Avant Garden

Vegan dining takes an upscale turn at Avant Garden, the 28-seat East Village restaurant from Ravi DiRossi, the entrepreneur behind such popular New York City cocktail bars as Death & Co. and Mayahuel. In a cozy dining room lit by Edison bulbs, chef Alex Aparicio, former chef de cuisine at New York City’s vegetable-forward Narcissa, divides the small-plates menu into three categories—toast (creamy carrot harissa on Balthazar bread), cold (garlic-infused kale panzanella), and hot (bouillabaisse with fennel, broccoli, and fingerlings). The best seats in the house are at the 12-stool bar, which faces the open kitchen.