ajni

Hi,

Have read a few threads on eating places in New York. I am going to be in New your for 4 days, and want to take my wife to great restaurants.

The reason I am posting a new thread is that my wife is a vegetarian.

We will be staying at Waldorf, so we would prefer places close by. Though this is not a limiting factor.

I would really appreciate if some of you could suggest a few good vegetarian places.

Thank you!

lizziea06

There's a Josies at 37th and 3rd that would be a great place to take a vegetarian. Very good and moderately priced with a great atmosphere.

A more upscale option would be Pure Food and Wine at Irving Place b/t 17th & 18th.

Zen Palate at 16th St. and Union Square West is also a great option.

All of these places are on the east side of Manhattan, and either walking or a quick cab ride from your hotel. You can view menus and prices at www.menupages.com.

ajni

Hi Lizziea,

I really appreciate your taking time to respond to my query. The menupages website is really helpful.

Thanks yet again

beanweb24

So many places are vegetarian friendly...menupages is a great place to double check if you already have some restaurants in mind.

Pure Food and Wine gets great reviews but wouldn't have meat options for you. It's also "raw" food and nothing is heated above 115 degrees. We were going to try it on our last visit but decided we would save for the future.

We were recently at Tabla and loved it. Although we did the tasting menu which did have meat/seafood on it, there are a number of vegetarian friendly options on the menu. We had an early dinner and were treated with the best table in the house - upper floor directly in front of a 2 story window with views to Madison Park.

www.tablany.com

We chose our restaurants for our last visit (3 weeks ago) using New York Magazine's Top 101 list. You can read about recommended restaurants then access their websites directly (or menupages) to confirm whether or not they are vegetarian friendly.

http://nymag.com/restaurants/wheretoeat/2006/

doug_stallings

Actually, there are usually only a couple of veg-friendly choices at Tabla. The last time I was there (a few months ago) exactly 1 main course and 2 appetizers. You'd actually expect more in an Indian-influenced restaurant. Still, they seemed like good choices to me, and it's a great restaurant.

But one of the top retaurants has a multi-course vegetarian tasting menu, and I can't remember which one. Can anyone help?

P.S. Have you tried Chowhound? They know everything about the top NYC restaurants.

SZ

Aureole and Gramercy Tavern both have vegetarian tasting menus. I <heart> Gramercy Tavern; haven't been to Aureole but I'm sure it's fabulous as well. Enjoy!

Gekko

Another vote for Josie's -- great food with veg and non-veg options.

eleanorw

Candle cafe and its more upscale sister Candle 79 are really excellent vegan restaurants on the upper east side, imo much better than Josie's. You can of course get vegetarian meals anywhere, and all the really high end restaurants will do vegetarian meals for you.

travelbuff

You might try some of the Indian Restaurants in Little India on Lex Ave around 28th St. Anna Purna is very good and vegitarian.

emd

I asked for help w/this when I took my veg. daughter to NYC last summer. Although we didn't get to go to them, we had lots of great suggestions. Check the ones mentioned below on menupages.com or on their websites.

Here is the portion of my trip report that mentions all the places that were recommended by fodorites:

I had done a lot of research on vegetarian restaurants before I went as my daughter is a vegetarian and we have no good veg. restaurants in the D.C. area where we live. I thought we would get to eat at ZeNith or Vynl (which were both so close to our hotel, the Muse), or Candle Café (although it seemed too far to go to the upper east side for this one), or one of the ones suggested to me on this board in the Village/Soho areas (Spring St. Natural, Angelica Kitchen, Rice) but we just didn’t get to do it. As usual, we grabbed food here and there as we made our way around the city. However, we did grab dinner from the food bar at Green Symphony (255 W. 43rd) on the way to the show on Friday night, and I would recommend this place for a quick vegetarian meal.

mdn

A couple of other additions are (i) Vegetarian Dumpling House (ii) Vatan (iii) Saravanaas.
Veg Dumpling House in Chinatown is purely veg & although the menu has dished like Chicken in ginger sauce or whatever, all the meat is actually made from tofu.
It's a fun lil place that I was skeptical about initially but really enjoyed once I went there. Try their congee (porridge like soup) if you go.

I'm surprized that nobody has mentioned Vatan. Absolutely amazing veg (Indian Gujarati food). But book in advance as it is always full. There's no menu here. You just order the "thali" (plate) & they'll keep bringing out several different preparations... & seconds & thirds... of anything you like for a fixed price of $20. The decor/room is amazing too.
www.vatanny.com

The best south Indian place in the city, IMO, is Saravanaas. It's on the NE corner of 26th & Lexington. Several other Indian veg places in that area as well.

IRabbit

We love Tsampa, a Tibetan restaurant at 212 East 9th Street. Lovely atmosphere, and inexpensive. Try the hot buttered tea, it's wonderful.

travelgirl2

We really like Norma's for brunch, in the Le Parker Meridian Hotel. Fresh squeezed oj, French pressed coffee, smoothies, delcious entrees. I think a vegetarian would be very happy here. You can check the menu online.

Not cheap though, last time we spent $69 plus tip for 2 people (we ordered a lot though). Make a reservation through www.opentable.com, as it gets crowded.

ajni

Oh I can't believe this. Was off for a few days on business and have so many replies waiting for me.

Thanks I will take a print out of this thread and try and visit as many recommended places as we can in 4 days!

Its lovely to be a part of this forum, I hope to add a few of my favourites once I am back.