Ha’s Snack Bar

"One of New York’s hottest and longest running pop-ups, Ha’s Đặc Biệt now has a brick and mortar in the former Gem Wine space on the Lower East Side. We've loved the Vietnamese pop-up with their rotating menu—featuring things like an egg-scallion bánh mi, and oysters with a glossy nuoc mam, and we’re looking forward to their wine and snack bar too. We checked out Ha’s Snack Bar and added it to the Hit List." - will hartman, bryan kim

"From the team behind beloved former pop-up Ha’s Đặc Biệt, this Vietnamese wine bar on the Lower East Side is so small that you risk toppling somebody’s pinot gris when you walk through the billowing curtain at the entrance, or squeeze past the bar counter. But though the open kitchen might be tiny, that’s no reflection on the magnitude of flavors in the food here. The chalkboard menu changes, but on recent visits we loved the snails—which arrive sizzling with a warm, crusty hunk of baguette, their earthiness harmonized with the sweet tang of tamarind butter—and the perfectly cooked branzino, skin crackling with peppercorns and other crushed spices." - bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah, bryan kim, bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, bryan kim, sonal shah, bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, will hartman, will hartman, bryan kim, willa moore, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah, w

"Don’t take a first date to Ha’s Snack Bar. It’s too risky. Behind the fogged-up windows and billowing white curtain of this Lower East Side restaurant, you’ll end up making plans to see each other again, even if you’re completely incompatible. We’ve seen solo diners proceed from just talking, to flirting, to ordering together in Ha's knee-grazingly tight quarters. Doomed relationships will blossom here, helped along by the judgment-clouding endorphins released by each bite of curried lamb vol au vent. photo credit: Willa Moore video credit: Britt Lam video credit: Molly Fitzpatrick video credit: Britt Lam From the folks behind hot pop-up Ha’s Đặc Biệt, Ha’s Snack Bar’s food isn’t strictly Vietnamese. But almost everything is laced with fish sauce, which crackles like a string of lights between your soft palate and your brain—often accompanied by the jolt of bird’s eye chilis. Here, snails come bathed not in the parsley-green of persillade, but the deep, caramel brown of tamarind butter, and you'll wonder why you never ate them like that before. The open kitchen barely has room for two chefs, but the big flavors coming out of it make each dish feel bold and special. photo credit: Willa Moore photo credit: Carlo Mantuano photo credit: Willa Moore photo credit: Willa Moore photo credit: Sonal Shah A chalkboard menu changes frequently, always with a subtle emphasis on seafood. But though the dishes are unpredictable, there's no doubt you'll be thinking about at least one of them, if not your entire meal, for weeks to come. Even the simplest preparations, like gently steamed skate wing surrounded by a halo of greens, feel fully self-actualized. And any dish involving their impeccably crispy pastry is guaranteed to be spectacular, whether it's pâté chaud, a black pudding tartlet, or a slice of rhubarb pie. Ha’s charms are hard to resist, particularly after a glass or two off the eclectic wine list. Even things that might be familiar—an oyster, a bowl of french onion soup—sparkle with new allure in the dreamy, flattering glow of candles and paper lamps. Dining here feels a little like falling in love, with someone you never saw coming. Food Rundown photo credit: Willa Moore Oysters With Green Chili A staple of the menu. The oysters have a subtle heat, and an herbaceousness that bursts like a small illegal firework. They’re nice, but at $5 each, one should be fine. photo credit: Willa Moore Snails With Garlic & Tamarind Butter Another Ha’s fixture, and one of our favorites. Six snails arrive sizzling with a warm hunk of baguette to soak up all the tamarind butter, their earthiness harmonizing with its sweet tang. The smell alone could turn a nun feral. Ha's Onion Soup A lovely, cilantro-forward, and surprisingly refreshing take on french onion soup, reimagined with a pho-like broth. photo credit: Molly Fitzpatrick Tuna Carpaccio With Rhubarb There’s typically at least one raw dish on the menu—like beef carpaccio with mắm nêm, fish mint, and peanuts, or a salmon crudo crowned with generations of roe. Whatever it is, you’d be wise to order it. In this case, a meaty slab of tuna is a perfect textural match for crunchy pickled rhubarb, with a generous glug of olive oil and a sneaky bird’s eye chili tingle. Chicken Liver Pate On Toast Expect to see at least one toast on the menu at Ha’s. They’re generally good, but this one stands out as a must-order. From now on, every time we eat chicken liver that hasn’t been upgraded with chilis, cilantro, and a raisin agrodolce, we’ll be a little disappointed. photo credit: Sonal Shah Branzino With Mắm Nêm, Chicories & Peanuts Branzino isn’t something we order lightly. There's just so much of it everywhere. But Ha's version—four pieces of savory-fleshed fish, its skin encrusted with toasted pepper, fennel and other spices that provide as much texture as they do flavor—is too good to pass up. It comes atop bitter chicory leaves painted with a spicy dressing. photo credit: Hannah Albertine Black Pudding Tartlet With Kumquats Extraordinary, and not just because it’s built on a base of the pastry we love so much. The tart is burnished to the approximate color and grain of an antique cherry dresser, the kind of estate-sale treasure you redecorate your entire apartment around. The pillow-soft sausage is rich and earthy, yet eats surprisingly light, and it’s well paired with bright, sweet kumquats that ring like a chime. photo credit: Molly Fitzpatrick Desserts Order all three available desserts at Ha’s (or share them with the friend you just made at the bar). We've loved a tamarind-sour rhubarb jam tart with a flaky crust, as well as multiple Dreamsicle variations involving citrus-on-citrus layers of fruit, granita, sorbet, and whipped cream. Keep an eye out for anything that involves crushed ice—like the almost bitter, barely set creme caramel, topped with a creamy, fluffy coffee granita." - Molly Fitzpatrick

"Ha’s Snack Bar is a great place to drink wine, but it also happens to be one of the hottest places to have dinner in the city. The food is French Vietnamese with dishes like lobster vol au vent, escargot with tamarind garlic butter, and refreshing salads like shaved carrot salad and herb."

"Anthony Ha and Sade Mae Burns have built a following by running one of NYC’s most exciting pop-ups under the Ha’s Đặc Biệt name. Now, they’ve opened Ha’s Snack Bar, an offshoot, and permanent headquarters for a rotating selection of Vietnamese-influenced snack items in a bistro atmosphere flowing with natural wine. This husband-wife team knows how to make a dining room feel warm and the tight quarters work to their benefit — the kind of place that is filled with casual exuberance that feels like an extension of a dinner party they might host at home." - Emma Orlow