Riverdale set to host first-ever Restaurant Week

NEW YORK - Riverdale is an oft-forgotten neighborhood in the Bronx, but it is set to host its first-ever Restaurant Week to make sure it stays on the minds and lips of all who visit.

For Chef Moises Lopes, one of the founders of Tobala' restaurant on Riverdale Avenue, it's a chance to share his traditional Mexican menu with restaurant-goers.

"We specialize in south Mexican food, from Oaxaca so moles, salsas and real authentic Mexican food," Lopes said.

Co-founder Laura Levine-Pinedo says that "everyone loves food, right? So what better than food to bring the neighborhood together."

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While NYC Restaurant Week annually spotlights many city eateries, it has been known to lack Bronx representation. Of the 530 restaurants that participated last year, only 6 were located in the Bronx, according to Dine-Out Riverdale.

This one-week event features 29 restaurants from the Kingsbridge and North and South Riverdale neighborhoods where many restaurants are still trying to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

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Mike Gabert, of Dine-Out Riverdale, says that event is helping owners because it's "like giving the restaurant industry a shock."

Each participating restaurant is offering a special Prix Fixe menu or a double-digit discount on select entrées.  

A portion of the proceeds will go to Family Fridge, a local based initiative that fights food insecurity in the Bronx. 

The event will run from Saturday, October 1 through 8.