Appreciate any recommendations. Open to all types, all price ranges. Thanks.

I love the small Grace's Trattoria, next to Grace's Market at 3rd and 71st. They do a fettucine with lobster that is to die for.

Upscale Erminia on 83rd is considered one of the most romantic restaurants in the city due to the intimate candlelit atmosphere, and the food is excellent if not pricey.

This year we also discovered the very nice Tini's Ristorante at 81st and 2nd.

You might try the excellent Etats Unis on 82nd(?) near 2nd. Re Tini's:it's not Tini's anymore. He (Lentini) has changed the restaurant to another "theme". On a less expensive note you might try Triangolo on 83rd near 1st. And, oh,yes. Beyoglu-excellent middle eastern corner of 3rd and 83rd(?).

Well, you could try to get a table at Sfoglia (Lex/92nd), but I doubt you will succeed.

Payard is at Lex/73rd. They have fantastic chocolate desserts.

Oceana for seafood. 55 East 54th St.

BLT Steak. 106 East 57th St.

Thin

As already mentioned Etats-Unis 81st off 2nd is excellent - very small, great food and service; Sfoglia is great Tuscan - tough to get in. I love Spigolo on 2nd and 81st - again not easy to get a reservation because it's small. And there's Daniel, Aureole, davidburke and donatella, all upscale and wonderful. Oceana is very staid, if that matters to you. Pascalou, Mad and 92nd, is a small bistro with a large menu that never fails to please and is reasonable in price.

Sobster, that explains why when I tried to look up the address on menu pages, I didn't find Tini's. But I googled and still got their website. What do you mean "another" theme? I found it to be a nice general sort of restaurant primarily Italian before. Is that what you mean by a theme? We were just there in June. I had the most wonderful lamb shank with white beans, and Lee had spectacular veal scallopine with gorgonzola. Both were served with super grilled (not steamed) vegetables. We found it to be an exceptionally good place.

Cafe Boulud on 76 Street is quite good in a pleasant setting.

We also enjoy Aquavit.

Dear Neopatrick-I happen to live near "Tini" and pass it all the time. The other day I noticed it looked closed up and said to my wife uh oh it looks as tho Lentini couldnt make a go of it. And then by chance in the latest New York Magazine I noticed a little blurb re the reopening of Tini/Lentini with "changes". Unfortuneately, I am away from my copy of New York and I cant exactly remember what the changes were. Mostly I remember it was confusing,

Thanks, all. Just as background: A friend of ours is coming from Florida to receive treatment at Sloan-Kettering, and we'd like to take her out a few nights to keep her spirits up. I'll print this thread out, but please keep the ideas coming.

Some, not all ,of the early recommendations consist of some of the best that there are in UES.

Both Sfoglia and Spigolo are good Italian restaurants, but as mentioned, you will need patience to try and get a table.

http://www.sfogliarestaurant.com/

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/spigolo/

Oceana, which has been around for a while, has just been written up with glowing reviews in the NY Times.

http://www.oceanarestaurant.com/

Daniel and Café Boloud (both are Daniel Boloud’s restaurants), and together with Aureole, are upscale and have consistently been solid NY restaurant stalwarts.

http://www.danielnyc.com/

Cafe d'Alsace has loyal followers and tries hard to replicate good Alsatian dishes. Their European beer selection is one of the deepest in the city.

http://www.cafedalsace.com/

It’s been a while since we’ve had the Scandinavian-style foods at Aquavit, but I remember them to be pretty good.

http://www.aquavit.org/flash.html

Breakfast at Café Sabarsky in the Neue Gallery would also be a pleasant treat.
http://www.wallse.com/

You can pretty much just disregard the rest as these are destination restaurants by both locals and visitors and, imho, the ones to consider if traveling all the way from somewhere else and into NYC.

Buon appetito.

b_b

Oh and my wife had raved about their business lunch at Etats Unis and we'll definitely look forward to trying it for dinner.

And if you want to BYOB, this place has slowly been garnering some good reports lately -
http://www.squaremealnyc.com/

b_b

Where is your friend staying? He/she might not be up for traveling very far. SKMS is in the 60's very far east, somewhat of a restaurant wasteland. Do you know about menupages.com?

I had a very nice dinner early in the summer at Felice Wine bar, pretty close to the hospital.
http://menupages.com/restaurantdetai...4&cuisineid=35

Dalga Seafood Grill is a small hole in the wall (but attractive) with good, fresh seafood.
http://menupages.com/restaurantdetai...4&cuisineid=42

Neither of these are of the same caliber as many of the other places mentioned above, but much closer to the hospital if they're staying in the Helmsley building.

j_999_9 - all of these wonderful restaurants are easily accessible by taxi if you're friend is a bit tired from treatment and wants to venture out.

NeopatricK: Back to Lentini/Tini. In the 8/11 issue of New York Mag there's a small article re the new restaurant. It is now called Opus. It is pizzeria/ gelateria/restaurant. It will serve its gluten free pastas till 5 AM. It will have a rawbar, a bar-food menu etc etc.Hmm. Sounds interesting. (Also, in that neighborhood is the fun. relaxed Willy's. corner of 80th and 2nd.)

Well, good news. The next time I get a 4 AM craving for gluten free pasta, I'll sure know where to head.


This thread confuses me, because I didn't realize that the OP was asking for only destination restaurants that are the epitome of world class dining. I mistakenly thought he/she was looking for a variety of good and interesting places -- not the "be all".

By the way, it's been a couple of years since I've been to Aquavit. When did it move to the UES and where is it now?

OK, I'll take middle-of-the-road places, too. (In fairness, I left the field open in my OP to just about anything.)
Thanks, all.

That's actually what I thought, but some posters here seem to indicate only the very finest in the city will do. That's what was confusing me.

Particularly the comment from the poster who said "You can pretty much just disregard the rest as these are destination restaurants by both locals and visitors and, imho, the ones to consider if traveling all the way from somewhere else and into NYC."

That seemed to indicate the total reason for your trip was for fine destination dining and the only places you should consider, something I didn't read into your post at all. I thought maybe I was the one misreading your intent.

If you want extravagant desserts, try Payard Bistro on Lex (73 & 74)
www.payard.com

Aquavit

65 E 55 Street

Is that upper enough for you Neo?

Oh. That is where the old one was. Sorry, I have to rely on you New Yorkers. I guess I had a mistaken idea of where the Upper East Side is. My apologies.