Headliner
Pastis
There’s no restaurateur better at channeling time-worn French bistros and brasseries than Keith McNally. Now, he has recreated one of his own restaurants, Pastis, moving it around the corner from the original and recycling tiles, mirrors and other vintage details that were kept in storage during its five-year hiatus. Even the phone number is the same. “In building Pastis, I’ve tried to capture the spirit of the original more than build a replica of it,” Mr. McNally wrote in an email. This time around, he has a partner, the restaurateur Stephen Starr, a good thing because as hands-on as Mr. McNally can be, he had a stroke two years ago. Mr. McNally said that, despite the “awful effects” of the stroke, he is very much involved. “He designed the restaurant and has been here constantly,” Mr. Starr said. The larger space, which cost $8 million to build, is configured differently from the original. The money is on the art, media and fashion world to return. “My ideal clientele would be layabouts, prostitutes and ex-cons, but we’ll probably attract models, writers and a few judges,” Mr. McNally said. The restaurant, which has already been besieged by reservation-seekers, will also attract people to the area, now home to the Whitney Museum of American Art, the High Line and top-shelf boutiques. About half of the menu is the same, serving escargots, onion soup gratinée, salade niçoise, steak-frites, mussels and, on Fridays, bouillabaisse. New dishes include herring with potatoes, duck with olives and boudin blanc sausages. This time, there is some seating at curved red leather banquettes á la Balthazar, another McNally hot spot. The chef, a Stephen Starr veteran, is Michael Abt. (Opens Friday)
52 Gansevoort Street (Greenwich Street), 212-929-4844, pastisnyc.com.
Opening
Lamalo
Gadi Peleg, the owner of the Breads Bakeries in Manhattan, is bringing what he calls modern Middle Eastern fare to the ground floor of the Arlo NoMad, replacing Massoni. Mr. Peleg’s group will also be responsible for bar food in the second-floor lounge and snacks for the rooftop bar. The centerpiece of the dining experience is freshly baked laffa, a generous oblong Jerusalem-style flatbread made with yogurt but no yeast. With it come 10 or so small dishes of dips and spreads, enough to make a meal. But in case you need more, there are also main courses like assorted fish fried in chickpea batter, braised whole cabbage, grilled chicken with spearmint yogurt and sumac onions, and grilled octopus with preserved lemon butter. Cocktails feature arak, the anise-flavored spirit. (Saturday)
Arlo NoMad, 11 East 31st Street, 212-660-2112, lamalonyc.com.
Floret
Sister City, a new hotel on the Bowery, opened its rooftop bar, Last Light, a couple of weeks ago. And now its flagship restaurant is making its debut. All the food and drink for the hotel is managed by Joe Ogrodnek, formerly of Battersby in Brooklyn and the chef and a partner in this project, part of a hotel group that includes the Ace Hotel in NoMad. The executive chef working with him is Andrew Whitcomb, who most recently was the chef de cuisine at Petit Crenn in San Francisco. The restaurant, which has some outdoor patio seating, has started offering an all-day menu with toasts, sandwiches, bowls and plates involving seasonal ingredients. Brunch will start June 15, and dinner will follow on June 19.
Sister City hotel, 225 Bowery (Stanton Street), 646-343-4100, floret.nyc.
La Ventura
While charcuterie and a hot chicken sandwich will eventually anchor the chef Peter Lipson’s menu, from time to time he will also offer specialties with an island vibe, like sunchoke kebabs seasoned with Jamaican jerk spices and grilled octopus with yucca and curry mayonnaise. (Wednesday)
615 Hudson Street (Jane Street), 917-675-6454, laventuranyc.com.
GAUDIr
This Spanish restaurant started as a Monday night pop-up by Tastings Social, a catering and restaurant company, and has now become permanent. It serves tapas and paellas, including the variety made with fideua noodles.
251 East 110th Street, 212-744-4422 ext. 301, tastingsnyc.com/gaudir.
Amar by George Mendes
This pop-up at Chefs Club Counter incorporates the chef George Mendes’s Portuguese background with local seasonal ingredients. With dishes like a quinoa “paella” with vegetables and vegan turmeric-cauliflower curry, it also tilts toward the wellness craze. On a part of the menu, Mr. Mendes has collaborated with a Dutch supermodel, Sanne Vloet, who has ideas about nutrition. (Wednesday through early September)
Chefs Club Counter, 62 Spring Street (Lafayette Street), 646-438-9172, chefsclub.com/clubcounter.
Marcellino
A red-sauce Italian menu served at tables with red-checkered cloths is the hallmark of this Little Italy newcomer. Some of the cooking is done in a wood-burning oven, including a pizza made with a family recipe for tomato sauce and roasted chicken with vegetables. There’s outdoor patio seating. (Thursday)
178 Mulberry Street (Broome Street), 646-998-4576, marcellinonyc.com.
Shuko Beach
Jimmy Lau and Nick Kim, the owners and chefs at Shuko in Manhattan, will return to the Hamptons this season and set up shop at Highway Restaurant & Bar on Fridays and Saturdays and, starting June 27, Thursdays as well. In addition to the omakase ($200) served at the chef’s counter and in the dining room and patio, there will also be à la carte selections. (Friday through early September)
Highway Restaurant & Bar, 290 Montauk Highway (Daniels Hole Road), East Hampton, N.Y., 631-527-5372, shukonyc.com/shuko-beach.
Nobody Told Me
This new bar and lounge places a strong emphasis on the food, especially lighter bar fare. The partners are Nick Pfannerstill, who was the chef de cuisine at Dovetail, and Alberto Miranda, who was at Rouge Tomate but is now specializing in cocktails. (Thursday)
951 Amsterdam Avenue (106th Street), 917-409-2050, nobodytoldme.nyc.
Rosie’s Amagansett
Another addition to the Hamptons dining scene, this restaurant offers counter service for breakfast and lunch, then at 4 p.m. takes on a touch of formality with an Après Beach menu of oysters, steak tartare, mussels and brick chicken. A supply of seasonal produce from organic Bhumi Farms nearby inspires dishes like a bacon, egg and lettuce sandwich; shaved zucchini salad with mint; and orecchiette with peas, favas and sheep milk ricotta.
195 Main Street (Hedges Lane), Amagansett, N.Y., 631-604-5095, rosiesamagansett.com.
Closing
Wallflower and The Eddy
The owners of Wallflower in the West Village will close the restaurant after dinner on June 15. They will also close their East Village spot, the Eddy, after dinner on June 17. Their reasons, they said through a spokeswoman, are not “interesting or important.” Until the closing, they are offering a 25 percent discount on all meals.
Wallflower, 235 West 12th Street (Greenwich Avenue), 646-682-9842, wallflowernyc.com; The Eddy, 342 East Sixth Street (First Avenue), 646-895-9884, theeddynyc.com.
