Headliner
Veronika at Fotografiska
There’s a ground-floor cafe in the new Swedish photography center and museum, Fotografiska New York, in a stately landmark Renaissance Revival building in the Flatiron district. But when it comes to food and drink, the main attraction is the spacious second-floor restaurant whose name is inspired by the patron saint of photography. Soaring ceilings, arched windows and elegant golden lighting define the space, entered through a long bar, with a wraparound dining room, all designed by Roman and Williams. Stephen Starr, whose Starr Restaurants runs it, conceived it in the style of European grand cafes, like those of Vienna and Berlin, and the brasseries of Paris. Robert Aikens, the executive chef who worked at the Rainbow Room and at Mr. Starr’s gastropub in Philadelphia, The Dandelion, is English, but he has folded suitable continental dishes like chicken Kiev, Wiener schnitzel, salmon coulibiac and French classics like escargots and lobster Américaine into the roster of dishes. Some desserts will be served tableside from a cart, and European wines will dominate the list. (Opens Dec. 27)
281 Park Avenue South (22nd Street), 646-993-6993, veronikanyc.com.
Opening
Bar Bête
The neighborhood bistros of Paris have inspired Joe Ogrodnek’s latest project, which puts him back in Brooklyn, the site of his successful restaurants Battersby and Dover. This one is in partnership with Marc St. Jacques, who was the executive chef at the Ace Hotel in Manhattan, and is the chef here. (Mr. Ogrodnek has been working as a chef and partner at Floret in Sister City New York hotel on the Bowery, where he remains involved.) The new bistro is simply done with bare tables, globe lights and a somewhat Parisian look. The menu echoes what you’d find in that city’s edgy new bistronomies, with a radish salad, duck fat potatoes with aioli, mushroom brioche with a hint of aged soy sauce, roasted poussin with the leg smoked and steamed fish seasoned with yuzu.
263 Smith Street (Degraw Street), Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, 347-844-9950, barbete.com.
Bar Manolo
Mercado Little Spain in Hudson Yards now has another bar serving small plates. You might mistake it for a tapas bar, what with a menu that includes mixed olives, chicken fritters, assorted anchovy preparations and pan con tomate. But the food goes beyond those tidbits to include assorted tinned seafood preparations, platters of cured meats and cheeses, pressed sandwiches and stews like white beans with pork jowl and chorizo, and meatballs in tomato sauce, enough to construct as three-course meal. Vermouths, wines and beers are poured.
Mercado Little Spain, 501 West 30th Street, no phone, littlespain.com.
The Deco
Doris Huang’s garment district food hall takes its name from its sleek retro décor. Among the stalls are Huli Huli for Hawaiian fare, Little Tong Noodle Shop, Mani in Pasta for a taste of Rome, and Nansense, with Afghan food. Papa Poule, with rotisserie chickens, and Mademoiselle by Maman, a cafe with coffee and baked goods, are offshoots of the Maman cafes. (Wednesday)
231 West 39th Street, no phone, thedeconewyork.com.
Bibigo To-Go
Bibigo — a subsidiary of CJ Foods, a South Korean company that has been making condiments and prepared foods for more than 60 years — is opening this pop-up restaurant and market in the lower level of Rockefeller Center. It will serve dishes like japchae, kimchi fried rice, bulgogi and bibi-cones, which are seaweed cones filled with mixed rice bibimbap. Service is at a counter, to eat in or to take away. (Monday)
Concourse, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 646-675-1813, bibigousa.com.
Corner Bistro at the Gotham West Market
This West Village restaurant and bar, said to have opened in the 1930s, has opened an outpost in a Hell’s Kitchen food hall, where its burgers are served at least until midnight.
Gotham West Market, 600 11th Avenue (44th Street), 212-582-2188, gothamwestmarket.com.
Swifty’s Palm Beach
The Upper East Side restaurant Swifty’s closed three years ago. Now Robert Caravaggi, its owner, is recreating it seasonally, in Palm Beach, where many of his clients spend the winter. He is installing a version in The Colony Hotel, to be open through April, with the help of the hotel’s owner, Andrew Wetenhall. Swifty’s aficionados who missed the twin burgers, meatloaf and curried chicken salad will find it again. (Saturday)
The Colony Hotel, 155 Hammon Avenue (South Country Road), Palm Beach, Fla., 561-801-7429, colonypalmbeach.com.
Closed
Maharlika
This restaurant, largely responsible for opening New Yorkers’ palates to Filipino food, has closed after more than eight years in the East Village. Its sister restaurant, Jeepney, remains open and will start to serve some of Maharlika’s specialties.
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