There’s no better place to be than in NYC when fall is in full swing. Not only is the air crispy and the vibes immaculate, but with so many new restaurants opening up around town, it’s almost impossible to keep up.
Sure, everyone’s talking about HUMM, which opened over the weekend, but there are other hot tables in abundance. This week, look for a cozy new handroll spot in Midtown, three new culinary concepts debuting near Bryant Park, and a modern Israeli restaurant opening at the Williamsburg Wharf, courtesy of an Israeli celebrity chef.
Sakasama
Opening this week in Midtown, Sakasama is a Japanese temaki and sake bar. Aiming to bring high-quality sushi without the formality of a traditional sushi counter, Sakasama allows guests the opportunity to watch rolls come together and interact with the chefs as they prepare the food.
The menu is divided into two experiences depending on where you sit. First, the 20-seat sushi counter, where handrolls are prepared and passed directly from chef to guest one at a time. Or table-seating, where the same selections are served as open-style temaki and all the food arrives together. Certain items, including eel and A5 wagyu beef, are torched to order.
Other menu items include Japanese Milk Bread Toasts with various toppings such as uni, caviar, and ikura. There are also signature sets starting at $22, with options to build your own lineup, along with cocktails, sake, and Sapporo and Suntory beers on draft. 344 W. 46th St., Midtown, sakasamanyc.com
Naked Tomato
From Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani (HaSalon, Minzon) comes a new addition to Brooklyn’s Williamsburg Wharf along the East River. Dubbed Naked Tomato, it’s a sister spot to the chef’s location in Miami.
Opening on October 14, this is the latest addition to chef Shani’s restaurant portfolio, which includes over 60 properties across Tel Aviv, Paris, Melbourne, Singapore, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and London, aside from Naked Tomato in NYC and Miami.
“Naked Tomato is a love letter to the tomato. To raw beauty, to everything fresh, honest, and full of life,” said Shani. “It is food stripped down to its essence: juicy, colorful, seasonal, bold, where the best ingredients do the talking. When I open a new restaurant, the place itself has to become an ingredient, and Williamsburg has its own rawness and energy that is very special.”
The chef aims to serve food in its purest form and Naked Tomato menu items include the “Real NAKED TOMATO, World Famous famous Tomato pasta, and a Truly Giant chicken schnitzel,” plus an array of desserts. Also look toward the inventive cocktails like the Naked & Tomato, made with Illegal Mezcal, lime, Aperol, Liquore Strega, tomatoes, and basil. There will also be a dedicated kitchen counter menu at the new Brooklyn location, the first time chef Shani has introduced this experience at any of his restaurants. 476 Kent Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, nakedtomatousa.com
Lola’s Rooftop
Also opening this Wednesday is Lola’s Rooftop, situated above the NYC Sanctuary Hotel in Midtown. The restaurant offers Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, cocktails, vacation-y vibes, and, weather permitting, great skyline views. It also makes for a great stop before or after a Broadway show.
Now back to the newly reimagined, year-round restaurant. Under the yellow-and-white striped tenting you’ll find menu items that lean towards fresh seafood, premium cuts of meat, and thoughtfully prepared comfort classics.
Signature dishes include Tuna Crudo Avocado, Lola’s Burger, and Korean Short Ribs served with risotto. There is also a bottomless Mimosa and Bellini brunch offering at $36 for one hour per person, with purchase of an entrée. 132 W. 47th St., Midtown, lolasrooftop.com
One Bryant Park
After much anticipation, restaurateur KwangHo Lee is launching his most ambitious project: three distinct Japanese dining concepts at One Bryant Park in NYC. Two of those three open this Thursday, October 15. The ones in question include One Bryant Park and Kumiko Room, which reside inside the Bank of America Tower. Kappo Sono is slated to open in mid-November. The project brings together three very accomplished chefs and three very different expressions of Japanese cuisine in one 10,000-square-foot destination.
“One Bryant Park is not just a restaurant: it’s an immersive experience in Japanese culinary excellence at its highest level,” said Lee. “Our chefs bring an unparalleled level of craftsmanship, innovation, and beauty across three different styles of Japanese cuisine, offering a dining experience that touches all the senses.”
The main dining room of One Bryant Park will serve as an imaginative kaiseki restaurant with 60 seats and a 20-seat bar headed up by executive chef Shuji Furukawa. Nearby, decorated sushi chef Yoshihiko Kousaka runs Kumiko Room, a 14-seat sushi counter with 20 seats at adjacent tables.
Executive chef Chikara Sono is heading up the newest iteration of his popular Kappo Sono. This intimate 16-seat (10 at the counter) private dining room is set around an open kitchen and cloistered within One Bryant Park in NYC. Kappo Sono is slated to open next month, in mid-to-late November and reservations for One Bryant Park and Kumiko Room are now available via Resy. 135 W. 42nd St., Midtown, onebryantparknyc.com
Kine Musubi
Former pop-up Kine Musubi is opening a brick-and-mortar location on the Upper West Side this Friday, October 16. Kine comes from husband-and-wife duo Chi Ian Chan and Lizzy Han. Chan grew up in Hawaii and worked across the food industry before leaving the islands in 2022 to launch Kine in NYC. The pair made their first sale in early 2023 via a neighborhood Facebook group, and later ran a popular pop-up on Sunday at Sushi Nonaka on the Upper West Side from 2023 until 2025.
The crux of the menu is SPAM musubi, a popular snack in Hawaii made with grilled SPAM sandwiched either in between or on top of rice, wrapped together with seaweed. The couple’s signature musubi features house-made teriyaki sauce over jasmine rice, wrapped in crispy nori. Musubi prices range from $6.50 to $8, and offerings include a vegan version and seafood such as the Ebi Opae, made with crispy shrimp katsu and teriyaki mayo. 128 W. 72nd St., Upper West Side, kinemusubi.com
