Bayte

From its split-level space with terrazzo floor and dark-wood furniture, Bayte elevates Lebanese share-food and here-and-now re-mixed classics. Kibbeh can come traditionally (raw lamb pounded with burghul) or as a new-classic with raw yellowfin chunks tossed with fresh mint and burghul. Char-kissed barbecue skewers include lamb backstrap and garlic chicken dolloped with house labna. And seasonal salads include a fattoush with torn baked-here flatbread, tomato, cucumber and purslane. Bayte ditched breakfasts in 2014 and edged more upmarket, but remains within reach of under-$30 diners.