Give me your one "can't miss" restaurant in NYC
Will be in NYC for the coming week and am looking for some restaurant recommendations. I already have most nights booked at places I like, but have 2-3 more nights that I want to fill with new places to try. Feel free to send me all over the city, I want to see a variety of neighborhoods.
Rules:
- Only 1 recommendation per reply. Anything other than that and your entry is disqualified
- No seafood. "Don't eat fish, it's practically a vegetable" - Ron Swanson
- You can include a signature dish or something in particular that I should try there
- I'm staying in FiDi but willing to Uber anywhere for the right recommendation
- My favorite restaurant is closed for Sunday dinner, so this creates a big gap in my schedule. Tell me if your rec is suitable for a good Sunday dinner.
- If you give me a bad rec, I reserve all rights to make fun of you and your taste. Well, I'll probably do that anyways, but that's not the point :)
If I get some really good recs from this, I'm willing to keep this updated with pics from said restaurants as I visit them.
Gabriel Kreuther, best meal I've had
Oh I like this one and it would have never come up on my radar - you're in the lead!
Reservation made. I'm also finding out that my Resy via the Amex Platinum will come in very handy in NYC. I live on the West Coast and out here it's all OpenTable, basically no one uses Resy. But it looks like the opposite is true in NYC.
Yeah basically all the good restaurants have migrated to Resy here.
Was actually pretty disappointed here. Food is plated well, service is decent, so you get the fine dining experience, but taste is not fine dining. Nothing you couldn't make in your own kitchen for $500 less. So many other restaurants doing actually exciting things that I'd prefer to go to.
This was ~1.5 years ago though in middle of Covid/outdoor dining, so maybe I was just unlucky.
Oh no! I’m looking forward to this one. I’ll keep it in my list but your feedback is noted.
This one was a winner and I also enjoyed the neighborhood, seems like a nice area. The food was amazing, the service less so just a little too snooty for my tastes, but there are worse things in the world (and I know that comes with the second star). I have always been curious about cheeses because I know very little about them, so I'm glad I started with their cheese plate, it was delicious.
Dorsia, if you can get reservations…
[ INSERT SEA URCHIN QUOTE HERE ]
beat me to it man haha
Rezdôra in Flatiron
Fave Dish: Regional Pasta Tasting highlights the best meals offered imo
Seconding this recommendation, went there with my parents and they loved it as well. Favorite dish of the tasting menu was the uovo ravioli.
Looks promising but Resy says nothing is available during my trip. But I put myself on the notification list if something pops up.
Walk in at opening for a bar seat. I love Rezdora
If you like steak and Korean food, I would recommend Cote.
https://www.cotenyc.com/
Great rec but terrible availability. Also, its looks like they don't like single diners to make a reservation, which is not great, but I can always bring one of the kids I'm mentoring this year.
.
..
Aquavit was amazing, as was Jua.
I like where your heads at soldier. But neither have availability during my trip.
Dang, this started off strong with a table available at a 2-star Michelin and now I'm 1-3 on Resy.
If you're with a big group of people, go to Carmine's in the UWS. Although it's not necessarily the best quality food (still very good though), they serve huge family sized portions and have a really good/huge ice cream dessert called the titanic. Great time to have some classic Italian-American food with your friends.
Nah. I have a Carmine's locally. I want to go to places unique to NYC. Besides, I'm a loser that dines alone, so family portions don't interest me.
Oh I didn't realize carmines was also outside of NYC. Just thought it was UWS and times Square. But definitely not the place to go to alone too lol.
Been to Carmine's in Time Square. Gotta starve yourself all day if you're going to get appetizers here along with a meal. Very good meatballs from what I remember. Was in a food coma/slept like a baby after eating there.
Carmine’s is TERRIBLE — Italian Cheesecake Factory.
Indian Accent
Top place for Citi bois power lunches
Crown Shy in FiDi is really good - think they just got a Michelin star but it isn't too hard to get a res. The short rib is pricey but 100% worth it.
Also One White Street in Tribeca. Probably need to book a week ahead but really cool menu and everything is great.
Reservation is done. Thanks for the rec!
It looks like I’m having an easier time getting a reservation if the restaurant is part of the Amex global access (or whatever it’s called). Those two had plenty of availability while the others did not.
Ah man! Just saw that your edit broke the rules. Don’t make me cancel this reservation!
Best meal of the trip! Geez, I owe you for coming up with this one. Everything I tried at this place was delicious, even the bread course! The curious thing here is that their menu descriptions just do not do justice to their food. The bocatini is completely undersold on their menu and that might one of the best dishes I've ever had in my life. Also had the short rib and that was amazing! I enjoyed this place so much that I regret that I was not able to visit it a second time on this trip. Will definitely be a place I visit regularly.
Glad you enjoyed!
Ko. Best of the Momofuku group. Exceptional service and dining experience. Great wine list and somm. Unique dishes without being "casual avant garde". Small touches like sending you home with a slice of pizza (spun up a pizzeria during the pandemic).
Couldn't find this one on either Resy or OpenTable. Therefore it does not exist.
Search Momofuku Ko my man
Prince Street Pizza grandma slice in SoHo on Saturday after going out. Will take the edge off the hangover, or add onto it idk. But some of the best $5 you'll spend in Manhattan.
Nice! Going to do my best to make this one. I didn't find any exceptional pizza last trip (good pizza, yes, but not exceptional). I'll keep an eye out for this based on my night activities.
Gramercy Tavern
Tavern or Dining Room? Resy has both.
I'm sure both are good but former has more reviews and think that is where I ate.
4 Charles Prime Rib, good luck getting a table though...
I like where your heads at soldier. But I have plenty of prime rib places around me.
Marea is my favorite. I eat there every two weeks.
Not really a great spot for someone who doesn’t eat seafood though (which actually rules out many top places, especially those with tasting menus or where the “best” they serve is seafood based; Le Bernardin, Jungsik, Atera, etc)
Good looking out, soldier.
Thursday Kitchen, edamame dumpling
53rd and 6th Halal truck. Jk, there was a time (like 10+ years ago) when this place was banging. Those OG $5 platters are better than 99% of the food I've had in Manhattan.
Owner used to park his decked out Lambo by it when he came by the stand haha and there used to be so much traffic/foot traffic that I'm sure the Hilton guests next door got annoyed when they were driving in or out.
Sucks now, and it makes me very sad
Fortunately, there are a lot of halal trucks that are close to their old standards. Only downside is the majority of them are in Queens and not in Manhattan. When 53rd and 6th tried expanding under the Halal Guys brand, quality went downhill quickly and despite the better quality in Queens currently, I still don't think any place I've been to matches the freshness/quality of the OG platters at 53rd/6th.
Kimika has a $135 9 course fixed meal in Hell's Kitchen... the food is delicious.
I’m not seeing anything when I google this? Only Kimika that shows up is in Little Italy.
Oops sorry... I meant Kochi in Hell's Kitchen. Kimika food is phenomenal as well (that's in little italy)
Lucali’s
ABC Kitchen by Jean-Georges is delightful
If you're looking for a chill night crushing a couple beers and enjoying good food I'd recommend Pete's Tavern in Gramercy. It's one of the oldest pubs / taverns in the city and shouldn't be too hard for resys
https://www.petestavern.com/
Nice rec soldier. But I'm bearish on beer right now, trying to watch my figure.
If you've got any semblance of a sweet tooth, then Marble Dessert. 10 courses of mostly dessert -- but they did a great job of making sure the sweetness wasn't overpowering and that there were some more savory dishes to balance it out. Took my girlfriend there 6 months ago and she's still raving about it. I'm not even a big sweets guy and it was still dope.
Damn that sounds amazing, good work soldier. But I'm starting to run out of nights for this. I intend to visit my favorite restaurant twice on this trip. So I might make an adjustment there and try to mix in this place - huge fan of dessert.
Don Angie - Lasagna
($140k base as An1 at FTP btw)
You had me at lasagna, you lost me at An1
:)
Tuome, in the East Village. One Michelin Star but very down to earth and reasonably priced. Get the Berkshire Pork - you won’t regret it
Second this
Reservation made. I liked it at Michelin, I loved it at pork. Nice find, soldier.
Really enjoyed Tuome, great find soldier. Great drinks menu and I enjoyed the Wagyu. The service was so-so, the waitress was a little scatterbrained, but I enjoyed it regardless. The neighborhood and ambiance definitely make it a sleeper, but the food is outstanding, the good reviews are well deserved. I took my most junior analyst with me on this one and he enjoyed it too.
Went here last week, loved it
Jungsik - Korean fusion tasting menu. In my opinion, very underrated among the Michelin star restaurants in the city.
(Would of mentioned Atomix, but availability is scarce)
It’s “would’ve.”
Atomix sells out in a minute, but if you set a reminder to check the website when they release the reservations (it's once a month at a set time that opens up the following month's reservations), you probably will get a spot
Realized you're a savage peasant and not worth my recommendation after no fish
I have a refined palette. I take all my dietary recommendations from mildly funny NBC sitcom shows and shady-ass anonymous message boards.
Seeing you use a Parks and Recreation quote had me worried for a bit, ngl. But then I was fortunate enough to read this bit where you call it "mildly funny" and now I can be at peace knowing that the best comedy show ever produced does not have you as a real fan.
Dhamaka!
OK soldiers, I think this list is closed for now. Thanks to all of you I now have a dinner resy (Ha! See what I did there? Do you see it? See it?) for every night of my visit. In no particular order:
The other nights I'm filling in with my own favorites and a guest comp at my hotel. I'll take as many pics as I can at these places (fuck yes, I'm that guy!) and report back. Appreciate everyone's help, it filled up my otherwise boring schedule and I'll get to see some new places.
Saars indian cuisine hands down
Olive Garden in Times Square. Try the breadsticks
Get us a reservation and I’ll meet you there.
I literally had a half tray of water spilled on me there....Manager was so thankful I didn't act like asshole(I had ever right to be), he comped the entire meal. Because of this I ended up ordering a couple extra bottles of wine. So I racked up $300 at the olive garden for 2 people.
I love how he got monkey shit on like every reply
This is your first time noticing that? One of these anonymous cowards follows me around and does that on all my posts.
But fuck it. As I said in another thread, at my funeral there will be two lines of people. Some there to love me, the other to spit on the grave. That will be a life of success, of raising my view to the top, of never keeping quiet, of being a man that believes in themselves and their views. The MS just tells me I’m on the right track 😎
Mastros. I love the steak there.
The Instagram “influencer” special? Pass 🙄
Dude why is there so much MS on all your comments?
See my reply to an earlier, similar question. It’s just some little coward that prefers to throw MS rather than approach me like a man. Clearly they have a lot of free time because they follow me around like a puppy.
Look, let’s not worry about this. I love the MS. I don’t want to follow the crowd, I don’t want to share your opinion, I don’t want to keep my voice down. The MS motivates me and keeps me going. “You wanna make an omelette, you gotta break some eggs”. I’m happy to be here and if you don’t like my view, great, that means I’m on the right track. I’d be embarrassed if I had a record with low MS, that’s just sheep status.
I’m responsible for some of the MS you’re getting (take that statement how you will) because several of your comments are outright irritating and arrogant. I’ve not responded because I’ve been busy at work (not because I’m a coward) but now I will break this down for you.
1) You start off this thread by making a silly rule that there’s only one entry per restaurant else the entry is “invalidated”. Look, I get that 100 recs isn’t helpful but it someone wants to make a couple of quality recs who are you to be so arrogant and “invalidate” them? When someone gave you 2 quality recs you retorted as a petty child saying they were withdrawn. People are going out of their way to help you and your acting like you “qualifying” their recommendation is a kingly honor. No matter how cool you think your transfer to NYC is, you don’t have the right to treat people on this forum like that.
2) Saying in the OP you’re going to make fun of people who give you a “bad rec”. How about be an adult and just say that’s something you don’t like or provide more context regarding your palette? People are going out of their way to actually help you on this thread and you make fun of several users in return.
3) Consistently referring to people as soldiers. You’re so high up that you see yourself as some general and everyone is else is an on the ground pleb taking orders from you? Again, the arrogance displayed in this thread is astounding.
4) Other comments belittling people. For example
Instead of courteously asking for advice again on how to book, here you are again trying to tear down someone who is trying to help you.
And here’s another selected comment
It doesn’t matter that you’re a senior manager and the person responding is an analyst, for the purposes of this thread he has more NYC fine dining experience than you and yet here you are again trying to tear him down.
Your behavior on this thread has been petty, arrogant and demeaning. You should be ashamed of yourself and learn a little humility next time when you seek the guidance of others. I didn’t give you all the MS but you deserve all of it.
I mean, have you read his comments?
.
Whoever autisted out and gave OP monkey shit on every single one of his posts for no apparent reason - it's very funny
You must be new here.
Le Pavillion (Chef Daniel)
If you like udon, Raku. Delicious. Cheaper than a lot of the options listed here.
Luthun is unreal. Weird mix of Asian fusion and modern American dining, but given I love Asian cuisines one of the the best meals I've ever had in NYC.
Chef and staff are also absolute gems if you are friendly.
As a tourist, you've got to visit the legendary Peter Luger's steakhouse in Brooklyn. The food isn't as good as Keen's near Penn Station or Wolfgang Puck on Greenwich st, the menu is limited, the service is... stern- but that's all part of the tourist experience.
I don’t get this mindset - if the experience isn’t the best, why does it make it a must go?
I'm not a tourist, so I've never been to Peter Luger's, and don't understand why tourists go there. I do like Keen's.
Terrible call. This was one of the worst steaks I’ve ever had Maybe the single worst.
So sorry to hear. I plan to go there in a few weeks and see whether they've substantially deteriorated from what I remember.
Carne mare
Carne mare
Carne mare
Carne mare
^ OnLy 1 rEcOmMeNdAtIoN pEr rEpLy
Texarkana, it's a good place for if you can't find a meal at a more exclusive restaurant
Saw Ivana Trump there
Sticky's
Closing the loop on this one, finally had a chance to try Gramercy Tavern recently. That place was really, really good; I'd call it second best of all the recommendations I pledged to try in this thread. NYC has so much good food that it's ridiculous. So, from all the places I pledged to try, here's the final rankings:
I’m glad you have had good experiences so far. A major highlight of NYC is the food - it is world class.
....Let's keep Crown Shy to ourselves.....
Is it a secret? They always seem busy when I’m there and reservations aren’t always easy to come by. I think the word is out on them already.
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