Diablo Royale Este
Description
Prolific restaurateur Jason Hennings (Black Iron Burger, Tonda) oversees two branches of Diablo Royale, with the East Village location roughly twice as large as its West Village sister. Expect a boisterous bar scene of party girls and clean-cut guys with untucked shirts calling each other "man" and "bro." To appease the neighbors, seating in the back garden ends at 9:45pm on weekdays and 10:15 on weekends—but the indoor revelry goes on much later. The brimstone-red lighting and multitude of candles effectively evokes a devil's playground, plus there's a bordello-themed bar downstairs festooned with deer-antler chandeliers. The Mexican menu veers into Euro territory with potato and cheese croquettes to be dipped in chipotle mayo, ancho chile–marinated "carne frites" and croque monsieur chimichangas. There are also staples like nachos, tacos and enchiladas.