El Rey Luncheonette (CLOSED)

Nicholas Morgenstern (GG's, the General Greene) serves dishes inspired by the California coast at this Lower East Side eatery, having transformed the former El Rey café-bar into a modern lunch counter. In the 15-seat space—featuring communal tables, globe lambs and a multiwood bar—find Vietnamese iced coffee on tap, pastries like plum-and-ginger Danishes and parsnip-and-cajeta toast for breakfast. Heartier lunch dishes include charred chicken brown rice bowls while the bar also pours draft beers, kombucha, and aguas frescas.