Safe and Fun NYC Things to Do
- 50 Awesome and Safe Things to Do in NYC
- Open in NYC: 9-11 Memorial, The Highline, Top of the Rock, Empire State Building, Edge, The Bronx Zoo, Liberty Island, in-person Sample Sales. MoMA, The Met, Natural History, Madame Tussauds and much more.
- NEW Traveler Quarantine Guidelines - Only 3 days with negative Covid tests
Pizza, Bagels, Steak, Food Trucks and More
New York Restaurant Guides cover the almost 19,000 restaurants in NYC… you can eat at different one every day for 52 years and that number doesn’t even include our food trucks, some of which have more customers than restaurants! So how do you choose where to eat in NYC and where do you find the best discounts?
New York Restaurant Guides
Restaurant Week New York City
Tao Restaurant, Midtown, New York City
A three-course dinner at the best restaurants in New York for $35? Sign me up! Restaurant Week New York City is one of my favorite times of the year and now, since the event has been so successful, newer versions are starting to crop up everywhere, including ethnic Restaurant Weeks, like Japanese, Chinatown, Malyasian, French, Belgian and also neighborhood-specific restaurant weeks.
Read more on Restaurant Week New York City.
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Dine and Tour Together!
What better way to explore NYC and eat our city’s best of the best than with a foodie tour? Pizza, chocolate, chinese, beer..there are dozen’s of specialty tours that will help you learn about a neighborhood while sampling the food!
There is no shortage of pizza, bagels, street vendors, cupcakes, craft beer and cocktails, rooftops and mini food parks to explore and so many more food choices in the five boroughs, along with wonderful guides who can't wait to show you them all!!!!
- A Slice of Brooklyn Chocolate Tour - Explore and sample the world of fine Brooklyn Chocolatiers from Valentino Pier to Cobble Hill, Red Hook to Carroll Gardens and beyond.
- Neighborhood Eats Tour: Brownstone Brooklyn - visit a vibrant mix of small, locally owned, artisanal Brooklyn shops, including Italian, Middle Eastern and New American
- New York Craft Cocktail Tour - explore the way real New Yorkers do, bouncing around happy hours all over the city and tasting some of the best cocktails in Manhattan
Where Should I Eat in New York City?
It is near impossible to answer this question, as if we could choose just one restaurant. It all depends on your taste, budget, group and location. There is something delicious to eat on every block of Manhattan.
I’ve done my best to organize these New York Restaurant Guides by neighborhood and highlighted the most “Kid Friendly” choices. At the very bottom of this page are additional New York Restaurant Guides and reservation tips.
Please promise me one thing – you won’t eat at a restaurant you have at home, especially a chain! There are too many wonderful and delicious restaurants for you to even bother with a place at which you’ve already eaten.
Best NYC Restaurants by Neighborhood
NYC Insider Printable Guides
NYC Printable Map Guide Book
BONUS NYC Maps
NYC Travel Guide
More Info: NYC Printable Maps | Customer Reviews | Free Mini Guide
Manhattan Neighborhood Map
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Restaurant Guides by Neighborhood
Restaurant Guides by Type
New!!! How to Save on NYC Restaurants and Food
There are so many easy ways to save on New York City restaurants and food and you just need to know where to look. Of course, you can’t save everywhere, and sometimes you have to wait for a deal, but about half the time I eat out in NYC, at quality restaurants, it is easy to save a few bucks without sacrificing quality.
Read More: How to Save on New York City Restaurants and Food
Best New York Restaurants for Kids
Children are welcome at almost any establishment serving food in NYC. Families are always welcome at any pizza parlor, cafe, delicatessen, diner, chinese or Italian restaurant and most of them have food that appeals to kids.
Some local chains you will see often are Ollie’s Noodles (Asian), Jackson Hole (burgers), Mary Ann’s (Mexican), SaraBeths (American).
Here is a list of unique to New York Restaurants (not those ‘everywhere’ chains!) that really cater to children and families and that kids just love!
- Peanut Butter and Company – Fluffernutter sandwich, Ants on a Log and try "The Elvis"
- Max Brenners – (Union Square) Imagine if the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory had a cafe in it’s lobby…try the King Of Chocolate’s Crispy Mac & Cheese and learn all about the "The Legend of the King of Chocolate"
- S’MAC Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese – All about Mac and Cheese. Casual, great for kids and students. (345 East 12th, 1st /2nd Aves)
- Puglia’s – Little Italy, great Italian with live singing
- Cowgirls Hall of Fame (519 Hudson at 10th St) – Western theme with a general store and things for kids to do.
- Sugar Factory – Meatpacking District
- Serendipity (225 E 60th b/w 2nd and 3rd Aves) – best known for their Frozen Hot Chocolate
- Jekyll and Hide – 4 restaurants around the city. Haunted House, spooky, scary and really fun! The Jekyll and Hide Club (58th and 6th Ave) is 4 full floors of full on kid fun!
- Ninja New York (25 Hudson St @ Duane St, Tribeca) – Be whisked underground by elevator, led to the dining area via a secret path lined with “ninjas” ready to scare you, then brought into the castle where each private chamber houses a single table. Fairly pricey for the small portions, but the food is tasty, and the price is for the whole experience.
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Midtown East, New York Restaurant Guides
- Tao (58th b/w Park and Mad) – Asian hot spot with a 16 ft Buddha, gorgeous decor and lots of fun. You may have seen it on a Sex and the City episode.
- Rosa Mexicano (58th & 1st)- Mexican, fresh guacamole prepared tableside and great Margaritas. A few in the City now, but this is the original.
- PJ Clarke’s (55th and 3rd)- good, old-fashioned burgers, very casual, old NYC institution
- Osteria Serafina (58th b/w Park and Mad)- northern italian, beautiful garden at their Grill location (61st b/w Mad and Park).
- Daniel – many lifelong NYers vote it the best meal they have ever had
Restaurants Near Grand Central Station
Right in Grand Central Terminal, you have Cipriani – Dolci, by the same Cipriani’s of the famous Harry’s Bar in Venice, Grand Central Oyster Bar and The Campbell Apartment, formerly the private office and salon of 1920’s tycoon, John W. Campbell, recently converted into a restaurant.
A few blocks away is El Rio Grande, a large and fun Mexican restaurant with great margaritas and Capital Grille in the Chrysler Building (steak). While the atmosphere around GCT is all business, a bit further away (less than 10 blocks), check out more of my Midtown East Recommendations. These are a 10 minute walk from your hotel, but in a more residential neighborhood, so the atmosphere is quainter, restaurants smaller and, occasionally, less expensive. Two great rooftops in the area to grab a cocktail are in the Library Hotel and the Roosevelt Hotel.
Upper East Side, Restaurant Guides
- Serendipity (225 E 60th b/w 2nd and 3rd Aves) – Kid Friendly! Best known for their Frozen Hot Chocolate
- Bar Italia – cute little cafe, wine bar about 10 minutes from the Met (SW corner of 77th and 2nd Ave)
Union Square/Gramercy/Flatiron, New York Restaurant Guides
- Casa Mono (Mario Batali)
- Union Square Cafe
- Gotham Bar and Grill
- Coffee Shop (daytime outdoor ppl watching) – the World Room is especially Kid Friendly!
- Basta Pasta (one of the most “hidden” restaurants in the city, not a scene, but the food is amazing and very interesting and delicious. Italian made by sushi chefs.)
- Punch Restaurant and Wined Up Wine Bar
- Boqueria (tapas)
- Haru Sushi – Gramercy Park
- Craftbar
- Gramercy Tavern
- A Voce Madison
East Village, New York Restaurant Guides
- Local 92 -92 2nd Avenue
Greenwich Village, Nolita, Chinatown and Little Italy Restaurant Guides
- Peanut Butter and Company – Fluffernutter sandwich, Ants on a Log and try “The Elvis”. Kid Friendly!
- Blue Ribbon Sushi
- Blue Ribbon Brasserie (Sullivan b/w Spring and Prince)- excellent, high end comfort food. Must like the menu and definitely make a reservation.
- Tomoe Sushi – long lines, but some of the best and reasonbly priced sushi in NYC (similar to Sushi Nozawa in Los Angeles, RIP)
- Wo Hop – for the 4am crowd
- Puglia’s – Little Italy, great Italian with live singing. Kid Friendly!
- Balthazar (SoHo)
West Village, New York Restaurant Guides
- Spotted Pig (also Batali)
- Extra Virgin – especially for brunch
- Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar
- Snack Taverna (Greek)
- Perry Street – a Jean-Georges restaurant,
- Del Posto (Mario Batali) – UN BELIEVABLE! Worth every penny, very fine dining without stuffiness. Perfect for a special occasion. 10th Ave at 16th St.
- Crispo (14th and 8th Ave). Great Italian food and decor, hidden gem. Definitely try the Spagetti Carbonara, perfectly al dente with the egg on top.
- El Faro – spanish
- Morandi
- Cowgirls Hall of Fame (519 Hudson at 10th St) – Western theme with a general store. Kid Friendly!
MeatPacking District, New York Restaurant Guides
- STK – NYC – Meatpacking – Steak
- Revel (fish) – cutest outdoor garden with lights
- Plunge, the rooftop bar at the Gansevoort Hotel
- Standard Hotel – restaurant and outdoor bar
Central Park (South and West), Lincoln Center
New York Restaurant Guides
- SaraBeths
- Mickey Mantle- Kid Friendly!
- Bar Boulud – (64th and Bway)
- Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill
- Plaza or Ritz Carlton Bars – for drinks
- Isabella’s
- Ernies
- Jekyll and Hide – 4 restaurants around the city. Haunted House, spooky, scary and really fun! The Jekyll and Hide Club (58th and 6th Ave) is 4 full floors of full-on kid fun (assuming they don’t get scared easily). Kid Friendly!
Midtown West, Times Square, Hells Kitchen, New York Restaurant Guides
- Molyvos, (7th Ave 55th and 56th) – excellent Greek, small plates, near Central Park
- Meskerem – Ethiopian
- Le Bernardin – French
- Del Frisco’s Grille – Steak
- Have a cocktail while sitting outside, people watching at Cognac (55th and Broadway) – same owners as Serafina.
More New York Restaurant Guides
- Open Table – free online restaurant reservations and New York Restaurant Guides. Choose by neighborhood and cuisine, read reviews, interactive map.
- Zagats – the bible of restaurants, long before the internet was invented
- MenuPages – online menus for almost every NY restaurant, check the food and prices before you go, then make your reservation at Open Table.
- ChowHound – a discussion board with all true “foodies,” people really passionate about eating and drinking, especially in NYC.
- Service Tips are not included in checks – please tip your servers at least 15-20% (just double the first number of your check total, or first two if it’s over $100)
- Dress accordingly – to be a real NYC Insider, you must look the part. There are a ton of affordable, nice, comfortable clothes and shoes. Wear them the whole time you’re here so you don’t stand out like a tourist – especially if you are trying to get into a nice restaurant.
- Eat at the Bar – if you’re traveling alone or as a couple, this is one of the best ways to eat. You can get all the inside scoop on the restaurant or neighborhood. I always find the service better from bartenders than waiters/waitresses, except in very high end restaurants, since they are always right in front of you. Bars are a highlight of most NYC restaurants and they are there to serve you food as well as drinks.
