Restaurants in Inwood

Tolani Wine Restaurant marries fine wines and an eclectic menu in an upscale lounge and dining room. Candlelight filters through crimson glasses and bottles in the upstairs lounge, where pours pair with charcuterie and cheese. A crystal chandelier hangs above a flight of stairs that leads to the stone-wrought cellar dining room, its walls lined with bottle-filled cubbies and brick walls. The restaurant's menu of small and medium plates features upscale interpretations of a wide variety of dishes from around the globe, served indoors or on the outdoor patio, guarded on all sides by stone and several for-hire sorcerers.

Visitors passing under Freda's Caribbean & Soul Cuisine's green, brown, and orange sign soon find themselves surrounded by the scents of authentic Caribbean grub. Platters of curried goat and jerk chicken arrive flanked by peas and rice, and side orders of candied yams and fried plantains bolster main dishes. Sweet-potato-pie slices cling to fork tines as they travel into mouths to silence the yammering of impatient sweet teeth. A large window at the storefront admits bucketfuls of the sun's warming rays, providing ample opportunity for those seated nearby to show off half-eaten red snapper and enrage passing bears.

At Rain Thai Restaurant, Thai-tinged chefs enlighten palates with a range of traditional thai flavors beneath the bright sunlight of expansive storefront windows. The restaurant’s specialty grilled pork chop simmers in garlic pepper amid mixed vegetables and sticky rice, and a range of exotic duck, seafood, and noodle dishes plays zesty complement. An intimate dining area cushions diners in scarlet booths beneath glowing wall sconces as they savor each dish, and a selection of imported Thai beers offers sippers diversion from familiar domestic brews and everyday love potions.

Owner and chef Tony Lam mingles with customers in the dining room and with flavors in the kitchen to craft a lively atmosphere fueled by creative Vietnamese fare at an eatery specializing in bun, or rice noodles. Open until midnight on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends, chefs prepare the eponymous bun with meat and spices, simmering them in clear pho broth or french-braiding them into edible wigs. Bamboo and verdant plants sprout from arrangements throughout the venue, and vibrant oil paintings hang from the walls above smooth wooden booths.

At La Vie Restaurant & Lounge, light from moroccan lamps takes on bright colors and effuses across clouds of sweet hookah smoke between DJs and belly dancers. Patrons carrying plates laden with skewers and pizzas that blend French and Moroccan culinary traditions zigzag between canopied and candlelit booths strewn with crimson and gold throw pillows. Plush red benches and stools, sprawling underneath mirrors set in gilded frames, grant ample views of a hardwood dance floor and a chance for ground-floor investment in new dance moves. Live bands play music until as late as 4 a.m., with themed evenings focusing on specific genres. Glasses overflowing with fruit-infused cocktails chase off lingering spices and clink together in gleeful toasts between walls with textural accents of stone and beaten copper.

As part of Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project, New Leaf donates all its net proceeds to help restore and maintain New York’s parks and community gardens. Executive chef Scott Campbell creates a constantly changing menu that's inspired by the city’s 55 community gardens and composed of locally sourced American fare. From whole, natural ingredients, he makes bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, pan-seared free-range chicken, and flash-fried soft shelled crab. Nestled amid a dense garden of variegated hosta and century-old trees, the expansive restaurant occupies a restored cobblestone Parks-Department building from the 1930s.