Between mid-August and the last day of September, five new places to eat or drink opened along First Avenue between East 64th and East 77th streets. There is an Italian room from the chef behind da Adriano, a regional Thai kitchen, a specialty roaster's pour-over bar, the Southern chicken chain's first Manhattan location, and a Korean spot behind a beloved Cambodian address. A sixth is aiming for Thanksgiving week farther north. Over the same stretch of weeks, Second Avenue between 80th and 83rd lost four storefronts in a row.
The Upper East Side's new restaurants have moved east by one avenue this season. On Sunday, November 1, 2026, that avenue becomes the TCS New York City Marathon course.
First Avenue, walked from south to north
Starting at the bottom of the run, here is what has opened, in street order:
- Bon Ga, 408 E. 64th St., between First and York. This Korean comfort-food spot took over the space where Bayon closed on August 3, when chef Minh Truong retired. Bayon had earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Bon Ga's menu centers on bulgogi and seafood pancakes. The dining room has 10 tables, and an open-air area out back seats 26.
- Coffee Project New York, 1219 First Ave., at E. 66th St. The local roaster known for its Deconstructed Latte held a grand opening on Sunday, September 20. The 700-square-foot shop has a dedicated pour-over bar and rotating small-producer coffees. It also pours a Dominican Republic single-origin you can't get at the brand's other locations. James D. Wang, a former student at the company's coffee academy, manages the shop.
- Zaxbys, 1267 First Ave., between E. 68th and 69th. The chain's first Manhattan location opened on Wednesday, September 30. It came under a 10-year lease signed back in February. Delivery platforms list pickup and delivery from 10 a.m. to midnight. Dine-in hours haven't been published separately yet.
- La Collina, 1431 First Ave., at E. 74th St. Eater dates the opening to Tuesday, August 18. The kitchen is run by Adrian Kercuku, the chef behind da Adriano. The menu runs from bluefin tuna tartare at $27 to cocoa-nib pappardelle with braised beef at $29 and a stracciatella-and-truffle pizza at $32. The weekday prix-fixe lunch is the better value. Eater put it at $34 and East Side Feed at $35. The restaurant's own site lists 11:30 a.m. opening every day. It closes at 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 10:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
- Ob Uan, 1479 First Ave., at E. 77th St. This Thai restaurant, in the former Spice space, was open by September 21. Co-owner Jason Kim describes the menu as drawn from his partners' hometown regions, served in a nostalgic room inspired by Bangkok. From the north come khao soy gai at $25 and somtum gai yang at $26. The gaeng pu crab curry, $30, comes from the southern province of Surat Thani. Weekday service splits into lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and dinner, 5 to 9:30 p.m. On weekends the kitchen runs straight through from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
One block east of La Collina, Dän Bakery opened its second storefront at 1431 York Ave., at E. 76th St., in August. It sells honey cakes and coffee drinks that include a strawberry matcha.
The next arrival is farther up the avenue. Pepe & Vera, at 1712 First Ave., is aiming for Thanksgiving week, and the partners call that timing tentative. Caterina Pepe, a chef from the Amalfi Coast, will run the kitchen, and restaurant veteran Wilson Vera will handle the dining room. The planned menu includes tortellini in brodo, linguine with clams, and vegetarian and vegan options.
Second Avenue in the low 80s, where the same owners are regrouping
Four doors closed between 80th and 83rd streets on Second Avenue in about eight weeks. Sushi Ren, at 1584 Second Ave. and E. 82nd St., closed in early August after losing its lease. It had been a neighborhood staple for a decade. Osteria Nando, at 1589 Second Ave., had closed by August 27. Adria, at 1556 Second Ave. and E. 81st St., closed suddenly in mid-September after two years of crudo, spritzes and a prix-fixe lunch. On October 2, Chip City shut every one of its stores, including the shop at 1543 Second Ave.
Chip City's closure was chainwide. At the other three addresses, the operators have signaled they intend to stay nearby. Osteria Nando's owner, Nando Ghorchian, also owns Caffe Buon Gusto, and he is turning the space into a Caffe Buon Gusto bar and grill with a sports-bar focus. The original location on 77th Street is staying open. The new space has a much larger bar. The kitchen will keep house pastas like the truffle-sauce plate and add steaks, burgers, short rib, sea bass and salmon. Ghorchian, who has 38 years in the business, put it simply:
"I love to make delicious, yummy burgers with sauces."
He has given no date beyond "very soon."
Adria's owners told one Instagram follower "This isn't the end, promise," and their sibling restaurant L'Osteria is still open on the Upper East Side. As of mid-September, they said they were still working out what comes next and had no new address. Sushi Ren was reported to be looking at a reopening a few blocks away. That still hasn't been confirmed.
Farther up, San Matteo Pizza & Espresso Bar closed its Yorkville spot at 1716 Second Ave. and E. 89th St. after more than a decade. It still runs a pizzeria and cucina about eight blocks south on the same strip, and a Northern Italian restaurant called Doria is planned for the old space. Doria's partners previously worked with Sant Ambroeus and Felice, and no opening date has been announced.
On Second Avenue, most of the dark storefronts belong to known operators reworking or relocating. First Avenue is where the new names have arrived.
The openings that broke the pattern
Some of this fall's newcomers chose other avenues, and two of them come from teams that already run restaurants nearby:
- Kuriya, 219 E. 85th St., between Second and Third, opened September 6 as a soba house from the team behind Suki Desu.
- La Sardine, 1614 Third Ave., at E. 91st St., opened September 9 as a seafood-focused wine bar from the teams behind Bar Vivant and Alison.
- BloomBar, 1226 Third Ave., is the café's first Manhattan location and is due in late October. No exact opening day has been set.
Le Petit Parisien closed its bakery-café at 355 E. 78th St. on August 9 after four years. Its Lenox Hill location is still open.
November 1, when the new restaurant row becomes the course
The 2026 marathon marks 50 years since the five-borough course was first run on October 24, 1976. It is also the first time in 15 years that the route has changed. The adjustments are in the Bronx, so the First Avenue stretch is unaffected. NYC DOT starts closing course streets early that morning so crews can set up medical tents and water stations. Bicycles without official sanction aren't allowed on the course while it is closed.
Crossing First Avenue on race day is limited to four marked spectator zones on the Upper East Side. Here is how they line up with this season's openings:
| Spectator crossing | New spots within a few blocks |
|---|---|
| First Ave. and 69th St. | Zaxbys at 68th–69th; Coffee Project at 66th; Bon Ga at 64th |
| First Ave. and 72nd St. | La Collina at 74th; Dän Bakery on York at 76th |
| First Ave. and 83rd St. | Ob Uan at 77th; the Second Avenue strip at 80th–83rd |
| First Ave. and 86th St. | Kuriya on 85th between Second and Third |
If you're hosting guests that weekend, plan around which crossing your table is closest to. A lunch at La Collina and a coffee at Coffee Project are only eight blocks apart, but on November 1 you'll be crossing at 69th or 72nd to get between them, and both zones will be crowded.
The other fall dates sit on the same blocks. Open House New York Weekend runs October 16–18, and the Frick Collection and the Grolier Club are both drop-in sites. Asphalt Green's free Asphalt Screams takes place October 30 on Litwin Field at 555 E. 90th St. Advance tickets are required, and the event includes a sensory-friendly hour. Carnegie Hill Neighbors closes East 92nd Street between Park and Fifth for its Halloween street event on October 31, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The marathon follows the next morning.
The restaurants that open between Pepe & Vera's Thanksgiving target and spring tell Matthew Melinger as much about a block as any recent sale does. If you'd like to talk through what this season's changes on First and Second Avenues mean for a building you own or are considering, schedule a private consultation.
