The Resy Guide to New York’s Essential Cozy Locales

You’re bound to feel right at home the moment you pull up a chair at this Senegalese and French restaurant that’s been a neighborhood staple since 2013. At this cozy and intimate bistro-inspired setting, owners Nilea Alexander and Lamine Diagne serve up delicious Senegalese and French fare that’ll leave you feeling full and satisfied.

The coziest dishes and drink: A steamy platter of thiebou djeun (Senegal’s national dish of jollof rice and fish), the spicy mafe (beef stew cooked with a creamy peanut butter sauce), and steak frites, paired with some café Touba (traditional Senegalese coffee blended with spices).

Billy Durney has perfected the vibes at this destination spot. We could argue that anywhere in Red Hook feels markedly cozier than any other neighborhood, simply by way of its isolated nature (expect to board a train, bus, and/or ferry if you don’t live within walking distance), but Red Hook Tavern is a perfect example of the genre, no matter which neighborhood it happens to be in. Come for a solo dinner at the bar or a date-night excursion with a friend and leave your troubles far away.

The coziest dishes: You’re getting the burger, duh, but don’t sleep on the roast chicken with mash and gravy, whatever pasta they have on the menu when you arrive, and the French onion soup.

This spot blesses Prospect Heights from the same team (and in the same location) as the former Oxalis, now with an à la carte menu and the same gorgeous dining room and patio. There are lots of floor-to-ceiling windows, which bring out the twinkling of the garden lights (and of your dining partner’s eyes, probably), and the staff is friendly and welcoming in a way that isn’t forced at all. It’s an all-day spot, but we’re partial to dinner, where the dishes get a little more elaborate and the cocktails stay flowing.

The coziest dishes: The menu changes every day (check their Instagram for updates), but recently-enjoyed dishes of ours included silky chicken liver mousse and brioche, fries dusted with herbes de Provence, and yuba in tomato sauce.

Park Slope’s trattoria di forever also happens to be one of the comfiest, coziest spots in Brooklyn. Once you peel back that heavy curtain that guards the door, you’ll find yourself in a warmer, better world where you sit next to your neighbors (and actually enjoy it), all while eating supremely good housemade pasta off of mismatched plates.

The coziest dishes: Stewed tripe, paccheri with pork ragu, whole young chicken with fennel salad, and a healthy portion of bread and butter.

From the West Village’s dream team behind Via Carota and I Sodi comes an Americana-inspired diner in a charming corner space. The Commerce Inn, complete with its Shaker-inspired style menu, thrifted finds that the chefs picked up on their travels, and a warm staff is a perfect chance to settle into a good, old-fashioned, hearty dinner the way our forefathers intended.

The coziest dishes: Spoon bread or hot rolls, lamb pasty, Shaker beans with molasses and ham hock, and country pork chop.

You can’t have a list of cozy restaurants without at least one ramen spot, and Takumen happens to be a great one. It’s a small space in LIC with plenty of low lighting and kitchen aromas that are more than tantalizing enough to draw you in, whatever borough you’re coming from.

The coziest dishes: Any of the ramens, obviously; we’re partial to the ban-ban chicken and the spicy goma-miso. Plus, get some wings to share (trust us).

Greenpoint always delivers when it comes to spots that make us feel like we live just around the corner and come there all the time, even if it’s our first visit. And it’s true: We’d pay lots of money to be able to experience Achilles Heel for the first time. Between their comfy bar seats, quaint space, and menu of creative small plates from chef Sunny Lee, it’s a spot worth returning to again and again.

The coziest dishes: Fried chicken sandwich with chive aioli, crispy cornmeal skate with fish sauce caramel, the Basque cheesecake, and a healthy pour of whatever wine your server recommends.

The coziest dishes: The menu changes often, but some recent favorites have included dry-aged duck breast with fermented apricot sauce, kangaroo tartare, and a Maine uni with ricotta.

For comfort food that makes you forget all about the long train ride home ahead of you (unless you’re lucky enough to live close by), Rolo’s fits the bill. It’s a favorite of chefs and food-obsessed people alike, with a sprawling menu of wood-fired dishes, plenty of carbs, and plates made for groups. Do come with friends and gather ‘round one of their tables.

The coziest dishes: Any of the wood-fired polenta breads to start, then the housemade mortadella, the famous two-sheet lasagna verde, and the double cheeseburger if you can score one (they only serve a few each night).

We’re partial to Cafe Spaghetti when it comes to warmer days spent on the patio, but Swoony’s (from the same team) is ideal when the weather turns cool and we want to be warmed by a really good burger. It’s cool enough to still feel buzzy and exciting, but not so cool that you’ll be annoyed. Try to score one of the half booths, and definitely order a round of martinis your way.

The coziest dishes: That burger with thousand island and American cheese, creamy lobster orzo, clams casino, and mussels with pasta shells.

The coziest dishes: If the French onion soup makes an appearance, get it — it is, hands down, one of the best in the city. Otherwise, we’ve been eyeing the mortadella mille-feuille and artichoke stuffed cabbage ever since they debuted (take note: the menu changes often).

P.S. M. Wells is sadly closing its doors on Dec. 31, 2024, so don’t delay.

Right on the outskirts of Chinatown, Cervo’s sits pretty in a long, narrow, and seductive space dominated by a zinc bar (the best seats in the house, in our opinion). The Portuguese-Spanish Lower East Side enclave is the ideal place for getting tipsy off sherry, natural wine, and a luxe seafood-leaning eating-with-your-hands kind of dinner for two, amid a well-heeled crowd that may or may not be here to catch a late-night movie at the Metrograph next door (do follow suit).

The coziest dishes: The perfectly crackly shrimp heads with just a squeeze of lemon juice; and the saucy half chicken with piri piri and French fries to sop up those juices.

If you can’t make it upstate this year to stay in a cabin, Blackbarn might be the next best thing. There’s plenty of unfinished wood and a vaulted ceiling, all of which makes us feel as though we could light a fire and cozy up with our latest read. The menu fits the bill, too: Think tavern fare with plenty of showstoppers.

The coziest dishes: Eight-hour barbecue beef ribs, the tomahawk for two with black garlic sauce, wild mushroom toast with robiola, and truffle ricotta gnocchi.

First off, nothing spells comfort like Lyonnais bouchon food. Second, Daniel Boulud has planted his latest New York French restaurant in the old Augustine space, which just happens to be one of the prettiest dining rooms. Think tiled mosaic floors, large mirrors, leather banquettes, flower chandeliers, stained ceilings, and warm lighting that has that je-ne-sais-quoi hue that makes everything (and one) look just that much more beguiling.

The coziest dishes: The offal-y salade Lyonnaise; quenelles de brochet; and the namesake gratin dauphinois are not to be missed. And do go hard on the all-star cast of desserts.

What was once an old carriage house on a quiet stretch of Gramercy is now a Japanese-style cocktail destination spread out on three floors. Enter Martiny’s, where Takuma Watanabe of Angel’s Share fame presides over the bar to the tune of jazz and cocktail shaking of the highest order. Pro tip: Book the lounge for a seat on the second floor, with its skylight, plush sofas, and antique furnishings.

The coziest drinks and dishes: The martini and Tea Ceremony cocktails are exquisite, but you shouldn’t overlook the food. The cheeky tartare with its snowy Parmesan and seaweed cow print, the tiny river crabs, or most of the rest of the dishes on their ever-changing menu take bar food to a whole other level.

Because at night, this Cobble Hill favorite practically glows with its strings of marquee-esque lights. June is one of those natural wine bars that feels effortlessly warm, thanks to a genuinely caring and knowledgeable staff that’ll walk you through the more than 200-bottle natural wine selection from France, Austria, and beyond.

The coziest dishes: The menu changes with the seasons, but the brown butter dauphine with whipped chevre, burger with black garlic aioli and sweet onion mostarda, and black sesame plum cake on the current menu all sound mighty.

[Editor’s Note: St. Anselm recently experienced a devastating fire and will remain closed until it can reopen once more.]

Ruled by a warm front of house and an open kitchen that’s in full reign of its live fire domain, this cheerful, no-frills Williamsburg steakhouse dressed up in brick walls and a wood-paneled ceiling is an absolute delight that still packs a punch more than a decade after opening. Do get lost in the wine list as you plot out just how much food you should order (sharing is caring, come with a group).

The coziest dishes: Start with the grilled sardines and prawns before delving into mains — while steak is the usual draw (the tomahawk is excellent), the lamb shoulder chop, pork porterhouse, and chicken shine just as bright.

The oldest Spanish restaurant in New York has been reborn and it still very much reigns supreme with its distressed ceilings, well-worn wooden bar, and Don Quixote theme. Niftily located inside the Chelsea Hotel since 1930, El Quijote is all dimmed lighting and thrown cocktails, but the sunny Spanish menu is guaranteed to brighten your day, too. Pro tip: Do book the Cervantes Room for a private dining experience for six to 10 guests.

The coziest dishes: The tortilla de patata; butter beans with truffled garlic sausage; prawns à la plancha; and the excellent paellas, studded with seasonal veggies or chicken and seafood.

With a tiled pizza oven that keeps its surroundings more than snug, Ops has been leading the pack of Brooklyn sourdough pizza aficionados since it opened in 2016. And in true Bushwick fashion (read: a converted garage space made extra cozy), Ops puts on a spell with its bricked-up interior and a warm staff who’ll happily guide you through their no-wine-list, tell-us-what-you-like, we’ll-pour philosophy.

The coziest dish: The Juno pie, an Ops standby, which comes topped with broccoli rabe, ricotta salata, provolone, and potatoes, and which you should absolutely add sausage to.

Sure, PDT may be New York’s worst-kept speakeasy secret, but there’s still nothing like dialing the Crif Dogs pay phone (IYKYK) and being given access to this wood-paneled, basement-level cocktail den. Best seat in the house: a quiet booth or at the bar, and preferably by Paddington, the watchful taxidermied bear who’s always dressed for the season.

The coziest dishes: A basket of too-hot tater tots with a cheffy hot dog, just because.

Don Angie is one of those perpetually packed restaurants whose dining rooms immediately give off a warm, buzzy feeling the moment you step in — it’s enough to revive the cold-prone hermit in everyone who swears off winter in New York. Let the menu, built on reimagined Italian American comfort food, take it from there.

The coziest dishes: The stuffed garlic flatbread and a healthy amount of pasta (the bubbling pinwheel lasagna for two is especially nice). Pro tip: Do not skip the fior di latte mochi, an incredible dessert.

Rooted in the Venezuelan dishes his mother used to cook for him, Ivo Diaz’s Casa Ora is like stepping inside your elegant abuela’s warm living room. Expect sky-high plants, soft banquettes, and midnight blue walls that are lined with a plethora of framed paintings, photographs, maps, and other trinkets that call back to Venezuela, or a sense of home.

The coziest dishes: The hallaca — a steamy pork tamale traditionally eaten for Christmas — to start, and then any dish with rice and beans, for Casa Ora’s are excellent.

It’s in the name, folks, but what makes this corner fixture especially so is the sense of community that pervades the space. Dreamt up by the team behind the Meat Hook — Williamsburg’s favorite hip butcher shop just one block over — Cozy Royale doles out incredible meats and comfort by the spoonful, with dishes pulled from the owners’ childhoods.

The coziest dishes: For dinner, start off with the bone marrow with cherry ‘nduja jam or the clam and leek toast, before diving into the dry-aged burger (come early; they serve these in limited quantities!) or steak frites. Cozy Royale crushes brunch, too (buttermilk pancakes for the table, anyone?).

Behind a bright red door at the foot of the Williamsburg bridge (Manhattan side), Kings Co. Imperial hits you with the smell of sizzling dumplings in the air. Tiled floors, moody lighting, and lazy Susan-topped tables set up the rest of the stage, so slide inside one of the booths with a good group of friends and let a most delicious Chinese feast begin.

The coziest dishes: A round of egg drop soup, followed by some mock eel, fiery mapo tofu, dan dan mian, and wok-seared pea shoots should get you started.

Edged right along the cobblestones of Bond Street, Il Buco, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, retains the charm from its old antique store days. Here, the cucina is rustica, the wine flows, and the 200-year-old cellar inspired a chilling short story by Edgar Allan Poe. Simply put, Il Buco is a little Tuscan haven where three-hour-long dinners unravel in the blink of an eye.

The coziest dish: Truly, any of the pastas will satisfy, but the risotto is something else, too.