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Snagging any cool reservation in NYC these days is no small feat, but the level of impossibility is exponential in the case of Or'esh. Factor in its newness, its relation to The Corner Store (they’re both part of Catch Hospitality Group), and chef Nadav Greenberg's cachet, and you’ll need to either have really good luck with DoorDash notifications or friends in high places. The latter is how I found myself seated at this new Manhattan hotspot on a busy Wednesday night.
RECOMMENDED: Or’esh is the new it-restaurant that everyone in NYC is trying to get into
Or'esh (Or meaning light and Esh meaning fire in Hebrew) is truly a love letter to Mediterranean cuisine, with an emphasis on fresh ingredients, seafood, meats and veggies all masterfully prepared over live fire and coal. We’ll get to the food, but first let’s dive into what gives this place its well-deserved hype.
Stepping into Or'esh, you’ll come face to face with a sexy bar filled with sexy people, and you’ll feel like you’ve made it. The crowd was effortlessly cool without trying too hard—well-dressed but not flashy, and a total mixed bag. Flanking us at the bar while we waited for our table was a fabulous mother-daughter duo, owners of a haircare brand, and a lively group of 30-somethings who were definitely ready to continue the party post-dinner. We also noticed twosomes on dinner dates, and then there was us: a trio of working gals with a “work hard, play hard” mentality, ready for a little midweek indulgence befitting of the sophisticated space. I was breaking my own rule of waiting until Thursday night to go out and have fun. For Or'esh—a restaurant I’d heard so much about—I was ready and willing.
Once seated, it was time to hydrate with the fanciest water presentation I’ve ever seen: a simple but elevated silver tray of assorted sliced cucumbers, lemons, limes and oranges to level up your H2O experience just a notch. Talk about romanticizing your life.
Feeling quenched, we moved on to cocktails. Dirty martini lovers will swoon over the grilled olive martini, which comes with a sidecar of plump green olives stuffed with goat cheese, brushed with lamb fat and grilled before making their way to our martinis. For those needing a little support to power through the 9pm dinner reservation you were lucky enough to score, there’s a tahini espresso martini. The tahini gave it a nice, sweet note without being overpowering, and it came with a sesame candy on the side, which was a welcome addition.
After deep-diving on Instagram for days leading up to this dinner, my party and I had memorized the menu and were ready to strike when our server arrived to take our order.
We started with the Jerusalem bagel with dips (babaganoush, matbucha, mint tzatziki, olive oil and za’atar), crispy potato pastel with golden ossetra caviar, Spanish octopus and a Hudson Valley chicken liver cigar—an elevated take on street food. Seasoned chicken liver is wrapped in thin, flaky phyllo dough that’s baked until golden and crispy and served over a sweet-and-spicy dipping sauce made with date syrup, harissa, caramelized onions and spices. It just worked.
I was literally giddy to try the golden halloumi kadayif and the snapper two ways (since I had seen them all over social leading up to dinner), but both were sold out for the night, and I shed a tear. Word to the wise: order as soon as you sit down to avoid a similar travesty. Our little snafu aside, we loved all of the shareable starters, and I’m pretty sure we scraped our plates clean—but it’s hard to confirm or deny because we were a few grilled olive ’tinis deep at this point.
Assuming you still have room, you must try the 18-layer wagyu New York strip and the ratatouille. Both came served skewer-style, emphasizing that they were cooked over a live-fire charcoal grill, which is the premise of the whole concept at Or'esh. The buttery, smoky wagyu was set atop tomato foam and tahini, a deeply rich combination of flavors. The ratatouille was a beautiful array of charred onions, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and bell peppers served over a spiced tomato purée. Such a satisfying way to get your veggies in.
We capped off the meal with the chocolate tahini cake and the cardamom soft serve, both very rich and delicious but slightly salty, which surprised our palates. The cake was presented as one generous slice, drizzled with tahini caramel, sesame praline and milk crunch with a scoop of ice cream on the side. We probably could’ve done without the soft serve but couldn’t turn down the heaping mound topped with caramelized kataifi crumble, honey, lemon zest and olive oil—an explosion of sweet and savory flavors to cap off the meal.
Or'esh is open Monday through Saturday, from 5 to 11pm. Read more about the restaurant and how we curate and review at Time Out.