EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN

CheLi

Elegant Shanghainese cooking under an indoor thatched roof — Shaoxing-wine crab and red-braised pork belly.

Just off the noise of St. Marks Place, CheLi is all calm: a thatched roof indoors, lanterns, the sound of running water, and some of the most elegant Shanghainese cooking in New York. The menu is long, and the servers are good guides to the regional dishes.

Start with Atlantic blue crab soaked in floral Shaoxing wine, served in the shell and eaten with your hands, and the chicken steeped in the same wine. Then red-braised pork belly, stir-fried rice cakes with pork and leeks, and the delicate peach resin stew with crabmeat.

Editor’s tip

Order the wine-soaked crab and braised pork belly, and ask the server what's seasonal.

Make an evening of it — beautiful stops nearby

EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN

St. Marks Place

Three loud, layered blocks where the East Village keeps its receipts.

Beautiful Street · Free

~3 min on foot

EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN

Buffalo Exchange East Village

The East Village's closet, resold: sharply picked secondhand racks that turn over by the week.

Shopping · Free

~6 min on foot

Also in the neighborhood

EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN

Abraço

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EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN

Veselka

The 1954 Ukrainian diner that still anchors Second Avenue with pierogi and borscht.

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Editorial draft — core details last reviewed October 13, 2026. Confirm practical details with the official site before you go.