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7 Best New Restaurants in Chinatown, Little Italy and Nolita

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Looking for exciting new restaurants in New York City to check out?

If you are a foodie and you want to try something new, New York City has had a lot of exciting restaurant openings this year. Whether you are looking for a yummy burger, pho or an empanada, we love the diversity of options especially in Lower Manhattan. Here are our picks for the 7 best new restaurants in Chinatown, Little Italy and Nolita.

For more delicious recommendations and to try some the best these neighborhoods have to offer, be sure to join us on our food tours, Chinatown and Little Italy Food Fest and Taste Mulberry Street – A Culinary Journey too.

Kitchen Co Ut – 85 Chrystie St

Kitchen Co Ut Soup NoodlesP.C.: yelp, Michelle X.

Banh Mi Co Ut (83 Elizabeth St) is our pick for the best banh mi sandwiches in Chinatown and it is one of our go to lunch spots in Lower Manhattan. They just opened a new restaurant nearby, with a full Vietnamese menu which a bunch of tempting options to try like their crispy spring rolls and pho soup noodles loaded with all sorts of delicious meats.

Potluck Club – 133 Chrystie St

Potluck Club Braised Short RibsP.C.: yelp, Dennis L.

Similarly, Milk & Cream Cereal Bar (159 Mott St) is one of favorite dessert spots in New York City, so we were intrigued when they opened a new restaurant just a few blocks away. This restaurant specializes in fresh new takes on classic Cantonese Chinese dishes. They have small menu, but every item is a winner. We can’t wait to taste their salt and pepper chicken, spicy eggplant and braised short ribs again.

Burger By Day – 242 Grand St

Burger By Day Bacon Cheeseburger and Onion Rings

You may be surprised that you can find a delicious, juicy bacon cheeseburger in Chinatown. That burger is found at Burger By Day. All their burgers are made to order so it is fresh and full of flavor. You can pair your burgers with a refreshing boba tea from I’Milky in front of this eatery too.

Curry House – 9 Pell St

Curry House Hainanese Chicken over Rice

In addition to curries, Curry House has a menu full of Thai and Malaysian comfort foods, like pad Thai and Hainanese chicken. We especially love their captain noodle, which is a Malaysian style flat noodles, stir fried with brown sauce, pork, chicken, shrimp, squid and vegetables.

Pep’s on Grand – 197 Grand St

Peps On Grand PizzaP.C.: Pep’s on Grand

If you are visiting Little Italy, you may be looking for a tasty pizza. Margarita NYC was one of our favorite pizza spots in New York City and this year it reopened as Pep’s on Grand. Their pizzas are still top notch, but their pastas are also amazing too!

Bar Pasquale – 98 Kenmare St

Bar Pasquale Lobster PastaP.C.: yelp, Jairo C.

Another exciting new option for Italian cuisine is Bar Pasquale. Here you can find yummy wood fired pizzas and Sicilian classics like fried calzones and handmade pastas. The mouthwatering food here really tastes as good it looks.

Empanadas Cafe Soho – 180 Mulberry St

Empanada Cafe Soho Empanada

Finally, we are absolutely addicted to empanadas because they are tasty snacks that are great on the go. So, we were happy to see Empanadas Cafe Soho open in the neighborhood. We pretty much tried all of their empanadas, however, if it is your first visit, you can’t go wrong with trying their beef, chorizo, shrimp and Cuban empanadas to sample their offerings.