Restaurant Openings to Watch for in 2017

By Sarah Zorn

Since we departed 2016 on a bit of a sour note (by memorializing the once seemingly institutional establishments that unceremoniously shuttered) we figured we’d attempt a valiant stab at optimism to kick off the brand new year—by showcasing 2017’s freshman crop of exciting, incoming restaurants.

Harvey
The Williamsburg Hotel may already have soft opened, but we’re considerably more pumped for the winter debut of Harvey (their in-house restaurant from chef Adam Leonti) than we are for an impending slew of pink, chauffeured tuk-tuks, shuttling hotel visitors to local shops and bars. Anyway, building upon his Brooklyn Bread Lab pop-up in Brooklyn, Leonti will focus on dishes culled from freshly-milled heirloom grain, to complement veggie-forward fare like saffron risotto with sunchoke marrow, squash arancini with amaretti cookies, and Taleggio ravioli with porcini dust.

96 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg

Salvation Taco
Pod’s modular, micro-hotel franchise will also dot Williamsburg’s increasingly glass and chrome-rimmed skyline by spring, simulating an actual New York lifestyle not with tuk-tuks, but 100-square foot residences, equipped with built-in storage and bunk beds. The real appeal for locals, however, is that April Bloomfield (who already runs eateries at Pod 39 in Manhattan) is along for the ride as well, planning a second outpost of Salvation Taco, and serving food and drinks on the roof.

626 Driggs Ave., Williamsburg

Atlantic Social
The fast and furious shutters of Pork Slope and Thistle Hill Tavern seem a bit less of a bummer in the face of Atlantic Social, the Three Kings Hospitality Group’s impending, 250-seat complex near the Barclay’s Center. Expect a game room with options like shuffleboard, an expansive bar and dining room, and a characteristically eclectic menu of everything from pan pizza to ramen to fish and chips.

857 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic Yards

Norman
After individually opening many of the most influential projects of 2016, Frederik Berselius (Aska) and Claus Meyer (Agern, The Great Northern Food Hall, Meyer’s Bageri) are well on their way to owning 2017 as well, with this unprecedented collaboration within Greenpoint’s A/D/O design space, offering Danish and coffee-focused breakfasts, smorgasbord-style lunches, and an undoubtedly innovative dinner service.

29 Norman Ave., Greenpoint

Brownsville Community Culinary Center & Neighborhood Eatery
And incidentally, this is still in addition to what is bound to be one of the important openings of our age: Claus Meyer’s culinary school, test kitchen, coffee roasting facility and sit-down restaurant, which will directly serve, benefit and staffed by the Brooklyn community of Brownsville.

69 Belmont Ave., Brownsville

Bunker
The young, classically-trained bros behind this acclaimed Vietnamese eatery shuttered their original, out-of-the-way Ridgewood spot for good, to focus on this anticipated Bushwick location—expect banh xeo, bo luc lac and cha ca la vong in just a matter of days!

99 Scott Ave., Bushwick

A&E Supply Co
The final component of this multi-use Gowanus warehouse—i.e., a healthy-ish small plate boîte from Top Chef vet, Adam Harvey—should open within the coming month to complement the coffee counter, beer bar, whole animal butchery and cheese shop.

548 4th Ave., Gowanus

Phil & Anne’s Good Time Lounge
Though a regular Food Network presence, Anne Burrell will be back in an actual restaurant kitchen for the first time in years—when she finally launches this Italian-Mediterranean spot with funky, rock-and-roll flavor, in the former Char No. 4 space.

196 Smith St., Cobble Hill

Brooklyn Cider House
Owner Peter Yi’s Hudson Valley orchard and cidery will provide the tipples for this Basque-in-Bushwick tasting room and restaurant.

1100 Flushing Ave., Bushwick

DeKalb Market Hall
Considering the tremendous ambition of this 35,000-square-foot hall (counting vendors such as Hard Times Sundaes, Wilma Jean and the first Brooklyn branch of Katz’s), it’s no surprise that it’s been delayed until spring.

445 Gold St., Downtown Brooklyn

Gotham Market at The Ashland
Finishing touches are being made at this sprawling food court (featuring a tapas and wine bar, a beer, bourbon and smoked meat hall, and four different concepts from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s John Stage) positioned beneath The Ashland’s luxury apartment complex.

250 Ashland Pl., Fort Greene

Seamus Mullen Project
Williamsburg may be ground zero for Brooklyn’s boutique hotel boom, but DUMBO—blessed as it is with prime waterfront real estate—is not to be outdone. Slated for February, 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge has contracted celeb chef Seamus Mullen (El Colmado, Tertulia) for all food-related duties, including running an “ingredients-driven” resto revolving around—what else—a wood-burning oven.

60 Furman St., DUMBO

Hometown Fried Chicken
Red Hook may traditionally be a fishing community, but Billy Durney has singlehandedly made it a meat destination, beginning with the lauded Hometown BBQ, and branching out with biscuits and fried chicken buckets at some point this year.

329 Van Brunt St., Red Hook