NYC Restaurants

Home cooking is what I do best. And yet, the most frequent e-mail request I get from readers, friends and family is – “Where should we eat when we come to New York?”  So, after years of wracking my brain for recommendations, I decided to create a list here of the places I go. But let me be clear – I am not a restaurant connoisseur. I’m just a New Yorker who knows what she likes. Your tastes may differ and you might get better advice from one of the sources I’ve listed in the sidebar. And if you have a fave you’d like to recommend, do tell us in the comments.

Greenwich Village

• Po – Love the place and the neighborhood, near Murrays cheese shop and Booknook bookstore.  Small, intimate, special. Here’s my review. Sadly, Po is now closed.
• Blue Hill – Very special. Farm to table. Their upstate location is supposed to be even better.  The Obama’s ate there for their anniversary. Expensive but worth it. Here’s my review
• Mamoun’s Falafel – A literal hole-in-the-wall on MacDougal St. serving up delicious Middle Eastern Fare. Baba Ganoush is best I’ve eaten. Only 3 tables, so get take out and eat in Washington Square. If you want to sit down, try their St Mark’s place location.

East Village

• Prune – Tiny, expensive, amazing. Marrow bone appetizer, need I say more? Nice staff. Need reservations for sure.  54 East 1^st St. Temporarily closed in 2023, reportedly re-opening spring 2024.
• Anyway Café –Russian. Not haute cuisine by any stretch of the imagination, but probably authentic Russian, great atmosphere. The infused vodka drinks are great as is the gravlax. The beef stew taste like my mom’s.  Flamingo guitar player on Sat nights, international crowd. Sadly, they closed in 2023.
• S’Mac – Mac and cheese. That’s it.  Every variation you can imagine, served broiled and topped with bread crumbs in little cast iron skillets.

Pre-Theater / Hell’s Kitchen

• Aureole – One of Charlie Palmer’s restaurants, a fave of the business lunch crowd. Progressive American cuisine in a modern, open space. For a cheaper meal eat a la carte in the bar room and share. Or do the prefixe pre-theater menu for $55. Absolutely fabulous salads and burgers, great service. Right on 42nd st between 6th and Broadway. Sadly now closed.
• Maze – Gordon Ramsay’s less expensive restaurant at the London. Fabulous food at very reasonable prices. Unfortunately, now closed.
• Lattanzi – Italian. OMG- Roman artichokes (Not available pre-theater). Rest of menu is also great.
• Barbetta – Italian. Very old world feel, indoors a bit too stuffy for my taste, but the backyard patio in summer feels like Rome.
• John’s Pizza – Fabulous brick oven pizza, reasonable priced. Nice for a quick pre-theater light meal. Related to Johns of Bleeker Street – same family, but a fallout led to a split. Luckily the pizza did not suffer…
• Kashkaval – casual Mediterranean, cheeses, fondue, charcuterie. Noisy, crowded, big communal tables. Fun.
• Gazala Place – Tiny, cheap, great Israeli food. The kitchen has rules like you have to order everything before they bring anything to the table, but that’s part of the charm.
• Marseilles – Classic French bistro, never fails to please, loved by locals and tourists alike.

Midtown 20’s

Midtown 40’s

• Bryant Park Grille – Feels very NY 1950’s, like Ricky Ricardo is at the next table. Food is good, too.  I love it there.

Midtown 50’s

• La Bonne Soup – French-American bistro. 48 W 55^th st.  Great bread. Good for lunch or a casual supper.
• The Bar Room at The Modern at MOMA.  Expensive (but cheaper and more casual than the  main dining room, which serves a $98 pre fixe) .
• Trattoria Del Arte – Traditional Italian. Always good. One of my fave restaurants in the city. 7^th near 57^th.
• Carnegie Diner – 57^th & 7^th. Casual café cattycorner form Carnegie Hall. Reminds me of Paris.

Upper East Side

• Café Sabarsky in the Neue gallery. VERY European. Expensive but worth it. 5^th ave & 86^th St

Near Lincoln Center

• Le Bote un Bois –  Classic French, basement, Upper West Side. Very New York place.
• Le Pain Quoitidian – An international chain restaurant and bakery, 60 W 65^th and all over the city. Very casual, large communal tables, fabulous food, organic. I’d eat there every day.
• Rosa Mexicano – A NYC institution, now with restaurants in most major cities, but still fabulous. Always packed. They make your guacamole table side. Best fish tacos you’ll ever eat.

Upper West Side

• Barney Greengrass – A NYC institution.  Smoked fish, bagels, old guys behind the formica-topped glass cases displaying every kind of smoke fish you may ever need. The place to go for a breakfast of nova and eggs, a great bagel, cheese blintz, a tongue sandwich or a jar of caviar.   There’s always a line on the weekends so go early.
• Boulud Sud and Bar Boulud – Daniel Boulud’s sister restaurants across from Lincoln Center. One of the best meals I’ve ever had, hands down, was at Boulud Sud. The service was impeccable and they treated us like royalty. Bar Boulud is more casual, but the same great food, and better for pre-theater dining.
• French Roast – My favorite brunch place in the city. They also have a West Village location.
• Jin Ramen Harlem – Tiny amazing ramen joint tucked under the elevated train at 125th and Broadway. Sit at the bar and watch them make your ramen. You’re welcome.
• Kasbah Grill – Kosher Meat restaurant. (FYI that means they are closed on Saturday.) Best Israeli style pita this gal has ever had. The babaganoush and hummus are to die for.
• La Pecora Bianca – fabulous Italian across from the Museum of Natural History. It reminds me of Rome. When we lived on the UWS, this was our go to place to take out of town guests in the neighborhood.
• Leyla – Fabulous Turkish food served in a lovely townhouse basement and sidewalk cafe. Another fave place we liked to take out of town guests. The muhammara is a must try, as are the flatbreads, Turkish cheeses and the spinach yarma. Actually, everything is a must try…
• Owl’s Tail – Great local cocktail bar serving delicious small plates and delicious drinks.
• Pisticci – Great neighborhood Italian just north of Columbia’s campus. Perfect place to eat after listening to jazz outdoors at nearby Grant’s Tomb.
• Playa Betty’s – California beach food with a Mexican forward menu. Casual, fun atmosphere. Great place to eat if you’re heading to a show at the nearly Beacon Theater.
• Red Farm – Modern, inventive, delicious take on Chinese food in a warm atmosphere with shared long wooden tables and great service. Think udon with short ribs, steamed sea bass with black beans, pacman dumplings.  Never fails to please.

Queens

• SriPraPhai – Amazing Thai. Our fave welcome home stop on the way home from Laguardia Airport. Take a number, join the crowd waiting outside. While you wait, check out the Himalayan Mini-Mart across the street. If the weather is warm, try to get a table in the back garden.  Neighbors in curlers may be leaning out and watching from windows above. This is quintessential Queens.  6413 39th Ave, Woodside.
• Bun-Ker – In the middle of nowhere and the center of my universe. Best Vietnamese in NYC. Unfortunately, it looks like it’s closed. Here’s my review. 
• Trattoria L’incontro – Fabulous Italian food in Astoria, recommended by native Italians we know as their favorite restaurant in New York City. Large and bustling yet still homey and neighborhoody. The recitation of the daily specials is alone worth the trip on the 7 train from Manhattan. Go at sunset to enjoy the skyline views as the train heads above street level.  If it’s in season, you must get the kale salad.