"Cervo’s is an extremely reliable restaurant. But not in a boring way. In a sexy way. At this Spanish seafood restaurant on the Lower East Side (from the same team as Hart's, The Fly and Eel Bar), you can eat a plate of clams swimming in garlicky white wine, and know that they taste this excellent every single night. So reliable. So sexy. As long as you reserve a week in advance, or snag a walk-in table on the earlier side, you can eat those garlicky bivalves whenever you want. You can also share the perfect roast chicken, an anchovy-draped lamb burger, and seasonal vegetables drenched in olive oil with friends, along with a steady stream of vermouth. Sit in the skylit back dining room, at the long bar up front, or on the prime people-watching patio looking out onto Dimes Square—and always, always start with the delicately fried shrimp heads." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah