NYC fall dining preview: Daniel Boulud’s new steakhouse heads post-COVID restaurant boom

New York’s top chefs and up-and-coming stars are betting big on the city’s continued recovery from post-COVID doldrums with a slew of new restaurants on tap for the fall.

The openings – spanning all corners of Manhattan, as well as spilling over into Brooklyn and Queens – include a new French-American steakhouse in NoMad from omnipresent Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud, a comeback by veteran chef Harold Moore on the Upper East Side and the largest new addition to Harlem in more than 15 years.

Some of the new eateries  were years in the making, with leases signed before and during COVID. But economic uncertainty, inflation, and difficulty obtaining city and Con Edison permits caused years of delay, several restaurateurs told Side Dish.

One of those that has languished is the latest venture by restaurateur Elhadji Cisse, who will officially open PB Brasserie Steak House next month at the base of a new luxury residential building at 60 W. 125th St.

“We signed our lease more than four years ago. But the permits took time. Then COVID came, everything slowed down, and my partners and I weren’t ready,”  said Cisse, who also owns Ponty Bistro, Renaissance and Harlem Cafe.

“But the city has changed a lot. I’m no longer nervous.”

The 4,500-square-foot steakhouse and seafood spot, which launched with a soft opening last week, will be the largest opening in Harlem since star chef Marcus Samuelson opened Red Rooster in 2008.

“Harlem is ready for a place like this. It’s the right time, and the economy is getting stronger,” Cisse said, noting that inflated food costs are finally coming down.

“Even six or seven months ago, a case of potatoes was $48. Now it’s $34 or $24.”

Boulud’s new steakhouse, La Tête d’Or,  is also gaining interest even though it won’t open its doors until November. The eatery, named after a historic park in the French chef’s hometown of Lyon, will anchor NoMad’s new marquee tower One Madison Avenue – the same way his pandemic-era Le Pavillon helped bring traffic to One Vanderbilt by Grand Central Station in Midtown East.

“We see with our private events that the fall is going to be very busy and that people are hosting business and social events,” Boulud told Side Dish. “It is a good sign of the economy and the liveliness of New York.”

Designed by David Rockwell — with dark wood and copper — it features a bar and lounge with views of the wood-fire grill, along with a private dining room and a private tasting counter for an Omakase-style steak experience.

The restaurant will focus on sourcing the meats from ranches in Texas, Colorado and Japan, along with local and international daily seafood shipments, and “Greenmarket-fresh” options for vegetarians and vegans.

Meanwhile, Moore is hoping to recapture the magic of his now-shuttered West Village haunt Commerce with the reincarnation of  Cafe Commerce on the Upper East Side.

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“After almost 10 years, we’ve finally found the perfect home for the next chapter of Commerce,” Moore, the chef and owner, told Side Dish.

“The Upper East Side is going through a renaissance and has a similar feel to what drew me originally to the West Village.”

The bistro-style setting’s design includes the original 19-foot Saint Sebastian mural suspended above the bar (oil and gold leaf on canvas) with saffron colored walls and coffered ceilings by Paul Dennis, who also led the design for the original Commerce — all at 964 Lexington Ave.

The elevated American fare eatery, which will have 44 seats in the main dining room and an additional 14 seats at the bar, will offer classic Commerce dishes, like Harold’s Famous Chicken with foie gras bread stuffing and potato puree, steak Diane and coconut cake.

A new lounge, Le Bar Penelope, is also coming to the Upper East Side — from the Avra Group Hospitality. It will open at 14 E. 60th St., where Avra also operates. The 3,000 square-foot space will have 100 seats at the bar, lounge, private dining room, and an additional 40 seats outside.

Think a Gilded Age-style spot, with a skylight discovered during the renovation, and stained glass. The idea was inspired by a Victorian theater ticket office, and opens with a velvet tented lounge. Offerings include caviar tastings, a raw bar, craft cocktails and lots of champagne.

On the same street, Le Veau d’Or, which means Golden Calf, recently opened to great acclaim at 129 E. 60th St. It’s a revival of the city’s oldest French restaurant, which dates to 1937, from the chef duo behind Frenchette and Le Rock — and it’s also years in the making.

I first reported that the restaurateurs, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, planned to reopen the famed bistro in December 2019. Back then, they told me, it was slated to open in the spring of 2020 — almost 10 years after they first reached out to the owner. Then COVID hit.

Back downtown, the team behind the Catch group of hotspot restaurants is opening a new concept, The Corner Store, a classic American restaurant from Tilman Fertitta, Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm, at 475 West Broadway.

The menu comes from Catch Hospitality Group’s culinary director, Michael Vignola, and executive chef Paul Castro, formerly of Catch New York and Nobu, with a cocktail program curated by Lucas Robinson, the group’s beverage director, and Senior Bar Manager Alexis Belton and Beverage Manager Dev Johnson that centers on martinis.

The 160-seat space includes a 13-seat bar, with lots of booth and banquette seating and an enclosed patio — also designed by the Rockwell Group, in an old New York style.

In Greenwich Village, veteran restaurateur John McDonald, of Lure Fishbar and Bowery Meat Company — who made his name launching MercBar in 1993, has formally closed Hancock Street, and turned it into Cha Cha Tang.

It started as a summer pop-up on Sunday and Monday nights, and has blossomed into a partnership with Wilson Tang, who revamped his family’s Nom Wah Tea Parlor eatery in Chinatown.

“People were really receptive to this particular culinary approach of a Hong Kong Cantonese diner as a base even though it is much more like a sexy supper club,” McDonald said.

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“It’s meant to be a very upscale experience, but the food has this really fun history.”

The American-Chinese menu, with a “world class” wine program, offers dim sum dumplings, Cantonese pork, a steamed branzino with a black pepper sauce, and a Cantonese roast duck sandwich.

McDonald’s Mercer Street Hospitality and W New York – Union Square is also launching Seahorse at 201 Park Avenue South, designed by the Rockwell Group. It’s a 110-seat “sibling concept” to Lure Fishbar, with executive chef Paul Hargrove, formerly of Daniel and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The fare is “French-inspired” seafood with Union Square Greenmarket produce, and a raw bar in a brasserie setting.

In Chelsea, Mino Habib and Mathias Van Leyden, owners of Loulou Petit Bistro & Speakeasy, have signed a lease to take over a 3,000 square-foot multilevel space formerly occupied by Baby Brasa, a now-shuttered Latin American eatery, at 173 Seventh Avenue later this fall — when they will launch Le Petit Village, a French bistro.

Loulou’s launched three weeks before the 2020 pandemic lockdown. While they took an initial hit, they became a popular community staple, serving food and drinks out of mason jars, through a window, and became known for the celebratory attitude, and live music, when New Yorkers needed community most.

The restaurant was damaged by an arsonist and also damaged during the BLM riots. But the owners survived and will now take over Baby Brasa’s former space, which had a similar vibe before it closed.

“The owner lives in our neighborhood and he reached out. He thought we’d be a good fit,” Van Leyden said, adding that they are taking over Baby Brasa’s existing lease, which kept costs down.

“We wanted to open something else but we were looking for the right location. We were ready to make deals, but prices went up after the pandemic and were even higher than before.”

Also in Chelsea, Chef Melissa Rodriguez is launching Crane Club, which will specialize in live-fire cooking. The 200-seat restaurant  at 85 Tenth Ave. will feature a large bar serving a curated cocktail program and a wine list with more than 1,000 labels.

On the Upper West Side, Chef Leah Cohen and her husband/partner Ben Byruch are launching an outpost of popular Pig & Khao, the Southeast Asian hotspot, at 433 Amsterdam Ave.

It will be bigger than the original Lower East Side location, with 54 seats in the dining room, six seats at chef’s counter, 12 seats at the bar, and about 24 seats on the outdoor patio. The couple  also own and operate Piggyback Bar in Chelsea.

In Flatiron/NoMad, Parched Hospitality, of Hole in the Wall, Isla & Co. and Daintree, is opening its eighth Big Apple eatery and fourth brand concept, Wallflower, in the Hotel Henri.
Wallflower will be a 1970s vinyl listening bar, in a 19th-floor penthouse lounge with city views and craft cocktails from mixologist Jeremy Ortiz.

“Wallflower combines our love for vinyl and the transformative music of the ‘60s to ‘80s with the timeless appeal of classic cocktails, all within a speakeasy setting that nods to both old Hollywood and 70s coastal Australia,” said Parched’s Chief Strategy Officer Tom Rowse.

In the Penn District, Alessa, at 237 W 35th St., will open on Sept 20 from Thomas Murphy’s 212 Hospitality Group — of Juniper Bar, and Bourbon & Branch. Executive Chef Denevin Miranda, previously head chef at 1Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, will offer housemade pizzas topped with caviar bumps and an aperitivo hour to welcome tourists, locals and commuters alike.

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The beverage program will come from Damiano Corren who previously worked at Employees Only, Macao Trading Company and Sant Ambroeus.

In Midtown, owner Albert Allaham’s Reserve Cut will open a second kosher steakhouse and sushi spot at 109 East 56th St. All meat will be sourced from the family butcher shop, Prime Cut, which Allaham opened in 2004 after his family fled Syria for the United States. Think tuna and black truffle sushi rolls, and the umami olive fed Wagyu steaks, along with more than 50 bottles of wine, including many from Israel.

A few blocks away, Ánimo!, which means cheers, is bringing Mexican breakfast to New York, at 1004 2nd Ave, from owner Roberto Levinson. Sample dishes include Chilaquiles, for $15, to a taco de Barbacoa con huevo for $7 and an enchiladas verdes de pollo for $16.

Farther south, Aitana, an Ecuadorian restaurant, will open within the Virgin Hotel New York, at 1227 Broadway. Helmed by Chef Freddy Vargas, a native New Yorker with Ecuadorian roots, the restaurant will feature a “deeply personal’ menu of modern-American and Latin-American fare.

Sample dishes include Chef Freddy’s Father’s Ceviche with Ecuadorian shrimp, tomato, red onion canacha and cilantro macho to stracciatella with tostones, caviar and lime, to an oxtail ragu pappardelle with dried porcini and basil, along with squid ink spaghetti with lobster, chili, coconut, uni and cilantro.

And across the East River, the owners of Midtown’s Nerai, a Greek classic led by Spiro Menegatos and Christos Gourmos, with Yamil Melendez as director of operations, are launching a still unnamed new concept in Greenpoint. The modern Greek eatery and bar will have a mezze-style menu, and focus on Greek wines, from Culinary Director Moshe Grundman.

In Red Hook, the Agi’s Counter team is launching Pitt’s at 347 Van Brunt St., named for James Beard Nominated Jeremy Salamon’s nickname growing up.

In Queens, Masa Madre Artisanal Bakery, is opening at 47-55 46th St in Woodside, for pan dulce, churros, sourdough bread, croissants, tamales, pastries, cakes and more.
All products are made with a traditional and ancient bread-making method, a type of pre-ferment, headed by Chef Jose Luis Flores.

Bac in NoHo, Elvis, an ironically named Parisian-style wine bar, is opening on Great Jones Street, offering small plates and natural wines from Le Dive wine director Frank Guerriero. The 30 seat bar, with custom woven French rattan bar stools and red marble perimeter ledges, is from Golden Age Hospitality — the team behind The Nines, Le Dive, and Deux Chats — along with Eric Kruvant and Darin Rubell of Paradise Projects. It will take over the space of the iconic Great Jones Café, and is keeping its decor orange — inside and out — to pay homage, along with a new 17-foot illuminated rack of glasses. The menu, from Golden Age Hospitality’s executive chef, Nicole Gajadhar, will feature homemade charcuteries, pâtés in a jar, duck and salmon rillettes, and tartare de bœuf. An outdoor area inspired similar to its sister property Le Dive in Dimes Square will be open in warmer weather.

There’s also a New York outpost of The Twenty Two, in Union Square, housed in the landmarked Margaret Louisa Home, which is now a hotel, restaurant and private members club — a project that has been in the works since 2018 and first reported by Side Dish.

Now that the dust has settled, we can report that the food and beverage operations will be from the all-female team behind Raf’s and the Michelin-starred The Musket Room, from sisters Jennifer and Nicole Vitagliano, with executive chef Mary Attea and executive pastry chef Camari Mick.

There is also an all-day dining concept, Cafe Zaffri, which will be on the ground floor and open to the public, starting in October.

In Tribeca, Élysée’s is coming to Fouquet’s New York. The new Mediterranean eatery will be replacing Par Ici Cafe. Helmed by executive chef Mathew Woolf, Élysée’s offers breakfast as well as lunch and dinner, from avocado hummus with crudités and pita, to burrata pizza with onion, fig, and prosciutto, to veal chop Milanese with arugula, parmesan salad and lemon caper butter, and fresh seafood and pasta, like a harissa shrimp with zucchini yogurt, ricotta gnudi with sage and brown butter, and linguine with lobster and mushroom.

There’s also a playful cocktail menu featuring drinks like a barrel aged Mezcal negroni, and the prosiutto and melone, with prosciutto-infused Ketel One vodka, cantaloupe and a garnish of crispy prosciutto.

In Flatiron, LDV Hospitality’s John Meadow and Avery Britton will open Barlume, a new all day dining concept with Mediterranean flair, over a tri-level space at 900 Broadway at the corner of 20th and Broadway.  There’s a coffee shop by day that transitions to a wine bar by night, along with a dining room offering small and large format shared plates, and a private dining room that seats 25, along with a cocktail club downstairs with craft cocktails and light bites.

Soho is also getting some new spots, including, Heroes, from Ariel Arce, Aaron Lirette and Kenneth Crum, the team behind Tokyo Record Bar and Niche Niche, and opening partner to Roscioli in New York. It’s named for their heroes, who include Julia Child and Thomas Keller, along with Diana Vreeland and Supreme Corut Justice Sonia Sotomayor — and it’s also named for heroes banquets, that bring people together through food. Heroes will feature small and large shared plates; while Pearl Box, billed as an intimate cocktail bar with 1970s influences, promises to entertain — at 375 West Broadway.

In the West Village comes People’s,  an evening club/art gallery for the after-dinner crowd. It’s below a townhouse that was once home to the influential Downtown Gallery, from owners Emmet McDermott and Margot Hauer-King. Think cocktails, champagne offering and late-night small plates for sharing. Open from 5pm until “late.”

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