Flatiron Eateries Among Esquire's Best New Restaurants For 2019

FLATIRON, NY — In a city teeming with great places to eat, some newcomers are being recognized among the best in the country.

Esquire magazine's list of the 22 best new restaurants in America for 2019 includes two in Flatiron.

Esquire's food and drinks editor Jeff Gordinier crisscrossed the country for the past year searching for the best eats and the best drinks. According to Gordinier, Seven Reasons, a Latin restaurant in Washington, D.C., ranks as the very best. But some little known eateries in NYC made the list.

Flatiron's Rezdôra tops the city's entries at number 7 on the national list. The Italian spot on East 20th Street specializes in the country's Emilia-Romagna region.

"Proceeding through each of the five courses of chef Stefano Secchi’s pasta tasting menu at Rezdôra ... gripped me with such noodle euphoria that I morphed into Meg Ryan during that climax in 'When Harry Met Sally,'" said Gordinier.

The magazine doesn't say how new a restaurant needs to be to qualify for contention.

The other Flatiron restaurant to make the list is Odo, at 17 W 20th St.

Gordinier said: "At Odo, chef Hiroki Odo prepares a kaiseki meal—with sushi by Seong Cheol Byun midway through, as a sort of symphonic movement with a guest soloist—that delivers one seasonal surprise after another."

Another three NYC restaurants were also ranked. See Esquire's full list here.