NYC, budget question
 

Hi,

We are tackling some budget questions for our October visit to NY.

We would appreciate if anyone could shed a light on the food budget. What would you estimate per person for:
- a light meal at noon, salad style, seated.
- some afternoon tea and cake,
- a good consistent evening meal in some manhattan restaurant?
Thanks for stating if tax and servicefee is included.

Thanks to all of you!
Paul

I'd say around $75 to 85, including tip and tax.

At lunch time a salad (like caesar salad with chicken or similar) and soft drink or iced tea, including tax and tip (20% of the food and drink but not the tip) in a casual cafe will cost about $20-25. If you want seafood in the salad the prices will be a couple of $ higher.

We don;t do tea and cake in the afternoon - so I have no clue what this woulld cost - or where to get it. I don;t reco going to a regular coffee shop - the tea will be awful - as will the pastries. Go to menupages.com and check out one of the specialty tea shops - Alice's Tea Cup or similar for info. But realize you will have to look around to find someplace to get this. (You might try Starbucks but I've never tried hot tea there - and their iced tea is only so/so.)

For dinner without wine in a casuale cafe you can go from the $25 per person above - for a salad or simple pasta and soft drink - up to several hundred $ - based on where you go, how many courses you want - and if you're looking for a steak/seafood (which will be bigger$) or a simple pasta or ethnic meal.

When we go out to dinner for 2 - with a shared appetizer, pasta or chicken dish each, 1 glass wine each, and coffee with tax and tip we spend $90 to $100 - in a neighborhood restaurant.

yelp.com food info

virtualtourist.com local info

$25-50 for cheap places

Manhattan dining opentable.com can get VERY expensive

so your question is too vague/broad to be remotely answerable.

A museum cafe or similar will do tea and cake in the afternoon (and somewhere around 8-10 a person sounds right), but it is not a common way for Americans to eat. Alice's Tea Cup is going to run quite a bit more than that, and is set up to be more substantial/elaborate.

You can get lunch for $10, $20 if you want to go to a sit-down restaurant.

You can get a snack in the afternoon for about $6 unless you want to go to a sit-down pastry cafe, then count on $10 to $12 (a little more than a regular lunch).

If you want a real meal of at least two courses, then count on no less than $30 per person ($40 to be comfortable and have a really nice meal), excluding tip and beverages. If you want wine (which is generally ridiculously overpriced in Manhattan restaurants, then add $10 per person. So you're talking $50 per person for dinner. Of course, you can do it much cheaper (perhaps as little as $40 per person per day) by eating pizza, hamburgers, or other casual food and fast food.

So I'd say a budget of somewhere around $75 per person per day seems right, and you could have a really nice trip for that. But you could easily spend double if you want to be in sit-down restaurants all the time. Then I'd say a minimum of $120 per person per day.

New York City is a very expensive place, particularly the tourist areas (midtown).

That being said, you can find good values, but expect to pay more than you're used to, perhaps.

Tax is included. Gratuity is not. 20% is normal in Manhattan for acceptable service. (Personally, I rarely ever tip <i>below</i> 20% -- they need the few extra dollars more than I do -- and I often tip higher.)

Try www.midtownlunch.com for meals/restaurants which are not too expensive for lunch or even snacks.

Or you might even want to try a food truck or two to balance with your evening meals in restaurants.

I'm not exactly sure what Gekko means by saying that "tax is included". Tax in the U.S. is NEVER included, nor is service. Tax in New York is about 8.5%, and you normally tip 18% to 20% in NYC (roughly double the tax with the payment rounded up a bit to an even amount). So if you see an entree of $15 (a low price for a sit-down restaurant), you actually pay about $19 at the end.

As a general rule of thumb, I budget about double the price of the mid-priced entree at a restaurant. If the mid-priced entree is $25, then I don't expect to pay less than $50 per person (before tax and tip). You can see menu prices on Menupages.com and get a good sense of what most Manhattan restaurants are charging these days.

There are also some quirks in NYC. Steakhouses sell just steak with nothing else (though there are a few exceptions). People from around the U.S., where most restaurants include salad and side dishes may be disappointed that many NYC restaurants do not include them, especially the more expensive ones, where everything is sold individually.

There are also a lot of fixed-price menus in NYC, but they are rarely a good deal. And because portions are large, two people can often share either an appetizer or dessert and save money. Restaurants here are especially overpriced with salads, and to justify charging $9 to $11 for a salad, they make them large; I almost always share.

There have been many good suggestions above.

There are many ways to eat cheaply in NYC, but they may not be convenient or efficient for someone who is gadding about.

Almost every "deli" has a breakfast special. Eat a big breakfast.
As noted above, do not eat in tourist areas.
Look for luncheon specials.
Old style coffee shops have a huge menu even though almost everyone has a burger or an omelet.
If you pass a place like Gray's Papaya, do not be afraid and dive in and you will save a lot of money.
If you want a salad there are literally hundreds of places where you can make your own salad for lunch.
Pizza by the slice, gyros, veal parm sandwiches.
Chinatown is filled with inexpensive restaurants.
Indian restaurants on East 6th Street or Lexington Ave in the 20's.

To clarify ... When you receive your restaurant bill, the tax is included, but not the gratuity.

Typically you'll see the subtotal without tax, then the tax, then the new subtotal with tax. A space is provided to add the tip.

Tax is not included in the price of the food; it is added on when you receive your bill.

Sharing is fine for an appetizer or a dessert. But you can;t go into a restaurant and just share one main course - no matter how large. they need to keep the seats filled to make money and coffee shops typically have a per seat minimum at lunch hour - usually at least $10 - so people don;t come in for just a coffee (unless it's Starbucks with primarily take out business).

Sorry for my late response but I was away for some days. I'd like to thank all of you for your answers.
I got the message; amount with tax included, times 1.2.

Your info matters! We are 4 of us, for 8 days. Based on 80$/day/person, this means some 2600$. It all adds up, doesn't it?

We are however very lucky with the exchange rate. We pay actually 0.80 CHF/dollar, against 1.15CHF/dollar last year.

Thanks folks!
Paul

If you your large meal for the day is lunch you will save a great deal of money and if you are generlly careful, you shoule be well under the $2,600 mark. Whenever possible, the best food values are in the East Village plus a few others.

A few of the exceptional values away from the East Village:

La Marca-inepxensive Italian restuarant that is closed on weekends

Defonte's-delicious Italian sandwiches but limited seating. My favorites include meatball and the seldom seen any more potato and egg hero.

Turkish Kitchen-wonderful brunch value

And in the East Village itself-Motorino, which has some of the best pizza in the city has a great, great lunch special during the week. The one in Brooklyn is closed. The building in which they rent space is collapsong.

Paul, the fact that you're using CHF/USD exchange, you'll find food in US, even in NYC, DIRT CHEAP when compared to Switzerland! Enjoy your visit.

There are many people who live in NYC who don't cook and still manage to spend much less than $80 per person per day. It is not hard to cut down on your budget if you want, especially over 8 days.
Cutting out a sit down afternoon tea and cake will add up the savings
"Good consistent evening meal" could also be shared gourmet pizzas, Indian or Thai food, at half the prices budgeted. You may not want or need to eat multicourse sit down meals every night anyway. Sticking to tap water (instead of soft drinks or bottled water) at restaurants will probably save enough for an entire meal! Happy eating, how ever you choose to do it

It's true that in NYC when you have a sit down meal you will be given free, unlimited tap water with lots of ice and the water tastes good (soft, very few minerals). If that is you preference don;t hesitte to ask for more water in a cafe (a better cafe or restaurant will refill automaically).'

And if there are children - don;t know - you will find soft drinks are about twice the size yo are used to.

On the other hand wine is never cheap - even not very good wine.

And having a sit down cup of tea and cake in the afternoon will definitely eat up big $ - since this is something that locals don;t do - so there aren't a tone of places competing for the business. (In the afternoon we're much more likely to get a Starbucks coffee or tea - hot or iced on the run - we eat a lot of meals while moving.)

Yes, I am aware that the afternoon tea and cake will costs some bucks, but a Starbucks coffee, some milkshake for the kids and a chocolate muffin will do just fine.

Ok, thank you folks!¨
Have a nice day!

Regarding soft drinks: Refills are Not free. The tap water in NYC is some of the best you'll ever have. Beer is a nice budget choice but a glass of house Chardonnay won't break the bank either.

Re. tea: You can get a cup of something and some really nice cakes at Eataly near the Flatiron bldg. and also at Chelsea Market near the Highline.