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Hispaniola is a very only-in-New York sort of place: a mishmash of Dominican, Asian, and European cuisines in a neighborhood, Washington Heights, that's home for Latinos, Orthodox Jews, medical students, and got-cheap-rent fashionistas. It's one of a handful of upscale restaurants here, and the food is wildly inventive and beautifully presented, stacked and sauced with artistic flair. The delicate miso butterfish, the signature dish of chef David Nuñez, is marinated for two days in miso and sake, served on a plateau of steamed rice and baby bok choy, and garnished with shaved scallions and edible flowers. Braised duck also crowns a dome of shrimp fried rice, surrounded by a tangy moat of red wine sauce. Appetizers like jumbo lump crab cake, coconut-dusted shrimp, and spinach crabmeat tomato salad are coated in flavorful and spicy ingredients. Tostones deep-fried and salted, come speared together on a skewer. With a cascading waterfall and huge windows that reveal the George Washington Bridge, Hispaniola is popular for dates in the evening. Downstairs is a good place to catch a soccer match on the plasma TV, while next door, despite the smoking ban, a cigar lounge sells Dominican cigars and rents private humidors. — Stephen Weiss

Mon.—Fri., 4 p.m.—8 p.m.; half-priced drinks

Flan, $8; coconut dusted shrimp, $12; miso butterfish, $28

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