Ha'S Snack Bar

I read the reviews on Reddit and Google about how the food here was mid, but was excited to try it nonetheless since it’s ranked so highly on so many New York lists. The food was indeed truly mid. The oysters and egg mayo were SO salty. The lamb risotto tasted like a lazy meal I’d make at home, and the pate chaud was bland. The chicken liver toast and tamarind snails were decent. Portions were extremely tiny, and the prices don’t reflect that. The restaurant is extremely cramped and all seating is basically uncomfortable wooden stools. The service was not very friendly. One of the servers seemed like she did not want to be there. Reservations are difficult to get and honestly not worth it. I genuinely have no idea how this place is ranked so well on a lot of lists. Disappointing :/

I kept hearing great things about this NYC restaurant with the unlikely name of Ha’s Snack Bar. So I managed to line up outside the tiny spot at 4:45PM on a Wednesday afternoon in late March, and snagged a seat at the counter when the doors opened at 5:30PM. It’s a small (24 seats) but full Lower East Side restaurant featuring Vietnamese / French inspired flavors, with a great vibe, friendly, helpful servers - and you can’t miss the chefs at work in the microscopic open kitchen (Two inductions and a Rational). I kicked things off with Oysters with Green Chili which were a perfect starter. Next up was the dish I’d heard a lot about, Snails with Tamarind Butter. This lived up to the praise, absolutely delicious, with a warm chunk of baguette. Later, I realized, it’s reminiscent of New Orleans style BBQ Shrimp! And that’s a good thing. For my final plate, I ordered the Clams with Lemongrass and Chinese Bacon, and this seafood stew type dish was wonderful as well. I loved the whole experience at Ha’s, which in a previous life was a well-known NYC Pop-up (Ha’s Dac Biet) from Sadie Mae Burns-Ha and Anthony Ha. Now, in addition to Ha’s, they also have a larger spot, Bistrot Ha. You can sure that’s on my list now too! Ha’s was the first stop in a three-day NYC visit for me, and a very memorable one.

Loved Ha’s! We ordered six dishes and loved them all. The snails were as described and hyped and the egg mayo was the best I’ve had. The sausage toastie and asparagus and Chinese bacon on toast had such deep flavors. And the curried crab tartlette had us scraping the plate for every last bit. Don’t miss there desserts, the chocolate and huckleberry sundae was solid. We also really liked all the cool, natural wines they offer. Service is friendly and tight. The space is small, some would say cramped but others would say cozy. It didn’t really bother us, especially once the food hit the table. Ha’s Snack Bar is absolutely fantastic and we hope for a return trip to see what other delicious ideas they have!

One of the best restaurants I went the last year. Still thinking about some of their dishes i have tried. It is REALLY hard to make an appointment, so I went there before the opening and got the spot. However, if you don’t mind late dinner (around 8:30-9:00), that might be easier. We ordered almost everything except the two things. I can’t say much about the menu I have chosen because I believe they rotate the menu, however, if they have tomato carpaccios and oysters were amazing. Cobbler as well! I really want to go back, and yet it will be so hard to go back 😭