Local eateries dig in to Bronx-wide restaurant week

One of the most important things is having the other boroughs come into The Bronx to experience the cuisine that we have and see the vibrant culture that is here.”

Julius Drake, director of development at the Bronx Tourism Council

New York City, known as a “melting pot” for its diverse cultural population and home to an equally diverse food scene. In the northwest Bronx, one can find authentic Greek food across from Mexican-inspired dishes and classic American cuisine and Savor the Bronx Restaurant Week offers diners a chance to discover eateries they didn’t know existed in their borough. 

Sponsored by the Bronx Tourism Council in conjunction with the Bronx Borough President’s office, the Bronx-exclusive restaurant week runs from Feb. 18 through Feb. 23 and is free for all participating restaurants as long as they offer a prix fixe menu or meal discounts. 

Tobalá, located at 3732 Riverdale Ave., is participating in this year's event. Ellie Lopez opened the restaurant alongside her husband, Moises Lopez and her sister-in-law, Roma Mercader. 

The Oaxacan-inspired restaurant opened in Sept. 2022 with an eclectic menu featuring dishes derived from the family’s travels to Oaxaca, Mexico over the years. 

“We just wanted to bring something to our neighborhood and I think The Bronx deserves more attention when it comes to hospitality as well,” Lopez told The Press. 

She and her family have lived in Riverdale for the last eight years and were excited to to open a restaurant where they could feed her neighbors. 

Lopez’s favorite dish on the menu is the Pulpo de Puerto, stewed octopus in a chicatana sauce with pearl onions, garnished with cilantro and red-veined sorrel and served with a side of corn tortillas. 

“The earthiness of the chicatana sauce with the seafood is so good. . . not everybody knows how to cook a good octopus, we master that,” Lopez said. 

Chicatanas are a type of flying leaf-cutter ant considered a delicacy in Oaxaca. Despite the unusual menu item, diners are typically open to trying new things, especially when the ants are crushed and disguised by the salsa, according to Lopez. 

Research conducted by Chemistry for Life in 2024, found chicatana ants secrete a pheromone called pyrazine which has a nutty and woody roasted smell and flavor and similar to the smell of cooked meats and breads containing the same pyrazine compound, according to the study. It also advised individuals with sensitivity or allergies to shellfish should be cautious when consuming insects as the same allergen can be found in most edible insects. 

“This is a very rare thing that happens in Oaxaca, maybe one or two times a year so they’re saved for special occasions,” Lopez said. 

While the ants get shipped in from Mexico every two months, the restaurant tries to keep the rest of its supplies local. Mushrooms and microgreens are purchased from Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms where they use water to grow their produce rather than soil. The farm has two locations– one in Kingston, NY and one in Riverdale at 4545 Independence Ave. The meats are purchased from a farm in the Hudson Valley. 

Despite not having enrolled before, participating in this year’s Savor the Bronx was an easy choice for Lopez given the waived fee.

“The busier the restaurant is, the better. We want people to come from other parts of the city or other parts of the state to try our food,” Lopez said. “We love what we do.”

On Kingsbridge Avenue sits the Kingsbridge Social Club, opened in February 2017 by David Lindsay and Thomas Giudice. The restaurant at 3625 Kingsbridge Ave. specializes in “New York Neopolitan style pizza,” according to Lindsay, but also serves up craft beer, a variety of deliciously crafted Italian dishes and daily specials.  

Lindsay shared his love for craft beer led him from his family’s Rhode Island grocery store to working as a bartender in Providence before he moved to New York and eventually began working as the manager of the Bronx Alehouse where he met Giudice.

He expects the week-long event to draw in new customers. 

“Hopefully the idea is that people are seeing advertisements for Savor the Bronx and they’ve never been here before and I want them to try our menu items,” Lindsay said. “I want you to get a taste of what the restaurant is on a day-to-day basis.”

Julius Drake, director of development at the Bronx Tourism Council, said bringing back Savor The Bronx post-pandemic felt like the right thing to do with restaurants requesting its return. 

“It’s been a staple event here in the borough and our restaurants have the most unique cuisine and our borough really has a lot of culture and history as it relates to the food,” Drake said. 

The food-fueled week has been around for 14 years but took a break for rebranding in 2022 with a plan to relaunch in 2025. With the reopening of the program, Drake shared the team at the Bronx Tourism Council spent time reaching out to businesses to advertise the event and widen participation. 

New York City runs a city-wide restaurant week twice a year, one in the summer and their current winter week running through Feb. 9. Of the 597 restaurants registered for this iteration of the foodie bonanza, 11 are in the Bronx, making up less than 2 percent of the participating businesses.

“One of the most important things is having the other boroughs come into the Bronx to experience the cuisine that we have and see the vibrant culture that is here,” Drake said. 

NYC Restaurant Week offers prix fixe menus divided into $30, $45 and $60 options and businesses are required to pay a fee of $1,200. Businesses who register before Oct. 31 pay a discounted fee of $975 and the first 10 restaurants to register are waived the fee entirely. 

As of publishing date, the list of participating restaurants in the Riverdale/Kingsbridge/VanCortlandt area is Leche y Miel at 5671 Broadway, Claudy’s Kitchen at 5981 Broadway, Tortoise & Hare at 6115 Broadway, Kingsbridge Social Club at 3625 Kingsbridge Ave., Lava House at 459 W 238th St., Tin Marín Tapas at 3708 Riverdale Ave., Jake’s Steakhouse at 6031 Broadway and Tobalá at 3732 Riverdale Ave.