Ever-vibrant downtown Manhattan has always had a knack for reinvention. Just when you think you’ve got below 14th Street figured out, a glamorous new coal-fired Mediterranean restaurant swings open its doors in SoHo and instantly becomes the city’s most impossible reservation, a subterranean cocktail lounge quietly opens beneath a buzzy West Village agave bar, and a gin-centric drinking den with a dreamy sky-inspired ceiling mural pops up on Chrystie Street. In other words, it’s time to update your saved spots on Google Maps. Whether you’re looking for a new date night spot or craving a taste of Japan without the flight price, here are the best new bars and restaurants to know in downtown NYC right now.

 

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Cocktail Omakase

Serious cocktail connoisseurs and thrill-seeking drinkers, this one’s for you. Opened in late March on the Lower East Side, Cocktail Omakase is the latest venture from Cocktail Kingdom Hospitality Group, the team behind Katana Kitten and Superbueno, created in partnership with Tokyo’s acclaimed Bar Libre. The sleek, intimate space—set in the former home of sushi counter Uchū, its original blond-wood counter and skylight intact—is the perfect Tokyo-inspired setting. Grab one of 12 seats, choose your menu—non-alcoholic, low-ABV, or full-proof—and let the bar’s “guided tasting experience inspired by the tradition of omakase” begin. In other words, for $55, four cocktails and four bites arrive over the course of an hour. A recent menu featured inventive pours, including a Tomatillo Shiso Sour and a Mizunara Negroni alongside soy-marinated jammy eggs and miso-baked clams. But the menu rotates every two weeks, so what’s to come is always a surprise. Not in the mood for a tasting menu? Bar 7, the aptly named seven-seat bar hidden behind shoji screens in the back, serves seven cocktails and seven bites à la carte.

217 Eldridge St; (347) 866-7739

 

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Or’esh

Everybody’s talking about Or’esh, and rightfully so. Opened this past February at 450 West Broadway, the glamorous new live-fire Mediterranean restaurant from Catch Hospitality Group—the power players behind the Taylor Swift-frequented Corner Store—instantly (of course) became one of the city’s most coveted reservations. At the helm is Michelin-starred chef Nadav Greenberg, formerly of Shmoné, whose coal-fired menu celebrates pristine seafood, prime meats, and vegetables sourced from the Union Square Greenmarket. The Rockwell Group-designed dining room is moody and dramatic—think smoldering reds, glittering chandeliers, and a stylish, see-and-be-seen crowd to match. According to Google reviews, must-orders include the Jerusalem bagel with baba ganoush, matbucha, and mint tzatziki; the Big Bluefin Slice dressed in fermented fish sauce, red onion, urfa chili, and lime zest; and the extravagant $77 18-Layer Wagyu New York Strip with tomato foam and tahini. As for us? It’s all about the cardamom soft serve.

450 W Broadway; (212) 292-8999

 

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Much Obliged

Hip cocktail bars abound in the East Village, but this cozy newcomer from husband-and-wife team Marcos Fernandez and Allyx Seemann—the duo behind Greenpoint’s Gator—nails it in the “perfect little bar” department. Opened in February on Avenue B, it already feels like a much-loved (sorry, we had to) part of the neighborhood. Settle into a seat at the terracotta-tiled bar, lit by a warm paper lantern, and order from a menu that draws on Fernandez’s Argentine roots and modern European sensibility. The yellowfin crudo with pear jus, black lime, radishes, and tarragon is not to be missed, nor is the towering fried fish sandwich made with spice-battered hake, tarragon tartar sauce, and shredded cabbage on a pillowy brioche bun. Pair it all with a glass of Corsican wine. Or a flavor-packed cocktail, like the Midnight Espresso, a banana-infused riff on an espresso martini, or the smoky and sweet Pera Ahumada, made with mezcal, fresh pomegranate, citrus, and rhubarb liqueur.

42 Avenue B; (347) 461-7417

 

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Kees

Opened this past February in the West Village, Kees is the latest buzzy venture from Jeff Bell, an alum of Please Don’t Tell, the beloved East Village speakeasy, and Mixteca, the Cornelia Street agave bar it’s hidden beneath. Fun fact: its name, fittingly, is “seek” spelled backwards. The intimate, moodily lit lounge is outfitted with velvet booths and warm brass and built around a cocktail menu organized into eight classic families—martinis, Negronis, Manhattans, old-fashioneds, highballs, spritzes, Collins, and sours—each with several inventive variations, like a Manhattan made with passion fruit cognac and coffee liqueur or a Negroni made with tequila and beets. Elsewhere on the menu, you’ll find small bites like oysters Rockefeller and chips and dip with trout roe. Looking for a date spot? Meet the West Village’s most romantic new secret.

1 Cornelia St

 

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Chin Up

Gin lovers have been rejoicing on Chrystie Street since December, when Chin Up opened its doors. It’s one of the city’s only gin-centric bars, dreamt up by industry veterans Brian Grummert and Blake Walker, the duo behind Nitecap, Amor y Amargo, and Subject, and it doesn’t disappoint. The high-style, cave-like drinking den features cobalt blue floors, lush greenery, and a trippy sky-inspired ceiling mural by LES native Ori Carino, and the back bar boasts one of the widest gin selections on the East Coast. At $15 each, the cocktail menu runs the gin-forward gamut, from a Dirty Martini made with Roku Japanese gin and Pickle Guys brine to the Gibson with Neversink New York gin, leek vermouth, and sherry vinegar to the Rendezvous in Chennai, made with Dorothy Parker gin, Madras curry, coconut, apricot, ginger, and lime. Pair it all with seafood-driven small plates like fried clams with wasabi, dill, and onion crème fraîche or yellowfin tuna with beet, shiso, and Banyuls vinegar. Expect a downtown night to remember, because let’s be honest, below 14th Street doesn’t need another natural wine bar.

171 Chrystie St; T (929) 448-6872

WORDS Alex Catarinella