Tokyo Dreaming

Hotels to book now + 5 new NYC restos (and a bakery) to get you through the winter

I’ve been to Tokyo several times on several budgets (from magazine expense account to saving-for-ceramics-and-sushi). It’s challenging to find somewhere decent for under $275 a night, especially if you go during cherry blossom season (late March to early April), when prices can triple. But if you book early enough and stick to the off season, you might even be able to enjoy what I think is the most-worth-it hotel splurge.

Bath time at the Aman Tokyo

But first, a little local love.

The Five/NYC winter restaurant openings

Like many of you, I’ve been taking a restaurant break for the last few weeks. But coverage of these new and soon-to-open spots has me filling in my 2025 (paper!) calendar.

Cafe Zaffri / Chef Mary Attea and pastry hero Camari Mick can do no wrong. (See: Raf’s and the Musket Room.) Their new all-day restaurant in The Twenty Two club will draw on Mary’s Levantine heritage. Going to the preview dinner in two weeks and will report!

Zimmi’s / Excited to tuck into this cozy West Village newcomer to try former Lodi chef Maxime Pradié’s take on Provençal-leaning cooking. (And that rice pudding…)

Smithereens / When you see a rave in food writer Charlotte Druckman’s Stories, run. In this case, it’s the New England seafood restaurant opened by a Claud alum in the East Village. I’ll be ready for buckwheat pancakes with smoked fish by the end of next week!

Golden Hof / The excitement around Rock Center restaurants may have ebbed, but it will spike again with the opening of Golden Diner chef Sam Yoo’s mashup of a New York and Korean pub. Below ground, Yoo’s Korean raw bar and steakhouse, NY Kimchi, is his take on his parents’ KBBQ restaurant of the same name.

Kabawa / I was lucky to taste chef Paul Carmichael’s inspiring food at Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney, Australia. Can’t wait to see what he does with his Caribbean-leaning restaurant and bar in the former Momofuku Ko space on Extra Place (home to the wonderful Japanese store Nalata Nalata.)

Bonus bakery! As soon as I post this, I’m heading to Elbow Bread to try pastry chef Zoë Kanan’s breads and sweets, which draw on the neighborhood’s Jewish history. (How I’ve missed her grain-y cookies at the Freehand.) Hopefully there will still be some challah honey buns left! [Update 20 minutes later: No buns left, but the schmaltz scallion roll, cinnamon brown butter sweet potato pretzel and sandwich of crispy walnut butter, cream cheese and dates on black bread were delicious! Next time: a loaf of sesame spelt bread, too.]