Best Fine Dining Restaurants in Lower East Side (10002)
6 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: January 2026
Our Top Pick
Dirt Candy
Michelin-starred vegetable tasting menu where dishes like asparagus lasagna show how far plant-based cooking can go.
Notable Picks
#1
Dirt Candy
8.9
Dirt Candy is Amanda Cohen’s Michelin-starred vegetable tasting-menu restaurant, where seasonal dishes like asparagus lasagna reimagine pasta through a high-end, all-veg lens in a sleek Allen Street dining room. Open since 2008 and now firmly a Lower East Side institution, it’s the most upscale, reservation-only way to experience lasagna-inspired flavors in ZIP 10002.
Must-Try Dishes:
Asparagus lasagna from the seasonal tasting menu, Carrot pizza bite from the tasting progression, Potato sundae dessert
What makes it special: Michelin-starred vegetable tasting menu where dishes like asparagus lasagna show how far plant-based cooking can go.
#2
Comal
8.6
Comal channels contemporary Mexico City into a compact Lower East Side dining room with art-lined walls and a focused, shareable menu. A Michelin-recognized kitchen turns out precise small plates and larger dishes built around chiles, masa, and seafood, paired with a tight wine list and cocktails that reward lingering.
Must-Try Dishes:
Potato Mil Hojas with Spot Prawn, Crab Tostada with Eggplant, Mussel with Corn Custard
What makes it special: Modern Mexican plates with serious technique in a gallery-like room.
#3
Cervo's
8.6
Cervo's is a seafood-focused Spanish and Portuguese-inspired spot where fried shrimp heads, Manila clams in Vinho Verde, and piri-piri chicken anchor a tight, shareable menu. The long bar, back dining room, and Canal Street patio keep it in heavy rotation for Lower East Side dates and small-group dinners.
Must-Try Dishes:
Crispy shrimp heads, Manila clams with garlic and Vinho Verde, Half chicken with piri piri and fries
What makes it special: Spanish-leaning seafood, strong vermouth program, and patio people-watching.
#4
Maison Nur
8.3
Vibes:
Luxury Dining Elite
Girls Night Out Approved
Birthday & Celebration Central
Trendy Table Hotspots
Maison Nur brings an Upper East Side-style French-American tasting sensibility to the Bowery, pairing chef Richard Farnabe’s rich cooking with a clubby, art-filled room. It walks the line between nightlife and serious dining, with polished service, big flavors, and a menu built for lingering over cocktails and multiple courses.
Must-Try Dishes:
Mushroom Mille Feuille with Foie Gras, Colorado Rack of Lamb, Parmesan Wrapped Spaghetti
What makes it special: French-American fine dining wrapped in a plush, nightlife-adjacent space.
#5
Wildair
8.1
Wildair is a Parisian-style natural wine bar where high-top tables and an open kitchen frame one of downtown’s most influential small-plates menus. Beef tartare, uni-topped potato darphin, and other intensely flavored dishes make it a casual-feeling but decidedly upscale place to snack, sip, and linger.
Must-Try Dishes:
Beef Tartare with Potato Crisp, Pommes Darphin with Santa Barbara Uni, Pissaladiéclair
What makes it special: Natural wine and inventive plates that defined casual fine dining downtown.
Worthy Picks
#6
Bar Contra
7.9
Bar Contra is a sleek cocktail bar from the Contra/Wildair team where ambitious bar snacks meet a tightly edited drink list. The food skews fine-dining-adjacent—think scallops, caviar, and meticulously composed bites—served in a room that feels more like a serious bar than a traditional restaurant.
Must-Try Dishes:
Maine Scallop with Walnut Condiment, Chicken Wing Stuffed with Stilton and Pork Sausage, Mushroom Tartlet with Scallop Mousse and Black Truffle
What makes it special: Serious cocktails paired with chef-driven small plates in a tight space.