People know that I love to eat out. Many also know that I keep meticulous lists of restaurants for cities around the world. So, naturally, when people come to New York City, tourists and business folks, alike, ask me where they should go to eat. As a result, I started keeping a list of NYC restaurants - not just for the purposes of sharing but also to help give me some hints as to where to go when I want something to eat!
There are a few disclaimers here: First, you'll notice that 99% of these restaurants are below 60th Street. Just as my neighborhood of Hoboken is a foreign land to many New Yorkers, the Upper East and Upper West Sides are culinary Siberia to me. If you must eat up that way, ask someone else for a recommendation (I'm not sure why you would, however - all the good stuff is downtown ;). Second, these are, of course, my own opinion - your mileage may vary. Third, I'm lazy, so you'll have to Google restaurant addresses and websites yourselves - I don't have time to hunt down hyperlinks for all of them. Finally, this comes from a set of notes that I jot down every time I find a restaurant worthy - proper use of English and good spelling will vary. Bon Appetit!
The "NYC Experience" Restaurants - These are the restaurants that visitors have consistently told me over the years that they enjoy going to the most. They may not be the best in their category, but they are reliable and tend to be more unique to New York:
- Aldea (31 west 17th St., Chelsea) - Amazing, upscale, modern Portuguese food. Used to be relatively unknown, but now packed every night (Now with a Michelin Star). Overlap of Portuguese, Spanish and other Mediterranean dishes.
- Griffou (ex. Hotel Griffou - W.10th St., East Village) - Bizarre early 1900's city mansion interior with a funky hipster soundtrack and staff. Amazing cocktails and excellent food.
- Ai Fiori - Lavish and amazing modern Mediterranean. Incredible. More for special occasions and business dinners.
- Frank (88 2nd Avenue, East Village) - Have been going here for 10+ years. It's still amazing and packed. Rustic "un-traditional" italian, homemade specialties, homemade pastas. Never met anyone who didn't like this place. No reservations. CASH ONLY.
- Eleven Madison Park (11 Madison Avenue at Madison Sq. Park) - Arguably the best restaurant in NYC now and was voted by many as best restaurant in the country last year. Simply amazing new American. The $88 fixed price is a steal. If you go with the full tasting menu + wines + cocktails, be prepared to spend upward of $200+ per person before tip. Reservations absolutely necessary any day of the week. Dress nice (no jacket required, though). Great for special occasions or long business dinners.
- 'inoteca (98 Rivington St. at Ludlow St, Lower East side) - Small dish Italian "tapas". Amazing, still getting rave reviews after years. Very busy and loud. No Reservations, no large parties over 6.
- Veritas (Flatiron) - Upscale American, known for their gigantic wine collection. One of the top 3 wine restaurants in the city. Expensive, but always excellent.
- Craft (Chelsea) - The best of Tom Colichio's NYC restaurant. Modern American, great wine, great cocktails. It has maintained 3 NY Times stars for 10 years.
- Peasant (Elizabeth St. - Nolita) - Rustic Italian and consistently good. David Chang (Momofuku) said that if he could choose only one restaurant to eat at in NYC for the rest of his life, this would be it.
- Spotted Pig (Greenwich St., West Village) - Modern English gastropub. It's past its prime from when it was incredibly trendy, but it's still great and is still packed. Go early - no reservations. Stilton Burger = very good or good for beers/cocktails and bar snacks.
- L'Artusi (West Village) - Elegant and trendy brunch (and lunch and dinner) in a sleek, beautiful, space
- Compose (Worth St. TriBeCa) - Amazing 12-seat dining experience. Superb food, excellent cocktails and the wine pairing is amazing. Set aside at least 2.5 hours for the meal.
- Momofuku Ssam Bar (2nd Ave at 13th St.) - David Chang's amazing Korean/American/whatever restaurant, which is always packed to the gills. They don't take reservations, so put your name in and have a drink in the back at their whiskey bar. The "Milk Bar" dessert/bakery place has now moved across the street. Reasonable, loud, packed and very casual - my favorite of his restaurants and ranked top 50 in the world this past year.
- Momofuku Ko - 12 seat, amazing experience - one of the best food experiences in the city. Online reservations only, maximum 7 days in advance. Very expensive.
- Momofuku Noodle Bar (1st Ave at 11th) - Most simple of the Momofukus, but inexpensive and excellent. No reservations.
- The Old Homestead (56 9th Avenue, Meatpacking District) - My choice for a great NYC steakhouse. Oldest steakhouse in NYC. Amazing meats and consistently good.
- Esca (402 W. 43rd, Hells Kitchen) - Nicer, busy Mediterranean-themed fresh fish joint. Excellent quality. Famous for their Spaghetti with Lobster with Chili and Mint (get it as starter for each person, then share a whole fresh fish as the main). Chef/Owner is known as the best seafood guy in NYC and still catches some of the fish on his own boat.
- Mintetta Tavern (113 MacDougal Street) - Keith McNalley's trendy tavern/steakhouse. The $26 Black Label burger, accordingly to many, is the best in the city, but the Cote de Boeuf for two is to die for. Always totally packed. Eat at the bar if you can get a seat, otherwise book a table.
- Katz's Deli (E. Houston St. at Ludlow) - The home of American Pastrami. Amazing melt-in-your-mouth Pastrami and Corned beer. Famous in "When Harry Met Sally" ("I'll have what she's having...")
- Les Halles (411 Park Avenue South, Midtown) - Classic French Steakhouse. Busy, vibrant, always packed. Best Steak Frites in the city.
- Pastis (9 9th Ave in the middle of the Meatpacking District) and Balthazar (80 Spring Street, Soho) - Sister restaurants with similar menus. Classic french bistros. Pastis is trendier, but only because of its location. Always packed.
- Spice Market (403 w. 13th St. Meatpacking District) - Trendy, huge, far-east inspired food. Interesting, unique specialities and great cocktails.
- I Sodi (Christopher St. near PATH) - superb Tuscan cuisine. Small, intimate atmosphere. Amazing ingredients and fresh pastas, including the best olive oil anywhere, which is harvested from the owner's farm in Italy.
- Marea (Central Park South near Columbus Circle) - Seafood restaurant with italian flare. Hands down the best seafood restaurant in NYC and probably one of this year's top 10 overall restaurants. Expensive.
- A Voce - Columbus (Columbus Circle, Time Warner Center, also near Madison Sq. Park) - Upscale, Modern Italian. Good atmosphere, great quality and you can got to one of the other places in Time Warner for drinks beforehand. Expensive.
- Pulino's Pizzaria (Bowery at E. Houston) - Keith McNally's trendy authentic pizzaeria. Crowded, packed atmosphere, great starters and so so service, but it's fun. Late night menu.
- The Dutch (SoHo) - Vibrant, busy and popular. Excellent casual, but higher-end "pub" type food. Amazing fried chicken.
- Lure Fish Bar (Mercer St., Soho) - Excellent seafood and brunch in a nice "yacht-like" environment (without being cheesy) - large space
- Del Posto (85 10th Avenue, Chelsea) - High-end Italian, owned by Mario Batali. Excellent for a special occasion. Amazing restaurant space. Be prepared to pay. Dress nice (no jacket required)
- Jean Georges / Nougatine (Columbus Circle) - Amazing modern French/American food. Beautiful atmosphere. Expensive dinner, but best lunch deal in nyc ($25, 3 course, same quality as any other time of the day)
- Tia Pol (West 10th St) - Unapologetically classic Spanish tapas - very reliable.
- Socarrat Paella Bar (W19th St near 8th Ave) - Classic Paella bar that makes its namesake very good. Good Spanish tapas on the other side, as well. Be prepared to wait or make a reservations. Extremely small and always busy.
- Mesa Coyoacan (Graham Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn) - truly authentic Mexican, great environment, great cocktails.
- Cacio E Vino (80 2nd Avenue, East Village) - 100% true Sicilian Food. Not "traditional" Northern or Southern Italian...lots of unique dishes.
- El Almacen (577 Driggs Avenue, Willamsburg, Brooklyn) - 1 block from the Bedford Ave. Subway. Excellent Argentinean food. Very small place, but lively. Best Argentinean Rib Eye steak in NYC (possibly).
- Nick and Stef's Steakhouse (Penn Station/Midtown) - Classic upscale NYC steakhouse - typical menu and good quality. Only on here because it's a good option for a pricey lunch if you're stuck in Penn Station no-mans land.
- Aroma Kitchen and Wine Bar (36 East 4th St.) - Modern and classic Italian, excellent wines. Very unique communal tables settings in the back basements. Great with a group of people.
- Mesa Grill (102 5th Ave - Flatiron District) - Bobby Flay owned celebrity joint, but delivers really good southwestern (US) inspired food. Maybe the best pork loin i've ever had. Not bad for a celeb chef place.
- Hanbat (W35th St. - Koreatown near Herald Sq) - Very good, reliable, classic Korean. Good place to give it a try if you've never had it.
- Mercat (Bond Street near Lafayette) - Best and most authentic Catalan tapas in NYC. Everything is just good here.
- Momofuku Ma Peche (Midtown) - Different from the rest and accepts reservations. Not as critically-acclaimed as the others, but, nonetheless, very good.
- Vutera (345 Grand St., Willamsburg, Brooklyn) - Basement of a music club next to the BQE, really amazing experimental and classic American in small-plate and full serving formats. Out of the way, but worth it and relatively very good value.
- 44&X (10th ave at 44, Hells Kitchen) - Excellent atmosphere, cocktails and extensive menu. Busy, trendy, but not too trendy for its own good.
- Trattoria Zero Otto Nove (2357 Arthur Avenue, Bronx) - Way out of the way, difficult to get to, but arguably the best authentic Italian Pizza in NYC with a full menu of excellent other dishes as well. Worth the trip, but no subways run up that way. (Note: They have now opened a Manhattan outpost on 21st St. in Flatiron, but I have not been there yet)
- Schiller's Liquor Bar (131 Rivington Street, Lower East Side) - Loud, busy, crazy but good classic American and Bistro menu. Some of the best classic mixed cocktails in this part of the city (sidecar, Manhattan, etc.)
- Alta (64 W. 10th Street, West Village) - 100% small plate tapas, generally Mediterranean (not just Spanish). Very good and good cheap wine selection. "The Kitchen Sink" is the entire menu for $450 (serves 12 people). Good Value.
- BLT Burger (470 6th Avenue, West Village) - Good, casual, busy, upscale-quality burger place. Spiked Milkshakes are good.
- Supper (152 E. 2nd Street, East Village) - Excellent rustic, country Italian. Menu is huge and the daily special list is is always 2 pages long. Always packed, but worth it (we held a party for 20 here and it was a success). CASH ONLY.
- Churrascaria Plataforma (316 W. 49th St, Theater District) - Massive, all-you-can-eat Brazilian Rodizio. Excellent, excellent meats.
- Porcao (360 Park Avenue) - Another Brazilian Rodizio, but not as crazy as Plataforma. Have also eaten at their outpost in Brazil - this is very authentic.
- La Bonne Soupe (48 W. 55th Street) - classic, small, not fancy french bistro. Great for lunch or a cheap dinner. Excellent fondue, as well.
- Other very nice NYC mainstays that I'd go to any day (Most of them on the pricer side, reservations recommended for all): Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, Blue Water Grill, Aureole, Bouley, Gotham Bar and Grill, Becco, The Modern, Nobu.