The 5 NYC Restaurant Openings We're Most Excited About This Summer

New York's restaurant calendar never really slows down, but summer 2026 has a particularly stacked slate — the kind of openings that have reservation-watchers refreshing their apps weeks early. Here are the five we're most excited to get a table at.

Selene by Kyma — SoHo

Inside the ModernHaus SoHo, Selene by Kyma brings pristine Mediterranean seafood to one of the neighborhood's most dramatic rooms — a soaring atrium crowned by a retractable roof that turns dinner into an open-air affair the moment the weather cooperates. Expect whole fish, crudo, and the see-and-be-seen energy SoHo does best.

Cleo Downtown — Hudson Street

From the team behind Margot, Cleo Downtown lands on Hudson Street with a singular obsession: the art of the rotisserie. Heritage chickens turn slowly over the fire, market-driven sides round out the plate, and the whole thing is wrapped in a polished European-bistro setting that feels built to become a neighborhood standby.

Gertrude's and Gertie — Carroll Gardens

Brooklyn gets a fresh spin on the classic bar and grill with Gertrude's and Gertie in Carroll Gardens. The menu reads like a greatest-hits of comfort done right — burgers, a raw bar, ice-cold martinis, and, yes, latkes — the sort of all-day neighborhood spot you end up at far more often than you planned.

Dishoom — the long-awaited arrival

Few openings carry as much pent-up anticipation as Dishoom, the beloved Bombay-style café that's had New Yorkers making pilgrimages to London for years. Its NYC debut promises the same all-day magic — black daal, bacon naan rolls, endless chai — and almost certainly a line to match.

How to actually get in

• Set a reservation alarm. The buzziest of these book out the moment tables drop — usually two to four weeks ahead.
• Go off-peak. A 5:30 or 9:30 seating is far easier than prime time, and often a better experience.
• Sit at the bar. Many hold bar seats for walk-ins — the single best hack for a hot opening.

The summer opening is a New York ritual: half about the food, half about being early enough to say you were there.

Opening dates always shift, so confirm before you go — but if even half of these land on schedule, it's shaping up to be one of the most appetizing summers the city has served in a while.