Paul Carmichael had already made a name for himself outside of the US. While he was the executive chef at Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney, Australia, the acclaimed spot was named one of Food & Wine’s 10 best restaurants in the world in 2020 and Carmichael was named chef of the year by Gourmet Traveller the same year. Now, he’s returning to New York (he was previously the chef at Má Pêche) in a big way with the opening of Momofuku’s Bar Kabawa, the group’s first new restaurant in years.
And this one might just be Carmichael’s most personal yet. “I’ve been holding the idea of celebrating the Caribbean for the last 10 years,” says the chef, who was born and raised in Barbados and now leads culinary operations at Momofuku. “I would not have left Australia to come back here for anything else.”
You’ll find Carmichael spotlighting the cuisines of the Caribbean at the new East Village wine and daiquiri bar—formerly home to the two-MICHELIN-Starred Momofuku Ko—with plenty of exciting small plates that nod to his heritage.
Read on for what to expect at Bar Kabawa, and make a booking on OpenTable.
What to eat
The heart of the compact food menu at Bar Kabawa are baked and fried West Indian patties, which combine Haitian and Jamaican styles in options like curry crab and baked squash along with short rib, conch, and bone marrow. For something even smaller, consider getting one of the raw bar offerings like oysters or bay scallops with spicy Haitian slaw pikliz.
Make sure you get an order of the dad’s sardines with avocado and pepper sauce—it might just be one of Carmichael’s favorites on the menu and nods to the post-work snack his dad made growing up. Save room for the caramelized ducana, an Antiguan sweet potato dish that Bar Kabawa serves with nutmeg ice cream.
What to drink
The drinks alone are reason enough to make this spot your new go-to. Attaboy alum Kathryn Stashek has created a menu centered on Caribbean rum and cocktails with a special focus on daiquiris. Try the daiquiri Kabawa with your choice of rum, key lime juice, and cane sugar. Bring a friend or two and get the Planter’s Punch, a rum-based cocktail with lime, grapefruit, and cinnamon that serves two or four.
A wine list with offerings from Italy, Spain, and Greece, among other areas, rounds out the drinks menu.
Where to sit
Carmichael wanted the restaurant to feel like a home in the Caribbean. You’ll find 24 seats spread out across the intimate restaurant at the bar, four hightops, and a large table that seats six. The interiors are done up in light woods and feature two murals that are meant to depict everyday life in the Caribbean. Carmichael hopes the restaurant will be both a place where you can have a quick drink and a small bite or linger over heartier dishes and cocktails through the evening.
Alexis Benveniste is a big fan of Persian food, sushi, and finding hidden gems she can recommend to her friends. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The MICHELIN Guide, Bloomberg, and New York Magazine. You can find her on Instagram at @apbenven.
