NYC Restaurant Recommendations

Olive Garden! We loved the endless breadsticks.

The new Marketline Essex Market LES. Good upscale food market/food hall. Grand Delancey there has an amazing craft beer selection.

Chinatown: Shanghai Cafe 100 Mott street for pork & crab soup dumplings and pan fried noodles.

Tell us where you’ll be in NYC, that makes it easier.

R1 Yummers! On my list right after Bubba Gump!

R2 anywhere in lower Manhattan is fine. UES/UWS & down, but staying in Union Square.

Are you trying to kill me? Chinatown?! What if I get da WuFlu?

OP types fat.

I'm not the OP, but I could use some recommendations too. Will be in NYC for a weekend next month.

I'm staying on E 45th and will probably do a bunch of museum visits: MoMa, the Brooklyn Museum, maybe the Frick. So anything in the vicinity of any of the above would be much appreciated.

While at the Modern, Sylvia, you might try either The Modern or Cafe2 at the Modern.

Balthazar, Lucien, NY Noodle Town, Carmines, Lusardi's, ............

The dollar pizza joints have some of the best pizza in NY. I go to one in the Village it's next to the entrance to the West 4th Street subway station. They have a 5 star rating on Yelp.

Cookshop in Chelsea is excellent for lunch or brunch

Xian Famous Foods - a bunch of different locations - for cheap lunch or dinner. $8-$10 for lamb noodles, dumplings and salad. Order at counter and eat in. No tipping requires. Spicy unique vaguely Chinese - but unlike any other Chinese you have had. My favorite food in NYC.

Marea on Central Park South is my favorite high end. Really good pasta. But unless you have money to burn, I wouldn’t spend it on food.

Lobster Place in Chelsea Market has good lobster rolls. Unfortunately nowhere to sit to eat it. If it’s warm out you can go up to High Line or over to Rover Park to eat.

If you like old school Italian that's reasonably priced this place is great.

r12, Gene's is a nice, quiet restaurant. OP should expect to see gray and bald heads in the dining room.

Sylvia hates old people (aka "boomers").

SylviaFowler [R6], you might enjoy the lounge and restaurant at The Royalton Hotel at 44 West 44th Street. The Royalton is a high-end boutique midtown hotel that is beautiful inside. The street entrance is fairly nondescript, so be on the lookout for the street # and the marble steps and gold railing. The ground floor lounge is open to the public. It's gorgeous, sexy, luxurious, moody. In March, the weather might be cool and rainy, so you'd enjoy the fireplaces. When you walk in, walk the length of the lounge front to back because it's quite deep, scope out a cozy nook, and grab some drinks. The restaurant is in the back of the ground floor and is decent. Check out the photos linked below.

Everybody loves New York pizza.

Rosa Mexicano at 61 Columbus Avenue is enjoyable. Great guacamole made tableside and very good entrees. It's across the street from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, so a window table on the second floor overlooking Columbus is nice. It's known for its Frozen Pomegranate Cocktail :)

Rosa Mex has 2 other locations in NYC as well as one in DC and San Francisco, among others.

Where from OP?

Sugar fish - superb sushi $$/$ Buddakhan - dramatic atmosphere and good tasting menu $$/$ Grays papaya - classic nyc dogs $ Arturo’s for great nyc coal oven pizza $$ Sophie’s for cheap and tasty Cuban $ Toro for Spanish $$$ Time out market for everything in DUMBO $$/$$$ Cones for gelato $ Daniel for amazing everything $$$$ Cafe China. Michelin star. Fun 1920s Shanghai vibe. $$ Bergdorf Goodman for royal tea $$$. Get a whisper chair overlooking central park

Actually, that Gene's place (Italian restaurant) looks great to me. I love that kind of old school Italian restaurant.

Pizza - Two Boots in Sheridan Square.

Don’t bother with Mexican in NYC. Other cities have much better.

Indian - Surya on Bleecker St.

Italian - I Sodi on Christopher St.

Two Boots has "The Duchess" pie, a tribute to the women's bar on the site in the 70s. Got in trouble with the State Liquor Authority for refusing to admit me.

R21 here. Should have typed "refusing to admit men."

Two boots is not great pizza. Try grimaldi’s or John’s in the Village.

Le Parisienne is a nice teeny bistro around 33/Lex. Good food buzzy neighborhood place for dinner.

Ippudo on 51st is delish Japanese small plates and ramen

Emme’s has great burgers

Excellent Taiwanese and chinese now on St.Mark’s Place depending on what you like (hot pot, dumplings, noodles etc)

Raine’s Law Room at the William 39/madison is a gorgeous spot for a drink, as is the new Bergamo’s on Vanderbilt across from Grand Central, good small plates there too.

Please avoid Eataly it’s a mess!

Two Boots is just bad pizza, r20.

And how do you expect OP, who types poor, to be able to get a reservation at i Sodi?

For thin crust pizza it's Spunto at 65 Carmine, near Seventh Avenue South.

Two Boots has a crunchy crust. Corn meal is in the dough.

Julius in the village. Its an old gay bar but happens to have the best burgers in the city.

Craft, 43 E 19th St, New York, NY 10003. I try to go there whenever I'm in NYC. It's a great place for special dinners, such as anniversaries, birthday.

Eleven Madison Park for your special night out. The space feels like it’s out of a Hollywood movie. The tasting menu is $220 each but unforgettable. Add wine and you’re looking at $600-$700 with gratuity.

Cafe Luxembourg & Cafe Cluny (for a taste of old NY)

The Beatrice Inn

Buvette

Joe’s Pizza in the West Village for a classic NY slice

RedFarm

Momosan Ramen & Sake

For drinks and bar small bites

Library of Distilled Spirits

Barn Joo

Thai Villa

Pinto

Marta

Why is Eataly a mess?

ABC Kitchen, Nobu, Beauty on Essex, Hearth, Superiority Burger(the best vegan/vegetarian in the E Village).

I never understood Joes mania. No place to sit and the pizza is meh. Bleecker Street Pizza around the corner at Bleecker and 7th is just as good and there is plenty of seating and no line.

OP if you like Gene's a classic NY restaurant here's another old school classic in Grand Central Station.

Malatesta on Christopher is cheaper, good Italian. Same with Gaetanas one block up. If you can’t get into or don’t want to spend the money on I Sodi.

I would also recommend L’Artusi around the corner from I Sodi on 10th Street. Much bigger and nicer space than I Sodi - and also really good pasta.

For pizza, stop by Sacco in Hell's Kitchen for the best pies in town! Nothing fancy, but a neighborhood family-run staple for over 50 years. Pure perfection by the slice or whole pie.

Via Della Pace is one of my favorite restaurants, please note that it’s cash only.

Il labrotorio del gelato or Morganstern’s for ice cream.

Eataly is a crowded tourist trap. The fee times i have eaten there sucked. You’d be better off eating at otto or becco.

I agree about Eataly- the upstairs restaurant has terrible food, cheap portions and the all-time WORST servers.

I 2nd Malatesta. It's fucking awesome and on a great corner of the west village.

Here are some others:

-Pure Thai in Hell's Kitchen. This is NOT your run of the mill Thai place. It's one of the best in the city, cheap-ish and therefore there's always a wait. But it's totally worth the wait.

-Another vote for Julius and their burgers. So juicy. So good.

-Grand Szichuan (24th and 9th) - some of the best pork soup dumplings in the city.

Go to Brooklyn - so many innovative, interesting restaurants are out there. Lucali, Olmsted, Ki Sushi, The Good Fork, Lilia.

If you're going fancy: The Modern, Atomix, Le Grenouille, Le Bernardin (all of these need rezzies at least 30-days in advance)

And dont listen to the taco naysayer. I've had tacos all over Mexico and LA, and NYC has some of the best. Birria-Lanida Taco Truck in Jackson Heights is insanely good. Take the 7 train out there. It's on 78th and Roosevelt. It's a great field excursion and totally worth the trip (its only like 20 minutes from midtown).

Happy eating!

Nothing compared to Tad's.

Julius is fine for a quick burger - but wouldn’t say it’s one of the best. The bar is possibly the best in NYC though.

For a real top notch burger, 4 Charles around the corner from Julius is one of the truly best burgers in NYC. But expensive.

Au Cheval

Moustache in the West Village - delicious middle eastern food, great prices.

And R46 - great location.

R42 Any suggestions near the Brooklyn Museum?

R42, there’s a great restaurant in the Brooklyn Museum called The Norm.

Also, check out these neighborhood gems

Cheryl’s Global Soul

Olmsted

James

Cookshop is completely overrated.

Odeon.