It's nice when a restaurant surprises you. With a name so generic it will prove tough to find in search engines, and a decor that dredges up the oh-so-90s aluminum chairs, Lower East Side newcomer Tre could easily have been lost in the city's overstock of Italian restaurants. And, yet, its creative twists on classic fare seem to have won our critic over in the end. The cheat sheet: "Bound for the bestseller list: Terrific pantacce, shreds of pasta tossed with sausage, grape tomato and caciotta cheese, and a lovely ricotta and creme fraiche cheesecake." Combined with a review of Mexican spot Elote in Williamsburg (which has a killer brunch deal), it's a good week for the underdog in our list of new and notable restaurants.

(Photo by Gregor Halenda)