Dawn Davis’s gastronomic guide to New York

This article is part of a guide to New York from FT Globetrotter

A few of us in the office were talking recently and agreed that sometimes, when entertaining, you want to go overboard, show off, be a little extra. In many ways that describes what dining in New York City feels like at the moment. Some new restaurants feel particularly lavish, as if they’re putting on a show. It’s the vibe I’ve been drawn to this year when I’m not craving a visit to a neighbourhood favourite that screams “comfortable, chic and delicious”. When it comes to the former, the exquisitely performative, I’ve been using a thoughtfully composed tasting menu as an excuse to meet friends, albeit ones my husband and I are comfortable spending a good three hours with because, let’s face it, tasting menus can feel endless at times.

Below I’ve shared a few of my current favourite restaurants, from the upscale and theatrical to cosy neighbourhood places — and where to grab a quick bite on the fly.

Comfortable, chic and mouth-watering 

With the city’s reopening post-pandemic has come the return of all of its cultural markers, from art exhibitions exciting museum-goers to stellar productions on and off Broadway — which means, of course, that friends from out of town are also returning to take advantage. If I want a night where I can really showcase the city by going to the theatre followed by a dinner (one where I can actually hear what my friends are saying in an elegant room), I head to The Noortwyck on Bleecker Street and 7th Avenue South. With Eleven Madison Park alums in the kitchen and overseeing the wine list, it always satisfies.

I tend to order the fluke crudo, the kale salad (to which I recommend requesting extra Gouda) and the striped bass or the pasta, which last time I visited was bucatini with crab ’ndjua, though the menu changes seasonally. During my damp January, I discovered their “Shift Drink”, a mocktail made with a non-alcoholic spirit called Riverine (composed of 14 botanicals), grapefruit, spiced honey and ginger beer. It’s fantastic. Folks love their brunch too, especially their warm cinnamon rolls, made with brioche dough and vanilla mascarpone frosting.

For terrific food and an effortlessly fun feel, I head to Hav & Mar, the latest venture from chef Marcus Samuelsson, in the far reaches of Chelsea. I have watched the menu evolve since it opened in November, and think this women-led kitchen, helmed by Rose Noël, has hit its stride. I was already a fan of their She Crab Soup, a dish that’s readily available in South Carolina but harder to find here, but the last time I was there, I had two pasta dishes that took me to another dimension. One, Umi’s Udon, influenced by the flavours of executive chef Fariyal Abdullahi’s Ethiopian upbringing, uses shiro (an Ethiopian chickpea stew) and tomato sauce to form a sauce for udon that is topped with an injera (flatbread) crumble. The other is their Havatelli, a cavatelli pasta with crab, shrimp, and uni butter. I’m also a fan of their Turaco cocktail, made with tequila reposado, desert lime, toasted avocado pit, bergamot, and berbere spices. (I love that the pits from avocados are used give this drink added depth).

What makes Hav & Mar special besides the food is the way it makes you feel. I thrum with the sensation that I don’t know who I might run into. One day I spotted the artist Theaster Gates, who was in town for his show at the New Museum, the next time it was photographer Accra Shepp — I love his photographs printed on tobacco leaves from his Folium Pictum series. The time before that, I saw a friend whose son attended pre-school with mine. Delicious cocktails, globally inspired food and surprise encounters? For me, that’s a perfect NYC night out.

The theatrical 

I love that two black chefs opened high-profile restaurants recently: Marcus Samuelsson being one, and Kwame Onwuachi the other. His restaurant, Tatiana, at the Lincoln Center, leans towards the more theatrical, which makes sense, given its location. Between sipping cocktails and eating his globally inspired menu, with influences from the Caribbean, west Africa and, more locally, the Italian and Chinese food he ate growing up in the Bronx, you gaze out at the august architecture of the plaza. I had to stop socialising, and devouring the short-rib pastrami suya, to enjoy a moment of gratitude that I live in such a diverse and culturally rich city.

Ramping up the theatricality even more is Torrisi, a sexy room in the landmark Puck Building in Nolita. When you want to feel good about not moving out of the city during the pandemic, this is the place. Though it’s tough to get a reservation, you can usually find somewhere to lean at the bar. Perfectly lit, beautifully designed, with the waiters wearing uniforms that belong to another era, it’s an edited ’90s fever dream. There is something to love in every section of the menu, though the octopus nha trang, a mash-up inspired by the Chinatown-meets-Little-Italy theme undergirding the offering, is a standout. And I’m obsessed with their charred clam boule — you can see the doughy pillows waiting to be baked as you enter the dining room.

The most theatrical, however, are the tasting menus where each ingredient has been thought through, agonised over. I recently loved the 10-dish tasting menu at Atomix, an upscale Korean restaurant in the NoMad neighbourhood of Manhattan. It started with horse mackerel paired with monkfish liver and a nuruk cookie (a rice ball), and moved along to incredible mains, including a dish that centred king crab scallops, abalone cho in an egg custard, and a Wagyu with tomato ssamjang sauce and gamtae noodles — all before a delicious rice-based dessert. Set in a townhouse that is spare yet warm, it felt as if we were part of a theatre set.

We had a similar experience at Frevo, an intimate 16-seat chef’s counter located behind a false door in a street-level art gallery. Though it was a little too hushed for my crew, it was worth tamping down our audible exuberance so we could genuflect to the food. With two seatings, the pace is swift, and we devoured the fish-dominant menu — especially standout dishes like lobster with coconut and markrut lime or amberjack with jalapeño, curry leaves and almonds.

Koloman in the Ace Hotel, helmed by chef Markus Glocker, is a place I initially resisted going. I have great Viennese-inspired food a few blocks from my apartment at Wallsé, so didn’t feel the need to go elsewhere. But, thank God, I capitulated. The food at Koloman is so imaginative and satisfying,

Every dish exceeded my expectations. I love carbs (so the bread basket spoke to me in a direct, even intimate way), fish (hello, snapper crudo with smoked olive oil and horseradish that adds heat and depth), and oh my, their vegetables. Their approach to root vegetables, in particular, stood out. The most memorable dish was a celeriac tartare, which is boosted with an herby, cheesy mustard. It’s so creative, I’ve not seen anything even remotely similar. To start the evening, I recommend a Philtre, a mezcal drink with reposado tequila, bergamot, green chartreuse, ginger and egg white, created by beverage director Katja Scharnagl, before moving on to their beautiful wine list. And whatever you do, take home the marzipan. It pairs so well with morning coffee the next day.

Lastly, for a dose of old-school theatricality, I head to The Nines, where the piano player/vocalist, Sam Behr, is mesmerising and soulful and adds to the glamorous vibe of the restaurant. It’s a perfect place to be a bit over the top. If someone in my inner circle has had a big birthday or has been honoured for something, we head here for sparkling wine (they have a crémant from Burgundy that I love) and caviar or oysters, which they serve with a dashi mignonette.

On the fly 

When I’m running errands on a Saturday or Sunday, I will frequently stop at Madman Espresso in Greenwich Village for one of their perfectly proportioned focaccia sandwiches or a mini pizza. This doesn’t look like an Italian bar but the food recalls one and that alone is enough to compel me to return again and again. I typically order the De Sica focaccia sandwich (made with spicy salami, organic arugula, fontina and olive spread) or their cauliflower pizza, which they make with Gruyère and breadcrumbs, and a whole-milk cappuccino with an extra shot — it is an espresso bar, after all. But on a hot day, I can be persuaded to try one of their floral lemonades.

I have only been to the Tin Building, which is all the way at the southern tip of Manhattan just before the island curves in on itself, a few times, but I already know the cookies from the bakery are going to be a problem, especially the banana version. Perfectly soft in the middle, with the right amount of crisp around the edge, and a caramelised banana down the centre, they are heaven. I can see myself finding excuses to head to the South Street Seaport area just for a sweet treat.

Neighbourhood Italian 

Speaking of Italian food, there are two places in my neighbourhood that are always in my rotation: Barbuto and Don Angie. When I was a book editor, I rarely had time for brunch, as it required the kind of deep work that could only be done on the weekends. But when I did, I often opted for Barbuto and their delicious carbonara. That and 100 of their crunchy breadsticks will come close but not completely knock you into a food coma. I imagine Don Angie offers a choice of appetisers, but I wouldn’t know for sure as I always have their chrysanthemum salad with garlic, sesame, and parmesan, which I follow with an order of their sourdough pasta cacciatore: mezcal-braised chicken, ’nduja, Sicilian olives. Together they are perfect.

Dawn Davis is the outgoing editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit and Epicurious

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