Dining solo in NYC
 

I may be coming to NYC in a couple of weeks. The site editor told me that a lot of restaurants have bars where you can eat and not feel isolated. What are the best restaurants for dining solo in NYC? Looking for great food and the possibility of somebody to chat with while I dine. My first time traveling solo since the late 1970s.

I forgot to ask. Do you make a reservation if you are sitting at the bar?

Can't help you on where but all you do is walk in and sit at any open seat.Its usually polite to ask the person next to it if anybody is sitting there in case they stood up for a minute (bathroom, smoke break, etc).

Babbo

Probably the only chance to get in a short notice.

Great spot to see the action, expert bartender/waiter, and oh,,,

some interesting Italian eating!

Pricey....but it is one of the crown jewels in NYC

If you look inside you will see that most restaurants - esp the more casuale ones - have bars that serve limited menus. And even many of the better ones do.

We often see people having a lunch or dinner plate at the bar at the Sea Grill in Rock Center - upscale and excellent sea food.

Typically though at the bar you would just have a drink and a plate - and perhaps coffee after - but usually not a multi-cpurse meal.

(I often do this with a girlfriend before or after a movie when my beau/her husband are out of town. Good to have something to eat - but not the time for a whole 2 hour sit down meal.

At a pub of course, you can just take a seat. But if there is a host/hostess in sight, always ask ("Is there room at the bar?"). Unless the place is packed, you shouldn't have trouble getting a seat. Dedicated "bar menus" might be more typical of more formal establishments. At most restaurants with a bar, you order off the regular menu. Greenwich Village is a good place for convivial bar dining.

I've had full meals at some bars - Spigolo comes to mind (where they have the best homemade bread sticks that that don't serve at the tables) and Turquoise. Economically it's good for the restaurants to serve full meals. You can always call a restaurant that you're interested in and ask what they serve. I think eating at a bar is fun. You hear plenty of conversations and you can jump in if you're adventurous. There's nothing to feel self conscious about, imo.

most restaurants have bars that serve from the regular menu.
i have been a frequent solo traveler to nyc and did not care to have room service every night after work.

i have enjoyed eating at several bars and meeting lots of fun people.
some of my favourite bar dining was at
gotham bar & grill - american
butter - american
union square - american
artisanal - french bistro
daniel - french
calle ocha - latin american

besides meeting interesting people, you don't need reservations and it is much cheaper than eating in the dining room.

There are very few restaurants that don't have a bar where you can eat. Most don't take reservations for that area, but it never hurts to phone and check. Gramercy Tavern and Babbo are 2 of the most sought after reservations in NYC and sometimes the only way to get in is to eat at the bar. Neither take reservations for that area.

The prime seats at L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon in the Four Seasons hotel are at the bar. Ofcourse you can eat at any sushi restaurant.

Ocean Grill has a nice bar and you can order from the full dinner menu or sushi menu. It's warm and cozy. DH and I eat at the bar there a lot... and notice many people eating alone. The bartenders are very nice as well.
It's on Columbus Ave between W. 78th and 79th.

One of my rituals on my annual trip to NYC is to have lunch at Gramercy Tavern, my favorite NYC restaurant. This year I was solo and sat at the bar for lunch, and it was great as always. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend going there solo.

I haven't been there personally, but a friend raves about Chez Josephine, owned by the son of Josephine Baker. She says he is such a gracious host, you feel like he is an old friend.
Chez Josephine, 414 W. 42nd St. (bet. 9th & 10th Aves.) Manhattan, NY 10036 Phone: 212-594-1925
www.chezjosephine.com

I've eaten alone at the bars of restaurants many times. Those with separate bar menus will often let you order from the main menu also. If eating a full meal at the bar doesn't feel right to you, just order a couple appetizers, which is a fun way to eat anyway.

My solo dining trick: I carry a small notebook in which I jot thoughts, food or wine notes, etc. This gives me something to do, but unlike reading a book, doesn't shut me off from others. I look around, I smile, I jot something down. This is a great conversation starter: "Are you writing a book?" "Are you a restaurant reviewer?" If you are artistic, you could instead carry a small sketch pad.

My other thought on solo dining is to try to find places that have either entertainment or a view. The concierge at your hotel may have suggestions for places nearby.

We, too eat at "the bar" often, because we aren't advance planners, so we most often don't have reservations. Even though we're not usually "solo", it's still fun to sit there and converse with the bartender or your neighbors, or watch TV if there's no conversation to be had. (P.S. A few days after my daughter turned 21, we were in Las Vegas with her, she could sit at the bar for the first time, and it was the bartender who started the conversation....because another young woman a couple of seats away had turned 21 the very same day (which he noticed when checking their IDs).

You can eat anywhere solo in NYC. I live here and while I'm married and have lots of friends in the city, when I am solo for the evening, I don't hesitate to go out on my own. Noone looks at you funny, you can just hang out and take in the scene, enjoy the food - anything goes here. Don't be intimidated going out on your own...Just have a good time.

Picholine. Perhaps also the nearby O'Neill's.

Ditto for Picholine. You can also sit at the bar at Nougatine, though it can get crowded.