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[title]The following venues are expected to open by January 22nd. Always call ahead, as openings can be delayed.
Amedei From the rolling hills of Pontedera, Tuscany, Cecilia Tessieri amassed a culinary following for her high-end Italian chocolate, with world-class restaurants like Le Bernardin and the French Laundry spotlighting it in their ganaches, soufflés and parfaits. Tessieri—the world's first female maître chocolatier, a distinction earned after studying cacao beans and chocolate making for eight years—displays her bean-to-bar creations at this black-walled boutique, offering a variety of hot chocolates, pralines and single-origin varieties. Cases are also stocked with chocolate-dipped orange biscuits, Tuscan dark-chocolate brownies and brioche spread with Crema Toscana, an upmarket Nutella. 15 E 18th St between Fifth Ave and Broadway (212-982-8005, amedeistore.com)
Emily Matthew and Emily Hyland follows up their former Park Slope pizzeria, Brooklyn Central, with another rustic pie shop. From the chef's table, watch Hyland dot his charred rounds with creative topping combinations, like pepperoni-and-pickled-chilies and roquette-and-fig-jam (a buffalo-mozz-and-basil pie is on offer for purists). The menu also includes main dishes—fired in a Pavesi copper-plated oven—such as duck breast with l'orange jus, and sausage with cheesy grits and pepper jam. 919 Fulton St between Clinton and Waverly Aves, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, NY (347-844-9588, pizzalovesemily.com)
Margaux Prolific hotelier Sean MacPherson (the Bowery, the Jane, the Maritime) expands his New York holdings with this French-Mediterranean café inside the restored Marlton Hotel, onetime haunt of Jack Kerouac. Located behind the lobby, this skylighted 98-seat café honors the space's storied past with old-world decor (herringbone floors, antique glass mirrors) and seasonal cocktails named for Beat icons, like the Kerouac-inspired Dharma Bum (tea-infused pisco, lemon, orgeat). The daily-changing food menu—a collaboration between chefs Michael Reardon (Napa's Tra Vigne) and Jeremy Blutstein (Montauk's Crow's Nest)—is also rooted in seasonality, inspired by the coastal cuisines of France, California and the Mediterranean. Look for dishes like the Farmer's Board (red-quinoa tabouli, avocado hummus), day-boat cod with sea bean, and rotisserie chicken with urfa biber (Turkish chili pepper) and green harissa. Pastas, like squid-ink bucatini and buckwheat rigatoni, are made in-house, and wines are of the organic, biodynamic variety. 5 W 8th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves (212-321-0111, marltonhotel.com)
Pergola This 3,700-square-foot Mediterranean restaurant moonlights as a cocktail and hookah lounge. In the earth-toned, bi-level dining room—decorated with tufted leather banquettes, ornate chandeliers and curtained-off private rooms—find dishes like phyllo-wrapped chicken cigars, grilled prawns with yellow polenta, and a mixed lamb plate of merguez, kofta meatballs and kebabs. Puff on a hookah—12 flavors are available, like guava and watermelon—and sip quaffs, such as a lavendar-lime collins from Mulberry Project barman Scott Fitzgerald. 36 W 28th St between Broadway and Sixth Ave (212-679-4842, pergolanewyork.com)
Pierre Loti Wine Bar & Restaurant Slide into a red banquette at this Mediterranean spot for a glass of vino and Turkish-inspired fare. The menu features dishes like pan-seared scallops over Anatolian salsa, beef dumplings with yogurt sauce and cornish hen with bulgur pilaf. In addition to more than 30 wines by the glass and 200 by the bottle—hailing from France, Spain and South Africa—sip cocktails such as the Quickdraw (bourbon, agave, curaçao and cardamom) and the Dragon’s Breath (tequila, kiwi and lavender bitters). 78 Fifth Ave between Prospect and St. Marks Pls, Park Slope, Brooklyn (347-885-6526, pierrelotiwinebar.com)
Project 1919 This three-month pop-up bar is located inside a heated tent in Mulberry Project's backyard garden. The reservations-only, 40-seat spot—styled with local art and an electric fireplace—focuses on barrel-aged spirits and dark-blended cocktails from barmen Sam Ziar (the Bourgeois Pig) and Jasper Soffer (Pegu Club). Named after Prohibition-era gangsters and bootleggers, drinks include the George "Bugs" Moran (rye, fig-infused Cocchi Bianco, balsamic) and the Frank Yale (cognac, yellow chartreuse, Earl Grey syrup and orange blossom). 149 Mulberry St between Grand and Hester Sts (646-448-4536, projectgroupnyc.com)
Sant Ambroeus Soho For its third NYC outpost—joining West Village and Upper East Side locations—the Milanese restaurant chain puts a greater focus on the bar. Thirteen by-the-glass wines and cocktails (such as the prosecco-and-chocolate-bitters Bollicine) are served, along with a stuzzichini (small bites) menu featuring cured meats, salmon crostini with mascarpone, and deviled eggs with mozzarella and prosciutto. Larger plates, such as branzino in limoncello-caper sauce and trofie with lamb ragù and aged ricotta are also offered in the 35-seat restaurant, decorated with red-leather banquettes, distressed mirrors and black-and-white-tiled floors. 265 Lafayette St between Prince and Spring Sts (212-966-2770, santambroeus.com)