French cuisine has always had a special place in New Yorkers’ hearts. Next month, they’re getting even more options for steak tartare, coq au vin and more.
From fine dining in Tribeca to more casual fare from Daniel Boulud, the new offerings will have New Yorkers saying, formidable!
“I think French restaurants are so popular right now because French food offers a sense of luxury without the stuffiness of traditional fine dining,” said Michelin-starred chef Philippe Orrico, who just opened his first restaurant on his own, Le Sixth.
The spot a stone’s throw away from Washington Square Park had a soft opening over the summer and is preparing a grand opening next month during Fashion Week.
“People are gravitating toward the spirit of the French bistro — sophisticated, but still casual. That’s what I wanted to create with Le Sixth, a relaxed neighborhood restaurant with delicious elevated bistro food and a great ambiance,” said Orrico, who most recently served as executive chef at the private members club Coco’s.
Le Sixth offers French favorites like Dover sole with mashed potatoes served in a miniature cast-iron pot; roast chicken from a wood-burning oven; and steak frites with broccolini and sauce Champs-Élysées. There’s also salmon and avocado cones and ravioli with Comté and summer truffles.
This fall, Le Sixth will also launch a “French brunch” with mini lobster rolls, foie gras crème brûlée and “pigs in blankets,” along with a choice of caviar.
Across from Lincoln Center, top chef Daniel Boulud is trying a change of pace from the spectacular creations for which he is famous – opening his 25th restaurant.
Brasserie Boulud, opening next month, is meant for morning coffee and croissants — on the spot or to-go — as well as lunch, dinner or late night cocktails following a show.
The new eatery will take over the 10,000-square-foot space previously occupied by Boulud Sud, Epicerie Boulud and Bar Boulud.
“The classic bistro never really disappeared, but it’s enjoying a strong resurgence,” Boulud recently told the Hollywood Reporter.
Next month will also see the opening of Faux in Tribeca from George McNally, 23. He’s the son of famed restaurateur and memoirist Keith McNally, who created beloved French dining institutions including Balthazar, Pastis and Minetta Tavern.
The “French-inspired” two-story brasserie and late-night spot is the first restaurant from McNally fils, who was often spotted bartending at Balthazar.
Faux’s chef will be Kristina Ramos, an Eleven Madison Park alumn who also worked at places including Auberge la Feniere outside Marseille and Washington, DC’s Minetta Tavern. She will be creating classics like steak frites, a good burger and mussels — with more of a coastal Marseilles vibe than a Parisian city feel.
McNally recently described Faux as “unpretentious. Just good food. Something nostalgic, something easy.”
He’s reportedly working with a team that made his dad’s spots such as success: Ian McPheely, who co-designed Balthazar and Pastis, and Zach Lewis, whose father Richard Lewis worked with McNally père.
Meanwhile Catch Hospitality Group continues to open eateries as fast as a high speed TGV train barreling down the tracks from Paris to Marseilles.
Cafe Charmant – French with a “coastal flair” – opens next month on the Bleecker Street spot where trendy Saint Theo’s once stood.
It’s CHG’s fourth standalone concept to open in two years, following the success of Or’esh, the Eighty Six and Corner Store, a Taylor Swift favorite and instant success that surprised no one more than New York-born restaurateur Eugene Remm and his partner Tilman Fertitta, the billionaire businessman, Houston Rockets owner and current US ambassador to Italy.
Like Or’esh — and like Boulud’s new brasserie — Cafe Charmant’s elegant space is designed by the Rockwell Group. The chef is Jake Tyler Brodsky, another Eleven Madison Park alum whom Remm discovered while dining at Brodsky’s last gig, Palm Heights in the Cayman Islands. The opening also comes as the original Catch celebrates its 15th anniversary this year with a new menu and revamp in New York and Los Angeles.
While Cafe Charmant boasts classic French dishes like a salade niçoise and steak frites, it will also introduce dishes like razor clam pasta, duck frites and shrimp Polynesian, as well as a raw bar. Catch beverage director Lucas Robinson is working with wine director Emily Buse. New cocktails will include a Provençal Dirty Martini, Garibaldi and Cucumber Sour.
Earlier this month, Broome Restaurant and Bar had a soft opening in Soho’s boutique hotel Broome, which is under new ownership.
The classic menu from consulting chef Moshe Masarty boasts dishes like tuna tartare with labneh and cucumber consommé; beef tartare with caper relish and quail egg; and an apple-and-fennel salad with feta and cashews. Mains include branzino with fennel, bok choy and dill beurre blanc; delicate pastas; a chicken paillard with chermoula, pine nuts; and desserts like an olive oil chocolate cake with sea salt and crème fraîche. Cocktails include the garden fizz, yuzu martini and spicy blackberry Mezcal. For now, it’s dinner only, with brunch to follow.
The space also delights, with interiors by Sonoé Architecture & Design Studio. It’s all part of the hotel’s revamp, which includes the redesign of all 14 hotel rooms and suites.
“French cuisine is foundational to how we cook today. Many techniques that define classical cooking — from building stocks and sauces to the use of butter, reductions and precise preparations — were formalized through the French culinary tradition and continue to influence kitchens around the world,” said Liron Sanado, Broome’s director of development and operations.
We hear… that Motek, the popular Miami-based Mediterranean eatery from Happy Corner Hospitality, is in major expansion mode. It’s opening Yalla Motek, a Mediterranean street-style fast-casual eatery, in NoMad this winter, at 1147 Broadway, Side Dish has learned exclusively.
The 2500 square foot location comes with 66 seats.
Nomad will be the first of several locations to open in New York — on the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, FiDi, and Midtown: Twenty outposts are slated to open over the next three years.
“We wanted to create a place where everyone could enjoy fresh Mediterranean street food every day served fast, made with real ingredients, authentic flavors, and completely seed-oil free,” said Charlie Levy, founder of Happy Corner Hospitality.
The very first Yalla Motek opened in Aventura, FL. in November 2022.
Menu favorites includelamb shawarma, chicken schnitzel sandwiches, fresh bowls, and falafel.
The first Motek opened in 2020 in downtown Miami.
Motek’s New York flagship is in Flatiron, at 928 Broadway, with additional spots in the West Village and 60 W. 57th St. Williamsburg is slated to open this fall at 80 N 7th St.
We hear… that new-to-the-neighborhood Confidant — bordering Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill at 127 Atlantic Ave. — which moved earlier this year from a less accessible spot in Industry City — is also in expansion mode.
After moving from Industry City to a restaurant-lined stretch of Atlantic Ave., the owner-chefs Brendan Kelley and Daniel Grossman, who are alumn of Roberta’s, the Bushwick-based pizza haven, have just launched a next-door wine bar called Frenzie, their own tribute to all things late night, with wine, cocktails and sourdough pizza at 129 Atlantic Avenue, for New York style pizzas, small plates and late nite slices, with a wine program helmed by head bartender Charlie Szur, who also oversees drinks at Confidant. Lots of natural wines are on the list from Spain and Austria — to Vietnam.
Late night menu starts and 10 pm until closing each night, with cost-friendly options like a martini and a slice for $20; a negroni and a slice for $19 and Narragansett — a shot and a slice for $15. Hours are 4 pm to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 4 pm to 2 am on Friday, and 2 pm to 2 am on Saturday. Confidant, of course, is also still going strong, with popular dishes including a trout mousse, and signature prawn pot pie. Both are welcome additions to the neighborhood.
We hear… that Grand Street is getting a glow up. Selene, a three story Greek restaurant in Soho at 23 Grand St. named after the Greek goddess of the moon, is hitting its stride after opening in May, and feels like a quick trip to the Aegean coast in downtown Manhattan. Thinkpink washed walls, a retractable roof, whole grilled fish, lamb chops and lots of mezze appetizers — along with crudos, tartares, and lots of citrus, herbs and olive oil. The 10,000 square foot space seats 250 to 300 people and features multiple dining rooms, a garden terrace, and staff in full length gowns.
It’s from co-founders Reno Christou, who co-founded Kyma Restaurant Group in 2013 after years with Estiatorio Milos, Avra, Periyali and Limani, and James Ragonese, who was previously with Philippe by Philippe Chow and LDV Hospitality. The executive chef is Christos Bisiotis, who has cooked at the White House, is formerly of Eataly, Avra and Estiatorio Milos.
The design, described as “Aegean minimalism reframed by New York” is by Theodore Kondylis’ Kondylis NYC with thoughtful custom furniture, ceramics and diffused lighting — and olive trees. Selene sits inside ModernHaus SoHo, which was previously The James New York. Built in 2011, it closed during COVID and reopened after a year-and-a-half renovation in May 2021, under new owner Jack Sitt’s Thor Equities Group.
The specific corner of downtown Manhattan that hosts Selene is in the midst of a development surge.
Plans have been filed to build two new residential towers with 121 combined units on the vacant lots at nearby 30 and 32 Thompson Street — a 19-story building at 30 Thompson (once a garage) with 44 units, and a 19-story building at 32 Thompson with 77 units plus ground-floor retail. The block today is mainly six-story walk-ups. The SoHo/NoHo area was rezoned in 2021 to allow buildings up to 275 feet as-of-right, which is what makes towers of that scale possible there now.