And just like that, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and even Samantha — in a confirmed but likely brief cameo — have returned for Season 2 of the Sex and the City sequel.
Although Carrie was never really a cook in Sex and the City (sweaters in the oven and all), And Just Like That… has been giving her kitchen a more prominent role. Aside from that scene in Season 1, the first moments of Season 2 find Carrie making good on a (supposedly) decades-long goal of poaching an egg. “Did you know stoves aren’t just for storage?” she says, to a justifiably surprised Charlotte.
Still, we can rest assured that the newly expanded roster of girls, which now includes real estate agent Seema and recently dumped bread entrepreneur Anthony, will continue to spill stories about boyfriends, blow jobs, and balls at the Met in restaurants and bars all over New York City.
As with the first season, we’ll be tracking (almost) everywhere Carrie and friends ate across the city episode by episode, in case you need a new gossip spot of your own. But with Miranda having followed Che to Los Angeles at the end of Season 1, we’ll also need to expand our scope to the West Coast. In Samantha’s immortal words from Sex and the City Season 3: “All the kids are going bi” — bicoastal, in this case. Naturally, some spoilers will follow.
Episode 1, “Met Cute”
The first episode of Season 2 opens on a particularly horny montage, with nearly all of the show’s main characters getting ready to get busy in the bedroom. The carnal bliss is short-lived, however, as relationship trouble plagues nearly every couple. The season premiere also takes place on the day of the Met Ball, which leads to a scramble for dresses and a number of ticket swaps, one of which occurs over lunch at Daniel.
Zooba, 100 Kenmare Street
Carrie’s former podcasting co-host, Jackie, buys her lunch with a blue credit card from “Smurf National Bank” at this Egyptian fast-casual spot in Nolita. He’s treating Carrie to thank her for wearing his wife’s dress to the Met Ball, but gets shot down when he asks if she can get a couple extra tickets for the two of them.
Daniel, 60 East 65th Street
Daniel Boulud’s 30-year-old titan of fine dining, Daniel, appears twice in Episode 1. First during a lunch between Carrie, Seema, Anthony, and Charlotte where the four discuss the upcoming Met Ball as well as their relationship troubles.
Later in the episode, Seema is back at Daniel with the man she’s been seeing, Zed, to meet his son and ex-wife for the first time. When she learns that Zed still lives in the same building with his ex (“She has the top two floors! I’m on the first!”), she storms out to get ready for the ball.
GGT Tokyo, 120 East 28th Street
Nya visits this Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar on the Nomad and Murray Hill border for a quiet dinner alone. After a couple of glasses of Malbec a man who introduces himself as Toussaint sidles up to the bar where she’s sitting and hits on her. She’s flattered, but doesn’t go home with him — or try the molten chocolate cake which, according to Toussaint, “will make you see the face of God.”
Episode 2, “The Real Deal”
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24747836/tony_danza_sara_ramirez.jpg)
The cast are all learning how to embrace what’s important and let go of what’s not in this episode. For Charlotte, that means accepting her children for who they’re turning into. For Carrie, that means sticking to her guns about not saying the word “suppository” on her podcast. By the end of the episode, a few of the girls appear to be starting over, setting the stage for new adventures this season.
KYU, 324 Lafayette Street
Carrie and Seema chat about relationship red flags and vaginal wellness podcast ads over martinis at this flashy Miami import known for its pan-Asian BBQ. The two didn’t seem to partake in any of the restaurant’s signature duck breast “burnt ends” or coconut cake, but they each leave resolved to solve the problems they came in with.
Le Coucou, 138 Lafayette Street
Charlotte begins her episode-long freakout over her daughter selling off a Chanel dress to buy an electric keyboard over lunch with Lisa and Anthony at Le Coucou, what Ryan Sutton called the “beating, albeit transplanted, heart of grand old French cuisine in New York,” when he reviewed it in 2016. Of course this group would consider a place with chilled shrimp in champagne sabayon perfect for a casual lunch.
Nello, 696 Madison Avenue
Seema gracefully leaves a date at the Upper East Side’s Nello, an Italian restaurant known more for its celebrity clientele than the food. It also came under fire a few years ago for banning a woman from dining alone at the bar, claiming it was “cracking down on hookers,” so it’s a good thing Seema didn’t try to stick around and finish her meal solo.
Over on the West Coast…
Neptune’s Net, 42505 CA-1, Malibu, CA
Miranda finds herself stranded outside of this Malibu mainstay, which slings fried fish and chowder in bread bowls for bikers and tourists alike. It’s been featured in numerous movies and TV shows already, including The Fast and the Furious, Point Break, and a flashback episode of Gossip Girl. Unfortunately, Miranda merely uses it as a landmark to catch a ride home. Maybe she can visit next time she’s stranded on the PCH.
Rao’s Hollywood, 1006 Seward Street, Los Angeles
While Miranda is on her way home from Malibu, Che and Tony Danza (yes) talk through their creative visions for the pilot Che is filming at the Hollywood location of famed New York red-sauce joint Rao’s. A portrait of Robert De Niro watches over their pasta and wine, as Tony Danza argues that it would be weird if he played Che’s Mexican father. Fair enough.
