Bar Chinois

Swanky French wine bar meets delectable Asian bites at Bar Chinois. The space is eternally lively and the menu, with dim sum aplenty, is enticing.
While this may be a bar first (thrilling cocktails include a martini with pickled pearl onions, pickled shiitake mushrooms, plus kombu and bonito flakes), the kitchen takes its cooking seriously, offering a lineup of mouthwatering plates. Imagine half moon-shaped ginger chicken dumplings with a honey dip; shrimp toast batter-fried with sesame seeds; or Beijing pork dumplings with Berkshire pork and Chinese chives. The "Lion's Head meatball," starring oven-braised pork au jus, water chestnuts, and Shaoxing rice wine, is as regal as its title, and bears an almost apocryphal lightness.