Foxface Natural

This place has a very unassuming storefront but hides a cozy and unique restaurant. The staff was very attentive and talked with us consistently throughout the night, but did not keep up with the water refills (partially due to the small size of the cup). They also forgot to give us the sourdough until we asked for it (though we weren't missing out on much as the sourdough was not all that sour and the butter was pretty salty). My friend and I shared most dishes so this is essentially 2x prix fix. The white wine I got was nothing noteworthy, tasted like a slightly acidic white. The on ice platter had a decent amount of seafood on it--the oysters were meaty and refreshing with the foam while the razor clam had a fragrant oil drizzle on top. The surf clam sat in a delicious fresh green sauce and it was a sizable amount of seafood too. The kangaroo tartare was the highlight of the meal: it had a gamey tougher meat drizzled in a sesame? oil and garlic and garnishes and it came with a bread that tasted like a pita chip. This was topped off by a spinach puree that sealed the deal. I would come back just to order this. The sayori was also top tier--it was sweet, boneless, and fried beautifully. Next came the aged duck which was cooked to perfection, but was too salty to me. I could definitely tell it was dry aged as the flavor popped out, but the gaminess and saltiness was too much for me. The sauce helped neutralize it a little though. Get the sorbet when you come and probably the toffee. I appreciated the cheese dish because I have never had crackers and cheese for a dessert but it was really a mini charcuterie with cooked cherries as a topper. They worked well together (especially after I found out I as supposed to eat the rind for the cow and sheep milk taste), but it was a hassle to put together. The coconut was refreshing and had a lot of Asian influences in the sweet potato and chips that tasted like dalgona. This was definitely one of the most unique restaurants I've been to in NYC.

KenScale: 8.5/10Visit: September 2024Now married for over seven years, my wife Jun and I have been to all kinds of restaurants throughout our culinary journey and admittedly at this point, it would be a little challenging for a new restaurant to blow our minds away (in a good way, obviously). That is why when we visited New York City since moving down to the DC metro area three years ago, we would usually stick with our favorite restaurants we know well instead of venturing out to new ones. One new place that I have really wanted to visit since last year was Foxface Natural, which has opened up as a relatively unassuming restaurant in East Village (before blowing up after critical accolades like the three-star review from The New York Times' Pete Wells). Not surprisingly, the restaurant had my attention with the kangaroo tartare; more importantly, I wanted to see if Foxface Natural would offer the kind of novel experience that would stimulate and inspire our palates spoiled from all kinds of finer things we had eaten. The restaurant delivered on that mission with some really fascinating dishes we hadn't encountered at other places. We were supposed to be joined by a long-time foodie friend who unfortunately was not feeling very well that day and had to cancel. When he texted me with the sad news, he asked if we were going to order the kangaroo tartare. When I told him we were on the fence, he practically begged us to give it a try. I'm very glad we ended up listening to him, with the raw kangaroo surprisingly not as gamey as we had feared, and with the charred eggplant puree providing a wonderful complement to the meat. The other starter dish was just as interesting. Jun remarked she had never seen pickled skirt extracted from a scallop until now, when it was added to the pork ear underneath salsa verde and pil pil sauce (originating from the Basque region). The textural combination between the chewy pork ear and the scallop skirt was quite ingenious, although Jun was not fully sold by the combination of these ingredients. What she wholeheartedly endorsed, on the other hand, was the BBQ Boer goat, a beautifully smoked meat accompanied by polenta beignets and sour orange sauce. As for me, I am a more duck breast than a confit person, but if I had had one like a phenomenal plate from Foxface Natural, I would've been easily convinced to change my mind. The dry aged duck confit had a more or less perfect texture, and was even more addictively delicious with a side of green rice and aji amarillo sauce that provided just the right amount of spicy kick. Even the dessert section at the restaurant was not ordinary. Our server highly recommended apricot and Sichuan pepper (!) sorbet with mochi cake and apricot pudding; the sorbet was fortunately not as spicy as we had feared and the sour and spicy blend demonstrated the high level of creative energy behind the kitchen. Getting a reservation at Foxface Natural is difficult, especially given the modest size of the dining space designed around one long counter along with a small number of high tops and tables. I highly encourage advance booking, especially if you are planning a dining group larger than two. The minimalist décor of the restaurant also quite worked well with the overall vibe from the food and friendly service of the staffs who seem to really take pride in the restaurant but do not act like they rule the culinary world. I was also pleasantly surprised by the wine list at the restaurant, with a lot of interesting bottles from all over the world. In my personal experience, when I see at least one German pinot noir (which is still hard to get in the States compared to the more acclaimed whites from the country) from a wine list, I see that as a sign that the restaurant takes its beverages very seriously, and Foxface Natural had three on the list. I'm really glad we finally made the trip to Foxface Natural, and I hope the restaurant sticks around for a long time. It will certainly be added to a very selective list of restaurants we would like to visit anytime we visit NYC.

One of my favorite dining experiences in recent memory. We're talking: stellar wine list, BUTTER, the best shrimp I've ever put in my mouth (is every other shrimp I've ever had just rubber garbageprawn sourced from the fiery depths of an inconceivable oceanic hell?), ...thoughtful sourcing, informed but fun service, and a general disposition that makes you think "whatever is happening here is cool and unpretentious and therefore I am cool and unpretentious also please feed me more crusty bread STAT."After reading much of the press and coverage of Foxface's iterations, I was GAME for anything - pun obviously and painfully intended. Much to my delight, the tasting menu the night I arrived was very fish focussed. I think the prix fixe here is a no-questions-asked-must-do. It's a better value and you'll get to sample double the dishes if you're on board to share with your dining mate. Since the menu changes daily, I am not going to go into the specifics of each dish. The important thing is that everything felt perfectly situated against one another. It's the sign of a restaurant who, pardon my French, knows who the fuck they are and what they are good at. In the case of Foxface Natural, it's making proteins shine - NOT through wacky flavor additions or fancy bullshit, but by deepening the relationship with the main they are working with. The oysters were served with an oyster foam and sprig of dill. The shrimp were served with a sauce whose main ingredient was...shrimp. The dessert goat cheese was served with a whole goat bleating at me as I ate it. The last part might be a lie but I was a little drunk at this point given my half downed bottle of (incredible) Baías e Enseadas. I truly regret not getting the name of our server but they had incredible hair, glasses, wine recommendations, and knowledge of this menu. Would not have been the same experience without their expert guidance and immediate understanding of what I wanted before I understood myself. I knew I was looking for a restaurant without a sign, but if you're a more casual diner than my maniacal ass, you should know there's no sign out front guiding you in - simply look for the bamboo windows slats. I will be following along on the Foxface journey moving forward and can't wait to frequent this spot for special occasions moving forward. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the team here for a special night!

Completely blown away by this meal. Very interesting far as ingredients but equally just as tasty! The service was impeccable. You can tell that they put thought behind every dish.We of course had the kangaroo tartare and pork tongue which was equally delicious. The sea scallops were REALLY good and always a must. We had a pasta with caviar and it was sooo deliciousssss and clams.

Really interesting spot with a constantly changing menu and lots of locally-sourced seafood. Service gets an easy A+, and the food was great as well. A refreshingly unique dining experience

Really cute eatery which feels like a wine bar but the food is really the star. Seafood-leaning menu in fixed or a la carte options. I always choose a la carte and we were happy with most of the dishes. Very unique style of cooking with fresh, high quality ingredients and excellent presentation. Would go back again.Food: 7/10Sevice: 6/10Vibe: 7/10Value: 7/10

I went since I was interested in the kangaroo tartare but they didn't have it on the menu :( I enjoyed my experience here, so I'll be on the lookout for the kangaroo tartare and return once it's back!The stands out for me were the seafood fritters with pork pate and the halibut. The pork pate was the star of the seafood fritters and was really tasty and unique! The halibut... omg the sauce was insanely good. We ate every last drop of that sauce. We used the sourdough bread to soak up the sauce. The halibut had a nice, seasoned crust and paired with the sauce was so umami and delicious. I'm not sure how to describe the dish in terms of flavors, but just trust it's so good. I've never had halibut made like that before. I've been to countless Michelin stars restaurants that always garnishes their dish with sauce/puree, and nothing compares to Foxface's halibut sauce.The sourdough was standard and classic. It came with a variety of pickled veggies all with unique flavors. The octopus bolognese was probably the most letdown dish of the night for me. I didn't really taste the octopus flavor in the pasta itself. The pasta sauce was kind of lacking in general. It did come with a side of octopus tentacle that was dressed in a chimichurri-like sauce that was really good. It was tangy and the octopus was tender.(Not pictured) we also got the pork hearts, which isn't gamey at all (I'm really sensitive to gamey food, i.e. lamb is a no go for me) but still had that pork heart flavor. I don't know how they do it! There was this zesty white sauce that came with it, that elevated the dish further. I wish we got more of the white sauce. However, I'm not the biggest fan of hearts, so I wouldn't reorder this.The young coconut sorbet was a slight disappointment for me since I wanted more of the young coconut taste, but it was sour. There was a sweet potato purée at the bottom which was unique and paired nicely with it.

Food was absolutely delectable, that of a fine dining restaurant in a casual and friendly setting. I wanted to go to a restaurant different from our typical sushi omakase or steakhouse. And THIS WAS IT!!! Servers and the manager were all knowledgeable and checked in on our meal frequently. I had a great Cabernet franc that went well with the meal and was recommended by one of the waiters. It was so good, I think I drank a whole bottle to myself. The food was some of the best I've ever had and I'll be dreaming about the crispy pork head with pickled oyster and caviar for a long time. My other favorite bites were the Maine uni pasta and the young coconut sorbet. The main course, wood oven roasted Hawaiian Uku fish was new to me, but soooo good too! This is a restaurant you cannot miss!

Newest addition to fav NYC wine bars! Their food is absolutely amazing and deserve all the hype. Try the kangaroo tartare!! No gamey flavors at all and tasted super similar to beef just not as fatty. Excellent tagliatelle - super light sherry sauce with pops of ikura. Fluke is The olive oil, garlic, & parsley sauce is simply delicious. Makes you want to lick the plate clean. SO GOOD 와인바 좋아하면 여기 강추! 디쉬들이 �그냥 미쳤다 처음 먹어보는 캥거루 고기는 생각보다 소고기랑 비슷한데 조금 더 담백? 한 맛이구 거부감 없이 먹을수 있음. 파스타도 심플한 와인 소스에 이꾸라를 넣어 밸런스가 굳! 베스트는 넙치요리 마늘 & 파슬리 소스가 너무 맛있어서 수저로 계속 떠먹게됨. 분위기도 잔잔하고 예약도 빡세지 않아서 자주갈듯.

Huge love to the chef! The food was spectacular! It's challenging to get a table since the restaurant is on the smaller side but they're happy to accommodate. We came wanting to get on the waiting list and were asked to reserve via Resy. When we showed up 2 hours later the table was ready and I was really excited to eat here:)Everything we tried was excellent. My favorite was bluefin tuna crudo. Not only was it beautifully plated, the flavor palette had depth and unexpected elements. I wouldn't think fermented tomato would go well with raw fish but it was perfect. Also, my first time trying fermented tomato - sweet soft and chewy. Another first for me was trying raw kangaroo meat. The tartare was a very unique flavor - I liked it! I just wish it didn't have the chewy parts..like a thin tendon of sorts. Although it was very finely chopped there were pieces still connected to each other. Sourdough with homemade pickled veggies and butter was a perfect starter except when we got to our entree I think we ordered too much food altogether. Homemade butter was very unique..reminded me of sour cream. And I can never say no to anything pickled so I loved the small spread. Roasted fish was my least favorite but still very good. By the time we got to the fish we were already pretty full. It seemed a little overcooked and mushy but we slowly cleared the plate anyway because of the seasoning. I can't wait to try more things here! And maybe pop in for lunch at some point. Oh I almost forgot. Minus 1 star for the music. It was so random, it didn't fit the vibe of the food and ruined the ambiance. Maybe the goal is to juxtapose fancy menu with casual music but it's NOT A VIBE. Every other song was so bad that it became distracting. They can absolutely benefit from hiring a DJ to curate a fitting and cool playlist.