Came here on a packed Friday night at 7pm. A lot of reviews have talked about the minimal decor and high top tables being super close together--both of those statements are 100% true. I also felt that the tables and chairs were higher than most places so I was basically just perched like a gargoyle for 3 hours while eating which sometimes becomes uncomfortable, especially since the tables are kind of small to hold drinks, the water carafe, and all the plates we ordered (that being said, it's very possible we just ordered too much food as well lol). Now on to the actual food: everything was very good, just not spectacular as I was kind of hoping it'd be based on all the hype I read about it beforehand. The pissalidieclair (probably butchered the spelling) was the stand out dish of the night--they're tiny little anchovy eclair sandwiches where the fish was actually very subtle tasting. The potato cake with uni was also tasty but I don't know if it's worth $48 when we went. One thing to note is this place is BIG on olives. Olives and/or olive oil are everywhere--on the scallops, in the anchovy sandwiches, with the bread and even in the chocolate hazelnut tart dessert we had! read more

See all

It's a very small restaurant so I highly recommend reservation. We didn't care too much for the scallops but the steak and desserts were fantastic! Service was also very good they were very attentive once we were seated. read more

See all

Favorites were the strawberry Sunday & the pork. Came with high expectations, but somehow everything fell really flat despite sounding really good.. read more

Wildair - Strawberry sundae - New American Near Me - New York, New York

Went here solo while fam was at a basketball game. Sat at tall chairs at kitchen counter of small restaurant. Great service with recommendations of spanish mackerel crudo as well as pommes with uni which was potato cake topped with uni. I probably wouldnt have ordered this but for recommendation but i loved it the flavors and textures blended great. Crudo was good made with oil so a little different than i expected. My fave thing i had was the beef tartar. Perfect balance flavor and texture. I loved it and cant wait to go back. Also had a mezcal Negroni and it was awesome too. read more

Wildair - Sitting at front of kitchen is fun. - New American Near Me - New York, New York

See all

I've officially found my top rated restaurant in NYC. I couldn't believe how amazing the food was. I ordered the clams, the beef tartare, the pommes darphin with uni and the Mille feuille and I was stunned by each dish. I can't say I have a favorite because everything was pretty incredible and memorable. Maybe the beef tartare took it home for me. The service was also incredible, as Simeon was beyond hospitable. I cannot wait to go back. 10/10 experience. read more

Wildair - Pommes Darphin - New American Near Me - New York, New York

See all

Pleasantly surprised. New american often disappoints, but this did not. If you have to order one thing, get the Pissaladiéclair. Anchovies and Olives in an eclair-like pastry--so delicious! Oh also get the Sourdough! The bread was delicious as well. read more

See all

Wildair has been on my list to try for a long time and we finally decided to make a reservation. We ordered a bunch of dishes to share and it was hard to narrow it down since everything sounded good. Overall, the meal was enjoyable. Loved the topneck clams, oysters and skate wing. And the salad was probably the best one I've had in a long time. Wasn't a fan of the beef tartare. It was so oily and the portion was too large for only two people. Probably better for a larger group. The wine selection was great and had some interesting bottles. Cute date spot! read more

Wildair - Top neck clams - New American Near Me - New York, New York

tasty food in a little wine bar. the kimchi pithivier was the star of the meal, would get one for myself next time. radishes and butter were ok, the crudo was solid, the eclair was good but expected a bit more of a salty punch, and the pommes darphin was good as well but thought the uni serving was on the smaller end and the flavor didn't come through enough against the potatoes and relish read more

See all

The line at 11:30 am for their weekend donuts is absolutely worth the hype. At $9.50/donut, these behemoths are roughly the size of 2-3 donuts and packed with flavor. I tried two inventive flavors: malted milkshake with amaretto cherry on top and pistachio almond. The pistachio almond had this brilliant combination of crumble and icing on top that tasted so nostalgic. The malted pastry cream in the milkshake donut was delightful. Two people could easily split one donut. I had leftovers for several days. They should offer a utensils and a napkin with the donut given the high cost/sticky factor. read more

Wildair is always a genuine treat. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable which are equally important when there's such a long and interesting wine list to be shown around. The vibes are good although I recommend a table if you can get it over the counter seating up against the wall that can feel a little cramped. The main attraction manages to be the food which is an achievement when the wine offerings are as good as they are here. On our latest visit, we had the Thon Mayo which was rich and tasty and cut with the right amount of acid, oysters that were delicious in their own but also nicely adorned with artichoke and infused oil, the pig's head sandwich that was a delight, the pithivier which was a standout for the flakey pastry, tasty melty cheese and a nice little zip from the kimchi, and the pommes dauphin with uni that is basically the perfect thing--crispy potato matched up with creamy uni? Come on. The mille feuille was crisp, flakey, creamy with a meringue that just melted away. Super way to cap off a great meal. Minor gripe: the pacing of our latest meal was off. The Thon Mayo came out quick and we managed to polish it off and have a breather before the oysters arrived, but the pommes, pithivier and pigs head sandwich all came within minutes of each other so couldn't be enjoyed at their hot fresh peak, which is important when delicious melty cheese and crispy potato are involved. The upshot of this was also that we finished 5 savory dishes within an hour of sitting down which felt a bit rushed. Maybe order two cold things and one hot then regroup and carry on. read more

Wildair - Pithivier and pommes - New American Near Me - New York, New York

See all

If you like donuts, you must venture here at 12 pm on Saturday! We came for the black and white donut at 1215 (but was sold out, it goes quick!) and got the mango cheesecake instead. The inside had two layers - mango cream and cheesecake (?). It was amazing! A bit on the pricier side, but definitely worth the visit. read more

Wildair - New American Near Me - New York, New York

Donut review because HOLY cannoli they makes some freaking awesome donuts. Don't sleep on this place: get there by 1140 and wait for perfection. By the time 12 pm rolls in, if you try to get in line then, you will be out of luck because the line was 40 people deep by the time the doors open. We had a yuzu lemon meringue, chocolate peanut butter and a crispy cinnamon roll. The first two were AMAZING. Pillowy, stuffed with creamy goodness, topped with gorgeous fluffy meringue for the first, delectable ganache on the other. The crispy cinnamon roll was like a palmier and while delicious, I'd get more of those yeasted bad boys before getting the crispy variety again. PLEASE open a standalone donut shop. They are glorious. read more

The wines are mostly organic. Not my taste. The pithivier is quite heavy. The olive thingie was nice.

Very small and intimate place for drinks and small plates to share. Food was inventive and tasty. I really enjoyed the gin and tonic that they made. It was perfectly balanced. The desserts were creative and delicious. Great place to meet up with friends after work for a light bite and drinks or for a date night. Things I'd order again: Granita Cinnamon Brown Sugar, salted caramel, apply jelly mille feuille Chicken Wings Beef Tartare Bread Shrimp Top Neck Clams Mussels - that sauce was delicious Most items are from 3 - 38 bucks, but there is a 24oz wagyu on the menu that comes with potatoes and that will set you back only $165. read more

See all

I wouldn't recommend it to a friend. I think maybe the problem is that you should not go here as a solo dinner sitting at one of the four counter stools, even with reservation for that. I felt like either an afterthought or that I was the only person there who's not a regular customer. They various guys who put the plates in front of me didn't seem excited by it, like when you go through a drive-through window. read more

A pretty bad incident occurred during our meal (hence my lowish rating), but management made it right afterwards, so I'm going not going to elaborate on it. Instead, I will focus on the food. My boyfriend and I came for dinner and tried: + Marinated mussels + Beef tartare + Chicory and boquerones + Jerk shrimp skewers + Stuffed chicken wing + Stuffed olives + Wildair tart + LES Paris brest The highlights were the beef tartare and the desserts. Wish they had more of the highlights I had been looking forward to (like the fried squid), but everything we tried was tasty enough. read more

See all

NOTHING positive to say here. Server seemed pissed off the entire time. If you don't like your job find another. Terrible and more salt than a gallon of ocean water. read more

Our group had a late 8:45pm reservation and were seated immediately after arriving. Wildair is a smaller spot in LES, so if you have a larger party (say 5-7 people) make a reservation well in advance. Since we had a big party, we were able to get a taste of a lot of things. We ordered the little gem salad, oysters, scallop crudo, jerk prawn skewers, pissaladieclair, potato darphin w/ uni. There were a lot of international flavors that the menu was inspired by, namely a lot of Asian flavors (XO sauce in the oysters, uni for the potato, dashi for the scallops) and obviously French cooking techniques. This was pretty interesting to me and had some tasty results. My favs were probably the scallop crudo and pissaladieclair, though most things were quite good--there were a few misses, namely the potato w/ uni. I wish there was a bigger portion of uni--without it, I think the dish was good but a bit plain. I also appreciated how attentive and accommodating our waiter was when we were trying to choose a wine to pair with our meal. We tried a lot of different types on the menu, and it was nice to take our time. Selection is not super huge but there are some good ones to choose from. We got a mille feuille on the house for dessert since they ran out of panna cotta for the night. We had tried ordering beforehand but the order was forgotten by the time we asked for it. The dessert we had was good though. Overall not a bad choice for a nice dinner and I enjoyed the food here! read more

See all

Such a great restaurant. Relaxed, casual, and yet so sophisticated. I ate there a while back, but came across my picture of their clam dish, so I felt inspired to find a great review. Everything in ate was delicious, the staff was great, and while the simple decor wouldn't expose their upscale quality, it really IS upscale in very humble manner. Love it. read more

Wildair - Topneck Clams with Almond Milk and XO - New American Near Me - New York, New York

Their banoffee pie doughnut was freaking amazing! I was lucky to get one before they sold out and I'm soooo happy I did. It's light and buttery with a delicious shaved topping. I've had a few amazing doughnuts in nyc and this one def tops the list. I hope they make this doughnut again! read more

Wildair - Banoffee pie doughnut - New American Near Me - New York, New York

See all

We had a dinner reservation so no wait. Service was quite good even though we were seated outdoors. bread and olive oil - oil is from italy, much more fragrant topneck clams - one of my favorite dishes here. amazing tasty clam. oysters - 6 oysters for $18, delicious pairing scallop crudo - one scallop sliced into three pieces. A bit sad to share just 1 scallop for $19 American Wagyu striploin - medium rare steak. i mean it's good but not that great. read more

Uhmmm been wanting to try this place but little nervous about the opposite reviews. My experience was hit and miss. It's also my mistake chose to come here on the day before they closed for the Thanksgiving Weekend (well usually the leftover ingredients) Steak Tartar - not good, not fresh, overly sauced probably to cover the not fresh meat..... ugh. Fried Scallop - pretty good but also a bit salty, little heavy on the seasoning. There's fried sliced lemon which was pretty interesting and tasty. Chopped Clam Flatbread - highlight of the night. It was very good, made up little of other disappointment. The clam was within the flatbread which was unexpected. Tasty and the chive/xo gave a touch of asian flavor. Something I would crave for it again! Mezcal Negroni - for $15 it was a too premade, light and tiny glass of cocktail done after 3 sip. I heard their wine are actually the choice to go, more unique selection. read more

See all

This review is for their Little Shrimp Burger (5/5) only as I have yet to try anything else, and hot damn, I've never had a shrimp burger before but this is a high bar to beat. It was so flavorful and well balanced that I nearly devoured it in a few minutes before my partner looked at it longingly and got the last few bites. There is room to sit outside but I got takeout. Wait was about 10 min. The woman taking orders was super friendly. read more

Wildair - Shrimp burger soooo gooooood - New American Near Me - New York, New York

Shared a dark chocolate doughnut / beignet with my wife. Had a chocolate cream filling with a dark chocolate glaze and toasted marshmallows on top. Texture was balanced but on the yeasty side. Surprisingly unsweet for a pastry. Quite rich and toasty. read more

Contra and Wildair collaborated for a limited run 2-day Taiwanese/Northern Chinese dim sum take out menu. I ordered some dishes to pick up. I unfortunately caught a stomach bug and had to email Contrair for a refund, and they were INCREDIBLY responsive and prompt. I wanted to give them a shoutout because I know restaurants are innovating and trying to keep pace with what's happening in the world, and I really appreciated their great customer service. Hope they do more Taiwanese take out in the future. read more

Finally got a reservation here on Resy! It was such a vibe - packed and buzzing! Our waiter was hilarious and very appreciated that he paid attention to what was said! We couldn't decide between the 2 desserts and asked him to surprise us! He came back around with the Fig Sundae noting that he overheard me sharing that I loved figs! Now that is GRADE A+ Service! Must Order / My favourites: 1/ Potato Darphin with Uni - Gutted to have to share (kidding, kind of!); That potato cake would be epic for a hangover cure, just sayin' 2/ Jerk Prawn Skewers - Extremely flavourful and super fresh; definitely eat the entire shrimp (the shells are edible!) 3/ Fig Sundae Other dishes we ordered: 5/ Pissaladière inside an éclair - This didn't work for me but interesting spin! 6/ Scallops with fried capers - The scallops were a bit fishier than I'd like but paired well with the capers Definitely a spot that will be repeated. read more

See all

Certainly worth a detour, but sitting at the chef's counter is a must for party of two or alone for a delicious and creative bite (or several). Come for the atmosphere, the cocktails, the food, and the show in the kitchen. read more

See all

I've been here twice and although the food has been good, it hasn't wowed me like the other reviews have indicated. The first time we came, we had the roast beef dip sandwich, and it was good, nothing spectacular. On this particular visit, we got the dip Pithivier. It was good, but it was certainly a lot more hot and melty in the Instagram photos. Sadly, there's no sit down, so it was cold by the time we could eat it. We also snagged a few yuzu black sesame donuts. We got there at 11:30 and were the first ones on the line. It was super flavorful and tangy. Again, very good, but would I wait on another line of 30 folks? I likely won't next time. read more

See all

I've been meaning to try the donuts at Wildair for some time and am glad that I did because oh they are amazing. The problem with most cream filled donuts is that there's never enough cream but for Wildair donuts it's quite frankly the exact opposite. The donut flavors change frequently and I tried the cookies n cream flavor which was delicious. The only downside is the price but it's worth it IMHO. The only recommendation I have is that they actually taste a lot better chilled than at room temperature, but this could also just be personal preference. All in all worthy of a try, and I definitely plan on trying more flavors. read more

Wildair - Cookies N Cream - New American Near Me - New York, New York

Small restaurant with lots of high tops. Drink menu is lots of wine with a few cocktails. Menu has a lot of random delicious dishes. I would recommend ordering at least 6-8 dishes to share between 2 people as portions are small. Delicious dessert and donuts if you are lucky to get your hands on some. 4/5 because the service was pretty slow. None the less would probably go back. read more

See all

As tomato lovers we really enjoyed the pan con tomate. We also really liked the panna cotta. They have a great wine selection with a lot of natural wines. read more

Such a lovely little spot! I was solo which can get a little tricky with small plates, so I didn't get to try as much as I'd like. The clams and tartare were both very good but the standout was the Mille feuille dessert. So many textures, sweet but peppery- I will be thinking about it for a while! Also my server was very knowledgeable about organic wine read more

Wildair - Orange wine at the bar with clams - New American Near Me - New York, New York

Every weekend they offer donuts starting at noon. If you don't get here early enough chances are they will have already sold out. It's happened to me the very first time and it left a scar so deep I decided to never go back ...Until today! My barre class started at 12:15 so I had 15 mins to spare. It was very suspenseful at one point because it was 12:06 and I was still second or third in line, but I secured the donuts and made it to class. The donut flavor today was chocolate chip. They also had a passionfruit eclair. I got both. The donut was phenomenal. It was well worth overcoming my fear of coming back and getting turned away again. The dough is where it's at. It's super fresh and soft. The filling isn't too sweet. The candied orange peel on top was interesting. The eclair pastry itself is really good. Eggey, moist, and dense. The filling was vanilla bean and passion fruit. Also not too sweet or dominating. If you happen to be around this place at noon on weekends and are craving some bangin donuts, definitely give this place a visit. read more

See all

Wildair is up and running, and back to its awfully cramped and tight indoor seating. Even with a reservation, my party of two was led to a table sandwiched between two other parties - there was less than an inch between the tables and we would have practically formed a mega table. Anyhow, I chose to sit outside since it was almost as miserably hot inside, and I wouldn't be privy to the conversations of the parties on either side of me. The food and wine remains delicious as last time - I had the endives with boquerones, the beef tartare, the stuffed chicken wings, and the tomato bread. The endive salad was the best - I loved the salty fish along with the Nori crumbs on the endives. The stuffed chicken wings were good and reminded me of how southeast Asian wings might be barbecued, but they were noticing special. The beef tartare looked rather grey when it appeared on my table, but it was well-seasoned. The tomato and miso bread crisps were excellent, even if the bread got a bit soggy by the dish's end. Great natural wine options that's served at the right temperature, along with chill music. It's good for a date night - as long as you snag a table that isn't right smack in between other people. read more

See all

I came to Wildair for my birthday a few weeks ago. It was fun experience with a really well curated menu. A big part of the experience for me was their organic wine options. It was fun to pair with our dishes as they came out. Wildair is bar height seating, and we were lucky enough to sit right in front of the kitchen. I love open kitchens and watch the chefs prep dishes to send out. We ordered the clams, fresh bread,green goddess salad, beef tartare, bacon on toast, fried squid with black mayo, pork Milanese, and my favorite..... the panna cotta with blood orange granita. Honestly, everything was delicious and worth ordering! I especially loved the bacon on toast, squid, and Milanese. But please, don't leave without trying that panna cotta. read more

See all

I had an absolutely phenomenal dinner the other night at Wildair - they do tend to get pretty busy, so definitely recommend making a reservation via Resy if you can. Everything was delicious and fresh, and I love that they incorporate seasonal ingredients to their ever changing menu. The clams were some of the best things I've ever had (such an interesting flavor profile), and the tartar was delicious as well. The waiter talked me into dessert, which was unreal! Cannot recommend their panna cotta enough - they garnish it with this apple cider foam which I could easily chug straight from the bottle. It's slightly more causal than it's next door sister, Contra, but it's a similar experimental menu (actually prefer Wildair's). read more

See all

This is a cute spot in Lower East Side across the street from Russ and Daughter's Cafe. You sit at high tops that are reminiscent of school desks. They have an open kitchen as well. We ordered the potato darphin with Maine uni, beef tartare, black maitake, confit bacon toast, and pork milanese. Overall the dishes were all very good. The only item that was only okay was the pork. Service could be better however. They forgot my drink and didn't remember until I reminded them 20 minutes later. They also had to ask me for my order again. I'm always rather annoyed when waitstaff try to impress by remembering orders. I'm more impressed when you write it down and get my order right the first time around. But all that said, the food was good and the service wasn't horrible. I'd come back to give it another chance. read more

See all

I didn't want to believe the hype. But believe it. Get the chicken sandwich. Get the breakfast sandwich. Get the donut. read more

See all

The food is incredible. The staff really knows what's up. The menu is all small dishes and it's definitely very pricey... but absolutely at a Michelin level quality. I believe they have a sister restaurant with a Michelin star. Highlights are the steak tartare and the raw clams!!! I am sure the menu changes often, but when we went there were lots of raw options on the menu... not a vegetarian friendly menu but if you eat fish you are good. The skate was a delightful surprise... deboned and absolutely stunning flavor profile. One word of caution... we ended up ordering all three desserts expecting them to be the small portion of the other dishes, but it was a little too much dessert, haha! read more

3.5 stars Do I think Wildair is overpriced for what it's offering? Yes. Did I enjoy my meal here? Yes. The wine I had was excellent, and the small plates all paired very well with the wine. They've really mastered the ideal wine bar experience here - good vibes paired with delicious food and easy drinking - which is admittedly not as easy to achieve as it sounds. And also unfortunately does not come cheap. Covid note: They have both outdoor dining and indoor dining, and the indoor dining actually opens up fully onto the street so is pretty close to being outdoor dining (they have floor to ceiling doors that just open up). We tried: Beef tartare - Enjoyable although I think I personally prefer a bit more texture in my beef tartare. This version is more smushed than I would have liked. Fennel - Delicious and different. It's cold and garnished with kumquats which really add another flavor dimension. Shrimp burger - I had initially dismissed this dish when I saw it on the menu, but so glad my friend suggested it, as it may have been my favorite bite of the night? The potato bun really pulls it all together and the shrimp is nice and springy and delicious. Veal tongue and tripe - I wish this came in a smaller size because this dish was the one large plate we had and it felt a bit too much. It's surprisingly spicy and the tripe and beef tongue were cooked very well - soft and flavorful. Chocolate hazelnut tart - Excellent dessert to round out the meal. Hopefully you're a fan of hazelnut, because it's in full force here. I liked the salt flakes in there too. A smaller tart than I was expecting but actually works really well because it's so rich. read more