Davelle is an all-day Japanese restaurant on the LES that’s about the size of a studio apartment you’d find in the same neighborhood. There’s a pleasant sidewalk patio out front where you can stare at tiny dogs waddling down Suffolk Street and drink some matcha in the morning. Inside, you’ll find a narrow dining room with three small tables and eight seats at a bar, which shifts from serving coffee to wine and sake as the day goes on.

photo credit: Teddy Wolff

In addition to top-notch caffeinated drinks, Davelle’s menu ranges from small plates like lemony fried chicken to entrees like smoky pork curry to a number of Japanese spaghetti dishes unlike anything else you’ll find in New York. One is cooked in ketchup and soy sauce (a combo that’s popular in Japan and works well), and another is topped with so much uni that eating it feels like when a wave knocks you down and rolls you along the ocean floor, but without the whole losing your bathing suit thing. And these dishes only make up half the menu.

The acoustics are a mix of Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, and stories from the chef/owner about growing up in Hokkaido. With the old mirror over the fireplace and the dried flowers hanging on the brick walls, Davelle feels more like the den in a brownstone than a restaurant on the LES. Thankfully, it’s both.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Nikko Duren

Honey Lemon Toast

Just a thick slice of milk bread with some honey drizzle and flattened lemon slices on top - no big deal. Just kidding, it’s a huge deal and very delicious. This might be the one time we actually recommend you order a piece of toast at a restaurant.

photo credit: Teddy Wolff

Potato Salad

This potato salad is super dense, and served cold with some truffle oil. It’s good, but it’s very heavy, so you should share it with a group.

photo credit: Teddy Wolff

Fried Chicken

These are some really tender bites of fried chicken that aren’t overly fried and come with very good mayo on the side. It’s a lot of food for the price ($12), and you will not regret having this on your table.

photo credit: Teddy Wolff

Uni Spaghetti

We’re in the camp that thinks there’s no such thing as too much uni, so the fact that every bite of this pasta tastes like taking a water balloon filled with ocean water to the face is enjoyable to us. If that sounds enjoyable to you too, then you need to eat this.

Napolitan Spaghetti

This spaghetti is cooked in a sauce with ketchup, soy sauce, bacon, onions, and lots of black pepper. This is good in small doses and the yolk from the over-easy egg on top adds some flavor and texture, but it’s a little too ketchup-y, and you should go with the uni spaghetti instead.

photo credit: Teddy Wolff

Pork Curry

Like a lot about Davelle, this dish doesn’t give you reason to think you’re in for anything special, only to completely surprise you. This bowl of delicious and rich minced pork gets spicier and smokier the more you eat.