Plado Tasting Bar

This East Village restaurant is influenced by Mediterranean flavours. Well, with a chef born and raised in Turin, what else would you expect? Here he’s serving up great-looking small plates and tapas-style dishes, many of which bag inspiration from his Italian heritage.

That means a menu ranging from pumpkin fritters with pistachio mayo and pickled fennel, quinoa arancini and a millefeuille of aubergine, to meatier options such as chorizo sautéed in garlic, fava beans and lemon, wagyu carpaccio, kobe tartare and a very attractive plate of charred octopus with cous-cous, seasonal veg and poblano pepper oil.

The wine list goes big on European imports, too. If you want to go down that route then Italy is particularly well represented, with gavi di gavis, pecorinos, montepulcianos and barolos all available. The beer list is strong too, with local IPAs such as Dogfish 60 Min and Captain  Lawrence alongside import lagers like Kronenbourg and Menabrea Bionda.