The best restaurants in new York
Winter drags on. Snow puddles into slush on the slippery sidewalks of New York City. The nights are long and the outlook is dreary: cold cuts through the thickest of coats; then there is seasonal grumpiness and ongoing pandemic gloominess. It’s easy for spirits to become low.</p> <p>Enter Cadence, a quintessential East Village restaurant, offering soul food to warm and comfort our hearts and stomachs – that’s inspiringly, energizingly vegan; very helpful for all those new year good intentions. Cosy and invigorating in equal measure, it really is the dinner we need tonight.</p> <p>Cadence is executive chef Shenarri Freeman’s first restaurant, and it has the aura of a passion project; deeply personal and committed. The menu focuses on Southern food, rooted in Freeman’s Virginia upbringing as well as in her vegan values. Worried that the smoked grits with mushrooms, tomatoes, rosemary and crispy garlic won’t taste as good without the butter? Set your mind at rest. They absolutely will.</p> <p>There are plenty of Southern classics on the concise and focused menu; fried okra served with jerk sauce, red potato salad, zingy with pickles and dill, as well as plenty of creative twists; a take on fried chicken made with oyster mushrooms wodged inside a chewy pretzel roll, a “crab” cake of chickpeas and hearts of palm, perfect for dragging through a smoky chipotle aioli slaw.</p> <p>The narrow dining room, which the <em>New York Times</em> observed was “as wide as a bowling lane,” is smart but not showy. Its diminutive size makes it more of a date night or dinner-with-a-friend destination than a big crowd-gathering spot, although the outdoor tables are perfect for small groups. The vibe is distinctly come-as-you-are. The atmosphere, friendly. Pull up one of only twelve dusky pink stools to the slim marble counter, where candlelight illuminates warm exposed brick, dark paint and copper panels. Order a glass from the wine list drawn from black-owned wineries. Watch greedily as black eyed pea pancake batter swirls in cast iron, and vegan butter melts into corn bread in scented distance from your seat. Remember to save some room for the hot berry cobbler. Forget the winter for tonight.</p> <p>Reviewed by Katherine Knowles. </p> <p> </p>
What can you do? You’re an incurable romantic when it comes to New York. Your Manhattan is black and white. The Chrysler Building is front and centre of your skyline, the full moon speared on its silver spire like a cocktail onion ready for a Martini. Which reminds you, you haven’t had a really great, really cold Martini in far too long. It reminds you that you should go uptown to The Carlyle. “It is the heart, always, that sees before the head,” wrote Thomas Carlyle, for whom the hotel is named. And when it comes to the newly re-vamped restaurant, he’s absolutely right. Loving Dowling’s happens as soon as you step into the eclectic, 1940’s-inspired dining room where manners are old-school and ties are encouraged. It’s first and foremost about heart, not reason – though, there are also good reasons. There’s Steak Diane, for heaven’ sake. Wheeled out into the bustling room on a trolley, to be flambéed table-side, to oohs and ahs from fellow diners as the air fills with the scent of Cognac. So what if your partner’s scallops are getting slightly chilly while your steak is still cooking? Why focus on timing when you can sink into dreaming? Have another glass of Champagne. Look around. The room has undergone an upgrade, but not an erasure of 90 years of history. Who’s been here before you? Starlets in mink and diamonds and the Sugar Daddies who bought them shrimp cocktail. Artists and writers, captains of industry, celebrities and royals, all tucking into oysters, just as you have, all part of a timeless moment of conversation, conviviality, and hospitality. A collage of paintings, photos and graphics catches your attention. Can you spot the five never-before-seen works by Ludwig Bemelman whose famous murals adorn the near-by bar? Or did another piece of table-side theatre distract you; a waiter expertly filleting a Dover Sole, swathed in a buttery sauce? The menu is orchestrated by chef Sylvain Delpique, formerly the executive chef of the now shuttered 21 Club (note to fans, he brough the chicken <i>paillard</i> with him). It celebrates a by-gone era of American dining, which feels absolutely right in this storied space. There’s a wedge salad – blue cheese, bacon, tomato, just as it should be. Shrimp cocktail with brandy cocktail sauce. Steak tartare. <i>Foie gras</i> terrine. One modern addition that more than holds its own? Waffle fries, perfectly suited to dipping into a silver jug of warm Bearnaise. Reviewed by Katherine Knowles
Dinner at Via Carota is always worth the wait. To sip a cold Negroni in the warm brass, wood and marble interior, or under the string lights out on the sidewalk offers deep contentment – and the West Village’s finest people watching. Unfurl the Tuscan-inspired menu from the back of the reclaimed chapel chair and indulge in happy debate while chewing on plump Castelvetrano olives: Obviously, we want to start with the grilled artichokes and aioli, and the chicken liver crostini. Do we also need the deep-fried olives, coated in pork and breadcrumbs like briny Scotch Eggs? Yes, we do. Owned by Jody Williams, the chef and founder of Buvette – so quintessentially French that it has an outpost in Paris, and Rita Sodi, the chef and founder of I Sodi – a slim slip of pasta perfection, just down the street, Via Carota is named after Sodi’s family villa, where the couple spent numerous happy summers “picking lemons from the garden and cooking on a wood stove,” as Williams recalled when the restaurant opened in 2014. As the years have gone by, the kitchen has only grown in confidence; sticking to a core menu of favourites and an ever-changing seasonal selection of verdure and pastas. Expect a dinner of simple and heartfelt pleasures – a salad, perfectly salted, dressed and arranged leaf by leaf in a tower of vivid green, a fat curl of octopus in a pool of pesto, creamy-comforting tonnarelli cacio pepe, hand-chopped steak svizzerina, caramelized-crisp without, meltingly soft within. It’s a menu that’s garnered Williams and Sodi a loyal and dedicated following, a James Beard Award and multiple accolades from publications like the New Yorker and the Times. The result? Via Carota is exactly as busy as it deserves to be – i.e. very. With most tables assigned to walk-in customers, the good news is, if you put your name on the list at the door, you’ll get in eventually – it might just take a while. The solution? Bar Pisellino, which the couple opened across the road in 2019, and, with the addition of extra pandemic-sanctioned outdoor seating, has forged its own identity as far more than a Via Carota waiting room – a bustling all-day slice of Italian cafe culture. With its glamorous marble bar, topped with silver punchbowls filled with iced bottles of prosecco, it’s the ideal place to while away an hour with an amaro or cocktail. From early morning espresso to lunchtime panini, mid-afternoon cream-filled bomboloni and evening bar snacks, every detail is pitch-perfect. A perfect night: • Get to Grove street early and put your name on the list at Via Carota. • Relax with a drink at Bar Pisellino, then head back over the street when your table comes up for dinner. • End the evening at local favourite Big Gay Ice Cream for a soft-serve if you still have room for something sweet – the Salty Pimp (caramel injected, salted and chocolate topped) comes highly recommended. Reviewed by Katherine Knowles in September 2021
It’s Friday evening in Manhattan and you want to be at Shukette. Perched up at the curved counter, where everyone and everything looks extra gorgeous in the soft glow of candy-stripe globe lamps. The room is buzzing with laughter and chatter, with small plates and big flavors arrayed before you. It feels like New York is back. And you are back in the middle of it. In the open kitchen, chefs are hard at work frying puffy <i>laffa</i> bread (part of a dedicated bread programme) in cast iron skillets, ready to be smeared through creamy, tahini-y humus. Saucers are swirled with preserved lemon <i>labneh</i>, topped with tuna meatballs. Hot fries clatter as they are shaken with shawarma spices. Olives are scattered over crispy skate, almonds over jewelled rice. A huge grill anchors the kitchen, bringing char and smoke to <i>joojeh</i> chicken, marinated in saffron yogurt, whole fish cooked (and presented) in a cage alongside herby pistou, and kebabs are served with hot whole wheat <i>pitas</i>. The ever-changing, highly seasonal menu means there is always a surprise to look forward to. Last week, fried squash blossoms. This week, beet <i>moutabal</i>, the vivid pink scattered with dramatic black nigella seeds. Give in to seize-the-day (over) ordering. Get the roasted Delicata squash with hot honey and mint, AND the chicory with grapes and spiced pumpkin seeds, now, while you can. Each plate of bold, happy food sings with herbs and citrus, pops with spice and salt. For every hot there’s a cool, for every creamy, there’s a crunchy. Chef and partner Ayesha Nurdjaja stands at the far end of the kitchen, overseeing the menu that she spent much of lockdown imagining, as the pandemic delayed Shukette’s opening. Fans of Shuka will recognize a strong connection between the two restaurants, though, down in Soho, Nurdjaja was operating out of a basement and Shukette, open and vivid in every sense, is the exact opposite of a basement. Finish your meal with a tahini soft-serve oat milk ice cream, with candied (seasonal) butternut, hazelnuts and a gentle snow of halva floss. And don’t miss the effervescent <i>gazoz</i> – spritzes made with seasonal fruit and herb infusions and sparkling wine – though you really can’t miss them, as they’re gorgeously garnished with a dramatic bouquet of herbs. Reviewed by Katherine Knowles
David Chang’s influence on New York City›s dining scene and beyond has been huge: anything new or re- imagined from his growing stab- le of restaurants always merits attention. With the lease on the original Ssäm Bar coming to an end, Chang has decided to re-locate the restaurant from its East Villa- ge home of fifteen years to the South Street Seaport, the historic waterfront district spa- ce that was previously home to Wayõ cock- tail bar. Head Chef Eunjo Park’s New York Kore- an menu has fire-cracking hits all over it, kicking off with chilli jam popcorn shrimp, the gochujang-based sauce inspired by dak kang jung, sweet and crisp nuggets of shrimp replacing chicken, as a nod to this new seaport location. Park’s signature dishes include her kimbap (Korean sushi rolls), like extremely spicy scallop with crispy tempura & a pick- led onion-shiso kimbap. The famous ssäm makes an appearance via versions that include a sizzling skirt steak, galbi-marina- ted and sliced and served with watercress, onions, garlic and ssämjang. Rice cakes with cacio e pepe, black truffle and par- mesan; spicy pork sausage ragù with Chine- se broccoli and Sichuan peppercorn – it’s all a riotous progression of lip-tingling fla- vours, full of verve. The wine list is a vinous playground, with a strong grower Champagne list and savvy picks of Riesling from Klaus-Peter Keller in Rheinhessen and Sauvignon Blanc from Shaw + Smith in Australia’s Adelaide Hills.
There’s no shortage of noodles in New York City. Whether you’re looking for hot, cold, brothy, saucy, spicy or soothing there’s a noodle for every craving – and every price point. But if you had your heart set on white soba, until recently, even in New York, you were out of luck. Enter Sarashina Horii, a stylish and highly-specific outpost on West 20th, where luminous modern wood and tasteful grey banquettes are the backdrop to a kitchen legacy that dates back to 1789. “We chose New York for our first location outside Japan because it is a melting pot of people from around the world,” says owner (and ninth generation soba maker) Yoshinori Horii. “Also, we’re proud to say we were founded in the same year that Washington became President!” Though the details of the menu have changed a little since then, its heart and focus remains the same; white soba noodles, made 100% from the core of the buckwheat seed. White soba noodles are something of a rarity, so much so, that Sarashina Horii stakes claim to being the first and only maker in the U.S.. Long lines form daily outside the Tokyo restaurant, as people wait to experience their delicious legacy of craftsmanship at work. “You have to pay attention to the humidity, the temperature of the water as well as the temperature of the room,” says chef Tsuyoshi Hori, who made his first noodle as a child in the kitchen of his family’s restaurant before beginning training at Sarashina Horii. “Other important factors include time of the process and pressure when kneading - too long, the soba will dry out and lose its flavor and aroma. Too much pressure, and the buckwheat will fall apart and become too hard.” The result? A finely textured noodle with a sweet gentle flavor much admired by Shoguns, the Japanese Imperial Household and even the late, great Anthony Bourdain, who featured the original restaurant on No Reservations. Though the menu also features an array of dishes from shatteringly crisp tempura, to silky miso black cod and generously stuffed maki rolls, everyone’s here for the soba. White soba, of course, served cold and hot, but also Mori soba, made with 80% buckwheat and 20% wheat flour for body and chew. Whichever soba you select, the restaurant’s signature warm duck and leek noodles, served in a deeply layered broth, will absolutely hit the spot on a chilly Fall night. Reviewed by Katherine Knowles