The headline opening on Eater’s October roundup is a noodle shop that has made the trip down I-95. Yume Ga Arukara, the Boston udon spot, celebrated its long-awaited full opening on Wednesday, October 21, at 271 Fifth Avenue, between East 29th and 30th streets in NoMad. It is the restaurant’s first location outside Massachusetts.
The pitch is simple: udon noodles made fresh in-house every day, offered in four cold preparations and four hot ones. Yume Ga Arukara started in 2017 as a no-frills noodle counter in a food court at Lesley University, technically across the river in Cambridge, and drew national attention from there. A second location followed in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood in 2024. Eater keeps it on its list of the best Japanese restaurants around Boston.
NoMad had more going on this month. Delphine Brasserie, a Parisian-style bistro, checked into the Ace Hotel at 16 West 29th Street, near Fifth Avenue. The menu opens with oysters on the half shell with a Champagne-yuzu mignonette, yellowtail crudo and escargots, then moves to steak au poivre with pommes frites. The Poulet de Bresse, France’s prized chicken, feeds two and arrives with charred lemon and cognac jus. Four hospitality operators are behind it: Karim Amatullah of KRM Group, KyKy Conille of Kyky and Unik, and Mino Habib and Mathias Van Leyden of Loulou Petit Bistro & Speakeasy and Le Petit Village Brasserie.
Downtown, Nolita got a second Jeju Noodle Bar on Friday, October 16, at 204 Elizabeth Street, between Prince and Spring. The original opened in the West Village in 2017 and earned a Michelin star in 2018 that it still holds. The new room serves Jeju “chikin fingers,” a riff on the original’s fried chicken platter, along with a French onion-style ramyun. Eater notes it remains one of the city’s more affordable Michelin-starred restaurants.
On the Lower East Side, Cafe Gitane reopened on Saturday, October 17, at 162 East Broadway, at Rutgers Street, in the former Jajaja space. The longtime restaurant closed its Nolita location late last year but kept its Brooklyn outpost running. It is starting with dinner, with breakfast, lunch and brunch to be added later.
In Hell’s Kitchen, Cocktail Test Kitchen opens Wednesday, October 21, at 359 West 54th Street, between Eighth and Ninth avenues. The 22-seat bar from Major Food Group veterans Patrick Wert, Brad Nugent and James Kaspari fits into 400 square feet: a neighborhood bar up front, a cocktail R&D lab in back. Expect frozen martinis, spins on classics and small bites like pizza bagels. Drinks from the team’s beverage management company, Innovative Beverage Strategies, debut here first, so customer feedback can shape recipes before they land on menus elsewhere.
Queens added two. Dovetail Bakery, which began as a pop-up in 2024, opened a storefront on Tuesday, October 20, at 31-05 35th Avenue in Astoria, with stone-milled Northeast flours in its breads and pastries. Sandwiches are on for lunch, with weekend afternoon tea and evening aperitivo planned. In Glen Oaks, Punjabi Dhaba opened a second Queens location on Sunday, October 18, at 259-11 Hillside Avenue. The original, among the first South Asian restaurants in Richmond Hill when it opened in 2006, is known for vegetarian comfort dishes and sweets that won’t break the bank.
The list also includes Chong, a Thai tea and dessert cafe at 210 East 10th Street in the East Village, open since Saturday, October 10; Bazza, a Dominican-rooted Caribbean lounge at 251 West 30th Street in Midtown, open since Tuesday, October 20; Wilkie, a corner bar at 820 Franklin Avenue in Prospect Heights opening Wednesday, October 21, at 4 p.m.; and a new Heytea Gelato Lab+ in Union Square, open since Friday, October 16.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Yume Ga Arukara’s first location outside Massachusetts?
Yume Ga Arukara opened its first out-of-state location at 271 Fifth Avenue, between East 29th and 30th streets in NoMad, on Wednesday, October 21.
When did Yume Ga Arukara start and where was its original location?
Yume Ga Arukara started in 2017 as a no-frills noodle counter in a food court at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Where is Delphine Brasserie located and what is on its menu?
Delphine Brasserie, a Parisian-style bistro, is inside the Ace Hotel at 16 West 29th Street, and its menu includes oysters on the half shell, steak au poivre and Poulet de Bresse that feeds two.
Where is the second Jeju Noodle Bar and when did it open?
The second Jeju Noodle Bar opened on Friday, October 16, at 204 Elizabeth Street in Nolita, between Prince and Spring streets.
What is Cocktail Test Kitchen and where is it?
Cocktail Test Kitchen is a 22-seat bar in 400 square feet at 359 West 54th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, with a neighborhood bar up front and a cocktail R&D lab in back, opened on October 21.
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