The January Hit List: Naks, Libertine, Sailor, Dirt Candy, and More

Whether you opt for the full-on $135 kamayan tasting or the à la carte menu, you should put Naks at the top of your dining hit list for 2024. Why? Because chef Eric Valdez is doing is some of the city’s most exciting cooking, presenting Filipino cuisine and culture in a deeply personal way that also happens to be incredibly delicious and satisfying.

The soups, including Soup No. 5 (offered à la carte) and the kamayan-only bas-oy (a rich stew made with beef tripe, beef blood, and beef flank) are especially good. And whatever you do, don’t sleep on the drinks, especially the Puto Bumbong, with margarine-washed coconut Tequila and an Eden cheese foam on top, or the refreshing, alcohol-free Taho with delicate tapioca pearls.

Note: As of Jan. 9, Naks has begun taking reservations for its à la carte menu, in addition to its kamayan tasting.

When a crew of veterans from Somtum Der and Ugly Baby band together, you get something like UnTable, which continues the city’s legacy of exceptional, bold, and creative Thai cuisine led by those aforementioned pioneers (and by others like Soothr and newcomer Bangkok Supper Club). It should be noted that the spice levels here are generally set to “Thai spicy” and regardless, you are highly encouraged to give their “unconventional” takes a try. They include: “What the Hell fried rice,” tom klong consommé, and crab croquettes with tom yum puree. UnTable also offers weekday lunch specials for just $15 that include old-school pad Thai; deep-fried garlic pork over rice; green curry pork; and a vegan red curry.

Walk-ins only.

New Yorkers’ eternal love affair with French restaurants was certainly reignited last year and it continues to burn bright over at Cody Pruitt and Max MacKinnon’s faithful ode to the French bistro, Libertine. Yes, there are no frites here, but what you do have are their takes on exceptionally crafted staples — oeufs mayo, coquilles Saint-Jacques, jambon persillé — that just might actually surpass what you can find in Paris. (Yes, really.) Oh, and a small mountain of fresh butter to go with all of that, as well as a truly epic wine list. Don’t forget to start or end with a martini, too.

Resy staffers’ No. 1 favorite restaurant from last year is a worthy addition to your list of top Italian restaurants because it is consistently, without fail, delicious — and also much easier to get a reservation for than some of its other Italian counterparts. Da Toscano exudes warmth and if you’d like nothing more than to dive into a bowl (or bowls) of comforting pasta this winter, you are in luck, with more than nine to choose from at any time. We’re especially fond of the pappardelle with Venetian duck ragú and shaved foie gras, or the agnolotti with lamb neck. And if you happen to be nearby Thursdays to Saturdays, you should also stop by for a lunchtime porchetta sandwich, served at the counter.

We find that, especially when we want to dine with a group, there’s often nothing better than heading straight to Ping’s in Chinatown for a shared feast of Cantonese specialties, from standout dim sum (it’s served all day here) to prized braised abalone with housemade oyster sauce, or savory roasted Peking duck. Whether you’re headed to Ping’s for brunch or dinner, everything is top notch, and it never disappoints.

Call (212) 602-9988 for reservations.

Regardless of where your tastes fall when it comes to burrata (is it really so passé?), you can’t deny the power of the burrata slice from L’Industrie — it’s arguably one of the city’s best slices, period — and that’s saying a lot for a city where pizza always reigns supreme. It’s got just enough creamy burrata to offset the tartness of the tomato sauce, and the dough is both crisp and airy. Now that this new-school spot has since expanded from Williamsburg into Manhattan, there’s even more opportunity for you to grab a slice or three.

Walk-ins only.

Is there anything chef-owner Amanda Cohen can’t do? She’s a pioneer of vegetable-forward cooking who’s also intent on building a better restaurant industry, and we are the beneficiaries of her talents and efforts. Every season, Dirt Candy debuts a new tasting menu, offered both in a vegetarian and vegan version, priced at $105 per person, and each one is as creative as the next, from takes on chopped cheese and soup dumplings to zucchini takoyaki and a spinach millefeuille.

Ali Saboor, together with Sofreh’s Nasim Alikhani, has pioneered contemporary Iranian food in New York and a meal at his solo project, Eyval, is worth seeking out no matter where you are in the city. While the menu focuses primarily on street foods, especially kebabs, there’s a distinct elegance to how he grills his kebabs, as he does with everything else on the menu. It’s a studied balance between traditional flavors and techniques and a few subtle, unexpected twists. Pro tip: The eggplant and cured yogurt kashke bademjan is a non-negotiable.

There are many explanations for how and why Tatiana topped so many of last year’s best of lists but these are, perhaps, the two biggest reasons: It’s a restaurant with a clear, distinct point of view — a biography, if you will, of chef-and-partner Kwame Onwuachi — and one that’s just well, a joy to dine at. That winning combination of powerful narrative and good vibes gets further amplified by the creatively crafted dishes on the menu, from a bright honeynut piri piri salad and egusi soup dumplings to braised oxtails and a pastrami suya.

Everyone rightly raves about the roast chicken here (as they should) but in our opinion, the real sleeper hit would be the poached radishes with lambic and guanciale: both bracing and rich at the same time, you might want to consider doubling up on them. But don’t, because you’ll want to save as much room as you can for trying as many other dishes from chef April Bloomfield as you can. And then of course, there’s the dessert to consider, which you should most definitely double up on.