From the Apollo Theater to the Brooklyn Museum, Black History Month in NYC features free programming, live performances, and Black-owned restaurants that honor African American and Caribbean heritage.
New York City has long been a living archive of Black cultural innovation, one shaped by Harlem’s Renaissance-era institutions and continually reimagined through Brooklyn’s contemporary arts spaces. Each February, that legacy comes into sharper focus across the city, with programming that moves fluidly between free museum evenings, live performances by GRAMMY-winning musicians, and dining experiences rooted in African and Caribbean culinary traditions. Together, these moments offer a portrait of Black history not as a fixed past, but as an evolving cultural force within the city.
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The Best Restaurants for Black History Month in NYC
The Critical Darling: Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi
📍 Location: 10 Lincoln Center Plaza — Upper West Side, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi
If securing a reservation feels elusive, that is part of the story. Since opening at Lincoln Center, Tatiana has become one of New York City’s most sought-after tables. Named the city’s best restaurant by The New York Times multiple years in a row, and widely regarded as a defining dining experience of the moment.
At the helm is Kwame Onwuachi, a James Beard Award winner and 2026 “Outstanding Chef” finalist, whose cooking draws directly from his Bronx upbringing and Afro-Caribbean heritage. The result is a high-energy, deeply personal menu that fuses African, Caribbean, and New York influences without softening their edges.
Dishes like egusi dumplings, oxtail with rice and peas, and short rib pastrami suya function as both flavor and narrative—each one grounded in memory, migration, and place. Tatiana’s dining room mirrors that sensibility: vibrant, confident, and unapologetically expressive, especially on performance nights when Lincoln Center hums just beyond the doors.
Tatiana is not just a restaurant people talk about. It is one that reframes what contemporary New York dining can be when a chef’s voice is given full authorship. During Black History Month in NYC, it stands as a reminder that Black culinary excellence is not peripheral to the city’s story. It is central to it.
Reservations: Resy
Reservations open 28 days in advance at 12:00 PM EST and are available for parties of up to six guests à la carte. For larger groups, the restaurant accommodates inquiries by email at events@tatiananyc.com.
The Global Icon: Red Rooster Harlem
📍 Location: 310 Lenox Avenue — Harlem, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: Red Rooster
It is impossible to talk about Black culinary excellence in New York City without acknowledging the influence of Marcus Samuelsson. Since opening in Harlem, Red Rooster has become more than a dining room. It is a cultural institution rooted in neighborhood history and creative exchange.
Founded by Andrew Chapman and Samuelsson, the restaurant draws inspiration from the legendary speakeasy that once welcomed jazz musicians, writers, and community leaders. Today, that legacy continues through live music, rotating cultural programming, and a menu that honors Harlem’s layered culinary traditions. Dishes lean into comfort and familiarity while reflecting the global influences that shape both the neighborhood and Samuelsson’s own story.
Red Rooster functions as a gathering place as much as a restaurant, one where food, music, and history intersect naturally rather than performatively. It remains a meaningful way to experience Harlem during Black History Month in NYC, not as a moment in time, but as an ongoing cultural conversation.
Editor’s note: Samuelsson recently expanded his New York footprint with the opening of Hav & Mar in Chelsea. A seafood-driven restaurant led by Executive Chef Fariyal Abdullahi. A 2026 James Beard “Best Chef: New York” semifinalist—further underscoring the chef’s continued influence on the city’s dining landscape.
Reservations: OpenTable
The Diaspora Destination: Kokomo
📍 Location: 65 Kent Avenue — Williamsburg, Brooklyn | 🌐 Website: Kokomo
Opened in July 2020 at the height of uncertainty, Kokomo emerged not just as a restaurant, but as a declaration. Founded by husband-and-wife team Kevol [“Kev”] and Ria Graham alongside Ria’s mother, Karen Valentine. The family-owned Williamsburg destination channels the energy, warmth, and layered heritage of the Caribbean through food, music, and atmosphere.
Led by Chef de Cuisine Brandon Melvin and Sous Chef Shaquill, the kitchen blends traditional Caribbean flavors with modern global influences. The menu moves confidently between comfort and creativity. Slow-braised oxtail paired with pumpkin purée and rice and peas, Biang Biang Rasta noodles coated in island cream sauce with oyster mushrooms, and jerk-infused wings finished with a charred cranberry glaze.
The experience is deliberately immersive. Designed as a tropical escape, Kokomo is known as much for its energy as its cooking, particularly during its lively brunches and late-night Koko After Dark sessions, where DJs transform the space into a weekend destination. It is a place where Caribbean culture is not aestheticized; it is activated.
Recognized by Time Out as one of New York City’s 50 best restaurants, Kokomo has continued to expand its footprint through the Kokomo Hospitality Group, which now includes The Ox Wine Bar and plans for a forthcoming fine-dining concept, Bait & Bow. Together, these projects underscore the Grahams’ growing influence on Brooklyn’s dining landscape—and the evolving presence of Caribbean-led hospitality in the city.
Reservations: SevenRooms
The Harlem Institution: Melba’s Restaurant
📍 Location: 300 West 114th Street — Harlem, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: Melba’s Restaurant
Few restaurants are as deeply woven into the fabric of Harlem as Melba’s. Located along the neighborhood’s storied Restaurant Row, it operates at the intersection of history, hospitality, and soul, less a destination built for visitors than a place sustained by community.
At the center is Melba Wilson, a Harlem native who learned the craft at her aunt Sylvia Woods’ iconic restaurant before opening Melba’s in 2005. Unable to secure a bank loan at the time, Wilson used her own savings to build what has since become one of the city’s most enduring Black-owned dining institutions. Today, she remains a visible presence in the dining room, greeting guests and reinforcing the restaurant’s sense of familiarity and care.
The menu reflects Wilson’s definition of “American Comfort Food,” rooted in Southern tradition and Harlem flavor. Standout dishes include her Southern fried chicken with eggnog waffles, famously victorious on Throwdown! with Bobby Flay. The menu pairs spring rolls filled with black-eyed peas, rice, and collard greens with creamy mac and cheese and candied yams, each rooted in Harlem’s culinary heritage.
Beyond the restaurant itself, Wilson’s influence extends across the city. She was the first Black woman to serve as president of the NYC Hospitality Alliance and has expanded Melba’s footprint to Central Park’s Wollman Rink, Grand Central Terminal, and Newark. Still, the heart of Melba’s remains on 114th Street, where the room feels less like a restaurant and more like a well-run Sunday gathering, warm, lively, and grounded in decades of earned trust.
Reservations: OpenTable
Immersive Arts and Culture: Celebrating Black History Month in NYC
Open House: Celebration of Cool
📍 Location: Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street — Harlem, Manhattan | Date: February 1, 2026 | Time: 1 PM – 6 PM | Free
For Black History Month in NYC, Apollo Theater hosts a full afternoon of thoughtfully layered programming curated by Billy “Mr. Apollo” Mitchell and MetroFocus’s Jenna Flanagan, with music direction by WBGO’s Keanna Faircloth. The lineup moves between film screenings, presentations, and live performances by GRAMMY Award–winning artists, including Casey Benjamin and the Keyon Harrold Quartet.
A featured documentary screening anchors the day with a post-film conversation between filmmakers and musicians. Meanwhile, parallel family programming on the Theater’s Soundstage offers school-aged children interactive, music-centered activities.
Details: Open House: Celebration of Cool
First Saturdays: Imitate No One
📍 Location: Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway — Prospect Heights, Brooklyn | Date: February 7, 2026 | Time: 5 PM – 10 PM | Free
Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturdays return for 2026 with a Black History Month edition centered on artists who reimagine tradition while building community. Held after regular museum hours, the evening unfolds across galleries and performance spaces with live music, performances by Brooklyn-based artists, curator-led tours, film screenings, hands-on art-making, and a local marketplace. February’s program is anchored by a tribute to poet Jayne Cortez, featuring a performance by her band, The Firespitters, alongside readings by contemporary poets whose work carries forward her legacy.
Details: First Saturdays: Imitate No One
Family Afternoon—Invention Labs
📍 Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue — Central Park | Date: February 15, 2026 | Time: 1 PM – 4 PM | Free
For Black History Month in NYC, The Metropolitan Museum of Art invites families to explore the legacy of Black inventors through hands-on creative activities inspired by works in the museum’s collection. Designed to encourage curiosity and imaginative thinking, the afternoon centers on looking, making, and discovery, with all materials provided on-site. While recommended for children ages 3–11, the program is thoughtfully structured to welcome families of all ages and abilities.
Details: Family Afternoon—Invention Labs
Black Future Festival
📍 Location: Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Avenue — Crown Heights, Brooklyn | Date: February 15–21, 2026 | Time: 10 AM – 5 PM
For Black History Month in NYC, Brooklyn Children’s Museum presents a weeklong festival that blends reflection with future-facing creativity, inviting young audiences to imagine what comes next. Framed by Black History Month and the broader recognition of the African Diaspora, the program centers joy, invention, and possibility through dynamic dance performances, interactive workshops, visual art, and storytelling. Curated by Kendra J. Bostock and STooPS, the festival approaches Black history not only as legacy, but as a living source of imagination and forward momentum.
Tickets: Black Future Festival
Syncopated Stages: Black Disruptions to the Great White Way
📍 Location: New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza — Upper West Side, Manhattan | Date: Through February 21, 2026
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts presents an exhibition that traces how Black artists shaped the foundations of American musical theater long before Broadway became synonymous with spectacle. In the early 20th century, Black composers and writers introduced syncopated rhythms and original storytelling that broke from 19th-century traditions and challenged the stereotypes embedded within them. Working in the margins of exclusion, these artists reshaped Broadway’s sound and narrative language—laying the groundwork for generations of Black theater makers whose influence continues to define the stage today.
Details: Syncopated Stages: Black Disruptions to the Great White Way
Black History Month Concert
📍 Location: Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza — Prospect Heights, Brooklyn | Date: February 1, 2026 | Time: 4 PM – 5:30 PM
Brooklyn Public Library hosts an intimate concert featuring string quartets by past and contemporary Black composers. The program includes works by Jessie Montgomery, Akua Dixon, Shelly Washington, William Grant Still, and Wynton Marsalis, offering a thoughtful survey of Black musical innovation across generations. Designed as a listening-forward experience, the concert honors Black musical creativity and lineage, with RSVP and standby options available for attendees.
Details: Black History Month Concert
Make the Most of Black History Month in NYC 2026
Black History Month in NYC is not confined to a single neighborhood, institution, or weekend. It unfolds across libraries, theaters, museums, and dining rooms, often in places that have carried this history quietly all year long. February simply brings it into sharper focus.
Whether you spend an afternoon listening to string quartets at the library, or introduce children to Black inventors through hands-on play. Or gather around a table in Harlem or Brooklyn, these experiences offer more than programming. They offer continuity. And they remind us that Black cultural life in New York is not an annual moment, but an ongoing presence shaped by artists, chefs, educators, and communities who continue to build, reinterpret, and imagine what comes next.
Approach this month not as a checklist, but as an invitation. To listen more closely, to show up thoughtfully, and to engage with the city’s Black cultural landscape in ways that extend well beyond February.
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