New York’s restaurant scene keeps charging ahead, promising another strong year of openings. Among the ones to watch, there’s a Brooklyn reopening that moves to a more residential spot; a Netflix cooking star debuting his first NYC restaurant; a fancier outpost from a respected food-and-wine team; a reach for a Michelin star from a restaurant group that’s been unstoppable; and a pub focused on British seafood. Here’s just short of 20 restaurants to watch in the first stretch of 2026.

127 Atlantic Avenue, at Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights Opening: Sunday, February 4, 2026

Chef and owners Brendan Kelley and Daniel Grossman (formerly of Roberta’s) are relocating their restaurant, Confidant, into what had been recently shuttered Colonie, with an expanded menu, in partnership with co-owners Henry Goldman and Martin Borkan. Mariah Neston, formerly of Le Rock, continues as Confidant’s pastry chef, focusing on seasonal desserts and breads. The team is also opening a new all-day bakery and pizza restaurant with a wine bar, Lou & Bev’s, right next door (129 Atlantic Avenue) in the spring, an all-day bakery and pizza restaurant. — Melissa McCart

1251 Sixth Avenue, near West 49th Street, Midtown Opening: February 2026

Philadelphia chef and restaurateur Michael Schulson is bringing his sushi restaurant and robatayaki spot to New York. Double Knot follows prolific Philadelphia restaurateurs, Stephen Starr and Michael Solomonov’s expansions into the city. In Philadelphia, where it opened in 2016, the restaurant is known for its scene — a “moody, bi-level Asia-plex” as *the Philadelphia Inquirer *described it, offering robatayaki grill items and sushi. Schulson was the opening chef at Starr’s Buddakan in New York back in 2007. — MM

432 Sixth Avenue, between West Ninth and 10th streets, Greenwich Village Opening: February 2026

Husband-and-wife team, Boris Artemyev and Elena Melnikova, both longtime New York restaurant veterans, are opening Gusi, an Eastern European restaurant in Manhattan. Named after the Slavic word for “geese” (a symbol of migration and homecoming), Gusi goes beyond borscht and pierogies. The menu includes several versions of the soup: duck, the Lenten with porcini mushrooms, and a spicy version. The dumplings are made with puff pastry for a flakier texture, filled with elk, buffalo, goose, as well as the traditional beef and pork, plus a Mediterranean-influenced version with tahini sauce that reflects the historical trade routes shaping Eastern European cuisine. Drinks feature pine cone infusions, Cornelian cherry liqueur, and boiled condensed milk. The two-story space has a warm, earthy ground floor with a bar and dining room, while upstairs is more refined and airy with street views.* — MM*

450 West Broadway, near Prince Street, Soho Opening: February 2026

Catch Hospitality Group partners Eugene Remm, Mark Birnbaum, and Tilman Fertitta (the team behind the Corner Store and the Eighty Six) are opening Or’esh, a 75-seat Mediterranean restaurant with chef Nadav Greenberg, who helped steer Eyal Shani’s Shmoné to a Michelin star. Named for the Hebrew words for light and fire, Or’esh centers on minimalist grilled dishes from the Levant with a custom grill for wood- and coal-fired cooking. Greenberg’s menu draws from Mediterranean traditions across Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Jordan, and Syria, using extra-virgin olive oils he sources from the region. He plans to process whole lamb in-house, prepare meats only the day they’re served, and grill pastas. Seating is on the upper level, with the kitchen downstairs visible through a window. A chef’s table in the kitchen is planned once the restaurant opens. — MM

Todd Coleman

531 West 34th Street, between 10th and 11th avenues, Hudson Yards Opening: February 2026

Gabriel Kreuther, the chef behind his namesaketwo-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bryant Park, is opening Saverne, a brasserie with a wood-fired oven on the ground floor of the Spiral, Tishman Speyer’s new office tower. Named for the town in the Bas-Rhin region of Alsace, Saverne ushers in Kreuther’s Alsatian roots to this new Hudson Yards kitchen. — MM

25 Thames Street, at Morgan Avenue, Bushwick Opening: February/March 2026

Pitmaster Ruben Santana is bringing his Central Texas barbecue meshed with Dominican ingredients from the Time Out Market food hall in Dumbo to a massive new restaurant early this year. This means an 8,000 square-foot space to enjoy classics like brisket, along with chicharrones, smoked carnitas, and sandwiches with pulled pork, fried cheese, and maduros (sweet plantains).* — Nadia Chaudhury*

151 Union Street, at Hicks Street, Carroll Gardens Opening: March 2026

Brooklyn restaurateur Sal Lamboglia — known for spots like Cafe Spaghetti, Swoony’s, and Sal Tang’s — was picked by Ferdinando’s Focacceria owner Francesco “Frank” Buffa himself to take over the 121-year-old Sicilian restaurant space after it closed last March. And this year, Lamboglia is turning the focacceria into a daytime Italian cafe and bar with cocktails and dishes like Sicilian rice balls, pane e panelle, and focaccia sandwiches. Pastry chef Jackie de la Barrera (Radio Bakery, Agi’s Counter) will make sweets like bomboloni and olive oil cakes.* — NC*

Dean’s

213 Sixth Avenue, near King Street, Soho Opening: March 2026

The duo behind King — Annie Shi (also of Chinese American wine bar Lei) and chef Jess Shadbolt — is gearing up for their forthcoming restaurant right next door. Dean’s is a pub focused on British seafood; it’s named after Dean Fryer, a dayboat fisherman out in Suffolk, where Shadbolt grew up in England. Expect raw oysters, grilled Scottish langoustines, Cornish stargazy fish pies, mackerel and potato salads, and sticky syrup pudding. — NC

174 Mott Street, at Broome Street, Nolita Opening: March/April 2026

Chef Andy Quinn and sommelier Cedric Nicaise of minimalist and ambitious Noortwyck in Greenwich Village are launching the 140-seat Oriana, a dramatic, dressed-up restaurant in Nolita. Set within a two-story, 5,600-square-foot space, Oriana builds a menu around its wood-fired grill, where seasonal vegetables, seafood, and large-format dishes stud the menu. Meanwhile, the 7,000-bottle cellar provides modern-edged old-world wines that characterize Nicaise’s picks.* — MM*

Netflix

125 East 39th Street, at Lexington Avenue, Midtown Opening: March 2026

Chef Hasung Lee (formerly head chef at Atomix, sous chef at the French Laundry, and chef de partie at Geranium in Copenhagen) is opening Oyatte, a 30-seat contemporary fine dining restaurant; it comes on the heels of his second-place win on season two of Culinary Class Wars on Netflix. Named for the plum blossom, Oyatte offers a seasonal tasting menu rooted in ingredients sourced from Crown Daisy Farm upstate, helmed by Brett Ellis, former head farmer at the French Laundry. The menu emphasizes technical precision, seasonality, fermentation, and preservation.* — MM*

Rendering of Brasserie Boulud.

Brasserie Boulud

1900 Broadway, at West 64th Street, Upper West Side Opening: Spring 2026

Daniel Boulud is bringing a grand French brasserie to Lincoln Center, replacing his trio of restaurants — Bar Boulud, Boulud Sud, and Épicerie Boulud — which closed last summer. The 7,500-square-foot flagship spans two floors and will feature a main dining room, a 27-seat central bar, private dining rooms, and an intimate speakeasy. Designed by Rockwell Group, the new Brasserie Boulud draws on the tradition of “le grand restaurant” — a place open from morning to late, serving seasonal classics, seafood, and dishes that reflect both regional French tradition and fancy French foods.* — MM*

20 West 23rd Street, near Fifth Avenue, Flatiron Opening: Spring 2026

A Michelin-starred taco counter from Mexico City, established in 1968,El Califa de León, isopening its first U.S. location in the former Chanson space. The decades-old, standing-room-only restaurant is famous for its gaonera, a thin-sliced beef filet taco seared to order and finished with salt and lime. Michelin also highlights the chuleta (pork chop), costilla (beef rib), and salsas. The group has been popping up around America, including at Tacombi locations in New York, Chicago, Miami, and the D.C. area.* — MM*

166 First Avenue, near East 10th Street, East Village Opening: Spring 2026

The guys behind Kisa/C as in Charlie are turning towards good ol’ Southern buffets with their next restaurant, springboarding off of the similar restaurants the team grew up with in Atlanta. Good Time Country Buffet will have set prices and offer fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, collard greens, and stuffing.* — NC*

285 Lafayette Street, near Jersey Street, Nolita Opening: Spring 2026

New York’s single-focused bakery scene is getting bigger with a new spot dedicated solely to rye sourdough bread. Austrian baker Martin Auer is making his American debut in Manhattan with his bakery-cafe-shop. Rye by Martin Auer’s loaves are made with 100 percent rye grain sourced from Austria, which results in the density that generally characterizes rye. It’ll be used for open-face sandwiches, paired with drinks, in a space described as minimal per a repand a retail section with European goods.* — NC*

Monday Diner

TBA address, Bushwick Opening: Summer 2026

Mega-talented pastry chef Caroline Schiff — formerly the pastry chef of Gage & Tollner — will open her long-awaited diner this year, where she’ll spotlight delectable desserts along with savory foods. Monday Diner’s all-day menu centers on dishes like blintzes with lox and fried eggs, grilled green melts made on pickle brine-rye bread (yes), and desserts like coconut sheet cakes, pies, ice creams, and sundaes to share. Co-partner Tori Ciambriello (general manager at Gage & Tollner) will oversee the beverage program and front-of-house operations.* — NC*

358 Van Brunt Street, near Sullivan Street, Red Hook Opening: Summer or fall 2026

New York’s Cambodian dining scene continues to grow: Hōp, a new Khmer restaurant and cocktail bar, opens in Brooklyn later this year. Hōp is near Red Hook Tavern, where co-owners and couple, Bun Cheam and Cait Callahal, had worked. In fact, Bill Durney, the owner of Red Hook Tavern, is partnering with them; it’s part of his Flour Clover restaurant group. The duo namedtheir spot after a Khmer word that translates to “eat” (pronounced “hope”). The restaurant will serve breakfast and dinner, with dishes like beef skewers, tktk, and tktk, the two tell Eater. The two tell Eater to expect dishes like beef skewers, prahok ktiss (Khmer funky pork dip), whole branzino roasted in banana leaves, and wok-fried items like fried noodles and charred vegetables. The couple just ended their pop-up residency at Park Slope restaurant, Runner Up, to focus on actually opening the restaurant.* — NC*

550 Madison Avenue, between East 55th and 56th streets, Midtown Opening: 2026

Simon Kim, the owner of buzzy luxe dining destinations like Korean steakhouse Cote (which just expanded toLas Vegas) and fancy fried chicken haven Coqodaq, is opening that much-talked-about, three-floor complex in Manhattan this year. The mega-dining destination is a huge, ambitious project from Kim, doubling down on his NYC footprint. He’s partnering with chef Masahiro Yoshitake of his acclaimed namesake restaurant in Tokyo; the two are expanding Sushi Yoshitake here. Elsewhere, the space includes an overall third location of Cote and its second in New York, and the still-unnamed all-day bar and restaurant. All three fall under Kim’s Gracious Hospitality Management group.* — NC*