NYC Restaurants To Try This Weekend

NEW YORK, NY – Eating out in New York City can be a daunting prospect. With new restaurants opening virtually every day, keeping up with the best spots to try isn't easy — but Patch is here to help. Every week, we’ll showcase recently opened places in your neighborhood. (Keep up with news in your area by signing up for Patch's daily newsletters.)

Cecconi’s Dumbo

Neighborhood: DUMBO

Address: 55 Water St.

Cecconi’s Dumbo has outposts in Istanbul, Barcelona and London and now arrives in a renovated warehouse in DUMBO's Empire Stores on Water Street, between Main and Dock. Offering views of the Manhattan Bridge and the East River, Cecconi’s Dumbo serves brunch, lunch and dinner, as well as a family-style Sunday supper with classic Italian staples such as pasta, risotto and pizza. The restaurant also offers large slabs of prime rib and ricotta hotcakes.

Emily

Neighborhood: West Village

Address: 35 Downing St.

Clinton Hill’s gourmet pizza favorite, Emily, is now serving slices in Manhattan’s West Village. The restaurant opened on Downing Street and is, for now, only open between 5 and 11 p.m. though hours are set to extend in the coming weeks. Sicilian pizzas and two kinds of burgers — the Emmy Burger, with American cheese, and The Lammy, served with aioli, onion rings, papadums and green papaya — are available at the new location. Takeout and delivery services will soon be offered.

Norman

Neighborhood: Greenpoint

Address: 103-15 Queens Blvd.

Norman is a contemporary restaurant, cafe, in-house bakery and bar. Open since April, the 140-seat restaurant is part of A/D/O, the 23,000-square-foot space for BMW-owned car company Mini. The location includes an open kitchen and a long, marble bar adjacent to a communal area with a menu that includes dishes such as buffalo milk yogurt with rhubarb preserves and sunflower seed granola and porridge layered with smoked trout, havarti and green garlic — and that’s just breakfast. Lunch includes crab toast, grated beets with blue ribbon brine and elderflower vinegar and a cheese sandwich with green apple.

The Grill

Neighborhood: Midtown

Address: 99 East 52nd St.

The Grill is no ordinary chophouse. Only a few days old, it takes inspiration from a mid-20th century New York City “when things were still intricate and elegant,” per The Grill website. Diners will be treated to goose terrine with figs and olives, house cured salmon, the chilled crustacean of the day, honey mustard duckling, prime aged steaks and an assortment of sides via trolley service. The cocktail menu is extensive.

mŏkbar

Neighborhood: Park Slope

Address: 212 Flatbush Ave.

This Korean ramen shop, whose name originates from a combination of English and Korean and means “eat bar,” combines traditional Korean soups with fresh Japanese ramen noodles. An on-the-go spot during the day, mŏkbar turns into an eat-in bar-and-restaurant where diners can watch chefs prepare meals right in front of them. The concept is to have a small bar around mŏkbar’s open kitchen so that diners can sit and engage with the chefs while enjoying their food.

Lead image: Ewan Munro, Cecconi’s in London