"Naks is another spot from the team behind Semma and Dhamaka. It has a similar regional ethos, but unlike its siblings, the East Village restaurant serves Filipino food. Now's a great time to try some smoked eggplant salad with shrimp paste, kare-kare with beef cheeks, or pork belly accompanied by liver sauce." - bryan kim
"Having moved from a tasting-menu format to an à la carte setup, the restaurant now lets groups sample more dishes; the standout was the Kanto fried chicken — boneless, extremely crispy, and remained hot and tender even after a 20-minute return for seconds. Other recommended plates include the grilled lemon soda pork belly and the clay-pot adobo rice." - Eater Staff
"Brunch might be our favorite meal at this East Village Filipino restaurant from the team behind Semma. People sing along to old-school Pinoy hip-hop tracks and make their way through multicolored cocktail samplers. The breakfast platters come with garlic rice, fried egg, fried tofu, pickled papaya, and your choice of vegetable or protein (the juicy pork longganisa is great), plus a rich, savory bone broth. It’s hard to choose between crab omelette and lumpiang gulay, but make sure to get a salted egg pancake for the table." - bryan kim, willa moore, molly fitzpatrick, will hartman, sonal shah
"Imagine the sun, but in pancake form. Warm and creamy, bright and a little citrusy—that’s Naks’ brunch-only pancake. The thick disc is drizzled first with citrus butter, then salted egg cream, and it’s juicy and crisp around the edges, and fluffy but not dry in the middle. Get one for the table for a very good morning." - molly fitzpatrick, sonal shah, kenny yang, carina finn koeppicus
"Unapologetic Foods is known for their hyper-specific, regional Indian food at spots like Dhamaka and Semma, but one of their head chefs is actually from the Philippines. Chef Eric Valdez is taking the lead again at their new East Village restaurant Naks, where they’ll serve kamayan-style dinners involving things like kapis with eden cheese, lechon served with pork liver dip, and spicy sliced beef that you’re encouraged to eat with your hands." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore
