After a year-long hiatus, fine dining is back!
Sixty Three Clinton | Photo by Giada Paoloni
Sixty Three Clinton | Photo by Giada Paoloni
Some things are worth waiting for—including and especially the return of top-notch tasting menu experiences that have long defined dining in NYC.
Sam Clonts and Raymond Trinh have been waiting for this moment since 2019, when the lifelong friends decided to open their first restaurant together after 15 years of working side by side at some of the city’s top culinary destinations. Now, after more than a year in which fine dining was off the table, the co-owners are finally unveiling their seasonal tasting menu restaurant dubbed Sixty Three Clinton on the Lower East Side this week.
After meeting in high school, the duo worked together first at Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare and later at Bar Uchu, where Trinh oversaw all of the restaurant’s front- and back-of-house operations and Clonts became the youngest American chef to earn a Michelin star at just 26 years old.
With Clonts helming the kitchen at Sixty Three Clinton, the spot will offer seven courses for $92 with the option to add a caviar hand roll for $55. The menu is fueled by local ingredients so offerings will change with the seasons, but opening dishes include charcoal-seared crudo with yuzu vinaigrette and shiso, and roasted tomato agnolotti with black garlic ricotta and calabrian chile.
The menu clearly samples from international techniques and flavors—from the pair’s hometown of Tucson, Arizona to Japan, Italy, and all around the world. Dinner starts with a “breakfast taco” with ajitama (a seasoned ramen egg), trout roe, and salsa verde atop a housemade flour tortilla, and the meal is capped with wood-fired Baked Alaska made with strawberry yuzu ice cream.
Trinh will take his front-of-house experience to lead the team at Sixty Three Clinton and oversee the restaurant’s beverage program. The wine list includes bottles and by-the-glass pours that are “traditional and progressive wines with responsible farming in mind.” As for cocktails, the list will focus on classics made with a slight twist based on ingredients available in the kitchen.
The space is split up into two sections: a 10-seat, U-shaped bar with additional seating at a chef’s counter, and a cozy dining room that seats 40. In the bar area, an a la carte menu is offered in addition to the tasting menu.
Sixty Three Clinton is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 11 pm. Reservations can be made online.
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