Maloya

Take a Tour of Réunion Island Cooking at Maloya | Eater NY

"In Bushwick I discovered Maloya, at 983 Flushing Avenue (at Central Avenue), which I believe is New York City's first Réunion restaurant I know of. It's the work of Samuel Lebreton, whose family comes from Réunion and whose mother's recipes inform the menu, and his partner Tara Gruszkiewicz; the combination dining room and bar is decorated with giant murals of tropical fruit, including the South African anana Victoria pineapples and red lychee nuts. The brief menu (five appetizers, six mains and a handful of sides) makes the place feel more like a bar than a restaurant. Standout dishes include camarons coco vanille ($23) — a generous fistful of pink crustaceans in a coconut-milk sauce bright with vanilla and lime that I fell in love with — and tiny triangular samoussas (we had the aligot version of cheese and mashed potato, though the tuna one sounded appealing). Most starters are fried: salt cod fritters are briny, gloriously starchy and excellent with pink mayo; lima-bean fritters resemble falafel; chicken wings were forgettable. Entrées ($20–$24) come with rice and beans; the boeuf bourguignon creole was dull despite large, dry chunks of meat, while the cabri massale was brilliant — off-the-bone goat in a lovely dark sauce that truly tastes like an Indian–French mash-up, making it uniquely good in the city. The cocktail list ($14–$16) highlights rums from Réunion (including a thyme-and-olive-brine “dirty” martini that eschews gin and vodka) and drinks laced with French bitters and coconut milk; the all-French wine list (glasses $12–$20) includes four sparklers, two rosés and an orange pét-nat, and I opted for a Breton apple cider that was bubbly, extremely dry and ultra-refreshing. We finished with Gateau Ti’son — a bundt-shaped yellow corncake glazed with mango and passion-fruit syrup, topped with whipped cream and served with ginger ice cream — a dessert that sweetly sums up flavors that circle the Indian Ocean and have come to roost at Réunion." - Robert Sietsema