NYC's best fall openings 2025
Back-to-school season is here for NYC’s restaurant and bar scene. With so many new openings popping up across the city, it can be tough to narrow it down. We’ve done the hard work for you. Without further ado, here are the best openings in New York City in Autumn 2025.
## Bars
### Soft Bar & Cafe
##### Williamsburg, Brooklyn
With American drinking habits at a record low, more people are looking for alternatives to bars for their weekend hangs. But you don’t have to sacrifice the silly little drink if you want a sober weekend. Soft Bar + Cafe, has been popping up at wellness events for the past year, and is now opening a brick-and-mortar in Greenpoint. You can find sleek interiors complimented by so many mocktails and soft drinks that it’s only rivalled by Utah soda shops. The menu features non-alcoholic spirits and wellness concoctions with CBD, L-Theanine, and lion’s mane.
*Opening September 17*
### LenLen
##### Flatiron District, NYC
Inspired by 1970s Bangkok, LenLen is a new retro-style restaurant and bar offering specialty cocktails and Thai comfort food near Midtown. Drinks range from unique wines by the glass to a jasmine martini and a shitake & tonic. Feeling hungry? Order mains like crab fried rice and jungle curry to enjoy in the dining room, or snack on childhood favorites or crispy chicken wings at the bar.
*Now Open*
### Mixteca
##### West Village, NYC
From the beverage geniuses at Please Don’t Tell is a new cocktail bar focused on agave spirits. Spearheaded by veteran bartender Victor Lopez and inspired by his home state of Puebla, Mexico, the menu includes an entire section dedicated to Margaritas and a variety of Mexican beer and wine. In classic PDT fashion, the cocktails are grounded with a twist – a tomatillo gin and tonic, a tequila old fashioned with huitlacoche infusion, and a wasabi spicy marg. On the same West Village corner, there’ll be *1986 Tacos*, a taqueria from LA, and *Kees*, a sultry speakeasy. A night out on Cornelia Street, sorted.
*Now Open*
## Restaurants
### The Eighty Six
##### West Village, NYC
Potentially the city’s most anticipated new opening, The Eighty Six is the latest venture from The Catch Group (of Corner Store fame). This intimate 35-seat steakhouse (maybe it should’ve been called the Thirty Five?) is a nod to classic NYC, combining uptown elegance with downtown style. The interior is Art Deco, with teal velvet banquettes and burled wood walls, and the menu features cheesesteak and ribeyes alongside out-of-the-box cocktails like the bread and butter martini or the olive oil old fashioned.
*Opening September 9*
### Babbo
##### Greenwich Village
2025 seems to be the year of the comeback for iconic New York restaurants. Babbo, which debuted in 1998 as the headquarters of super-restauranteur Mario Batali, influenced a new era of Italian nose-to-tail dining in the city that is still echoed today. After Batali left the industry after accusations of sexual misconduct, Babbo is entering a new transformation under the leadership of Mark Ladner, whose career took off in the same kitchen 25 years ago. The menu will bring back the 100-layer lasagna from the now-shuttered Del Posto, of which Ladner was a founding chef, along with Babbo’s infamous beef cheek ravioli. The rest will depart from the fine dining of the restaurant’s past, leaning more toward smaller antipasti and primi plates.
*Opening November 1*
### Ambassador’s Clubhouse
##### Midtown, NYC
London’s Indian food scene is world-renowned, and New Yorkers are finally able to get a taste of it. Along with recent news of UK favorite Dishoom’s 2026 expansion to NYC, another London favorite is arriving in Midtown this autumn. Ambassador’s Clubhouse, which has a location in London but is more known for being a sister restaurant to Gymkhana, is bringing Punjabi food to NoMad in a glitzy two-floor setting inspired by Northern Indian mansions.
*Opening October*
### Vato
##### Park Slope, Brooklyn
The team behind Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant Corima is opening a casual eatery and café in Park Slope, operating as a cafe by day (with Chihuahuan burritos, pastries, and coffee) and transforming into a casual neighborhood restaurant by night.
*Opening October*
## Other
### Cherry Lane Theatre
##### Greenwich Village, NYC
Great news for the performative males of New York: NYC’s oldest off-broadway theatre has been taken over and re-opened by indie blockbuster production group A24. Opening week includes events with Jodie Foster, Brandi Carlile, Sofia Coppola, and Spike Lee. Soon after, it’ll open Weer, its first long-running show starring comedian Natalie Palamides in a one-woman show.
*Opening September 8*
### The Studio Museum
##### Harlem, NYC
After a seven year closure, The Studio Museum in Harlem is reopening in a seven-floor reimagined home on 125th street. Building on the museum’s role as a cultural institution, the new space will serve as a central hub for artists of African descent and the local community, showcasing its collection of works by Black artists from around the country and beyond. The museum will offer new spaces for workshops, artist residencies, education centers, and a ground-floor cafe operated by local Italian restaurant Settepani. Admission is free for children under 16, and adult tickets are $16.
*Opening November 15*
### Refuge
##### East Williamsburg, Brooklyn
A new dance club is opening in Williamsburg, focusing on Hi-Fi audio (with speakers that are nicknamed “REX” – safe to say we’re a little scared?) . The 3,200 sq. ft. venue is housed within an industrial complex that dates back to the 19th century, with original brick walls and high ceilings. Despite its historic roots, the sound design is anything but dated – the four-point analogue soundsystem is combined with an acoustics layout that was overseen by Al Fierstein, who has credentials from Sound Factory and Studio 54. The venue can host up to 500 guests.
### Faena Hotel New York
##### Chelsea, NYC
We debated putting this on the list, because one night at this hotel costs more than a month’s rent for a room in Brooklyn. But if you’re a nepo baby or someone who has come across a large amount of money quick (we won’t ask questions), Faena New York is worth the stay. It’s interrupting the current hotel landscape, moving past simple limewash and plants and into a space decorated with leopard sofas, murals, and patterned carpets. The Chelsea outpost of Faena is a sibling to the other locations in Tulum, Miami, and Buenos Aires, coveted for their eclectic designs and unique layouts.
*Now Open*
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