After Online Drama, Gallaghers Steakhouse Finally Gets Its ‘A’ Rating
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Plus, the chef of a former Moroccan spot opens her own Astoria restaurant — and more intel
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Feb 26, 2025, 9:15am EST
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After nearly two years, Midtown restaurant Gallaghers Steakhouse finally got its health reinspection and nabbed its “A” grade on Monday, February 24. In recent years, New York City restaurants have been dealing with overdue and delayed health inspections due to Department of Health (DOH) staffing shortages and budget cuts.
In 2023, DOH awarded Gallaghers a “C” grade but failed to swap out an “A” notice from 2019 on the window. Then in 2024, an inspector paid a visit without inspecting the restaurant, but instead to swap in the “C.” It took until this month to land a full reinspection. “We feel the grade displayed on our window today is a true reflection of who we are,” a spokesperson said.
Former Dar Yemma chef strikes out on her own
The well-regarded Moroccan restaurant Dar Yemma in Astoria’s Little Egypt closed last year due to management conflict, but chef Touria Lamtahaf is back at her own restaurant, Dar Lbahja, about a mile away. It’s located at 47-12 30th Avenue, at 48th Street, open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Lamtahaf grew up helping at her parents’ restaurant in Marrakech, and, once she emigrated to New York in 2008, she started a catering company with traditional Moroccan dishes that formed the menu at Dar Yemma when it opened in 2022. Since its closing, she’s been actively looking for a storefront and signed the new lease in early February. In just three weeks, she and her husband, a full-time postal worker, have renovated and decorated the approximately 10-table space in time for Ramadan, which begins this weekend.
All of her signature dishes — tender chicken tagine with olives, savory harira (lentil and chickpea soup), intensely herbal carrots — make a comeback. Lamtahaf’s opening also signifies hope for women entrepreneurs in Astoria’s Muslim community where restaurants have largely been run by men as gathering places for men, although that dynamic has been shifting. — Caroline Shin, contributor
NYT spotlights Black women restaurateurs
The New York Times highlighted four Black women who opened groundbreakingsoul food and Southern restaurants in New York from the 1970s to 1990s that have since shuttered. They include Alberta Wright, the owner of fine-dining restaurant Jezebel (the restaurant closed in 2007 and she passed away in 2015); Toukie Smith, the owner of celebrity-studded Southern restaurant Toukie’s (which closed in 1998); Pamela Strobel, the owner of soul food restaurant Little Kitchen (which became Princess Pamela’s Southern Touch in 1989, but closed in 1998; it’s unclear if she’s still alive); and B. Smith, the owner of chic mini-chain B. Smith’s (which closed in 2015; she passed away in 2020).
French taco pop-up swoops into Brooklyn
A taco pop-up from Paris is coming to New York for a one-day event this week. Restaurant pop-up Casa Azul is taking over Brooklyn seafood restaurant and marketGreenpoint Fish & Lobster on Thursday, February 27 from 4 to 9 p.m. Chefs Joss Pagès and Aniss Benchariff will serve their Mexican French menu, which includes what it calls bourguignon-style tacos, guacamole with brie, and spicy prawns served with creme and caviar. The pop-up will go to Los Angeles in April followed by Mexico City.
Plus, the chef of a former Moroccan spot opens her own Astoria restaurant — and more intel
After nearly two years, Midtown restaurant Gallaghers Steakhouse finally got its health reinspection and nabbed its “A” grade on Monday, February 24. In recent years, New York City restaurants have been dealing with overdue and delayed health inspections due to Department of Health (DOH) staffing shortages and budget cuts.
In 2023, DOH awarded Gallaghers a “C” grade but failed to swap out an “A” notice from 2019 on the window. Then in 2024, an inspector paid a visit without inspecting the restaurant, but instead to swap in the “C.” It took until this month to land a full reinspection. “We feel the grade displayed on our window today is a true reflection of who we are,” a spokesperson said.
Courtesy of Gallaghers Steakhouse
Former Dar Yemma chef strikes out on her own
The well-regarded Moroccan restaurant Dar Yemma in Astoria’s Little Egypt closed last year due to management conflict, but chef Touria Lamtahaf is back at her own restaurant, Dar Lbahja, about a mile away. It’s located at 47-12 30th Avenue, at 48th Street, open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Lamtahaf grew up helping at her parents’ restaurant in Marrakech, and, once she emigrated to New York in 2008, she started a catering company with traditional Moroccan dishes that formed the menu at Dar Yemma when it opened in 2022. Since its closing, she’s been actively looking for a storefront and signed the new lease in early February. In just three weeks, she and her husband, a full-time postal worker, have renovated and decorated the approximately 10-table space in time for Ramadan, which begins this weekend.
All of her signature dishes — tender chicken tagine with olives, savory harira (lentil and chickpea soup), intensely herbal carrots — make a comeback. Lamtahaf’s opening also signifies hope for women entrepreneurs in Astoria’s Muslim community where restaurants have largely been run by men as gathering places for men, although that dynamic has been shifting. — Caroline Shin, contributor
NYT spotlights Black women restaurateurs
The New York Times highlighted four Black women who opened groundbreaking soul food and Southern restaurants in New York from the 1970s to 1990s that have since shuttered. They include Alberta Wright, the owner of fine-dining restaurant Jezebel (the restaurant closed in 2007 and she passed away in 2015); Toukie Smith, the owner of celebrity-studded Southern restaurant Toukie’s (which closed in 1998); Pamela Strobel, the owner of soul food restaurant Little Kitchen (which became Princess Pamela’s Southern Touch in 1989, but closed in 1998; it’s unclear if she’s still alive); and B. Smith, the owner of chic mini-chain B. Smith’s (which closed in 2015; she passed away in 2020).
French taco pop-up swoops into Brooklyn
A taco pop-up from Paris is coming to New York for a one-day event this week. Restaurant pop-up Casa Azul is taking over Brooklyn seafood restaurant and market Greenpoint Fish & Lobster on Thursday, February 27 from 4 to 9 p.m. Chefs Joss Pagès and Aniss Benchariff will serve their Mexican French menu, which includes what it calls bourguignon-style tacos, guacamole with brie, and spicy prawns served with creme and caviar. The pop-up will go to Los Angeles in April followed by Mexico City.
