When Unapologetic Foods, the team behind wildly popular Indian restaurants Dhamaka and Semma, announce that they’re opening a new restaurant, we listen with undivided attention. While the restaurant group is known for spotlighting the regional cuisines of India, Naks will be different. The focus here will be on Filipino cooking from Eric Valdez, the longtime chef de cuisine at Dhamaka. The restaurant is set to open just a stone’s throw from the group’s fast-casual fried chicken joint Rowdy Rooster on First Avenue in the East Village, and diners will choose from two menu options. There will be a tasting menu, consisting of a Filipino family-style feast served on banana leaves and intended to be eaten by hand, and an à la carte menu with dishes like kapis (scallops grilled tableside with margarine and Eden cheese) and lechon liempo (crisp pork belly with calamansi-soy and pork liver dipping sauces). Like the other restaurants in the Unapologetic Foods roster, Naks promises uncompromising versions of regional dishes not often found at restaurants in the United States.
Sailor
New York City
Opening: September
Chef April Bloomfield is opening a new restaurant called Sailor. The opening marks Bloomfield’s return to New York’s restaurant scene after being enveloped in one of the biggest #MeToo restaurant scandals at her West Village restaurant Spotted Pig, which she operated alongside Ken Friedman. In 2021, Bloomfield, known for her meat-centric pub fare, left New York restaurants. Then in February, Bloomfield and restaurateur Gabriel Stulman took to Instagram with similarly vague announcements: “We’re opening a restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. That’s all we have to say about it for now and can’t wait to share more when we have more to share!” Sure enough, the duo is marching ahead with full force and style—Stulman has hired Alfredo Paredes, the creative director of Ralph Lauren, to spearhead the nautical design. Bloomfield plans to serve dishes like herb-roasted chicken, pork shoulder with vinegar, and pâté en croûte. Time will tell how New Yorkers receive Bloomfield’s second act.
Hiraya
Washington, D.C.
Opening: September
When Hiraya debuted in a D.C. food hall as a weekend dinner pop-up in early 2022, chef Paolo Dungca’s eight-course Filipino tasting menu was an immediate hit. During its nine-month run as a pop-up, Hiraya operated as a weekend-only tasting room, turning out dishes like kinilaw and bibingka (a sweet baked rice cake). This fall, fans will reunite with Hiraya in its brick-and-mortar location on H Street. The restaurant will initially open as an all-day café with Filipino pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and coffee from Sun & Stars Filipina Coffee. Dungca, who is partnering with Juan and Jeremy Canlas, the father-son team behind local chains Supreme Barbeque and Auntea Boba, plans to open the upstairs dining room later this fall. Just like at the pop-up dinners, there will be a tasting menu with a focus on recipes from Dungca’s childhood in the Philippines, as well as an à la carte menu.
