Hello

I will be seeing friends who are visiting NYC (from Australia).

We are both staying near Central Park (south- the 50s) although we don't have to dine near our hotels. Lunch or dinner. Looking for someplace at least moderately upscale with outdoor seating. Are we better off heading down to West Village do you think?

I shared the link from TimeOut on my other thread, with them, and nothing spoke to them. It is a shame as I thought there were some good ideas there.

Any ideas? Thank you.

Is Bryant Park Grill too far away?

Tavern on the Green pops up in my memory banks but I don't know about its post-covid status.

I had a nice dinner at Robert pre-covid and inside but super view of Columbus Circle:
https://robertnyc.com

Not at all.

I was thinking we would likely end up in West Village, even though we are staying near Central Park. So many more outside options...

although the first half of the week they are in Soho so they may want to stay in midtown are - near the theaters etc.

West Chelsea, COOKSHOP meets your criteria and is a favorite of ours. Not near where you’re staying but you can also visit Chelsea Market a few blocks south.

Guantanamera Cuban is "slightly upscale" as far as the food goes, not so much as far as decor on the outdoor sidewalk goes, unless they've improved things.

Briciola Italian has a nicer patio set-up than most.

Kashkaval Garden (Mediterranean) for lunch...they usually have the entire front side of the restaurant open to the outdoors. Plus some seating outside. Though it's hard to know if some of these places still have outdoor dining set up or have primarily moved back indoors. Many places in NYC sadly don't have room for more than a couple of tables out on the sidewalk because of the way the city is setup/cramped for space.