PrintBest places to eat in New York City
I'm taking a friend to NYC on Saturday and would like to know where the best places to eat are. I need a restaurant that is casual attire (not Le Benardin or Per Se etc.) that has really good food. I've heard a lot about The Spotted Pig, Union Square Cafe, and Gramercy Tavern. Has anyone ever been to any of these?
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26 Comments:
Momofuku.
Bun.
Sapa.
Woo Lae Oak.
NSW at 12:15PM on 01/24/08
You should have lunch at Jean Georges.
seyo at 12:33PM on 01/24/08
I just ate in Park Avenue Winter last night and it was amazing. It looks fancy, but alot of people were really casual. Anthos is also great, and you can go casual.
Il Buco (on Bond St.- good food and fun)
Jane ( Houston St. ,good food, not too expensive)
Lupa( You'll never get in unless you wait, but it is great0
OTTO-( Mario goes casual, fun but really good)
Wallse
Annisa
Perilla( Harold Dieterle from Top Chef)
Mich23 at 1:15PM on 01/24/08
By the way, you can't go wrong with any of the restaurants you mentioned.
Mich23 at 1:16PM on 01/24/08
I have enjoyed Union Square Cafe & Gramercy Tavern, both are very good.
Do make reservations, esp if you are going at peak times. Both seem to have a good mix of locals and tourists. Although, the last time I went to Union Square Cafe, it seemed a little tired. That's not to take away the genius of Danny Meyer. The beauty of a city like NYC is that there is a plethora of great places to eat. If you are adventuresome, try dim sum in Chinatown, esp. Mr. Ping's. If you like Korean, Woo Lae Oak is the benchmark for a nice Korean restaurant, but Do Hwa is great, less expensive, more casual, and frequently mentioned by Food & Wine, and Mario Batali has been spotted there late nights. Bon Appetite!
wookie at 1:23PM on 01/24/08
Oh, I forgot, Balthazars! Its a brasserie and very busy, but my husband
and I grabbed seats at the bar--you'll get the full menu and feel in the middle of the action.
wookie at 1:26PM on 01/24/08
your choices are good but i wouldnt consider union sq cafe or gramercy "casual attire" restaurants. they're both pretty upscale & fancy.
ceforrester at 1:38PM on 01/24/08
there so many good places. do you have an area or cuisine you want? all the places mentioned above sound like great options. you could always snack your way through nyc.
jaf at 1:39PM on 01/24/08
I disagree ceforrester. I haven't been to gramercy but casual is fine at union square. Or maybe we just disagree on what casual is :)
I agree that any of the three restaurants mentioned by the original poster are good choices.
bobbob at 3:03PM on 01/24/08
There are sooooooooo many great restaurants in NYC, that's hard where to start.
I have eaten at Grammercy Tavern, but it's not really a casual attire restaurant. The food is very good. They have a vegetarian tasting menu, just in case you're interested.
Balthazar's is really good too - this one is really casual. A bit crowded for my taste, but good. And when it's too busy, it's nice to cross the street and check out Sur la Table.
Little Italy has soooo many great Italian restaurants and great pizzas. It's hard to go wrong there. And the neighborhood is really quaint.
I also found this a few minutes ago... maybe it will help you. http://mappetite.com/
MadelynRodriguez at 3:29PM on 01/24/08
"Little Italy has soooo many great Italian restaurants and great pizzas."
uh, yeah, maybe 30 years ago. now it's a tourist trap over priced red sauce slinging hell hole that has been over taken by china town.
seyo at 3:58PM on 01/24/08
I was thinking the same thing seyo. Little Italy is about a block and half long now and definitely sub par. if you want Italian hit one of Mr Batali's joints, you can't go wrong there.
VerasTastyFreeze at 4:13PM on 01/24/08
If you do go to the Spotted Pig, I'd recommend going for lunch or weekend brunch when it's much easier to get a table.
Alaina Browne at 5:52PM on 01/24/08
Grammercy depends on what you call "casual attire". It's definitely not tire-required. Mr. Meatloaf and I often crash with a pal who lives 2 blocks away and like to have a nightcap at the bar. It's not somewhere I'd go in jeans and a t-shirt, but he wears khakis and an Izod-type (I'd say polo shirt, but some people might think I mean Ralph Lauren...) shirt and doesn't look odd. Yes, there are thousand-dollar suits there, but there are also casually dressed folks. My usual uniform is black slacks and turtlenecks when I'm in NYC, and it always works there, sometimes with a nice jacket, sometimes without. Conflict of interest disclosure: We do know Danny Meyer (but his staff don't know that we do).
lemons at 6:06PM on 01/24/08
Hmm...I guess I'd say that I want to stay around Greenwich or so. Union Sq Park area. I'm not really feeling Asian cuisine however.
I think that I am going to try The Spotted Pig for lunch. I still need a place for dinner though.
So far the Batali restaurants have gone over well?
StudentStomach at 9:30PM on 01/24/08
lupa!
cybercita at 9:39PM on 01/24/08
Oh! And I forgot to mention that if we went to Gramercy or Union Square Cafe, we'd dine in the Tavern.
StudentStomach at 9:41PM on 01/24/08
I was going to second Momofuku but you said no Asian (it's awesome though: roast pork buns are one of the best dishes ever).
Whatever you choose, I'd call and book the table asap. You don't want to end up eating at 5 or 11.
renzata at 11:21PM on 01/24/08
We also have some truly wonderful restaurants in Brooklyn -- just a couple more stops on the F train (or a very short cab ride). Try Chestnut, Grocery, Saul or Applewood! All casual, all with fabulous food. And you get to come to Brooklyn! Yay Brooklyn!
CookiePie at 1:06AM on 01/25/08
Perbacco Cafe have really good tasty authentic italian tapas.
annieli at 3:03PM on 01/25/08
la vagna in the east village - great italian - cool place
also hearth is very good...
cook eat FRET at 10:07AM on 01/28/08
oh wait
cook eat FRET at 10:07AM on 01/28/08
i keep hitting the wrong key
sorry
go to PRUNE !!!
cook eat FRET at 10:08AM on 01/28/08
OOOH Prune is great. Good brunch too, if you can get a table. Also love Hearth. Suba is good too.
Also, for a great, fun NY restaurant experience, go to Chikalicious one night for dessert. It's 3 courses (all dessert), around $20 with a wine pairing, a real treat. And don't let the 3 courses scare you -- the portions are not crazy.
Can someone please explain the obsession with Momofuko to me? I've been to both, liked them well enough, but didn't think either one was extraordinary and they're really expensive for what they are. Am I missing something??
CookiePie at 1:34PM on 01/29/08
At Gramercy Tavern, the Tavern Room is walk-ins only and I would definitely feel comfortable eating there dressed casually. It is one of my current NYC favorites. The Dining Room, of course, is more formal. For Union Square Cafe, the bar counter is always open for incoming guests and I believe they hold very few tables for walk-ins. It is usually difficult to secure a reservation on short notice. I would pick Gramercy Tavern over Union Square Cafe; plus, I've always had good luck walking into the Tavern Room, if I go on the early side. I haven't been to the Spotted Pig yet. If you choose Balthazar, try to make a reservation; they also take walk-ins, but waits can be long. Same goes for Lupa; the waits are long if you don't have a reservation, and the restaurant does not have a large waiting area, so good luck. Otto is easier to get into, but service can be lacking.
The poster who recommended Jean Georges: they don't serve lunch in the main dining room on the weekends.
kathryn at 9:16PM on 01/29/08
Everybody just hates Vong now, but I still love it. They still make the best mashed potatoes on the planet, the service is always great, and the place looks (to me) like a cross between Blade Runner and Vietnam in the 50's.
Jean-George because, well, the place is just awesome. And because the first time I went there, who was there! Sidney Poitier! Who I have been in love with since To Sir With Love. I am very old.
Ashton's for the best burger in the city. It amazes me that they are never, ever, on a best burger list, because they are. Though it's kind of good because it means there are no hordes. This is where I always pick as the lunch place on my birthday. I have for the last 10 years.
chisai at 9:46PM on 01/29/08