NYC Just Had a Very Good Month for Restaurant Openings Trent Warner May 27, 2026 Hot Spots An olive oil fat-washed martini on the East River. A pie made with flour imported from Japan. And the casual spinoff of one of Williamsburg’s Michelin-starred restaurants. May was a good month. Three new spots opened across Williamsburg and the East Village in the last three weeks, and all three are worth going to. Here’s where we’d start. Bar Susanne, Williamsburg Jackie Carnesi built her reputation at Nura and the much-loved Tex-Mex overhaul of Kellogg’s Diner. Now she has her own room, and it’s on the water. Bar Susanne opened May 15 at 6 River Street in Domino Park, right on the East River. The menu is seafood-forward: scallop crudo, crab salad, fluke Milanese, grilled squid, caviar service. The oyster shooter is worth ordering. It arrives as mango sorbet with coconut crème anglaise and cilantro in a shell. You’ll be skeptical. Order it anyway. Cocktails are by Milos Zica, an Employees Only alum. The Talented Miss Ripley is fat-washed with olive oil. The Cured & Crafted is stirred with spiced brine. Both run $22. 6 River Street, Williamsburg. Open daily 5–11pm. barsusanne.com Pizza Studio Tamaki, East Village Japan has spent the last 20 years being more serious about Neapolitan pizza than most of Italy. This is why. Pizzaiolo Tsubasa Tamaki opened his first U.S. location on May 5 at 123 St. Marks Place, using a proprietary flour blend imported from Japan. The crust lands differently than the NYC standard: lighter, with more structure. Order the Bismarck ($36): mozzarella, mushrooms, pork sausage, pecorino Romano, and a runny egg. Or go full white with the Bianca: burrata, buffalo mozzarella, mascarpone, and white truffle oil. Either way, get a side of the Parmesan risotto arancini. 123 St. Marks Place, East Village. Open Tue–Thu 5–10pm, Fri–Sat 5–11pm. pizzapst.com Allegretto al Forno, Williamsburg Francie, the Michelin-starred brasserie on Broadway, is one of Williamsburg’s best restaurants. Chef Chris Cipollone and GM John Winterman have now opened a more casual operation right next door. Allegretto al Forno at 132 Broadway is wood-fired pizza and small plates built around Southern Italian cooking. The standout pie: duck sausage with apricot and pistachio pesto. It sounds odd. It works completely. The fried bucatini “aglio e olio” with hazelnut and peperoncino is the small plate to order. Reservations drop two weeks out. Walk-ins get the full menu at the bar. 132 Broadway, Williamsburg. allegrettobrooklyn.comThree spots, two boroughs. Bar Susanne is your summer drinking spot. Pizza Studio Tamaki is the one you bring out-of-towners to. Allegretto al Forno is Tuesday night dinner when you want to eat well without making a production of it.
