NY December: Restaurant Tips
 

Hi again! I've begun a new topic for restaurant tips: travelling with my husband this december for just 3 days and want some restaurant suggestions: I'll tell you what type of place we've been to, so you can see our tastes:
Last years we've gone to:

our special dinners: River Cafe, Babbo, 21 club

brunch or casual: pastis, the view

breakfast: we usually had breakfast at Rosens next to St. Patricks because we stayed at the New York Palace, but this time we are trying the Intercontinental Barclay, so any nice place near will be appreciated (also for dinner, near the hotel in a nice place for the 1st night)

thank you for your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I forgot to add that my favorite ny burger place is JG Mellon!!!

Restaurants are extremely busy during December due to tourists and holiday parties. It is usually easier and cheaper to eat in residential areas during that time.

Nevertheless here is a reccent discussion reagrding burgers in NYC:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ers-in-nyc.cfm

Not sure how you define "nice place," but you may want to investigate The Four Seasons (restaurant, not hotel) on West 52nd Street, four blocks north of your hotel. It's in the same rank as Babbo and River Cafe, and a little above "21."

mas farm house in the west village is GREAT! pricey but very good food & excellent service.

Hi Carlota. I hope you're not going to be disappointed with the Intercontinental Barclay. It's one of the grand old dames left in NYC but nothing to compare to the Palace. I would have suggested perhaps one of the newer hotels. Intercontinental just opened a new Times Square location that's getting good reviews.

Anyway, for eating, the Intercontinental isn't that far from the Palace so if you liked Rosen's (I don't know it) you could go again. Looking on a map, it's actually closer to the Barclay than to the Palace. Burger Heaven is a local chain of coffee shops that are also in that area. There's one on Madison & 54 st. & another on 49th st. between Madison & Fifth, right near your hotel. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/burger-heaven-4/ Le Pain Quotidien is a small chain of Belgian cafes and they do a nice breakfast. I think the nearest one to your hotel would be on 40th st. & 6th ave. on the side of Bryant Park.

For a casual dinner near the hotel, Morrell's Wine Bar in Rockefeller Center is surprisingly good. Minetta Tavern in the village is a nice casual place for dinner, lunch or brunch. Eataly is the big new "it" market/restaurant from Mario Batali. http://www.urbandaddy.com/nyc/food/1..._Central_Store

For a fancier dinner, if you like seafood, Le Bernardin within walking distance of your hotel is outstanding. They also have a more affordable prix fixe lunch ($65). I also love La Grenouille for a fancy French meal, also within a walk of your hotel. This is the last of the old school fine French restaurants. If you're looking for new and trendy, this isn't it. For that, I like Locanda Verde in the Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca (gorgeous hotel).

Btw, I meant Burger Heaven for breakfast, not as an alternative burger place. I also love Melon's but many people prefer the Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien hotel and ofcourse Shake Shack which now has several locations.

mclaurie! I thought the Intercontinental Barclay would be "similar" to the palace...I already booked it, so there's nothing I can do about it but cross my fingers and hope I get a nice room...
thank you all for your suggestions!!
I was thinking of having lunch or dinner at Peter Luger (I think maybe it's better lunch and then try to walk through the bridge if the weather allows it...)
the Mas Farmhouse and the Locanda Verde seem good options for dinner (le bernardin, like per se, are a bit overpriced for me...)
and the Burger Heaven for breakfast sounds perfect (le pain quotidien we have in Spain and also, o prefer the bacon&eggs type of breakfast)
For Burger, last time I tried the Burger Joint at the Meridien, but Melon's is still my favorite!!! (I haven't tried the shake shack though...any near our hotel??)

thanks again!!!

now i'm very nervous about the hotel...anyone been to the intercontinental barclay recently?? mclaurie, isn't still a 5 star hotel??
I think I'll begin a post about it!!

Carlota it has very good reviews on TripAdvisor.

Yes, I've red them and at first it's what I thought, but it's number 165 out of 421 hotels...

Yes but that does not really matter.

There are many great places that for some reason or other are not ranked highly, but when you read the reviews, they are great....maybe they just do not get as many reviewers as other hotels. If there is something particular that you want to know about the public areas, I will walk there and take a look, as I live fairly close to the hotel.

Thank you so much! my worry is about the room and bathroom...
the nearest thing I need is for breakfast (the eggs&bacon type) and I think I'll try mclaurie's suggestion and go to Burger Heaven, at least the 1st day

Have a look at the write up and photos of the hotel here. http://www.oyster.com/new-york-city/...clay-new-york/ It's certainly not 5* and not nearly as glamorous as the Palace but it's a perfectly fine hotel. I think I know your taste and I didn't want you expecting the Palace. Bathrooms are small, rooms just ordinary, no real views. I don't put much importance in the rating # on tripadvisor.

Peter Luger's is considered to be the best steak by many people but they only take cash, it's not very convenient to get to and the service is gruff. It's not my thing and it's not that near the Brooklyn bridge. If you want to experience it, I think lunch is a good idea. In fact, many people say their burgers are outstanding. I've never tried them. The nearest Shake Shack to your hotel would be in the theater district at 8th ave. & 44th st. This website raves about the burgers at Lure Fishbar which I haven't tried. http://www.bestburgernyc.com/p/rankings.html

If you want a good steak dinner, BLT Steak or BLT Prime or Porter House are in Manhattan, good steak and modern.

I just saw the bathroom and it looks really tiny...the room Seems ok...i think i'm really going to miss "My palace"...i'll check the other steakhouses! I forgot to say that i Also like smith&wollenski!!

Carlota: One place that has not been mentioned here and that is within an easy walk of the Barclay is Convivio. This is a southern Italian restaurant and the food is outstanding. It is in a pretty enclave, Tudor City, which overlooks the United Nations. I've dined there twice in the last two weeks and these two meals ranked among the best I've had in any NY restaurant this year. It is NOT a typical southern Italian "red sauce" type of place. Pastas, especially, are outstanding. It is casual and they have a very good prix fixe dinner of four courses for about $62 or so.

They have a sister restaurant, Marea, that specializes in fish/seafood, on Central Park South.

You might want to consider P.J. Clarks for a burger, it's on 55th and 3rd Avenue.

If you want a real neighborhood diner for breakfast, try the Madison diner on 53rd and 1st Ave. it's been around for over 60 years.

There's also the Nations diner on 49th and 1st.

Ess-a-Bagel is on 51st and 3rd some of the best bagels around.

We enjoyed Tao for diner on 58th Street between Park and Lex.

Happy to hear of your Convivio experience, ek. We're headed there with our "opera gang" this Saturday (not our first visit) after the matinée performance of <i>Das Rheingold</i> at the Met. The opera ends early, so it's Campbell Apartment first for drinks, then dinner at Convivio. We think highly of it, too.

Incidentally, Michael White also operates Alto, another highly rated place.

Try Ruth's Chris steak house. They are amazing. Excellent filet, amazing side dishes, and the best cheesecake...

They're located on 51st between Broadway & 7th

enjoy!
x

We enjoyed our meals at Locanda Verde. Since you're willling to travel there are many good restaurants in this area,W. Village, W. Chelsea, Meatpacking District.Spice Market is a favorite of ours.No need to eat at chains..