Editor's Note: HAGS is currently closed for repairs. The restaurant does not yet have a reopening date, but in the meantime the owners will be conducting pop-ups and residencies. Check their Instagram for updates.

There are Great Restaurants, and there are Important Restaurants. HAGS is, without question, an Important Restaurant. Eating at this tiny East Village spot—billed as “by queer people, for all people”—is like taking a walk through Alice’s looking glass and coming out the other side. After a meal here, you’ll have a new perspective not only on what fine dining can be, but what a restaurant can do for its community. 

The thread of identity is woven through the entire experience, from the option to select a pronoun pin when you’re seated to choosing either the Omnivore ($155) or Vegan ($145) tasting menu. Whichever path you take, you’ll find that every dish is flawlessly executed and each component has a backstory, an emotional resonance. The wine pairing is a must and features some of the most exciting options we’ve ever been served, like the only wine in the world that’s aged in leather. This wine, like many other elements of the meal, is a nod to queer culture—and it’s also the perfect choice to accompany a slab of pork and beans that’s been given the soigné treatment.