Headliner
Felice Columbus
Restaurants often open hoping to build a loyal neighborhood clientele. At this Upper West Side addition to the Felice restaurants, with locations on the Upper East Side and elsewhere, Iacopo Falai, a native Florentine and the culinary director for SA Hospitality, which owns Felice and the Sant Ambroeus restaurants, has done some homework. “It’s hospitality for the neighborhood,” he said, of adding a smoked fish platter, rigatoni with fresh and smoked salmon, and even cured herring with jardinière to the otherwise Tuscan menu. Plate-sized, thin-crust pizzas are also available, and Italophiles can choose from more than 10 pastas, a long list of appetizers and salads, and a selection of main courses. A 20-seat bar, which takes up most of the airy, well-windowed 65-seat dining room, specializes in Negronis, with an option to design your own. The restaurant, accented with dark wood, is not quite as cozy with leather banquettes as some others in the group, but there’s a well-upholstered lounge on the lower level that will open in late September. A few tables are set outdoors.
240 Columbus Avenue (71st Street), 212-931-1150, felicenyc.com.
Opening
Veronika
After a pandemic slumber, the restaurateur Stephen Starr has awakened the beautiful dining room on the second floor of Fotografiska New York, the photography museum, with a new executive chef, Wolfgang Ban. Mr. Ban, who owned several restaurants and bars in New York, has retained much of what the previous chef, Robert Aiken, served. The menu offerings, like potato pierogi, Wiener schnitzel and coulibiac of salmon, already reflected the food of Eastern Europe and Mr. Ban’s native Austria, but he has tweaked many of them to suit his approach. The chicken in puff pastry with riesling sauce, lobster Newburg and veal goulash served with roasted peppers and caraway dumplings are a few of his new dishes. For now, the restaurant will be open for dinner only Wednesdays though Saturdays. (Opens Wednesday)
281 Park Avenue South (22nd Street), 646-993-6993, veronikanyc.com.
Sami and Susu
They ran pop-ups for the past year or so, but now Amir Nathan and Jordan Anderson have set down roots on the Lower East Side for their vibrant Mediterranean fare. The restaurant will start with a breakfast that includes the inevitable bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, but theirs is rolled into a flaky boureka. An all-day menu follows. They will also sell some grocery items like Palestinian olive oil and prepared foods like baba ganoush and spicy tuna conserva. There is seating indoors and out. (Friday)
190 Orchard Street (East Houston Street), 646-559-2846, samiandsusu.com.
Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa
A fourth edition of this Los Angeles import has opened. It first came to New York in 2016 and is known for its reasonably priced set menus, which generate long lines as reservations are not accepted. The new restaurant has a spacious outdoor waiting area, but no outdoor seating.
152 East 53rd Street, sugarfishsushi.com.
