The Public Theater’s second-floor dining room, formerly known as the Library and operated by Andrew Carmellini's NoHo Hospitality Group, has relaunched as The Astor. The revamped space pays homage to the building's history and the theater’s longstanding presence since 1967. Design elements include a custom carpet by Paula Scher featuring titles of the theater’s productions and a bar mural by André Carrilho depicting writers and Public Theater figures. The menu leans toward casual yet inventive fare, including pigs in Wellington and a French dip with mushrooms. On the ground floor, Bar Torino opens early at 10 a.m., serving panini, pastries, and Italian snacks paired with aperitifs along a tambour-paneled wall. The establishment is located at 425 Lafayette Street, near Astor Place.
On the Upper East Side, chef Lana Lagomarsini, a "Top Chef" Bravo contender, has opened Creola, her first solo restaurant. The intimate venue offers a tasting-menu format seating 12 guests per seating with multiple sittings nightly. The cuisine draws from the African diaspora, blending influences from the Caribbean and American South, alongside personal family recipes. Notable dishes include oxtail pâté en croûte, scallops with white barbecue sauce, trout in collard green potlikker consommé, elk with blackberry jerk, and passion fruit tiramisù. The compact space features blue velvet banquettes for an added touch of refinement. Creola is located at 1261 Park Avenue near 97th Street.
Catch Hospitality Group continues expanding its footprint with Café Charmant in Greenwich Village, an additional project led by Eugene Remm. The coastal brasserie focuses on Mediterranean flavors inspired by the Côte d’Azur, although the menu’s direction remains evolving under executive chef Jake Tyler Brodsky, who previously worked at Eleven Madison Park. The menu emphasizes classic French bistro dishes, with steak frites as a staple offering. Café Charmant is situated at 340 Bleecker Street, close to West 10th Street.
In a move that replaces Cambodian cuisine, Bon Ga has introduced traditional Korean fare in its Upper East Side location, the former Bayon space at 408 East 64th Street near First Avenue. The restaurant offers a selection of customary Korean dishes such as dumplings, banchan (side dishes), japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), bibimbap, short-rib soup, savory pancakes, and spicy pork bulgogi.
Hudson Valley-inspired market H. Valley, launched by chef Austin Johnson and partner Eytan Sugarman, recently opened in the West Village. The market combines a bakery, local produce stand, butcher offering oven-ready meats, and prepared food options ranging from breakfast sandwiches to rotisserie chickens and potpies. The market also stocks pet food and is located at 569 Hudson Street near Bank Street.
Looking ahead, Works & Process, known for introducing new performing arts works, will host a series of free dinner-theater performances of "The 24/7 Diner" at Free Food Refettorio Harlem this October. Scheduled for the 2nd, 7th, 16th, and 21st, each evening includes dinner served by volunteers and a short performance centered on an all-night diner. The event is open to the public with 120 seats available on a first-come, first-served basis at 37 West 119th Street near Fifth Avenue.
In culinary personnel updates, former Sushi of Gari head chef Atsuomi Hotta has joined the team at Sushi Koju located inside the Ace Hotel in Downtown Brooklyn, working alongside chefs Tetsuro Otomo and Sho Boto. Meanwhile, Kevin Garrison, the former executive chef at the Brooklyn branch, is preparing to open a new location in Miami. Gabriel Luca has been named executive chef at Ginger Ristorante, a restaurant imported from Rome near Rockefeller Center. Pastry chef Esmerya Gomez has joined the team alongside him.