"If 2024 was the year that the French resurgence really took hold, bathing New York City in cream and caviar, maybe 2025 was the year of the scrappy, auteurish indie: restaurants with tight, potent, personal points of view (and tight, nearly impossible-to-get-into dining rooms). I'm thinking of places like Sunn's, Ha's Snack Bar, and Bong, where the relational experience of having a meal is less about being a person at a table."
"For every timid, focus-grouped, over-designed brand expansion, there were half a dozen green shoots of passionate, community-facing, community-building dining rooms and takeout counters. On balance, this was an awfully good year for restaurants. I mean, yes, it was also a horrible one-beset by the chilling, wide-ranging effects of tariff uncertainty and vituperative ICE raids, and the rising costs of real estate, equipment, and ingredients-but the culinary world moved forward so relentlessly, so creatively nonetheless."
Restaurant trends shifted from a 2024 French resurgence to a 2025 wave of scrappy, auteurish indie venues with tight, personal points of view. Places such as Sunn's, Ha's Snack Bar, and Bong emphasized communal, room-focused dining experiences over isolated table service. Many new ventures favored passionate, community-facing, and community-building dining rooms and takeout counters rather than over-designed brand expansions. The year saw creative momentum despite chilling tariff uncertainty, vituperative ICE raids, and rising costs for real estate, equipment, and ingredients. The list highlights individual standout dishes, acknowledging that single plates gain meaning from context; the simplest strawberry could be profoundly memorable.
Read at The New Yorker
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