SESAMO Italian Restaurant

On our list of the best cozy restaurants in New York.

At the corner of 10th Avenue and 52nd Street, Sesamo folds Asian technique into Italian plates rather than treating the two as separate menus: duck ragu rigatoni gets a shot of garam masala, and duck breast comes with a five-spice port reduction. Co-owner Sabrina Gao, a trained sommelier, built a wine list around Piedmont's indigenous grapes alongside the more expected Italian regions. The dining room runs to wood paneling, red booths and exposed brick, a short walk from the Broadway marquees. Walk-ins can grab the bar; everyone else books ahead on Resy.