Claud
Chef Joshua Pinsky sends the red shrimp out raw, in a small cast-iron skillet of hot oil. They cook at the table. Pete Wells, reviewing for the Times in 2022, called it a gambas al ajillo that cooked itself.1 The sourdough that follows is for the oil.
Why go
Pinsky and Chase Sinzer met at Momofuku Ko. They opened this basement in August 2022.1 Pinsky had run the kitchen at Momofuku Nishi, and Sinzer had sold rare wine. Wells found the Ko discipline still in the food. Cuts of meat and fish arrive almost bare, with long flavors under them. The puff pastry came over too. It is the savory mille-feuille, and it moves with the season. Bettina Makalintal ate the winter one for Eater in February 2026: squash, washed-rind cheese, shaved black truffle.4 Ligaya Mishan put Claud on the Times list of the city's hundred best rooms in May 2026, and wrote that the cooking touches on the familiar but at a slant.
2
Order this / avoid
- Order: the chicken liver agnolotti, in brown butter with balsamic for acid. Makalintal calls it
the kind of dish that affirms the magic of restaurant cooking.
4 - Order: the razor clams, under grated apple and horseradish.3
- Order: the devil's food cake, $22.4 Carina Finn, who rated the room 8.6 for The Infatuation, says to order it at the beginning of the meal, because they tend to run out.3 Mishan counted six layers, each soaked in vermouth and evaporated milk before the frosting and the salt.2
- Avoid: the half chicken, or take the argument on. Eater's 38 calls it a sleeper hit.5 Finn called it
a decent enough roast chicken
and wroteThe foie feels unnecessary here.
3
What locals & experts say
- Pete Wells, then the New York Times restaurant critic, November 2022:
Very little about the appearance of Claud tells you that you are in one of the most impressive new restaurants that the East Village has seen in several years.
1 - Matthew Schneier, New York Magazine's restaurant critic, December 2025, setting Claud beside Penny, the seafood bar the same two run upstairs:
Light where Claud is darkly atmospheric, cool where Claud is warm.
6 - The MICHELIN inspector, on the kitchen:
the cooking is ingredient-focused and values substance over style.
The guide tags the room an Inspectors favorite and prints no star.7 - The James Beard Foundation, 2026: it nominated Joshua Pinsky for Best Chef: New York State.8 Hooni Kim of Meju in Queens won it.9
Good to know
- Booking: the house rule is
For parties of up to six guests, reservations open up on Resy at 9am, fourteen days in advance.
10 - If Resy is empty: the MICHELIN inspector says the bar is always a good option.7 Makalintal found the late slots the easiest to get.4
- Wine: Sinzer buys Burgundy and small growers. Wells thought the list short of bottles under $75.1 Glasses start at $14.4
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Chatgpt chef rec"
Verdict
should-visit — The kitchen is the reason here, and the cellar is not. Drink by the glass and put the difference into another plate.