This Weekend in NYC

East Village

From veterans of the world-famous Dante, Recente doubles as a coastal Italian restaurant and aperitivo bar, leaning hard into spritzes and martinis alongside seafood and pasta—and staying open late with a dedicated "Discoteca" menu when the evening shifts. Book early or aim for a walk-in at the bar, where the aperitivo program is the real draw.

Lower East Side

From the team behind Cervo's—one of the city's most respected seafood-and-wine spots—Zig Zag is a focused oyster bar where you can drop in for a quick cocktail and a few shells or settle in over peel-and-eat shrimp. It carries all the credibility of its predecessor in a more casual, drop-in format.

Chelsea

Oishii's first-ever brick-and-mortar kiosk lands in Chelsea Market, bringing their cult Japanese Omakase Berries—grown via vertical farming and notoriously impossible to find—alongside exclusive pastries and a strawberry yuzu lemonade. Get there early; allocations sell out fast and this is the most accessible these berries have ever been.

Gramercy

Gramercy Tavern's new Behind the Bar series invites the country's most acclaimed cocktail bars to take over their bar program for limited engagements, kicking off with Miami's legendary Café La Trova, known for its Cuban-inspired classics and James Beard-recognized craft. Watch the schedule closely—each residency will be short-run and reservations will move quickly.

Other

The iconic Coffee Shop neon sign—a Union Square fixture for decades—is being resurrected above Bernie and Herb's, a new neighborhood bar breathing life back into one of the area's most storied addresses. It's less about nostalgia and more about what it signals: a genuine, non-corporate attempt to reclaim the block.

East Village

FKA is an East Village bar punching above its weight with a well-priced drinks list and oysters that make it one of the better-value spots in a neighborhood that's increasingly hard to drink affordably. Show up before 8pm and you'll often find the best deals without the crowd.