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

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.

If Ha’s Snack Bar was the starter, consider this to be the main course. Much bigger than its predecessor, Bistrot Ha builds on the legacy of thrilling Vietnamese French cuisine that Anthony Ha and Sadie Mae Burns have established as the duo behind globe-trotting pop-up, Ha’s Đặc Biệt. It takes its cues, lovingly and fittingly, from Paris (especially the iconic Bistrot Paul Bert) but the couple have made it uniquely their own. Leeks vinaigrette gets topped with Maggi and marinated mussels. Tomato fried rice is dotted with snails. Vol-au-vent is filled with curried lobster and sweetbreads. Beef hearts get a char-siu treatment. Lush slices of cold pork belly are the perfect vessel for bundles of crisp watercress. Whatever you do, don’t sleep on the desserts, especially if you see the ice cream bombe: It’s their version of a baked Alaska, made with layers of coffee caramel, coconut pandan, and black sesame ice cream enveloped in meringue — and it’s a pitch-perfect way to end your evening.

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.

If you love seafood, you’re in very good company at this sleek spot that sits near the base of the Williamsburg Bridge. What was briefly known as listening bar and Japanese sushi counter Hear and There is now Boro Brine, helmed by chef Mark Nobello, an alumnus of Atoboy, Tadhana, and O Ya, whose previous stints are cleverly reflected in the menu here. Smoked eel broth, enriched by confit duck and runner beans, surrounds a generously plated bowl of steamers. The chef’s take on a Filet-o-Fish is playful, and delicious. And pot pie is served piping hot with chunks of lobster, Kurobuta sausage, and clams. And that’s just the à la carte menu. On Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, the restaurant makes full use of its elegant back room and former listening bar, centered around an open kitchen and U-shaped chef’s counter, to serve a seven-course tasting menu ($98) that surprises and delights, without breaking the bank. Think scallops with coconut snow, dotted with shio kombu oil, or kinmedai with yuzu kosho and crab from Busan. We’d also be remiss not to mention the cocktails or the wine list overseen by Omar Bautista (formerly of ZZ’s, Club Torrisi, and Crown Shy); you’ll find everything from a bright tomato martini to deep-cut on the bottle selection.

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.

Even if there weren’t a certain saintly holiday approaching later this month, The Dead Rabbit should be on your radar. It’s 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.

At its heart, Leland is a neighborhood restaurant that just so happens to serve some of the city’s most thoughtfully prepared dishes. The menu, mostly Mediterranean in its foundation but also bearing a few nods to the partners’ Chinese and Filipino heritages, is comforting and inviting: fluffy slices of focaccia; unctuous smoked pollock fritters dipped in housemade tzatziki; comforting bowls of chicken jook porridge; and a savory whole fried black sea bass paired with fennel salad and Fresno chiles. Brunch brings forth sourdough cinnammon buns, made on the premises, and tortang talong (charred eggplant with eggs). The food is indeed special, but perhaps what makes Leland truly stand out is its commitment to serving the local community, and being a gathering place for New Yorkers far and wide, whether with their weekly Wednesday afternoon mahjong gatherings or frequent butchery classes where they demonstrate their nose-to-tail (or fin) approach to cooking.

There is no dearth of excellent pizza in New York, and Il Leone is the latest entrant to uphold that great city tradition, taking over the space that previously was Bar Vinazo. Ben Wexler-Waite’s Neapolitan-style pies are seemingly simple but they yield flavors and tastes that are far more complex than they let on. Yes, you’re likely to encounter its quickly canonical lobster pizza when you go, but do consider other dishes on the menu, including a stellar, tender, and downright juicy polpette, expertly pan-fried baby artichokes, as well as their premium margherita del leone and seasonal white pie, currently made with a mix of locally foraged mushrooms.

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.

New Yorkers are blessed with so many excellent flour tortillas across the city right now, including optimal examples from Corima and their Brooklyn outpost, Vato, plus Yellow Rose and Los Burritos Juárez. One of the city’s best, however, can now be found in Greenpoint at the first brick-and-mortar location of Border Town, from chef Jorge Aguilar. Since 2020, Aguilar has built a loyal following for his tortillas, hosting pop-ups throughout the city. His Sonoran-style flour tortillas are made with flour shipped directly from Sonora, bits of buttery pork lard, salt, and water, and they’re the perfect canvas for everything from frijoles and queso and chicharron and pickled onions to carne con chile and mushroom al pastor. At the moment, Border Town is only open for dinner service, but they’ve got plans to open for breakfast in the near future, too. We can’t wait.

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.

This coffee/tea shop by day transforms into a Korean wine bar by night, led by a talented team that delivers a variety of unique experiences you likely won’t find elsewhere. While you could always walk in for a quick cup of coffee or tea, it’s best to book one of Tera’s coffee or tea omakase experiences at the bar, limited to just eight guests at a time, and showcasing a specially curated selection of coffees and teas paired with seasonal financiers from pastry chef Janice Sung (formerly of Figure Eight). At nighttime, they offer a menu of wines and Korean sool paired with anju that ranges from crisp perilla jeon and a grilled kimchi chicken hot dog to abalone jang bap and potato chips with a yuzu-avocado dip. Pro tip: They also have a private tatami room in the back, where you and friends can sit in a serene space, enjoying tea, coffee, wine, and more.

As we move into 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.