photo credit: Gentl & Hyers

A nice restaurant with glossy wood tables and vases of flowers.

Kiko

Name: Kiko
Item: Kiko

$$$$

November 19, 2024

Kiko is one of maybe several hundred NYC restaurants serving pasta and little gem salad. But, as far as we know, it’s the only one where the pasta is inspired by jjajangmyeon and the little gem salad is dressed with natto. Nothing’s as it seems at this Hudson Square spot, where a foyer complete with functioning fireplace leads to a skinny dining room lined with burnt orange booths. A short rib channels LA galbi, and thoroughly charred broccoli comes with miso bagna cauda. It’s a fun take on the New American genre, and you should plan a date night here—if only for the glistening pile of dungeness crab and sushi rice served in-shell.