The Resy Hit List: Where In New York You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

The old Minca Ramen space in Alphabet City is now home to chef Hiroki Odo’s latest endeavor, bringing the best of kaiseki cuisine — precision and creativity — together with the best of izakayas — bold flavors and a lack of pretense. All said and done, it’s a delight. You can tell the level of craft and care that Odo and his team put into every small dish on the menu, which is categorized by the various cooking styles and preparations that define kaiseki. Simmered tofu in a katsuo broth is topped with generous portions of creamy uni from Hokkaido. Tender pieces of fried chicken crackle with a crust made from rice crackers, paired with a refreshing dill-infused mayonnaise. An unassuming starter of, of all things, cream cheese, takes on another dimension thanks to white miso and wasabi. Fusing these Japanese dining styles together so seamlessly is no easy feat, but Odo manages to do it, and does it so well, we can’t wait to go back to try more.

If there is such a thing as a near-perfect bistro in New York, Bar Bête might just be it. The Carroll Gardens spot is just cozy enough, and its kitchen consistently delivers some of the best French Canadian fare you can find south of the U.S.-Canada border. It’s a perennial favorite for pitch-perfect food and drink (especially the wine), but especially so when you want nothing more than an order of their chicken liver parfait, leek vinaigrette, tuna toast, and duck fat potatoes with a golden aioli. Oh, and definitely don’t forego a generous slice of the yellow cake, where the ratio of cake to salted dark chocolate frosting is nearly equal.

Given New Yorkers’ enduring obsession with baked goods and hype bakeries, we’d be remiss not to remind you about one of the city’s loveliest patisseries — the gallery-like Lysée from acclaimed pastry chef Eunji Lee. Here, French technique melds beautifully with Korean ingredients and New York tastes and, best of all, you can make a reservation to enjoy it all. Lysée offers everything from weekend brunch and the ability to choose your sweets à la carte to a signature menu and a new weekly tasting menu that’s only offered on Thursday nights for 16 lucky guests. Greatest hits here include the trompe l’oeil corn dessert and the exquisitely layered kouign amann. If you pay a visit, do know you can’t go wrong with whatever you order, but the shortbread cookies, signature lysée mousse cake, and the V.I.C. (that’s very important chocolate cake, to you) are particularly special, and important. Pro tip: Purchase a box (or two) of the K.A. Rusk to take home with you — you won’t regret it.

Here’s a willful departure from most of the city’s other Malaysian restaurants: a deeply personal effort from the same family behind Sunset Park’s critically acclaimed Hainan Chicken House. While you will find a stellar Hainanese poached chicken on the menu, the rest of the bill of fare isn’t afraid to play fast and loose with Malaysian standards. Rendang made with oxtails displays Caribbean influences. Flaky roti paratha sits atop a bed of red lentil dahl. Ravioli gets stuffed with lime leaf ricotta, nestled in a plate of brodo. You get the picture. All of it is the result of chef and owner Chris Low, who dreamt up these dishes while slowly assuming more of a prominent role in his father’s chicken restaurant. Kelang itself is a true family affair, with the entire Low family pitching in to make it a reality, and it’s a difference you can taste.

Rejoice! Although the name suggests otherwise, S&P Lunch is now open for (early) dinner — at least until 8 p.m. — on the daily. And while you can (and probably should) get an order of their famed tuna melt or chopped olives and cream cheese sandwiches, you should know that they’ve got dinner specials that are not to be missed, too. We’re talking a towering shrimp cocktail sandwich; latke-crusted mozzarella sticks (aka “latkarella sticks”); and an aptly named “big burger,” just to name a few. As always, S&P delivers when it comes to serving deeply satisfying comfort fare, and we can think of nothing sweeter than pulling up to the counter and grabbing a seat, whether it’s 8 a.m. or 6 p.m.

Walk-ins only.

Chefs and owners Jerald and Nhung Dao Head continue to serve some of the most heartfelt Vietnamese cooking in the city, and we can’t think of a better way to spend a spring day (or night) than gathered with friends, sharing everything on the menu. Their bún dau mam tôm is one of the city’s essential dishes: a bountiful platter of grilled pork intestines, housemade blood sausage, sticky rice sausage, and tofu, along with fresh herbs and rice vermicelli, all to be dipped in a pungent fermented shrimp paste. (They also have an entirely vegan version.) Whatever you do, don’t skip the housemade tofu. You also don’t want to miss out on their newest endeavor, Phê, located on the same block, with Vietnamese coffee service and bánh mì, both classic and deconstructed. It’s in soft opening now, but do pay attention to when they open more fully. And for the full Mắm experience, finish things off with a glass of wine and some kem ngô ice cream from Lai Rai.

Haenyeo chef-owner Jenny Kwak’s brilliance is still perfectly captured in one signature dish: the cheesy, melty, ddukboki fundido, a mainstay on the menu since the restaurant first opened in 2018. It’s a beautiful and utterly delicious mashup of Mexican and Korean flavors and culinary traditions: crisp chorizo and melty Oaxacan cheese, chewy Korean rice cakes, and sweet, spicy gochujang and gochugaru. The rest of the menu at Haenyeo is equally stellar, with a variety of both traditional and not-so-traditional Korean dishes that celebrate Korean homestyle cooking. It’s the kind of place that invites you to come back again and again, whether you’re there to celebrate something special or simply just grabbing dinner in the neighborhood. Pro tip: Don’t sleep on the sugar-dusted beignets if you know what’s good for you.

Like many restaurants around town, Balera’s cuisine is “coastal Italian” but here it’s executed with both precision and well, fun, that somehow — magically — gives more of a homestyle feel. Take, for example, the fritto misto, with its exceptionally light, airy batter, from requisite shrimp and calamari to thin slices of red onion and sage leaves, as well as juicy chunks of pineapple. The montanarina, a fried disc of pizza dough, is a perfect canvas for bright tomato sauce, basil, and cheese. The cappelletti alle 3P is expertly crafted, with a creamy Parmigiano Reggiano sauce that complements the rich meat filling inside. Then, of course, there’s the pizza. Balera’s Roman-style pizzas, rolled out by using a mattarello as opposed to being stretched out by hand, are a standout, thanks to their thin, almost croissant-like texture — making it that much easier to indulge in more than a few slices.

There’s so much to love about this Brooklyn charmer — now celebrating its ninth year in business — that it’s difficult to know where to start. There’s the signature hot chicken Milanese, served simply with gem lettuce and ranch dressing, and fried to crisp perfection. There’s the silky pappardelle, accented with shishito peppers and ham hocks, that’s filling and comforting, but singular, too. There’s the lovely backyard that, in warmer months, is one of the most idyllic in the city. There’s the Monday through Thursday happy hour with $15 pastas ($10 for kiddos), and $10 Negronis and glasses of house wine. And then of course, there’s the wine list, arguably one of the city’s best, both in terms of its depth and value, thanks to owner James O’Brien. Where else will you find deep cuts of Burgundy priced for under $100? In short, there’s so much to love about Popina, and you owe it to yourself to pay a visit. Pro tip: There are no corkage fees on Wednesdays, too.

Stars is assuredly a wine bar, and it punctuates that in a number of ways, from the diminutive size — just 12 seats — to a walk-ins-only policy, a compact list of snacks, and an outsize list of excellent wines. But Stars also isn’t just any wine bar; it’s a wine bar from the team behind Claud and Penny, and like its predecessors, Stars knows how to deliver exactly what you want. On any given night that might mean creamy deviled eggs topped with delicate star-shaped pommes souffles, complemented by a crisp Loire chenin blanc. Or a rustic-presenting mix of marinated vegetables and chorizo, to accompany a bit of Beaujolais. Whether you opt for a quick drink or a longer interlude, you’ll never leave disappointed.

Walk-ins only.

The Dead Rabbit is one of the city’s most beloved bars, precisely because there’s no pretense: just expertly crafted drinks, and warm Irish hospitality. What also makes the Rabbit so special is the fact that you can just as easily grab an Irish coffee and a full Irish breakfast spread (served all day, by the way) in the Tap Room as you can escape to the Parlor Room for an intimate cocktail experience that draws on influences from Ireland and the world over. (We’re partial to the gimlet-inspired Bird’s Eye View, and the Masa Masa, a Mexican-influenced take on the classic brandy Daisy.) While the drinks are the biggest draw here, don’t sleep on the spice bag chips or the dry-aged burger with Irish cheddar. Pro tip: Do consider stopping in for brunch, when they also serve a vegetarian version of a classic Irish breakfast, plus corned beef hash eggs benedict, and boxty, potato bread pancakes topped with whipped cream and golden syrup.

Roast chicken is seeing its stock rise once again, but allow us to direct your attention to yet another exceptional way to enjoy our favorite fowl: poached Hainanese chicken rice. Seemingly simple in its presentation, yet complex in its depth of flavors and textures, it’s got everything you could want: delicately poached chicken, comforting scoops of gingery rice that’s been cooked in chicken broth, a cup of hot broth with bits of daikon, and some slices of cucumber for good measure. It’s a complete and completely satisfying meal, and it’s arguable that no one else in the city does it as well as Uncle Ray’s. Here, the chicken is as smooth and silky as they come, and the rice, boosted by the broth, is the perfect foil for it. Sipping on the broth in between bites makes the experience even better. And so is ordering from the rest of the menu, which includes an excellent roasted Hainanese chicken, comforting claypot seafood porridge, and sweet-salty char siu.

Walk-ins only.

Cove marks the evolution of chef Flynn McGarry’s (Gem, Gem Wine) fine-dining roots. That means his precision is balanced with whimsy, a melding of California cuisine with Northeast ingredients (many of which come from McGarry’s ownm Long Island farm) and a touch of Scandinavian influences, resulting in some of the most creative dishes you’ll find in the city today. There’s no better example of this than his take on schnitzel: It evokes the airy and crunchy layers of a perfectly fried tonkatsu, albeit composed entirely of breaded cabbage leaves stuffed with rye bread and maitake, accompanied by a tart quince mustard, hazelnuts roasted in butter, and a generous helping of cabbage salad. That same attention to care and detail extends to everything, from housemade non-alcoholic cocktails to a massive wine list curated by Paris McGarry Gil (Flynn’s older sister), and from the handsome strawberry blonde wood interiors to the sauna-esque waiting room — complete with a heating lamp — that shelters you from the breeze outside.

Manhattan Chinatown remains a treasure trove of restaurants, both bustling and vibrant, and often with expansive menus. And BYOB stalwart Peking Duck House, in business since 1978, is still one of the city’s best Chinese spots. As the name suggests, their signature Peking duck, served tableside, is not to be missed; it is so exceptionally well roasted, with crisp skin and juicy meat, and equally enjoyed on its own or with fluffy white bao. But Peking Duck House also excels in lesser-seen specialties like braised sea cucumber with shrimp roe, shredded pork with salted cabbage, beans, and yuba, scallops with Mmàlá seasoning, and Peking-style lamb chops. While you could dine there easily by yourself or with another, we always feel like this place is best savored in the company of loved ones, with bottles of wine (of your choosing) competing for space on the lazy Susan with a spread of dishes.

The city’s first food truck specializing in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine now has a permanent home, after serving their delicious injera, tibs, shiro, misir, and gomen across the boroughs, from a commissary in Long Island City to an outpost on Governors Island for nearly a decade. Now, in a cozy, elegant space on Skillman Avenue, you’ll find all your favorite dishes, plus even more: creative cocktails made with hibiscus, cardamom, and cucumber; smoky berbere spiced prawns; and a standout version of doro wot, Ethiopia’s beloved chicken stew that gets slow braised for hours on end. Whatever you do, come hungry, and do order yourself plenty of injera — deeply fermented and bouncy — to pair with nearly everything on the menu.

As we move into a somewhat still chilly spring after a particularly brutal winter, there’s no better balm than a bubbling cauldron of soup or stew, and Ariari more than delivers on this front — and many others. The Busan-focused menu includes your choice of spicy fish stew with chewy sujebi or hap-cheon pork soup, both of which are deeply restorative and filling. To round it all out, they’ve got everything from fresh mak-hwe (thinly sliced fish) and DIY gimbap to their signature, supremely savory dolsot al-bap, a hot stone bibimbap topped with flying fish roe, shellfish paste, and sea urchin cream. Do give the new crab bibim-myeon noodles, tossed with shrimp, baby octopus, tofu, and vegetables, a try, too. You’ll be sure to leave feeling warm and satisfied.