Belle Harlem

The chef behind this 12-seat restaurant in Central Harlem intended it to feel like dining in someone’s home. Belle Harlem’s dinner menu feels similarly intimate, with just a handful of small plates, large plates and desserts on offer. Still, regular visitors likely won’t get bored: The menu changes frequently, as Belle Harlem sources seasonal ingredients from both local vendors and its rooftop garden. You might share plates of mac-and-cheese spring rolls with bacon marmalade ($18), elote tacos with tempura vegetables ($14), buttermilk fried chicken with lemon-ricotta waffles ($18), filet mignon with charred cream leeks and lollipop kale ($40) and sauteed lamb chops with chickpeas and tzatziki ($35). For dessert, you might want to try the Trifling Ho-Ho with passionfruit mousse, almond-amaretto crunch, brandy-soaked cherries and urfa biber chocolate cake or Peaches and Blueberries with rosemary-infused peaches, blueberry-elderflower sorbet and orange candied walnuts (each $14).