Estela

This boisterous SoHo alcove is an ideal place to convene with friends over exquisite nibbles and quenching cocktails. The talented chef behind this operation, Ignacio Mattos, is unfaltering and impressively consistent in his creative renditions of such bold and iconic dishes as ricotta dumplings with mushrooms and Pecorino Sardo. The menu also offers an array of shareable plates that changes regularly, like the mound of warm crab cloaked by shaved celeriac. Dinner might kick off with perfect, sashimi-grade tuna pounded thin and dressed with a dollop of inky pil pil sauce or enticingly plated fried arroz negro scattered with tender squid and hazelnut-studded romesco.