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Something Curated highlights the most exciting new and recently launched restaurants to try in New York this July, taking a closer look at the founders and proprietors behind the promising eateries.

 

Midtown

Nonono || Kihyun Le & Daichi Tokuda

An innovative yakitori restaurant, Nonono, has recently opened in NoMad. Nonono is owned by Kihyun Le—lauded for his restaurant Her Name is Han in Korea Town—and has a menu developed by head chef Daichi Tokuda who previously worked at Izakaya Mew. This casual venue has two stories and a modern interior. While Nonono offers usual Japanese fare like sushi and ramen, its yakitori (Japanese skewered chicken) is not to be missed.

118 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10016

 

Sous Vide Kitchen || Alexis Depietro

Coined “a virtual food hall,” Sous Vide Kitchen (SVK) offers customers an efficient and varied dining experience. The model of SVK reimagines the classic dining hall. Instead of spending time waiting in lines, customers order their food at self-serve kiosks. Customers choose from several vendors, offering ban mi sandwiches, salads, Mediterranean fare, latin cuisine, barbeque and more.

119 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010

 

Upper East Side

Arata || Matthew Kenney

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhHtp6Tg9eP/?taken-by=aratarestaurant

Arata is the newest addition to Chef Matthew Kenney’s band of plant-based restaurants. Its Japanese menu includes dishes of small plates, noodles, vegetable sushi—as well as an inventive cocktail and sake programme—which highlight the chef’s use of plant-based ingredients. Arata’s unique vegetarian cuisine and minimalist design aptly fit its name, which means ‘fresh’ and ‘new’ in Japanese.

67 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003

 

Lower East Side

Davelle || Yudai Kanayama

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bivog7_hOVu/?hl=en&taken-by=davellenyc

Davelle is a small, all-day Japanese cafe in the Lower East Side. Modelled after a traditional Japanese tea and coffee shop, kissaten, Davelle is a quaint shop with a cozy atmosphere and detailed interior. With only 20 set, Davelle resembles Izakaya, another small restaurant owned by Yudai Kanayama. Davelle serves a morning and lunch set, as well as dinner and oden, a Japanese street food.

102 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002

 

Chelsea / Greenwich Village

La Nacional || Robert Sanfiz

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj77v-HjGhD/?taken-by=lanacionalrestaurant

The iconic Spanish restaurant La Nacional has returned to Chelsea, following two years of renovations, revamped with a bright, modern interior. The restaurant has a traditional Spanish menu, featuring charcuterie and cheese boards, tapas, rice dishes, and desserts. Given the restaurant’s support of the Spanish immigrant community in NYC as a part of the Spanish Benevolent Society, executive director of the SBS Robert Sanfiz hopes that restoring La Nacional will serve the community.

239 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10011

 

Blue Stripes Cacao Shop || Oded Brenner

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBMptcg-J7/?taken-by=bluestripescacao

Oded Brenner, one of the founders of the international chocolate shop Max Brenner, has opened another chocolate shop in Union Square. This chocolate-centric cafe is a definite crowd pleaser, offering an expansive assortment of chocolate-based sweets, drinks, and coffee.

28 E 13th Street, New York, NY 10003

 

Tribeca

Gitano || James Gardner

Born from a bar and restaurant in Tulum, Mexico, Gitano is a cafe which invites customers to escape from the chaos of the city. In a truly paradisal atmosphere—lush foliage, palm trees, a large outdoor patio, rustic decor—Gitano serves contemporary Mexican cuisine in concert with a mezcal bar. In GRUPO GITANO’s latest addition, founder and owner James Gardner has seamlessly merged the Tulum Jungle with the Concrete Jungle.

76 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013

 

Bushwick

Grimm Artisanal Ales || Lauren & Joe Grimm

A nomadic brewery for five years, Grimm Artisanal Ales has recently opened a permanent location in East Williamsburg. The brewery and taproom was founded in 2013 by husband and wife team Lauren and Joe Grimm, who began experimenting with beer-making after traveling to Belgium. Given that the brand was a legendary brewery before it even had a brewery, Grimm Artisanal Ales is likely to be a big hit with connoisseurs and lovers of beer alike.

990 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215

 

Prospect Heights

Sofreh || Nasim Alikhani

A new Persian restaurant has opened in Prospect Heights. Sofreh, named after a cloth on which food is served and around which people gather, represents a hospitality ethos. Through a menu of authentic, traditional Persian dishes, chef and owner Nasim Alikhani has curated an inviting and homely dining experience that reflects Iranian heritage.

75 Saint Marks Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217

 

Words by Olivia Williams | Feature image: Arata (via Matthew Kenney)

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