Kokomo’s Ria and Kev Graham on Black-Owned Bars and Takeout Tips
To-Go Takes is Resy’s regular feature wherein we quiz the folks behind some of our favorite restaurants about all things related to takeout.
In this edition, we speak to Ria and Kev Graham, the owners behind Williamsburg’s Caribbean hotspot Kokomo, currently open for outdoor and indoor dining, pickup, and delivery. Below, they share some of their favorite takeout tips, tricks, cocktails, and regular stops.
Restaurant: Kokomo
Name + Title: Ria & Kev Graham, Owners
Resy: What’s your favorite dish from Kokomo’s takeout menu?
Kev Graham: My favorite dish from our restaurant would be the rice and peas with braised oxtail.
Ria Graham: Mine can’t be that luxurious because I just had a baby, so it’s diet central for me. It’s the jerk chicken and salad — it is tasty and healthy, so that’s my favorite takeout dish.
Where are you getting takeout from and what are you ordering?
Kev: My favorite spot to take out from would be Five Leaves. I love their pancakes — they’re definitely amazing
What’s your favorite place for cocktails to go?
Ria: A new restaurant called IV Purpose, I believe it’s in Bed-Stuy. It’s owned by four young Black owners, and they’re so inspirational and the drinks sell out all the time.
Kev: My favorite spot for takeout drinks would be Omar’s Kitchen, located in the Lower East Side area. Another Black-owned restaurant — shoutout to my boy Omar.
What single restaurant dish would you walk miles for?
Ria: To this day, the one restaurant I would walk miles for is Carmine’s. Their food is so consistently good. I’ve never gone and had a bad experience there and I always leave with food for today, tomorrow, and the next, and that’s beautiful. I love Carmine’s.
Kev: I would walk miles for a little restaurant located in Williamsburg called Kokomo NYC on 65 Kent Avenue, because I believe we have the best Caribbean flatbreads ever.
Ria: That’s it, that’s all we have the best of?
Kev: We have everything.
What was your first meal back when restaurants reopened?
Ria: Our first meal when restaurants reopened was obviously at our restaurant!
Kev: Where did we go for real?
Ria: All we were doing was eating at our restaurant because we had to do a lot of tastings and make sure the food was on point! We were just tasting, tasting, tasting, constantly.
Kev: And I love to go to Van Leeuwen.
Ria: Yes, that’s a guilty pleasure for sure. Bring back the carrot cake doughnut ice cream, please!
What do you miss most about restaurant?
Kev: I can’t wait to be able to go to a bar and order a drink. Socialize, gather with friends without having to be six feet away from each other. Definitely miss the bar scene. Definitely miss having a bartender make me a drink, watching them do it. I just miss the gathering.
Ria: I was going to say the energy, but honestly, New York is doing a pretty good job at keeping that same New York restaurant-type energy alive. The one part that is missing is the bar scene, so I would have to agree.
Kokomo is open for outdoor and indoor dining Tuesday through Sunday for dinner and weekend brunch. Get Kokomo takeout and delivery here.
