Traveling on Amtrak to NYC for a medical appointment near Union Square. Looking for suggestions for lunch in the area or between Union Sq. & Penn Station (if weather permits walking). Last time had a lovely lunch at Gotham Bar & Grill. A more casual or bistro/bar atmosphere would be fine.

Considering Eataly on the way back to Penn Station. Only ethnic to rule out this trip - Asian or Indian.

Thank you for any help.

Tocqueville has one of the best lunch bargains in the city.

Motorino is one of the best pizza places in the city.

Taverna Kyclades a long time Greek seafood Queens favorite now has a branch in the East Village.

I loved my lunch here - Maison Kayser
https://foursquare.com/v/maison-kays...8eb3383944116b

Marta on East 29th street is excellent; Italian. Book ahead.

Great recommendations. I've noted them all and thank you for responding.

Lottie

Union Square Cafe - delicious, quintessential NY cafe - reserve ahead.

Ha Ha I couldn't figure out why I didn't know any of these places....SF has a Union Square as well

Union Square Cafe is closing due to a huge rent increase but I think not until Dec. 2015.

The last I read is that USC will go through 2014 at its current location and that they are actively looking for a new site.

We enjoy Craftbar at Broadway and 20th

Craftbar good, too.


Although must say that I tried Colicchio and Sons last week (part of Craft empire that gets talked about a lot here) and thought it was overpriced and not all that good as compared with some of my favorites. (Paid more for a la carte dinner for 4 in the main dining room here than we did at Marea recently) Service was superb, though. Anyway, that is not the OPs desired area, so not relevent here.

We loved the tasting menu in the Dining Room at Colicchio and Sons. Delicious and superb service!

I came back on the thread to recommend my favorite store anywhere - Fishs Eddy
https://www.fishseddy.com/
I'm a dish nut so I love everything in there, but it has fun NYC items. My favorite umbrella ever came from there. I love to browse the store but head directly to the back to choose something from the great sale section in the back.

Starrs: I remember that you liked C& Sons very much. I thought the food was a bit overworked; we also had somem issues about their pricingn of half-portions of pasta, which they corrected with the utmost grace. Service is, indeed,, impeccable, and congenial. But perhaps we should have dined in the Tap Room, which was where my sister had initially booked.

Next time you are here, try their flagship, Craft. I would also like to share a few of my own favorites, if you want to branch out a bit…..hope you return soon!

We had lunch at Marta and loved it: http://martamanhattan.com/

My husband raved about the charred octopus salad, it appeared to be a popular choice. Mushroom pizza was fabulous - tons of flavor, thin, light crust. Entrees are cooked over fire. We had swordfish & trout. Plain preparation done perfectly, again with bold flavor. Service was attentive.

Thanks for all the recommendations. We will be back in that area and will work on the list.

Glad you liked Marta. We had the mushroom pizza again last night..best pizza in recent memory, we both agreed. It has become one of our "go to" spots.

We're always looking for the "best" pizza place - we've had John's, Keste, Motorino, Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix), Grimaldi's (Brooklyn and Scottsdale), Delfina. Marta is now at the top of my list to try!

Grimaldi's is highly over rated IMHO.

Overlooked in Manhattan is Luzzo's.

Agree about Grimaldi's….100%

SF: You might want to add Paulie Gee's to your list. It is in Greenpoint but super easy and quick to get there by train from Manhattan. Much more dough-ey than Marta, though.

http://pauliegee.com/greenpoint/menu#pizza