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

This sleek newcomer from chef Ned Baldwin carries forth the legacy for excellence that he and his team have built over a decade at Houseman: straightforward cooking, meticulous attention to sourcing (Baldwin catches his own fish from time to time), and satisfying flavors. Like Houseman, it’s also located a bit off the beaten path, in a stretch of East Williamsburg that’s also home to the Amant arts foundation, and the artistic influences leave quite the impression. If the triptych aquarium — an installation by artist Pierre Huyghe — is any indication, this is a restaurant that centers on seafood, and you’d do well to heed the signs by ordering the pil pil butterflied black seabass, grilled monkfish with ras el hanout and carrot amba, or grilled whole scallops with kasu butter plum. Whatever you do, do not forgo an order — or two — of the impeccable fries: Double-fried and served with a savory rouille, they’re some of the city’s best. P.S. Their greenery-filled rooftop patio, BarZoli, is now open, too.

Given chef Kevin Finch’s culinary pedigree — in Michelin-starred kitchens like Atelier Crenn and Maaemo — you might assume the food at Arthur, his new Greenpoint bistro in the former Fulgurances Laundromat, would have the same tweezer-friendly aesthetic. We’re happy to say it does not. What Arthur does possess is the finesse, elegance, and attention to detail that you’d come to expect from those restaurants, in a warm and inviting place fit for locals and destination diners alike. It’s easy enough to drop in for their signature brioche martini, plus a bowl of spicy peanuts laced with chile, lime, and Sichuan spices, paired with a lemony grilled leek skewer and an order of the housemade brioche with a side of creamy blue cheese. But you could also opt for something more substantial and, if you do, don’t overlook the chicken, which could be one of the best of its kind in recent memory: juicy cuts of Sasso chicken breast and wings paired with crisped dirty rice. Finch wastes no part of the bird — the thighs are fashioned into a mousse that he layers under the skin of each breast. In short, it’s worth the price, and then some.

With the exception of the excellent Dame and Lord’s, British fare isn’t relatively easy to come by in New York, and Dean’s, the newest collaboration between King and Jupiter’s Jess Shadbolt and Annie Shi, aims to change that — and that they do. The food hews toward tradition but it’s not a carbon copy of what you’d find from your local pub in the U.K. Crisp pork scratchings dusted with five spice and cumin crackle and shatter. A curried coronation salad omits the requisite chicken, but maintains the dish’ essence. An off-menu stargazy pie comes with a pair of fish eyes and a fish tail popping up above the buttery pastry that gives way to a cozy, creamy blend of mackerel, cod, hake, and potatoes underneath. Do not sleep on the cold roast beef, a take on a proper ploughman’s lunch, paired with horseradish cream, pickled walnuts, and an earthy Montgomery cheddar. Nor should you overlook crab with housemade crumpets. There’s plenty of Guinness to go around, but of course the wine list, overseen by Shi (who also owns Lei) is an ideal move, too.

This might be the year of the restaurant identity crisis, with diners (or mostly critics) questioning what qualifies as a pub or tavern (see the ensuing Dean’s discourse). But the truth is that no matter how you define what constitutes a tavern or a pub — or a restaurant — what matters most is how it makes you feel. And after a meal at this latest venture from restaurateur Juan Correa (Papa San) and Francisco Castillo, the former chef de cuisine of Llama San, you’ll likely leave feeling charmed by the seemingly simple, elegant cooking and warm hospitality. What struck us most during a recent visitwas the overriding sense of eclectic nostalgia: a playlist that hopped from Outkast to Moby, and dishes that skillfully channeled the late ’90s and early aughts. A few standouts: comforting grilled potato bread with cultured butter; refreshing celery salad with shaved frozen avocado; savory black lentils with squid and kabocha squash puree; creamy potato cappelletti; and perfectly crisp seasoned fries with a garlic aioli.

This SoHo spot from the same team behind Kiko takes the very best of what you love about wine bars, sake bars, and izakayas, and weaves it all together seamlessly for an ideal, easygoing place to share a multitude of small plates, and to pair them with some exceptionally curated wines, sakes, and highballs. Futomaki featuring Dungeness crab is both sweet and filling; Jimmy Nardellos offer a perfect savory counterpoint to white nectarines in a refreshing bonito broth; the ever-changing selection of fresh sashimi is thoughtful and delicately prepared; and the Zerbinatti melon parfait is an ideal way to end your meal (definitely don’t delay while that prized melon is still in season).

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. And for the full Mắm experience, finish things off with a glass of wine and some kem ngô ice cream from Lai Rai.

Next to the city’s oldest Chinese restaurant is one of the most exemplary, and the most recent recipient of a Beard honor for best new restaurant. What King and Dean’s co-owner Annie Shi has created is something truly special: a jewel box where the food is distinctly Chinese American, while the wines span the globe. Chef Patty Lee’s menu is not composed of “traditional” Chinese American classics, instead offering new favorites, like Lady Edison Jinhua ham with thinly sliced seasonal fruit; chilled celtuce with kombu jelly in a pool of bright red vinegar; and warm sesame shao bing with a cold pat of butter tucked inside. Lei is the kind of place where you could easily linger for a full meal. But it’s also one where you can stop in for a quick bite of salted mustard greens with green chickpeas and fresh rice cakes, paired with a glass of dry Jurançon, and an order of the mango shaved ice to finish.

What began as a pandemic-era pop-up in a backyard in Ozone Park now occupies two outposts in Brooklyn — one inside the Time Out Market in Dumbo and the latest in a sprawling 8,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar space in Bushwick where chef Ruben Santana’s Dominican Texas barbecue grabs the spotlight. At long communal tables, diners gather with trays filled with everything from Dominican tortas, arroz congrí, and mac and cheese to hearty pork ribs, sweet and spiced longaniza sausages, succulent brisket, and overflowing sandwiches stuffed with pulled pork, maduros, and fried cheese. Santana adopts central Texas barbecue traditions of cooking low and slow over a live fire fueled by white oak, and adds Dominican seasonings, marinades and techniques from his family’s kitchen to create a barbecue menu you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else. It’s places like Bark Barbecue that are redefining the city’s reputation for great barbecue in the best ways.

Walk-ins only. More info here.

New York City is rich in Korean fine dining temples and this eight-seat counter in Long Island City, Queens, from Danji chef Hooni Kim is one of the best. And that was also recently recognized at the James Beard Foundation Awards®, where Kim took home a medal for Best Chef: New York. At Meju, Kim returns to his tasting menu roots — he worked at Daniel and Masa, after all — but the way in which he does it is much like Meju itself: intimate, understated, deeply grounded, and above all, Kim’s interpretation, or story, of what Korean cooking is truly all about. The restaurant takes its name from the blocks of dried soybeans used in the wild fermentation of jangs, traditional Korean seasoning pastes, and each of the six courses spotlights a different type of jang, from doenjang and gochujang to ssamjang. Even the seemingly simplest dishes — like a presentation of kimchi and rice, an ode to Kim’s fermentation master in Korea — is sublime.

From the moment your first dish is served — a complimentary amuse-bouche of podi idly, with warming coconut chutney — you know instantly your meal at Kidilum is going to be fantastic. Indeed, what chef and partner Vinu Raveendran has created at Kidilum lives up to its name (Malayalam for “beyond awesome”), with every dish in ideal balance when it comes to the rich textures and flavors delivered. Take, for example, the showstopping iracchi pathiri, which is presented to you using a sculpture of tree branches; the fried rice cakes complement the satisfying beef pepper fry while a thin layer of glittering aspic adds yet another layer of depth. Or there’s the kaljani, a seemingly simple preparation of expertly cooked barramundi with an alleppey fish curry and raw mango that’ll have you wanting to lick the bowl clean. Cocktails are equally impressive, whether you opt for the Kaapi, a hybrid of an espresso martini and an Irish coffee with a touch of banana, or the spice of the zero-proof Chakotra, made with grapefruit, jalapeño brine, and chile. And don’t forget an order of the ilaneer payasam, which combines light-as-air coconut meringue with toasted coconut ice cream.

For more than a decade, Superiority Burger has been an integral part of the East Village, and specifically Alphabet City, for so many reasons, chief among them being time-honored classics like the burnt broccoli salad, eponymous Superiority burger, and the TFT — a pioneering precursor to the Filet O’Tofu from Mommy Pai’s. But we can’t not talk about the collard green sandwich, made with fluffy focaccia and slow-braised collard greens, studded with Cooper Sharp, or the daily specials, which chef-owner Brooks Headley changes up on a regular basis. And then there are the desserts from Darcy Spence: griddled malt cake, vegan tahini with Concord grape gelato (the flavors change up all the time), and so much more. In other words, you can always count on Superiority Burger to be original, creative, and deeply flavorful.

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.

In a city with so much incredible Italian fare, Ammazzacaffè has always stood out as a bit of a sleeper, but it’s about time more New Yorkers discover this neighborhood restaurant’s many charms, including its consistently pitch-perfect housemade pastas from veteran chef Gary Tackett, and its lovely outdoor backyard, ideal for the warmer weather. It’s the kind of place you can drop into anytime, whether it’s for one of the city’s best lunch deals ($25 for a two-course prix fixe); a cacio e pepe smash burger at the bar, with fries, of course; or an evening of live jazz and an epic chicken parm on Sunday nights. You can’t go wrong with whatever you order, but do know that the sunchoke salad, the reginette with pork shoulder ragù, and the cacio e pepe fusilli are particularly excellent.

The cuisine of Hangzhou shines at this first U.S. outpost of a popular contemporary chain of restaurants from China: Think hearty hong shao rou (braised pork belly), comforting green tea claypot chicken, savory ju ju bao (sizzling golden snapper cooked in a claypot), and silky scallion noodles. Everything is executed exceptionally well, and there’s so much variety on the menu that there’s truly something for everyone. While dinner with a crew is always a good idea here, it’s also a great spot for a solo weekday lunch, with set menus and rice bowls ranging in price from $17 to $23, and a weekday happy hour that includes orders of freshly steamed xiaolong bao.

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.

This wood-fired sequel from the same team behind The Noortwyck impresses with its sleek trappings, and creative interpretations of time-honored classics: Take the skewer, but fashion it with maitake mushrooms accented with horseradish, almonds, and pickled ramps; or a grilled bread inspired by your favorite pizzeria’s garlic knots, albeit a bit more sophisticated, accompanied by a tangy yogurt butter. And then there’s a coal baked potato with the addition of rich, smoked bone marrow, and a Waldorf salad beautifully woven with leaves of radicchio, and studded with blue cheese and medjool dates. Cocktails, both zero-proof and full strength, are equally creative, and desserts are not to be missed, especially when it comes to the sticky toffee pudding with smoked caramel.