Samuel Clonts and Raymond Trinh are opening their latest restaurant, Cactus Wren, on Feb. 12. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren

The RundownNew York

Cactus Wren, From Michelin-Starred Sixty Three Clinton, Isn’t Your Typical NYC Wine Bar

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Sitting on the corner of Ludlow and Rivington on the Lower East Side, where a Serafina once stood, you’ll find Cactus Wren. It’s the second restaurant from the team behind another L.E.S. favorite, Sixty Three Clinton, and it opens on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

Here’s everything you need to know before you head to this decidedly unconventional new neighborhood wine bar.

The Resy Rundown
Cactus Wren

  • Why We Like It
    If you love Sixty Three Clinton, you’ll love this à la carte wine bar from the same team. Whether you opt for a full meal or just a glass of lambrusco, pizza, or some substantial snacks, you’re bound to leave feeling more than satisfied.
  • Essential Dishes
    Lobster pot pie; caviar seven-layer dip served with flour tortillas; and the fruit de mer assortment, a combination of raw and cooked seafood that changes daily. On the sweet side, don’t overlook the banana sticky toffee pudding.
  • Must-Order Drinks
    Anything on the wine list, Champagne included. For cocktails, try the Creme Depêche Mode or the Cactus Wren.
  • Who and What It’s For
    Fans of Michelin-starred Sixty Three Clinton, but also anyone serious about wine (and food). The wine list is thoughtful, highlighting younger producers, underexplored wine-growing regions, and vintners with a sustainable slant.
  • How to Get In
    Reservations drop 21 days in advance at midnight.
  • Pro Tip
    If you’re in the mood for prime people watching, grab a table by the window to watch the Lower East Side go by. There’s also an intimate 14-seat private dining room tucked away in the basement for anyone looking to host a larger group.
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Left to right: Chef and partner Samuel Clonts, general manager Liz Cohen, executive chef Abe Chang, and partner Raymond Trinh. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren
Left to right: Chef and partner Samuel Clonts, general manager Liz Cohen, executive chef Abe Chang, and partner Raymond Trinh. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren

1. It comes from a familiar team and longtime collaborators.

Cactus Wren chef and co-owner Samuel Clonts and co-owner Raymond Trinh’s professional partnership goes back 16 years, and their personal relationship well even before that. The two met in Arizona as young chefs cooking at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, and became fast friends. In 2011, wanting more, Clonts, moved to Manhattan to attend Institute of Culinary Education, and found a home at Chef’s Table Brooklyn Fare. When asked by former executive chef, César Ramírez, if he knew of other cooks looking for work, he instantly thought of Trinh, who was still back in Arizona. At a moment’s notice, Trinh sold his belongings and left his life in Arizona to move to Brooklyn and join Clonts. After Brooklyn Fare, the two went on to work together at the now closed, but much accoladed kaiseki restaurant Uchu on Eldridge Street, where Trinh eventually moved to the front of house and honed his skills in service, wine, sake and cocktails. It was at Uchu where Clonts earned his first Michelin star at age 26, making him the youngest American at the time to have such an accolade. In 2021, the duo opened Michelin-starred Sixty Three Clinton, known for its refined, yet playful affordable tasting menu.

Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren
Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren

2. This isn’t Sixty Three Clinton 2.0.

Sixty Three Clinton is known for its seven-course tasting menu format, now priced at $112, but that won’t be an option here at Cactus Wren. “Tasting menus are great. They’re wonderful for occasions, but they are a commitment financially and time wise. You get less of the neighborhood’s day to day diner. We want to be able to kind of take care of the community and create a place for it,” explains Trinh.

Clonts, too, is eager to have more flexibility with the à la carte menu. “With a tasting menu, you kinda have to play the hits. Everyone has to like everything, whereas with an à la carte menu, we can have more diversity in types of food and be more creative.”

The menu features indulgent plays on classics, all with a global influence. Don’t expect your typical wine bar fare of cheese and charcuterie. Trinh explains, “It’s as if you’re at a dinner party with all industry people, and you had a full kitchen that was stocked with all the tools and ingredients of our dreams. What would we end up making?” In this case, there’s lobster pot pie, a seven-layer-dip served with caviar, lots of raw bar selections, and pizza, too.

Lobster pot pie. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren
Lobster pot pie. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren

3. The food is seriously good, but it’s not serious.

At Cactus Wren there are no white tablecloths, stuffy service, or an overly formal vibe; it’s meant to be fun, and it shows in the menu. Their interpretation of a seafood tower is a rotating selection of cold and warm seafood bites, like a lobster escabeche with ancho chile and red pepper, a take on oysters Rockefeller, and baked cherrystone clam vongole.

Snacks and starters are familiar in flavor, but different from what you might normally expect. You’ll find the flavors of French onion soup in a savory bread, and that of a tarte tatin made with smoked eel and apples. There’s even an oyster po’ boy disguised as a Dutch baby pancake.

The pizza oven is one of the first things you’ll notice when you walk in, and the pies coming out of it get topped with Comté, honey, and black pepper, or chicken liver with onion soubise.

For heartier mains, there’s the lobster pot pie. “My favorite part of lobster is the broth that comes with it,” explains Clonts. “We were able to make the filling of the pie with those deep flavors and infuse it with a little extra.” A barbecued chicken is served with salsa rojo barbecue sauce and cornbread madeleines. And in lieu of the caviar handrolls for which Clonts became famous over at Uchu and Sixty Three Clinton, Cactus Wren’s caviar service arrives in the form of a seven-layer dip served with housemade flour tortillas.

Nostalgic classics, like a banana bread sticky toffee pudding, key lime cheesecake, and a cinnamon toast-infused sundae, round out the dessert menu.

Caviar service comes in the form of a seven-layer dip served with housemade flour tortillas. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren
Pizzas at Cactus Wren are topped with chicken liver and onions. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren

4. The wine is forward thinking.

Clonts and Trinh tapped Sixty Three Clinton’s longtime beverage director, Michael Tran, to build the wine list for Cactus Wren. “At 63 the menu leans more Old World,” says Tran. “It’s lots of Champagne and Burgundy. Here we wanted to do something different and shift the focus to younger producers and underexplored regions.” Expect to see pours from wineries from the California’s central coast, South Africa, Australia, and Portugal, many of which are also low intervention.

Another long time staffer, Sixty Three Clinton’s head bartender Nemanya Popovich, developed a cocktail program of refreshing, highly drinkable options like the Cactus Wren made with mezcal and ginger, the Creme Depêche Mode, a highball made with creme de pêche, and the Smoke Stack with scotch, ginger, honey and lemon.

Trinh’s partner handles floral arrangements for Cactus Wren. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren
Trinh’s partner handles floral arrangements for Cactus Wren. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren

5. The interior design was a collaborative process.

Clonts and Trinh are also hands on when it comes to designing their spaces. The two worked with a close friend of theirs, Dylan Mellinger, and local ceramicist, Nicole Pilar, to put the space together. The idea was for it to be filled with light, airy, feature neutral tones and have a welcoming feel. During the day, the large windows make it bright and there are nooks by the windows to take in a prime Lower East Side view. Pilar not only designed plates, but also the sconces and chandeliers found throughout the space.

Raw bar selections will rotate daily. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren
Barbecued chicken. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Cactus Wren

6. And they hope it’ll be your new favorite neighborhood spot.

Cactus Wren marks Clonts and Trinh’s third time working together in the Lower East Side, following Uchu and Sixty Three Clinton. And there’s a reason for staying close by.

“We knew we wanted our second concept to be on the L.E.S. because we live here,” explains Trinh. “It’s our favorite neighborhood. It’s great to be able to walk to work, but more so to grow in the community, grow with all the neighbors that have taken care of us for the last few years. It’s important to keep building where our homes are.”


Beginning, Feb.12, Cactus Wren will be open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 5:30 to 10 p.m., with weekend lunch service to follow.


Kyle Beechey is a New York-based freelance writer and dinner party enthusiast who lives on the Lower East Side. Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.