Choly

Step downstairs into this gilded basement on Houston when you need some sisig and kare kare in your life. Choly is the only full-service Filipino restaurant in the neighborhood, but if it feels more like a speakeasy in a train car, that’s because it sort of was. The space used to be a bar called Railway NYC, and Choly has kept the design, complete with curved ceilings and copper details. It’s still a great drinking spot—they’ve got a thing for margaritas with Pinoy flavors and are open until 12am—but we’d come hungry. While the long bar in front feels like somewhere you could meet a stranger, the cozy back dining room, where you can share chunks of crispy, fatty lechon and a plate of adobo, feels like home.