Flatiron – NoMad – Dining

For the past several years, the dining scene in the Flatiron District and NoMad has been as hot as jerk chicken and penne all’arrabbiata, and it shows no signs of cooling down. From the plant-based tasting menu at Eleven Madison Park, proud holder of three Michelin stars, to burgers at the original Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, dining options abound. Below are five recent arrivals to the Flatiron/NoMad restaurant scene.

 

Cloves

With five types of made-to-order naan to choose from—including a variety stuffed with raisins, almonds, and coconut—Cloves will satisfy any carb-loving fan of Indian cuisine. But since man cannot live by naan alone, the restaurant, which opened in November 2023, also offers popular dishes such as samosas, mulligatawny, lamb vindaloo, butter chicken, and paneer tikka masala, favoring the sauces and spices of North India (typically milder than those popular in South India). The restaurant also has a full bar, complete with signature cocktails, and a weekday lunch buffet.

 

 

Café Carmellini

 James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini’s eponymous restaurant opened around the same as Cloves, in the new Fifth Avenue Hotel. The menu features French and Italian classics given a luxurious update: oysters served with horseradish and apple sorbet, cannelloni stuffed with lobster and golden osetra caviar, shrimp served with Tuscan beans, bergamot, and lardo di Colonnata. Complementing the food are an 1,800-bottle wine list and the glimmering Gilded Age interiors.

 

The Bazaar

Another new hotel, the Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, is home to this restaurant from another award-winning chef, José Andrés. A happy marriage of Spanish and Japanese cuisines, the Bazaar offers two tasting menus as well as an à la carte menu. The Ikura Royal Cone (smoked trout roe with a tamago emulsion and aonori) rubs shoulders with marinated gordal olives, patatas bravas with mushroom ramen, Wagyu beef with oysters in salsa verde. The restaurant’s decor is as eclectic as its cuisine, with damask draperies covering the walls, fringed banquettes paired with rattan-back chairs, and an open kitchen.

 

 Lupetto

Pizzas cooked in a wood-burning oven and steaks cooked on an open wood flame have been the cornerstones of this restaurant’s menu since it opened in September 2023. The wood-fed flames are also put to use for the likes of whole roasted orata (deboned table side), roasted oysters, roasted broccoli, and even a charred Caesar salad. Lupetto offers house-made pasta too, including chitarra served with Meyer lemon and pistachios. Cocktail aficionados will appreciate the craft aperitifs such as the house version of a Negroni, which adds sfumato to gin, Campari, and Carpano Antica.

 

Nemesis

Like Lupetto, Nemesis opened in September 2023, but its cuisine is from a continent away—Asia, in particular Southeast Asia. Amid exposed-brick walls, a wood-plank floor, and leafy plants, you can start your meal with oysters with a Thai seafood mignonette, twice-cooked pork ribs with mild yellow curry, or flame-grilled marinated beef tongue with Thai chili dipping sauce, to name a few. Padang beef rib, a twist on satay served with pickled curry, is among the signature entrées; others include seafood and mushroom stir-fries. Several noodle dishes, including night market noodles inspired by those sold in Singapore’s famed hawker centers, are also available, as are numerous vegan options. The bar menu is as thoughtfully crafted as the dinner and lunch menus, with beers, wines, Japanese whiskeys, and signature cocktails such as the BKTea, a medley of Milagro Reposado tequila, dark rum, lychee-infused barley tea, and fresh lime topped with apple foam.