora, a veteran of Bay Area gastronomic temples Quince and The French Laundry. Expect home-style fare with cutting-edge accents in a dining room furnished with colorful murals, Oaxacan fabrics, and custom tilework.

Ever Greenpoint local knows that KanaHashi’s lunch special is where it’s at. Look to the classic sushi and sashimi offerings, fun innovations (Cajun blue crab roll, anyone?), friendly service, and relaxed atmosphere at this family-owned gem of a spot.

A Montauk vibe in Dumbo? Absolutely. This champion of sustainable seafood, with branches in Chelsea and elsewhere in Manhattan, has landed just across the East River, complete with an easy-going, wide-ranging fish and shellfish menu (Montauk dayboat scallops included), and a breezy, beachy atmosphere.

In the mood for pizza, tacos, and/or wings in a tropical garden setting in the middle of Bushwick? Rebel’s there for you. Pro tip: The Rose, a secret nightclub in the Rebel basement, is always available for private parties, should you be in need of some celebrating …