MERKATO 55 Africa

MERKATO 55 Africa is the emphasis, in both décor and menu, at this restaurant, where handcrafted artifacts surround the ground-floor bar and cafe as well as the second-floor dining room. Andrea Luz Bergquist, the executive chef, will turn out food that promises to be full of exotic touches from other ports of call, too, like the Caribbean and Asia. A glossary to explain menu terms like yassa (a Senegalese marinade) and sosaties (skewered spiced meat) would help. The restaurant will open on Friday without Marcus Samuelsson, its chef and creator, on hand. He is in Stockholm opening a branch of Aquavit: 55 Gansevoort Street (Greenwich Street), (212) 255-8555.

SOUTH GATE Spacious and dappled silver from faceted mirrors, this redo of Café Botanica in the Jumeirah Essex House, opening Friday, offers generous views of Central Park and hearty contemporary American fare like braised and roasted rib of beef from the kitchen of Kerry Heffernan: 154 Central Park South, (212) 484-5120.

GALLO NERO This Italian wine bar features cured meats and antipasti: 404 West 44th Street, (212) 265-6660.

ISLERO A narrow space made welcoming with dark wood and marble tabletops is the setting for Spanish food interpreted by Jessica Floyd. It opens today: 247 East 50th Street, (212) 752-1414.

MAMA’S MUDSLIDERS In the space that had been Li-Lac chocolates, Hali Horn, a pastry chef from Los Angeles, will turn out her versions of retro desserts, including a mud pie and frozen s’mores, and some savories, like cheese plates: 120 Christopher Street (Bleecker Street), (646) 414-4447.

PATA NEGRA Rafael Mateo has carved out a niche of Spain with his East Village wine bar, which opens on Friday: 345 East 12th Street, (212) 228-1696.

PINCH & S’MAC Pinch Pizza by the Inch, which closed, has teamed with S’mac and Ark Restaurants in this cafe that opened on Monday in the old Columbus Bakery: 474 Columbus Avenue (83rd Street), (646) 438-9494.

Looking Ahead

In late summer, Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper, the founders and former owners of the Hale and Hearty Soup chain, will open a casual restaurant, as yet unnamed, in The New York Times Building at the southeast corner of 41st Street and Eighth Avenue.