The Best Restaurant Openings in New York This Month

When a new project from the team behind COTE and COQODAQ was first teased in 2024, it quickly became one of the most anticipated restaurant openings the city had seen in a long time. As the three-concept space at 550 Madison Avenue debuted this month, the hype has only been dialed up further. 550 Madison is an emporium showcasing Simon Kim’s hospitality prowess, combining a more fanciful version of COTE, the team’s beloved upscale Korean barbecue restaurant, a new bar called Bar Chimera, and Sushi Yoshitake from the lauded chef Masahiro Yoshitake, set to debut in the fall, all under one roof. The city’s second location of COTE mirrors what many love about the original, but the 2.0 version adds over-the-top dishes like a Blackjack Sandwich with A5 Wagyu, Perigord black truffles, and truffle aioli sandwiched between pieces of milk toast.

Alongside the second COTE outpost and an omakase counter straight from Tokyo, Kim’s megaplex needed an equally over-the-top bar. So why not open three bars in one? Bar Chimera offers three distinct spaces devoted to wine, whiskey, and NYC’s favorite cocktail: the Martini. Alongside obsessively considered cocktails (the team sampled more than 50 options to land on the perfect water to dilute its freezer martinis), Bar Chimera has leveled-up bar snacks like Wagyu corndogs and crispy octopus, or the option to make a meal of it with the Dinner at Chimera menu, a spread of banchan and an à la carte main course.

One of this month’s hottest new spots can be found in a surprising location: Sotheby’s headquarters on Madison Avenue. The auction house’s new dining destination is named after the building’s architect and helmed by chef-partner Marie-Aude Rose, who also oversees the kitchen at La Mercerie. Expect classic French dishes worthy of a power lunch or deal-closing dinner, though the restaurant is currently only open at night, with lunch and breakfast coming soon. The rotating collection of art and collectibles that outfit the dining room is top notch, obviously, and it may be worth a visit just to dine alongside works by Andy Warhol and Claude Lalanne.

Gigi’s, a low-key rotisserie chicken spot in Greenpoint with a killer natural wine list, captured the internet’s collective attention when a local politician put the restaurant on blast for serving a $44 half chicken, despite the fact that several restaurants in the city pull in about double that amount for a half bird. New Yorkers are lining up to determine whether the now-infamous, pricey chicken is worth it, while sampling chicken liver mousse, chicory salads, and other sides and starters along the way.

Just a few days after Gigi’s launched, another high-profile rotisserie chicken restaurant arrived in the heart of the West Village. Cleo comes from Three Top Hospitality, the team behind Margot and Montague Diner in Brooklyn. While the menu is anchored by roast chicken, it features other mains as well, like branzino and saffron risotto, along with playful dishes like nostalgic crinkle-cut fries and chicken skin caviar service.

When this fried chicken shop opened in Williamsburg in 2006, it immediately became a darling of the food world, beloved for its succulent fried chicken, flaky, buttery biscuits, and Southern-style pies. Now that chef Sarah Sanneh has opened a second outpost in Park Slope, just a block from Barclays Center, a whole new side of Brooklyn can get their hands on these comfort food classics. Martha Stewart once called it “the best fried chicken she’s ever had,” so if it’s good enough for Martha…

Ferdinando's Focacceria, the oldest Sicilian restaurant in New York City, is now powered by the team behind neighborhood favorites Cafe Spaghetti and Swooney’s. The space has served Italian fare since 1904, so when the restaurant’s previous owner, Frank Buffa, retired after 52 years, he hand-selected chef Sal Lamboglia, the owner of Cafe Spaghetti and Swooney’s, to carry the torch. The Carroll Gardens spot hangs onto some classics from the original iteration, like pane e panelle, a focaccia sandwich with chickpea fritters, while also leaning into aperitivo-style snacks and beverages.

Chef Kevin Finch, an alum of San Francisco’s three-Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn, is going back to basics with his new neighborhood spot in Greenpoint. Alongside his wife and co-owner, Alexa, this Parisian bistro-style spot features dishes like beef tartare with local meat and black garlic, and grilled scallops with turnip and dashi. Beverage director Charlotte Mirzoeff is behind a wine list focused on small, under-the-radar producers and a brioche martini that’s unsurprisingly been an early favorite.