Careening to the end of the year, new restaurants are popping up all over, hoping to catch a bit of holiday action.
There’s a new cocktail bar—and a first for Rockefeller Center—in New York near the famed ice skating rink.
James Beard award-winning chef Jason Stanhope has created something elegant for recently renovated The Pinch hotel.
Daniel Boulud reopened his original Café Boulud with a new location in Manhattan.
Once known as the “Too Hot Tamales” from their Food Network show, Los Angeles restaurateurs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken launched a new concept open to the public but in an LGBTQ+ residential community for seniors.
From the VCR Group comes the new neighborhood restaurant Little Maven. The group includes partners David Rodolitz and chefs Josh Capon and Conor Hanlon with marketing mogul Gary Vaynerchuk. The team is also behind the once-NFT-funded members-only project The Flyfish Club, which has yet to debut.
And Nashville, Tenn.-based chef and restaurateur Maneet Chauhan is going to Disney World—actually Disney Springs—with a new casual Indian concept.
Here are some new and notable openings so far this month:
Smith & Mills is on the rink level of Rockefeller Center. |Photo courtesy of Smith & Mills.
Smith & Mills
New York City
At Rockefeller Center in New York City, Smith & Mills opened this week on the rink level. It’s the first and only cocktail bar in the center and comes from Akiva Elstein and Matthew Abramcyck, who ran the original Tribeca cocktail bar.
On the menu are raw bar classics and sharable plates, as well as dishes like Fisherman’s Stew, a Pastrami Short Rib Reuben and Salmon Rillettes. The beverage director is Robert Krueger.
Chef Jason Stanhope is behind the new Lowland. | Photo courtesy of Matthew Williams.
Lowland
Charleston, S.C.
Chef Jason Stanhope, who was named Best Chef: Southeast by the James Beard Foundation for his work at the restaurant Fig, is now helming the kitchen at the new Lowland, a Southern tavern by hospitality company Method Co., in the The Pinch hotel, which has undergone a five-year renovation.
Lowland includes the more casual Lowland Tavern downstairs, with The Dining Room at Lowland upstairs offering a more elegant setting. The hotel also includes a re-opening of The Quinte, an oyster bar that apparently also has a soft-serve machine.
The Rotisserie Sasso Chicken at Acadia. | Photo courtesy of Acadia.
Acadia
New York City
This is the 15th restaurant for Simon Oren’s Chef Driven Hospitality (Barbounia, Monterey, Marseille, Nice Matin) and second with chef/partner Ari Bokovza (Dagon). Open this week, the two-story restaurant features Levantine Mediterranean fare in a Kasbah-inspired setting. Look for Agu’s Tunisian Cigar with salted cod, tahina and amba; Sasso Chicken or Crispy Roasted Lamb Neck.
Daniel Boulud, founder of The Dinex Group. | Photo courtesy of Thomas Schnauer.
Café Boulud New York
New York City
On Friday, chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud is re-opening the restaurant he first opened in the city 25 years ago, but this time in a new location. The new-and-improved Café Boulud is opening as a partnership with Barnes International Realty, and the location next year will also add Maison Barnes, which will be a bar, dining salon and private dining rooms.
Boulud and his Dinex Group has grown the Café Boulud brand over the years to include locations in Palm Beach, Fla.; the Bahamas; and Toronto. A location is scheduled to open in Beverly Hills, Calif., next year. The group also operates the flagship Restaurant Daniel.
Café Boulud New York’s executive chef will be Romain Paumier, who was most recently executive sous chef at Restaurant Daniel and he previously served as sous chef at the original Café Boulud before it closed for the move.
The new concept at Disney Springs is Manet Chauhan's first in Florida. | Photo courtesy of Eet by Maneet.
Eet by Maneet Chauhan
Orlando, Fla.
Nashville, Tenn.-based restaurateur and chef (and Food Network star) Maneet Chauhan and Vivek Deora this month opened a first concept in Central Florida at Disney Springs in Walt Disney World. Eet by Maneet features playful Indian fare, with dishes like naan with Pimento Whipped Paneer; Tandoori Chicken Poutine over chaat masala fries; and a Samosa Chopped Salad with greens and vegetables topped with samosa croutons.
Chauhan and Deora’s Morph Hospitality own three Nashville concepts: Chauhan Ale & Masala House, The Mockingbird, and Tansuo.
Mary Sue Milliken (left) and Susan Feniger at the new Alice B. | Photo courtesy of Alice B.
Alice B.
Palm Springs, Calif.
The famed chef-restaurateur pair Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken earlier this month opened this new restaurant in the lobby of Living Out, a luxe senior LGBTQ+ residential community. The restaurant is open to the public, and is named for California-born author Alice B. Toklas who wrote about her life with partner Gertrude Stein in a memoir disguised as a cookbook.
The menu was developed in collaboration with Executive Chef Lance Velasquez, who brings signature Cornmeal Cheddar Drop Biscuits to the mix, as well as Short Rib & Potato Croquettes; Braised Lamb Shanks and some bar-only dishes, like a Smash Burger and Classic Pepperoni Pizza.
Feniger and Milliken are known for their acclaimed concepts Border Grill, City Café and City Restaurant, as well as the pioneering Food Network show Too Hot Tamales. Their Mundo Hospitality Group now operates Socalo, Border Grill Las Vegas, BBQ Mexicana and Pacha Mamas, as well as the Border Grill Trucks.
Little Maven is described as a modern American neighborhood restaurant. |Photo courtesy of Little Maven.
Little Maven
New York City
This modern American neighborhood restaurant opened at the end of November and is from VCR Group (Ito), the partnership of David Rodolitz, Gary Vaynerchuk and chefs Josh Capon and Conor Hanlon.
Look for Caesar Cups with endive, charred broccoli anad garlic crumbs; Steamed Red Snapper with green Thai curry, eggplant, coconut and sticky rice cake; and Steak Frites with caramelized cipollini onions. Revisit the 1980s with a Banana Split or a Chocolate Mousse for dessert.
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