TABLES FOR TWO

Samuel Clonts and Raymond Trinh, the chef duo behind Cactus Wren, which opened in February on Ludlow and Rivington Streets, seem blessedly uninterested in capturing any sort of Zeitgeist.

- —Helen Rosner

Cactus Wren 98 Rivington St.

Their first establishment, a tasting-menu restaurant called 63 Clinton, is defined by its idiosyncrasy, its total confidence in itself, and its refusal to play the fancy-schmanciness game that seems to steer so many high-end restaurants toward a kind of anodyne, luxury sameness. Cactus Wren is similarly sui generis. It tells a bit of a story, with recurring references to the American Southwest (the restaurant is named after the state bird of Arizona), but mostly it’s a kitchen that’s doing its own thing. The menu is tight and snacky, elegant and gimmicky, high and low. In its pursuit of, well, whatever the hell it’s pursuing, Cactus Wren explodes categories, in a way that feels unaffected and invigorating.