"Paul Carmichael's Caribbean prix fixe was named America's best of 2026; book the counter for an anniversary in the East Village."
Kabawa runs one menu: three courses, $145, Caribbean, in the East Village room that used to be Momofuku Ko. Paul Carmichael grew up in Barbados, cooked Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney to acclaim, and came home to New York to cook the food he actually knows. In 2026 Food & Wine named Kabawa the best restaurant in the United States. The black bass curry is the dish people fly in for.
Paul Carmichael was born in Barbados and made his name as executive chef of Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney, which Food & Wine put among the ten best restaurants in the world in 2020. He now leads the kitchens at Momofuku, and Kabawa is his most personal room. The format is a three-course, $145 prix fixe, with choices at each turn, built to show the range of the Caribbean rather than one island.
The signature is a black bass curry, the fish chosen because it swims abundantly off the Northeast, so the plate is both local and Caribbean at once. Around it move pepper shrimp, cassava dumplings in Creole sauce, chuletas can-can and a coconut turnover to close. Kabawa took over the old Momofuku Ko space at 8 Extra Place off First Street, and in 2026 Food & Wine's Global Tastemakers named it the best restaurant in the country. Wine and rum pairings cost extra, and it reads as one of the city's standout tasting and prix-fixe rooms.
The room is small and low-lit, split between a kitchen counter where the chefs hand plates across and quieter tables in the back. Sound is conversation-easy early and warmer as the rum flows. Seats number around thirty across counter and tables, with spacing generous for New York. There is no dress code worth the name, and people come in everything from tailoring to a good T-shirt. The counter is the seat to request if you want the cooks talking you through each course.
Book Kabawa for an anniversary because the meal is personal without being stiff. The three-course shape keeps the night to a civilised length instead of a three-hour march, the counter gives you a front-row view of the cooking to talk about between courses, and the food carries a story a Midtown tasting menu cannot. Ask for two counter seats, let the black bass curry be the centrepiece, and order the rum pairing if you are not driving. The room is intimate enough to feel like an occasion and loose enough to actually enjoy it.
Not for a large group or a quiet business dinner: the room is tight, the counter faces the cooks, and the one $145 menu has no quick à la carte option.
Yes. Kabawa was named the best restaurant in the United States by Food & Wine's 2026 Global Tastemakers, and the $145 three-course price is fair for cooking of this level in New York. Paul Carmichael's Caribbean food is specific and personal rather than a greatest-hits tour. Go for the black bass curry and the counter seats. More of the city sits on our New York dining guide.
Harder since the award. Kabawa takes reservations through Resy, releasing tables on a rolling window, and counter seats go first. Weeknights are easier than Friday and Saturday. Set a Resy alert and check at the 10am drop, since cancellations surface in the days before. The adjacent Bar Kabawa takes walk-ins if the dining room is full.
No formal dress code. Kabawa is a relaxed East Village room, so smart-casual is plenty, and jeans with a good shirt are normal at the counter. You will see everything from tailoring to T-shirts. There is no jacket requirement and no need to dress up beyond what feels right for a night out downtown.
The black bass curry is the signature and the reason to come. Around it, the pepper shrimp and the cassava dumplings in Creole sauce are the picks, and the coconut turnover closes well. Since it is a three-course prix fixe you choose one per course, so split different mains across the table. Add the rum pairing if you can.
Reservations via Resy. Bar Kabawa next door takes walk-ins.
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Kabawa earns a spot on our ranked list of the best tables in the city this year.
See the New York top 10 →