This spring, the owners of Mariscos El Submarino closed their Greenpoint restaurant, Mystica, and turned it into another location of their popular seafood counter. Just like the Jackson Heights location, open since 2020, the second Submarino has shrimp cocktail, seafood tacos, and more. The aguachile, which comes in a volcanic stone bowl, is as good as ever.

Esse Taco isn’t the best new taqueria in town, but it’s certainly the most popular: The Williamsburg restaurant opened in May, and it seems to have had a line out the door ever since. The taqueria takes its cues from Mexico City: The owner, Enrique Olvera, is behind the Mexican fine dining restaurants Cosme and Pujol. The menu has four tacos — rib-eye, al pastor, chicken, and mushroom — served in thin cutlets, rather than chopped-up pieces.

After 70 years in the East Village, Ukrainian diner Veselka has expanded to Brooklyn. The new location has the same menu as the original: beef stroganoff, Ukrainian meatballs, stuffed cabbage, schnitzel, and borscht. “We want people to feel like they’re in Veselka on Second Avenue,” says Justin Birchard, a spokesperson. “It’s what works.” The 40-seat restaurant is one of three Veselkas in the city.

Recently, chefs have been taking over the cramped grills at New York gas stations, serving everything from smash burgers to Crunchwrap Supremes. Blue Hour, in a Bushwick BP, is the latest to try it. The restaurant sells chicken over rice, chopped cheese, and other bodega fare, plus smash burgers and Hawaiian loco moco. The owner, Ali Zaman, runs Little Flower Cafe in Astoria.

When Eater named Dept of Culture its best new restaurant of 2022, there was one major concession: It was impossible to get into. Earlier this year, the team corrected course with Radio Kwara, a walk-in restaurant that’s every bit as satisfying. The a la carte menu has goat pepper soup with noodles, a standout mushroom toast, and roasted guinea fowl. BYOB.

Theodora is laid out like a railroad apartment, and each section of the restaurant has a slightly different feel. There’s the bar up front, which feels like a Mexican cocktail bar, and some more seats by the grill, much like a chef’s counter. In the back, the dining room has a party vibe with loud music and big booths for groups. The menu is a bit of a departure from the team’s other restaurant, Miss Ada — it’s all about wood-fired seafood and homemade bread.

Daphne’s isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel — but it excels at making tasty Italian American food in a comfortable setting. The menu, from an owner of Decades pizzeria in Ridgewood, is full of remixed classics, like beef tartare with lasagna chips and asparagus in vodka sauce.

Park Slope’s Sawa turns out compelling Levantine dishes that center around breads made in the restaurant’s oven. The menu is divided into four categories: dips, mezze, entrees, and sweets, with around 20 dishes. The hummus, kibbeh nayeh, and whole fish show off the best of the kitchen.