amy_b

Are there any casual restaurants where one can get a nice dinner without having to get dressed up? I don't want anything like foi gras or other fancy foods. I see alot of French and New American places and they don't appeal to me. Alot of the restaurants I have looked at online are all too upscale for my taste. We are staying in the theatre district, but location is really no problem. Thanks!!

HowardR

Yes, there are thousands of casual restaurants in New York. You've told us what you don't like, but not what you do like, or how much you want to spend and in what area(s) of the city!

amy_b

We prefer american fare or seafood. We are staying in the theatre district, but we are not limited to that area. We would rather stay uptown if possible. As far as $$, probably around $12-$15 per person for an entree.

HowardR

You're not going to have much of choice of decent seafood restaurants at that price range in New York.
For American food, the West Bank Cafe on 42nd Street, just west of 9th Avenue, has good food at a moderate price.
You'll probably have more of choice at that price range at neighborhood restaurants. Maybe some Manhattanites can offer some of their favorites.

GoTravel

amy, in a moderately priced restaurant in Midtown, entrees will be priced from $25-$35. Your price range isn't realistic for dinner.

I would suggest eating heavy lunches.

Brooklyn Diner on West 57th is good inexpensive for Midtown.

Also, Becco's daily pasta special at $25 per person is one of the best deals in Midtown.

HowardR

GoTravel, when did Becco raise the pasta special price from $21.95?

GoTravel

Howard, I don't know why I was thinking it was $24.95 when it is $21.95. My goof.

cynstalker

amy b:
For Chinese: Dim Sum A Go Go. Make sure to ask Veronica to help you choose. It's unbelievably good, and jeans and a t-shirt casual.

Cyn

bill_boy

Luigi's on the corner of 8th and 55th. Casual and cheap (yesw, very cheap) Italian. Go for the salad with breaded chicken (make sure you ask for the dressing "on the side" so that you can toss in the amount that you want). Meatball hero with red sauce is humongous, decent and wil fill you up.

BTW, you'll be dining with everybody from walk-in tourists, to neighborhood locals and theater performers.

cindymal

The Indian rest. on sixth st btw.1&2 ave.would be your best bet.Stella di mare on 4th and Frite di mare on 4th are good choices.Also check out Chinatown and Little Italy.For your price range i think the food will be awful in midtown so stick to the above.

virginiafish

Carmine's-2 locations-one in theatre district and one in West Side.

lauren75

There are SO MANY nice casual places in the city. Its a total misconception that you have to break the bank for a good meal in NYC. Check New York Magazine's list of cheap eats (a lot of other publications have a similar list).
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/restaurants/cheapeats/
I would suggest that you go downtown. I recently ate at Snack, which is on Thompson Street. It had delicious, inexpensive greek food.

GoTravel

Lauren, I don't think anyone disagrees with you that you can't find a cheap meal in Manhattan because you can. However, finding a moderately priced restaurant in Midtown can be challenging.

Gekko

Yes, you'd do well to avoid midtown and the theater district -- the "good" food is generally overpriced/overhyped and/or mediocre, and the "cheap" food is generally BAD.

Check out the neighborhoods where New Yorkers actually live, like the Upper West Side and Upper East Side. Last night, for example, I had an amazing Italian dinner at Arte Cafe on W. 73rd St. just west of Columbus; pasta entrees were around $15 (both the seafood tortellini and fusilli were excellent).

TarheelsInNj

There is a thread near the top of the NYC board titled "Inexpensive Dining in Times Square" that might help you. Most of the restaurants mentioned are casual.

Jean_Valjean

If you like Indian food, try Chola on 58th between 2nd and 3rd (very convenient to Bloomingdale's). Everyday they have a really good lunch buffet (don't laugh, it is VERY, VERY good) for $13.95. For the quality of the food, this place is an amazing value.

jgg

To the locals: We will be in NYC next month for 5 nights and are also looking for good local fare. However, my main issue is not having to make reservations several days in advance as I like to play things by ear. Can we get into many of the local neighborhood restaurants without a reservation? Or maybe just by making one earlier in the day??

laurieb_nyny

Ollie's Noodle Shop for Chinese -- 44th & 7th.

Gekko

In general, with numerous exceptions, most "local" restaurants won't have a long wait if you don't have reservations. Of course, if you show up at 8:30pm on a Friday, you might wait awhile.

I often call just a few hours in advance, so if you have an idea where you want to go, call, even if it's 30 minutes before you arrive.

suzanne

Jgg-
It depends entirely on how popular or trendy a place is. For midtown restaurants that get mentioned over and over again on this thread (e.g. Becco), YES you would have to reserve. If you wanted to go to some local hotspot, of course you'd have to reserve, and would probably have difficulty even doing that!

If you're outside the theater district, you'll have better luck getting into a (non-hotspot) place, especially if it's early (before 7PM).

If you're just wandering around the city and want to stop in someplace for dinner, just look at the menu and the Zagat rating (most restaurants have them posted in the window). I'd say that typically a Zagat rating of 19 or 20 for food is worthwhile, and 21 or above means very good to excellent. Many posters shun the Zagat reviews but I've found them to be pretty reliable.