East Village

Situated on the basement level under its sister restaurant Penny, Claud serves excellent French-inflected food like cod croquettes, béarnaise beets, and paté-packed pasta. Get whatever seasonal-produce mille-feuille is on the menu; you’ll dream about the puff pastry for the rest of forever.

Here’s one way to transport yourself to Paris: a yellow-walled boîte, tight bistro tables, a wooden bar, and a menu of French classics. Order a bottle of wine from Bourgogne or the Loire valley, then go in on pan-seared foie gras, steak au poivre, and profiteroles.

Fiaschetteria is a casual spot turning out authentic Tuscan food. (The owners still run the original location in Pistoia, Italy.) You come here for handmade pasta, which contends for NYC’s best. There are two locations in New York: In the West Village, it’s first come, first served. In the East Village, you have to call (not email, not Resy) for a reservation.

Che Li does classic Shanghainese food (soup dumplings, braised pork belly, green beans, crispy eel, garlicky eggplant…) in a space inspired by old markets, with wood roofs and lots of paper lanterns. The vibe here is gold—the servers are friendly and helpful, and everyone’s having a good time.

This understated Italian trattoria isn’t reinventing the wheel; it just does candlelit dining and wood-oven roasting very well. Regulars come for their millionth order of sausage rigatoni and the rabbit pappardelle.

Apollo serves warm, fresh bagels with a chewy inside and crusty exterior, well-coated with sesame seeds or everything spice, if you choose. Their menu is simple, with a few types of bagels and a few types of schmear, plus tomato, whitefish, lox, and the typical bagel fixings.

This coffee spot is known for its fruit lattes, which you’ll either love or hate. They’re made with just espresso, milk, and fresh fruit, which cuts the bitterness from coffee.

Abraço roasts all their own coffee, and it’s better than what you’ll find almost anywhere else. It draws a loyal clientele for that, but also for the great pastries, vinyl records, and European vibe. Keep in mind they don’t offer alternative milks here—just whole milk, half and half, and whipped cream.

This tea shop is named for a Led Zeppelin album—it’s on the basement level of the building on the cover of Physical Graffiti. It doesn’t offer much by way of atmosphere, but you come for a cup of hot tea or a tin of loose-leaf to take home; they have a whole wall of oolongs, green teas, pu-erhs, and medicinal herbal blends. If you’re looking to try something new, the shopkeepers are friendly and knowledgable guides.

Ruffian serves natural wine and vegetarian food inspired by some of the world’s oldest wine regions, and they’ll often fly in their winemakers, who might drop by your table to talk about the qualities of the air and soil that make this particular bottle so good. You can grab plates to share or opt for a four-course tasting menu; the menu shifts focus to a different part of the world every season.