The last time we were in NY, we wandered around Greenwich Village and really loved that area. Seemed like there were a lot of cute little restaurants, some with gardens, some with outdoor seating. Are there any restaurants in particular you guys would recommend? I'd love to know your favorites and maybe what you ate there. Thanks for any guidance you can give me! We liked the area around Cornelia street if that helps.

Also, are there any hotels in this area? Seemed like mostly residential and small businesses.

No - there aren't many hotels in the area - although there is an increasing number in Chelsea and SoHo.

As to restaurants - what price range? And what types of food do you like or not?

For high end-Gotham Bar and Grill
For brunch-Blue Ribbon Bakery
For a bar atmosphere and a very good burger-Corner Bistro
For wonderful store made ice cream-Cones on Bleecker Street
French Bistro-Le Gigot on Cornelia Street
Gastro Pub-Spotted Pig, go for lunch during the week. great burgers, sensational fries.
Great medium priced seafood-Mary's Fish Camp, small and hard to get a table, no reservations.

The one hotel I can recall in that area is the Washington Square Hotel. Friends had a good stay some years ago. Check current reviews carefully.

The original location of the famous John's Pizzeria s around the corner from Cornelia Street on Bleecker Street.

Pearl Oyster Bar-Cornelia St.
Palma-Cornelia St.

Casa - Brazilian, Bedford St.
Mary's Fish Camp - Seafood, Charles St.
Rocco - Italian Pastry Shop, Bleecker St., and this is my final stop in the village before going home

You might enjoy a "Foods of New York" walking tour. We had a great time getting bits of history along with small bites of local foods during the Greenwich Village food tour. Our guide was great, the group was small (less than 12 of us) and we were introduced to some of the unique restaurants of that area. Here's the link to the Greenwich Village tour; they offer tours in other neighborhoods too:

http://www.foodsofny.com/greenwichvillage.php

West Village restaurants that we've enjoyed or are planning to visit:

Blue Hill, The Little Owl, Peasant, Perilla, Mas, August, Minetta Tavern, 10 Downing, Gotham Bar and Grill, Po, Lupa, Spotted Pig, Dell'Anima, Lure, Raoul's, Savoy

There are some b&b's in Greenwich Village that are interesting, one of them the Abington Guest House. There's a new Marriott Courtyard in nearby SoHo that's been offering deep discounts on their rooms:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...anhattan-soho/

Bow, we did the Foods of NY tour and that's how we discovered the area. I loved the tour - it was great. I'd like to do more of their tours next time we're back - maybe the Chelsea Market tour or the tour of Chinatown. Has anyone done those?

sobster, we got to try a little sample of food at Palma on our tour; we loved that restaurant, really charming. ellen, we ate at John's in Times Square - very good, I'd love to go to the original.

Thanks everyone for these great suggestions. I can't wait to check out their websites. We really enjoy all kinds of foods. I appreciate all your help!

Sakura, I forgot to mention that we got a cannoli at Rocco's. That might be one of the best things I ever ate - lol. I'd love to go back and try some other things.

For Italian pastries try Veniero's in the East Village.

Le Petit Abeille-Hudson St.
AOC-Bleecker St.

bookmarking

I highly recommend Annisa on Barrow Street, just off Seventh Avenue. Recently re-opened after a kitchen fire, it's one of the Village's finest places. Anita Lo's New American fare is truly outstanding; the wine list features offerings almost exclusively from wineries owned or operated by women.

On Cornelia Street, don't overlook Pó. It was Mario Batali's first restaurant, but, despite the fact that he hasn't been associated with it for a number of years, it remains an excellent Italian bistro.

Already mentioned, too, is Pearl Oyster Bar, which has lobster rolls (and frites) to die for. A casual place, it usually opens at about 5:30 for dinner and, more than likely, there's a queue on the sidewalk of diners waiting to get in--no reservations taken.

Also on Cornelia, as Adu suggests, is Le Gigot, a cozy French bistro serving outstanding fare from a limited menu. Very friendly service in an intimate setting.

And, on Carmine Street, there's Trattoria Toscano, a very fine Italian with great food and great waiters. In warm weather they have sidewalk seating, or you can sit just inside the open front doors.

Chelsea Market is small and easy to do on your own. I know they also include either Soho or the meatpacking district, but imo the village tour is the best one. Noshwalks.com does some tours outside Manhattan. Here's a line to a few different self guided food tours of the lower east side http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._New_York.html

While there aren't many hotels in the village (in addition to wshotel.com there's the Cooper Square and the W Union Square) there are several nice "b & b's" that are more like apts. west-eleventh.com
abingdonguesthouse.com
gvhabitue.com
are some of the nicer ones. The Chelsea Pines Inn on 14th st. is on the edge of Chelsea & the village as are the hotels in the meatpacking district like the Gansevoort and the Standard.

Thanks for all the additional suggestions; these look great!

mclaurie, I think you have a good point about the Chelsea Market tour; we could just do that on our own I think.

Any of the tours can be done as independent walks. However, the benefit of the organized tours is the great historical background provided by the tour guide.

Not already mentioned, North Square, the restaurant at the Washington Square hotel is very good. Always has been one of those consistent neighborhood places.

For 'old school', 'red sauce' Italian, Gene's on W. 11th St. I don't think it's been remodeled in 40 years, and some of the regulars have been going there for that long, but that's all part if the charm.

Cafe Dante is a great little Italian Cafe right in the heart of things. Great for an after dinner cappuccino and dessert.

If you want to venture to the E. Village there are dozens more there.

A few more local places that come to mind, La Ripaille, Da Andrea and Antica Venezia. And on the higher end, is Babbo.

Some of those mentioned in this thread are tough reservations, like Minetta Tavern, Babbo & Blue Hill. So you will have to plan for those in advance.