Beauty & Essex

Chef Chris Santos (Stanton Social) brings his globally inflected small plates to an another AvroKO-designed fantasyland on the Lower East Side. A curated thrift store in front hawks vintage jewelry, boom boxes and guitars; a gigantic one-story crystal chandelier fronts a grand, curving staircase; and the main dining room opens up under a massive skylight. Though the interior aims to dazzle, the food offers comforting flavors—grilled cheese and tomato soup dumplings, and mains like braised veal short ribs with a tangerine-BBQ glaze and onion rings. To drink there are updates on cocktail classics, like the B&E Pink Lady (gin, house-made grenadine, lemon, applejack), but freebie seekers might want to head to the bathroom, where a bartender slings gratis flutes of bubbly.