The New York Restaurants We Loved in August

Happy 10 years, Resy!

My colleague Evan Stein and I were thrilled to dine at Mắm during Resy’s 10^th anniversary celebration there. The team put on such a fun, interactive, and delicious experience. Our favorite dishes were the snails and razor clams, but don’t overlook the chicken cartilage (which was so tasty), as well as the shrimp crackers. We were sans footwear during the meal (sitting cross-legged on a cushion will do that to you) and had to try the chicken feet and balut (fertilized quail), of course! To us, though, it was the quintessential New York night: buzzy sidewalk, exuberant service … a truly memorable meal.

— Margo Valiente, Regional Sales Manager, New York

I was so excited to snag…

… a Resy when Superiority Burger had just started taking reservations. This no-frills, diner-like spot in the East Village is fun and unique with really great vegetarian food — no one in my party was vegetarian and we were all obsessed with just about everything we ordered.

The No. 1 dish for all of us was the collard greens sandwich, and trust me, it’s incredible. The yuba-verde sandwich and roasted white sweet potato were awesome, too. Make sure to save room for dessert — we stopped ourselves from ordering everything on the menu but the specials (peanut butter pie and sour cherry coconut cream pie) were absolutely life-altering.

— Lindsey Block, Product Designer

The food and vibe were spot on…

… at Superiority Burger! The seasonal menu makes things so fresh and fun with every visit. Highlights were the house salad with roasted fennel in a carrot-ginger dressing (it was literally a whole head of Bibb lettuce!), the special of feta-spread focaccia with tomatoes and cucumbers, spicy lentils with charred cabbage and cornbread, and of course, their namesake Superiority burger. But the real showstoppers were the desserts: We ordered all three specials because we couldn’t leave one behind: coconut cream pie with sour cherries, griddled mochi cake with rice pudding and fresh seasonal fruit, and the peanut butter pie!

— Jessica DeGeorge, Restaurant Success Manager

As the first location of a chain from Hangzhou, China…

… Grandma’s Home totally surpassed my expectations. I highly recommend the soup dumplings, mapo tofu, braised pork belly with bao buns, and scallion noodles. But my favorite dish of the day was the sizzling beef, by far one of the spiciest dishes I’ve had in some time and it did not disappoint — it numbed my mouth in the best way possible.

Pro tip: They have a super fun selection of craft beer to choose from to curb said spiciness.

— Will Stern, Senior Product Partnerships and Business Development Manager

I like wine…

… However, when it comes to describing or remembering favorite bottles or taste profiles, I can’t properly communicate what I like. Thankfully, founder Grant Reynolds and the Parcelle team beautifully curate wines casual and expert drinkers alike will love and appreciate, and now, the physical backdrop and full-format menu bites to properly accompany them are right in the heart of Greenwich Village. Follow the menu and team’s leads on sips, try the different pasta, and get THE dessert: crispy cornbread with whipped cream.

— Hannah Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Marketing

Friday night Lower East Side dining…

… can generally sound a little intimidating to me, but Saigon Social nailed it. It’s buzzy but not sceney, and wasn’t hard to secure a last-minute reservation. The food was incredible and great for sharing, and it’s also a great spot for dining with gluten-free friends without compromise. We ordered far too much and everything was delicious, but our favorites were the bánh cuốn (steamed rice rolls) and the bún chả Hà Nội (vermicelli with pork in a fish sauce vinegar broth), washed down with a few Saigon Vespers to get the night going.

— Isabelle Andrews, Director of Technical Product

I’ll never stop raving about…

… Rolo’s: It’s become such a special place for me and my girlfriends for milestone celebrations. We trekked there during a summer thunderstorm and they kindly seated us at a corner booth when our reservation was for outdoors. We had an incredible meal featuring the Calabrian chile butter polenta bread to start (obviously), followed by the sweet corn fazzoletti (a dream), before finishing off with the steak and half chicken. It was the perfect Friday night meal to celebrate our best friend moving to London.

— Felicity Lin, Resy Benefit Management Manager

I highly recommend this wonderful restaurant…

Kashkaval Garden has a fantastic ambiance. The service was wonderful, attentive, yet non-intrusive. My favorite dish was the toasted halloumi — it was cooked perfectly and was absolutely delicious. The chicken skewer was incredible as well.

— Zack Calhoon, Executive Assistant

San Sabino is so fun!

My cocktail of choice was the Benny, a spicy margarita with prickly pear (which comes in an amazing cactus-shaped glass), and my friend had Scottie’s Martini (which my esteemed colleague Noëmie rightly described as “liquid pizza”). We started with the spicy tuna and stuffed mussels, followed by the stuffed farfalle, lobster triangoli, and steak Magazzino. You might think we’d be too full for dessert, but you’d be wrong: We capped off the night with the gelato Viennese. This was my second visit to San Sabino, and I felt the way I did after my first time dining there: eager to come back to try the dishes we didn’t order!

— Alex Johnson, Senior Marketing Manager

Go for the ambiance…

… stay for the food and hospitality: Café Carmellini is truly a one-of-a-kind, showstopper space with its perfect lighting, trees (!), and vaulted ceiling. We arrived a few minutes early and had a chance to stop at the bar for some cocktails, which felt like a true date night. We then enjoyed many plates, with the pea salad, the duck pasta, and chicken being the standouts. It’s the perfect spot for a double date or a special night out with club chairs that make you never want to leave.

And as a way to extend an already exceptional night, we’d made a post-dinner Resy at its next-door sister spot, The Portrait Bar, which will make you feel like you’ve been transported to a London-esque social club the moment you step in, thanks to its opulently decorated space and expert team of bartenders.

— Hannah Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Marketing

After wrapping up some work in the East Village around 5 p.m…

… I decided to try my walk-in luck at Penny and was shown to the last open seat at the counter. Solo dining has its perks! The food was incredible and my favorites were the tuna tartare and chilled corn soup with shrimp. For dessert, I tried the chocolate mousse with hazelnuts and it was a perfectly rich finish to the dinner.

The white brick, chrome wine chillers, and bright window light led me to believe I was at a sunny beach café back home on the Jersey Shore or dining in Ina Garten’s kitchen in the Hamptons. For a moment, I wondered whether the screened back window opened up to the ocean rather than a dark New York City back alleyway …

— Adrianna Harris, Restaurant Success Manager

I really enjoyed my night…

… at Sip & Guzzle. For this Resy, I dined in the upstairs “Guzzle” area, though I’ve also heard great things about “Sip.” The peach fizz cocktail was incredibly refreshing and the perfect drink to help deal with the New York heat in the summer. But in terms of food, the electric chicken is a must — I was initially taken aback when our waiter placed rubber gloves and a massive pair of scissors on the table, but ended up enjoying cutting up the crispy chicken and eating it by hand.

— Shane Gilligan, Senior Strategic Partnerships Analyst

This one was a real find…

… and I would definitely go to Yoon Haeundae Galbi again. I had the Korean fried chicken, the yellow tail, the spicy pork stew, beet tartare, some steamed dumplings, and the bulgogi. Everything was so good, but the bulgogi and fried chicken were exquisite. The waitstaff were wonderful and the vibe was really cool.

— Zack Calhoon, Executive Assistant

Loved the chill vibes at…

… Banter, which my friends and I hit up for a casual, healthy-ish weeknight dinner. Our top picks were the falafel bowl and Thai salad. Everything was so fresh and delicious, and since we had salads, we obviously had to throw in some fries, which were served with an excellent aioli (such a good rebrand from mayo, re: Real Housewife Heather Dubrow). Next time I go, I definitely need to try their brunch!

— Lindsey Block, Product Designer

I’ll wax lyrical about the dishes we ordered…

… at North Branch Inn, but first, know that chef Jake Eberle’s menu changes weekly to take advantage of the produce grown in the North Branch Inn’s own vegetable garden, and it’s all paired with the highest quality protein from local and far-flung suppliers.

The seared Faroe Islands salmon we ordered had the flattest, crispiest salmon skin I’ve ever crunched on in my life, and was served on a soft velvety rice, all dressed in a gorgeously light foam. Also, chef Jake manages to take a menu item like pasta ragù and turn it up to 11 — the plate had such a rich, deep meaty flavor and I savored every bite. The prix-fixe menu ended with a beautifully balanced bitter-yet-sweet chocolate torte and a trio of ice cream, the highlight being the tart rhubarb sorbet, which pulled off just the right level of face-tingling joy.

— Jolyon Russ, Software Engineer

This feels like a rude submission but…

… the Danny Bowien pop-up at Cha Kee (which is now no more) is one of my top five meals of 2024 so far. Everything was incredible: The cucumbers, the peanuts with rainbow sprinkles, the noodles, the rice, all of it — I would gladly go every single week if open. It was so worth it! To thank and celebrate the team there, I also dropped off some sponge cakes from Tonii’s at the suggestion of Deanna Ting, Resy’s very own New York editor.

— Hannah Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Marketing

Noëmie Carrant is Resy’s New York-based senior writer. Some of her other favorite meals this month took place at Le Veau d’Or and Wu’s Wonton King. Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.