Where to eat in NY?
 

We'll be visiting NY from Melbourne for 4 nights in late Oct and as food and wine lovers I have no idea how we're going to choose where to eat from all that is on offer! We're planning on one or two really good dinners but would also love to sample places that are cheap but great. We love all kinds of foods and are staying in the Village on Bleecker St. Any suggestions?

Have you tried Zagats.com? I always go there to get rest info before a trip to NYC.

A few suggestions: <BR> <BR>1) If you like wine, Cite usually has some sort of wine tasting dinner. <BR>2) If you like all kinds of fish/shellfish, Nobu is a must. <BR>3) You must go to John's pizza on Bleecker, arguably the best in the city. <BR>4) Go to a NY deli, Katz's,I even like Carnegie but people think it's too touristy. <BR>5) Jean-Goerges, Daniel for French <BR>6) Peter Luger's in Bklyn for steak, also in Bklyn there's a restaurant under the bridge which is supposed to have a great view of the city. I haven't been there, Is it River Cafe or something like that? <BR>7) Golden Unicorn for Dim Sum lunch. <BR> <BR>If you give us some more specifics we can make better suggestions.

also try citysearch.com under NY. I live in the area and use them all the time. You can get descriptions,tours and menus online. Searching by neighborhood is really helpful too. <BR>Have a great time <BR>JK

Il Mulino it's Italian cuisine and it's located in the village.

My friend and I loved Anna's Italian located in Hell's Kitchen. Some of the best homemade ravioli I've ever had. We also liked Hell's Kitchen, in the area of the same name.

I like Becco's www.toprestaurants.com/ny/becco.htm <BR> <BR>

Bubba is right...try Il Mulino. It is definately not cheap (very expensive, in fact), but worth every cent. The best Italian food I've ever had, and I've been to Italy 4 times!

The best advice around can be gotten from chowhound.com. Read peoples' posts and you'll learn a lot about where to go.

Cheap & great: <BR> WongKee 113 Mott Strret at Hester Street in Chinatown. (Well-known. You don't go for the decor. Look in Zagat's if you like.) <BR> <BR> Cafe Rakka--Middle Eastern-St Mark's Place at 1st Avenue in the East Village. <BR> <BR> For old-fashioned Southern Italian no-frills very good, don't know abaout great but I love it: <BR> Focacceria First Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets, East Village. I love their sole francese, this could be just me. & stuffed artichoke if they happen to have it that day. All mostly under $10. Totally a neighborhood place. <BR> <BR> The queen of all-night dining, 24 hour breakfast (tho the breakfast specials end at 11): Veselka 9th St at 2nd Avenue, East Village. Try not to miss this one, it is an institution. If you're in the mood, order the Ukrainian specialties, or at least the muchroom barley soup: not the BEST mushroom barley soup on the planet, but one of the most famous. <BR> All the food is good, & the place is very clean. And the neighborhood is onl display there 24/7. (Including me, around 11 pm) <BR> <BR> <BR>

A few of my suggestions...Second Avenue Deli at 2nd Avenue and 10th St., Lanza's on 1st Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets (around the corner from Lanza's you can have dessert and coffee at Veniero's or DeRoberti's next to Lanza's), Brothers Bar-B-Q at 228 West Houston between 6th and Varick, Vernon's Jerk Paradise at 254 West 29th Street between 7th & 8th Avenues...If you really feel adventurous take the #9 train to the West 231st Street stop in the Bronx, exit onto Broadway and eat at a restaurant called El Malecon - the chicken is out of this world..then walk 7 blocks north to West 238th Street, make a right and buy an S&S cheesecake at the grocery store on the right - unless S&S is open when you go - it's a few doors up on the right...it really is the best cheesecake...by the way, do you mean Melbourne, Florida or Australia...

My favorite inexpensive Spanish and seafood restaurant is El Quixote on West 23rd Street between 7th and 8th Aves. Incredibly low prices and excellent food, like a 2 pound lobster for $29.95 (I just paid $38 in Newport, RI), garlic shrimp for $14.95, excellent paella and Sangria, you can't beat it!

Check out Il Buco in Noho. Be sure to go down to their wine cellar. 2nd ave. deli if you want the best corned beef or pastrami sandwich. Danal is another homey good restaurant on 10th between 3rd and 4th Ave. The best upscale restaurants in the Village are Il Mulino, and Gotham Bar and Grill on 12th Street. Enjoy!

First, you MUST check out www.chowhound.com - THE best site for in-depth and personal assessments of Manhattan restaurants. If you tell the chowhounds what you are specifically looking for, you will get amazing results. <BR> <BR>A few of my faves in no particular order: <BR>-Picholine (W. 60s near Lincoln Center) <BR>fabulous French/Mediterranean, no attitude, and Max the Maitre of Fromage. If you love cheese, Max has the tickets to paradise...Picholine has one of the best cheese carts in the city, and a fantastic wines-by-the-glass program as well. Not cheap, but a far better value than other 3-stars that cost an arm and a leg. <BR>-"The Place" West 4th and 11th street (in the Village) A romantic hideaway restaurant with lots of candles, fireplace, jazz playing, and inventive French/Asian fusion food. Nice owners, warm service, and 10% of profits go to children's charities. <BR>-For cheap but great, try "F&B" on 23rd and 8th. It's a very posh European-style fast-food place with Belgian fries, amazing veggie and gourmet hot dogs with oodles of toppings, beignets and cafe au lait in the morning, etc. Plus, they have a great selection of Belgian beers and little soda bottles of champagne. <BR>-The Corner Bistro on West 4th (near Hudson) for a great cheap burger and leads of beers on tap. <BR>-Soba-ya on East 9th street for cheap, home-made Japanese noodles. Run by Japanese and very affordable and fun. If you like ramen, there's also a place run by the same people called "Hairaiken" on East 10th. GREAT miso ramen and gyoza, also cheap. <BR>-"Piccolo Angolo" 621 Hudson Street at Jane (Greenwich Village) <BR>This place has great food, very quirky service, and is always crowded. Everything on the regular menu is good, but when you sit down the owner, Renato (who speaks English poorly but with hilarious hand signals) reels off the specials. Listen carefully, because he does NOT repeat himself. They make their own wine, which they serve in carafes. You will NOT have a bad meal here. This is the way Little Italy used to be but is, alas, no longer. Plus it's pretty fairly priced. <BR>-"Malatesta Trattoria" (far west Greenwich Village) <BR>649 Washington St <BR>A younger, hipper-feeling Italian place, also with great food, but a more romantic atmosphere. Cash only. <BR>-"Katz's Deli" (Lower East Side) <BR>205 E Houston St <BR>Made famous as the place where Meg Ryan gave her gut-wrenching fake orgasm performance in "When Harry Met Sally." Not cheap, but the quintessential New York Deli. HUGE sandwiches, great pickles, indifferent service. Try the Reuben and the hot dog - among the best of their kind in NYC <BR>-"Thali" on Greenwich Ave in the Village. Vegetarian pre-fixe Indian in a tiny restaurant. $10 gets you 4 or 5 different curries, rice, bread, raita, pickles, and dessert. <BR>-For a real taste of New York, go to "Zabars," the quintessential New York food store. (Broadway and 79th Street) Wander the aisles amazed at the collection of cheeses, coffees, baked goods, cakes, freshly prepared foods, etc. This is the PERFECT place to pack a picnic for Central Park (just a few blocks away). Right next door, "H & H Bagels" has the best bagels in the city. A must-try! <BR> <BR>I know that's a lot more than a "few," but hope it was helpful! <BR>Thanks for coming to NYC, by the way! We need the visitors and it's a wonderful time to get reservations at top places. <BR>Pam <BR>

I will second the nomination for Veselka (2nd Ave. & 9th St.)! My favorite place for inexpensive, delicious breakfast or brunch. Eastern European food -- cheese blintzes with raspberry sauce, kielbasa, challah french toast, great breads and pastries and soups. <BR> <BR>Also a tiny place called Home, in the West Village at 20 Cornelia St., between Bleecker & W. 4th Sts., (212) 243-9579. They have sort of upscale "home-style" cooking. It's not cheap, but very reasonably priced for the quality of the food. <BR> <BR>Also highly recommend Holy Basil for Thai food -- cozy atmosphere, reasonably prices, good service, delicious food. It's in the East Village at 149 Second Ave. (between 9th & 10th Sts.), (212) 460-5557

My favorite Manhattan restaurant is Chanterelle at Harrison and Hudson Sts. This is one of the top 10 restaurants in NYC. It is very expensive, but they have a prix-fixe lunch that most people can afford. Im not sure that it is open now, though, because it is near the WTC. Another place I highly recommend is, Picholine, near Lincoln Center. Their cheese is considered the best in Manhattan. Both these places are for serious foodies only. If you are really an oenophile, I suggest Veritas. They have an extensive cellar with lots of rare and great wine.

Zagat NYC, the bible, and Zagat.com are indispensible, They'll lead you to the best places in town. <BR> <BR>My favorite is Le Bernadine. Zagat says it's the best restaurant in NYC. As with a lot of other great restaurants in NYC Le Bernadine serves a fixed price lunch which is inexpensive by Le Bernadine standards but is still the real Le Bernadine.

There is no "e". Le Bernardin.

Just curious - where are you staying that you will be on Bleecker in the Village? Is it a B&B?

There are tons of excellent reasonable restaurants near bleecker st. There are some Spanish places that are very reasonable and have good food and sangria. There's Lupa's italian type tratoria on Thompson st. (right off of bleecker). Also Provence (i think MacDougal near Houston). There are tons of really nice places in the east village (3rd Avenue and east from Houston st to 14th st) that are incredibly reasonable and with lots of character and good food. Some are Coup, I Coppi, Pisces, and many more I can't think of off the top of my head. Use the different searches in Zagats.com to narrow your choices. I find with zagats that many of the very high rated, hard to get into, high priced restaurants are a dissappointment. Moderately priced restaurants rated between 19-21 in zagats, many times are a real treat. For a great evening or afternoon cappicino stop in the village area, try Le Gamin. There are a few of them. Also the cafes on MacDougal st are great for desert. Enjoy your visit. Your staying in my favorite NYC neighborhood.

One more thing, I have to agree with Mike, Cite has a great fixed priced wine tasting dinner. I believe it's served after 8pm. The food is fabulous and the wine great. It is located in on 51st between 6th & 7th. Also I can add soe good soho places that just came to mind, Savoy and Zoe.

The best advice I could give is to not spend a lot of money on food in NY! I've never been to Melbourne, but if there are good restaurants there, don't expect to find a lot better in NYC! Don't get me wrong, they have good food there, but if you are from a big city where you can get good food, NYC is no big treat. You always hear about the "great food in NYC" but what you should really go for is the cultural experience!! The museums are simply amazing and you won't see better theater anywhere else. Unless you only enjoy eating out for fun, I would concentrate less on food options and more on the culture. What are you more likely to remember about a vacation---the overpriced average meal or the spectacular performance you saw at a theater? Think about it!

Nobu!Nobu! Nobu if you even think you like japanese. It is a spiritial experence. Don't for get to order the squid pasta.

Wow! Your responses have been amazing. I almost have my own guide to restaurants in NY without having to check out Zabars or chowhound.com (which sounds fabulous - can't wait to look at it!). <BR>Just in response to a few questions - Merilee, I'm coming from Melbourne Australia (not Florida). Which by the way, CPJ, has some fantastic restaurants and food. And we're not heading to NY just for the food - its the total cultural experience, I agree - but since we have to eat, we might as well eat well. I'm sure we'll find a balance. <BR>And Kim - we're staying in an apartment at 160 Bleecker St. which I found (after much internet hunting) through Signature Suites Greenwich Village. Don't really know that much about them, but they've been lovely to deal with and since there are 4 of us we are getting somewhere (hopefully) nice for the same amount it would cost us for a hotel with alot less space. And we really wanted to stay in the village because it sounds so great! <BR>But back to restaurants, how far in advance would we need to book Il Mulino for example (we are in NY Mon - Thurs nights)? Also, do you need to book at most places or can you just turn up? <BR>And lastly, thanks to those who have passed on their encouragement for visiting NY. Its obviously an extremely difficult time, but I'm really glad that you will enjoy having us. Your spirit over the last few weeks has been inspiring, and if spending money in NY is a way I can help, then I'm there with open pockets. <BR>

Il Mulino takes reservations one month in advance. If you call three weeks in advance you probably wont get a reservation. If they don't have the reservation you want for, say Monday, try Tuesday, they may have it. They are notorious for keeping people with reservations after 8pm waiting for up to 45 minutes for their table. If you don't mind, eat earlier to avoid that inconvenience. If you like lamb chops, they are the best I've ever had. If Claudio is your waiter, he's probably the best waiter I've ever had. You will be staying one block away from Il Mulino. BTW, drop by Cafe Reggio at some point for espresso- it's the oldest cafe in the village, and soaked with history. Also one of the best under $5 meals can be had at Mamouns next door-very good fellafel. (One of the great things about New York is that you can talk about a $4 and a $120 a person meal in the same paragraph!) <BR> <BR>You need reservations at all the upscale restaurants, unless you drop in at an off hour. Many of the restaurants have a bar area where you can eat (though not at Il Mulino.) You can always get seated if you drop by near the opening time (usually 6pm). However, don't feel you need to have reservations for all your dinners. There are great restaurants near you in the Village or Soho. You can pick two or three and go to them and you will almost certainly be seated at one, especially on a weeknight. Also, even without a reservation, you can try the upscale restaurants and your chances of getting in are probably one in three. <BR> <BR>Cheers. <BR>

Please pst a report when your trip is over. I am interested in hearing about your apartment rental in the village. Sounds like a great place to stay!

Jane -- I want to say first that we're thrilled to have you come visit, not just to spend money (although that is appreciated) but because we need your support and encouragement at this time! Please return to Melbourne and tell your friends and neighbors about the wonderful spirit of the people of NY! <BR> <BR>Second, you've gotten many great recommendations for restaurants. I want to second (or third) Cite'. It has a $65 prix fixe dinner after 8 pm. Call for a reservation. You can order anything off the menu for 3 courses (it is a well-known steakhouse) and it includes 3 courses of wine and 1 champagne -- all you can drink. The wines are great and the food fabulous. You'll really enjoy it. <BR> <BR>Another good suggestion if you like wine is my favorite, Les Halles. This is a french steakhouse (can you tell what we like?) with lots of other french bistro specialties and a very good wine list. The chef wrote the interesting restaurant tell-all, "Kitchen Confidential." I would also encourage you to sample some of the fabulous restaurants in the Tribeca area (easily accessible from the Village), not only because there are some real gems (not just Nobu, but Chanterelle, Duane Park Cafe, etc) but they also need your business since the area around there has been difficult to access for the last several weeks. <BR> <BR>I always take visitors for dim sum in Chinatown on Sunday morning. It is a real treat -- I'll leave recommendations for specific places to others who know more than me. <BR> <BR>One last idea: many of the museums, including the Met, MOMA and the Guggenheim have evenings with music and a bar. You can enjoy the art and then relax with a glass of wine on the roof deck of the Met or on the mezzanine, listening to a quintet. It's a lovely way to end the day. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your visit!

I know it's a little cliched, but I loved Tavern on the Green. The price was pretty reasonable (~30-40) and the food was terrific. The atmosphere, though, was just wonderful. Very quiet, and the trees and planters full of flowers... Just great.

Hi! here are some suggestions in the Village - for casual dining: <BR> <BR>1) Tres Giovani - great italian restaurant. it's on Laguardia place between W3rd St. & W4th St. <BR> <BR>2) Marumi's - Japanese restaurant. great sushi! try the spicy sashmi salad! it's a couple of doors down from Tres Giovani <BR> <BR>3) Soba-ya - Japanese restaurant... no sushi only noodles. try the rice pudding for desert! it's on E9th St. between 3rd and 2nd Ave. <BR> <BR>4) Cafe Espanol - spanish food. right on bleecker st! <BR> <BR>5) Chat & Chew - this one is north of the village, by Union Square Park. come here if you want an old-fashioned all american meal! can't remember the exact address. <BR> <BR>

Try Vittorio Cucina on 310 Bleecker St. <BR>Bet.Grove St. @ 7th ave. Lovely, romantic,moderate prices. Good food and service. Chez Michallet 90 Bedford St West Village bistro Friendly service good food. For brunch Grange Hall Barrow St. My husband and I will be celebrating my birthday on Saturday at Vittorio's. Hope you have a wonderful time in NYC. Lisa

You might check out the restaurant week deals that have been extended to 10/31. Some restaurants have a prix fixe lunch special for $20.01 and others serve a similar dinner for $30.01. List of restaurants is at www.restaurantweek.com.

Italian - Il Mulino on the high end. Il Baggatto on the cheap side. Big winner on 3rd St. between ave A/B. <BR> <BR>Pizza - If you find yourself in the 20's on the East side, Franks on 23rd, just west of Lexington, a tiny brick hole in the wall has the best pizza in the city, hands down. <BR> <BR>Deli - Go to Katz's. If you eat Pastrami, you'll go back down under a happy woman. You have to order at the counter, and while the guy is making your sandwich, tip him a buck and he'll throw on some extra pastrami and pickles. <BR> <BR>Steak - If you can get to Brooklyn, Peter Lugers will make your trip. It is THAT MUCH better than any steak house in Manhattan. <BR> <BR>I'm getting hungry. <BR> <BR>Spanish - La Paella is a romantic place for tapas in the East Village, on 9th between 2/3rd ave. <BR>Sevilla - I think its on W. 10th and Charles, is better for a party atmosphere with great paella, sangria, and its cheap. <BR> <BR>Chat n Chew was mentioned above, its on 16th St. Just west of Union Square. Best Macaroni and Cheese around. If you are looking for a good meal in that area, <BR> <BR>Blue Water Grill wont break the bank, and the jazz room in the basement is nice. <BR> <BR>Now that I'm looking at your original post, you're probably here right now. oh well. <BR>

i for one would like to keep the business trade down on the mulberry streets/chinatown area. these places are hard hit because of the wtc tradegy. so i opt for luna's italian rest. on mulberry street. wherever you go, have a great time.

Jing Fong in Chinatown for Sunday dim sum (Elizabeth Street, I believe). I also dig Carmine's but get bashed for saying that because it is too touristy and too "Chef-Boy-R-Dee". Oh well, I'm a tacky tourist...what can I say?

The greatest food I have ever had is found at Daniel. Layer upon layer of flavour, you must have the tasting menu. It is worth the extra $$ to go to the "real" Daniel...the 2nd restaurant, Cafe Boulud, was great but not divine. <BR> <BR>Other, less pricey , suggestions are Il Cortile in Little Itally ( really, anything in little itally for the experience if nothing else) and I highly recommend a tour through Dean and DeLucca, buying whatever looks fab to you, and then picnic in a nearby park.

Two of my favorites with great food and wines but on the pricier <BR>side,Town is high on my list,for fish,wines from the Campania region of Italy and for David my favorite chef, <BR>go to Esca. For a great French meal on the eastside go to Le Perigord. If you are lucky that they extend the special New York restaurant deal you can have a wonderful meal for 30.00 plus tax and tip,they also have great wines.

Try looking at Fodors.com - oh, I mean - the site you are on.