Headliner
Isla & Co.
Until 4 p.m., brunch is the main bill of fare at this new restaurant in the former Du’s Donuts space, in the arcade of the William Vale hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Barry Dry and Tom Rowse, the owners of Parched Hospitality Group, which is behind the Hole in the Wall restaurants, have hired Matt Foley, a former sous-chef at Marea, to be executive chef. He’ll run brunch, as well as dinner, with an eclectic menu that includes a burger, fish and chips, rigatoni alla vodka with spicy shrimp, Thai green curry and half a chicken with roasted spring vegetables. Sticky date pudding and lemon panna cotta are the sweets. The restaurant is a spinoff of Isla in the Hotel Hendricks in Manhattan, which reopens Thursday after a long pandemic hiatus. In addition, locations of Isla & Co. will show up this year in Atlanta, Miami Beach and West Palm Beach. (Opens Wednesday)
107 North 12th Street (Wythe Avenue), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-388-8935, isla-co.com.
Opening
BoCaPhe
At this new branch of a SoHo bistro, the owners Raphael Louzon, who is also the chef, and Jeremie Mouyal, are serving their style of Vietnamese food, some of it breakfast-focused, like the menu at their original Lafayette Street spot. You can find bao Benedict (eggs Benedict on a bao bun) and Luc Lac (beef in a hot pot with eggs and rice). Other dishes suit cravings any time, like taro fries with spicy mayo, tuna ceviche with crispy rice, and Mama Tom shrimp in curried coconut milk.
104 Eighth Avenue (15th Street), bocaphe.com.
Jai Sang Ma
Jugkrwut Borin and Arada Moonroj offer charcoal-grilled skewers, said to be an especially popular snack sold outside schools in Thailand, at this makeover of their restaurant, Lamoon. Chicken, pork and squid are the main attractions.
81-40 Broadway (82nd Street), Elmhurst, Queens, 917-745-1168.
Saigon Social
Helen Nguyen, who has been doing pop-ups, community dinners and takeout under this title for several years, has finally opened a restaurant in the Lower East Side. Her partner is Jennifer Saesue, an owner of Fish Cheeks in NoHo. The menu reflects Ms. Nguyen’s French training with chefs like Daniel Boulud, while remaining true to her Vietnamese roots. A menu highlight, bo khong luc lac, the popular shaken beef, is made with a dry-aged tomahawk steak done like steak au poivre but with Vietnamese ingredients in the sauce, with fries on the side. Ngheu and chem chap hap sa, steamed clams and mussels, come in a buttery lemongrass broth.
172 Orchard Street (East Houston Street), 646-609-3202, saigonsocialnyc.com
