Ask any group of New Yorkers on the street to name their favourite places to eat and drink in the city, and each one is sure to give you a completely different restaurant, in a completely different neighbourhood than the answer prior.
New York is a city bursting with new restaurants opening every day in uniquely different neighbourhoods across the five boroughs that you need to explore during your travels either solo or during a group tour. Walk just ten short blocks and see the city transform around you, from the authentic bites of Chinatown to the upscale eateries in Tribeca. Why travel the world when you can taste the foods of every culture, all within a few square miles of each other?
If you’re looking to visit the city that never sleeps this spring, you’re in the right place. We’ve compiled a list of our favourite places to eat, drink and brunch – because, in New York, this deserves its own category – across many of the different neighbourhoods in the city. This list barely even scrapes the surface of the infinitely diverse epicurean scene of New York City, but it’s a great place to start for visitors and locals alike. So, read on – and remember, $10 USD for a vodka soda is normal!
Ready to go to New York City? Take a look at the most popular tours to guide your next adventure.
Upper West Side
Eat: Steps away from Central Park, Storico is an upscale café within the New York Historical Society building. The high ceilings, white walls adorned with dozens of wine glasses and the low-hanging golden chandeliers create the perfect scene for dining on the Italian small plates and extensive wine list. Start out with a charcuterie board, burrata and glass of red wine and see where the night takes you. Come after a tour of the museum, or maybe before – after a few glasses of wine, you’ll be much more interested in New York history.
Drink: The Mermaid Inn stands out as one of the Upper West Side’s best happy hour spots, balancing between the rowdy crowds and evoking the elegance of one of Manhattan’s more residential neighbourhoods. With a happy hour until 7 p.m. that offers reasonably-priced cocktails, cheap oysters and delicious lobster rolls, the Mermaid Inn is a slice of Maine in the Upper West Side.
Brunch: Located on Amsterdam Avenue and 85th Street, Jacob’s Pickles brings flavours of the American South to the Upper West Side. Serving Southern comfort food, craft cocktails and – you guessed it – pickled-infused dishes and drinks. When sipping on their signature Bloody B.L.T or Dirty Aphrodite (vodka and dill pickle brine), you’ll be transported out of Manhattan to the down-home digs of deep Georgia.
Hell’s Kitchen & Midtown West
Eat: Hell’s Kitchen, despite whatever the name denotes, is unrivalled in the city for it’s melting pot of diverse cultural cuisine, fine dining and a vast array of food options – even boasting a block aptly named Restaurant Row – making it especially hard to narrow down one restaurant to recommend. Not the most upscale restaurant but a delicious one nonetheless, Pure Thai Cookhouse is a hole-in-the-wall hot spot with few tables and a guaranteed wait time that makes the piquant Asian cuisine all the more worth it.
Drink: A restaurant eponymous for its location, Hell’s Kitchen is a boisterous Mexican restaurant serving unbelievable margaritas and authentic Tex-Mex on colourful countertops. A great place to start off a night out, there are dozens of bars within a few-block radius from here.
Brunch: Rainbow flags and Broadway playbills adorn the windows of many restaurants in Manhattan’s classic gayborhood, and 44 & X is the quintessential example. 44 & X is the culinary embodiment of HK’s culinary scene – a bright room, Tony-inspired cocktails and funky twists on brunch classics.
West Village & Greenwich Village
Eat: With dim lighting and exposed brick walls, the romantic ambience at the West Village’s Extra Virgin is palpable. Come here on a date, for a celebration or just to soak in the upscale vibes of one of Manhattan’s wealthiest neighbourhoods. Our dish of choice here is the pan seared branzino, just one of impeccable options from the Mediterranean menu.
Drink: As the city thaws out from the long winter, visitors to New York in the spring and summer will enjoy a highlight of New York dining – outside seating. Agave flaunts some of the best streetside perches perfect for people watching, so sip on some $5 margaritas at Agave’s happy hour and enjoy New York’s finest form of free entertainment on 7th Ave. This is where your night begins – end it at Duplex, a longstanding piano bar around the corner that guarantees good times and great music (with many drunken piano ballads).
Brunch: Old Rose is an airy restaurant at the bottom of the Jane Hotel overlooking the Hudson River. With a marble aesthetic, bright lighting and perfectly plated dishes, you’re guaranteed a great Instagram picture of your avocado toast at this quiet eatery.
East Village
Eat: It’s hard to do a roundup of food options and not include Momofuku Noodle Bar, an East Village eatery that constantly draws in sizable crowds due to social media fame. The restaurant capitalizes on the ramen craze consuming New York City, but not to a fault; the buns, bowls and daily dishes never disappoint.
Drink: Right off Tompkins Square Park, Ten Degrees is a low-key, dimly-lit bar that is one of the East Village’s hidden gems. Cosy up on one of the couches and enjoy the BOGO happy hour deal that goes until 8 p.m, a luxury in New York, and includes many classic cocktails, like a Moscow mule or Gin & Tonic.
Brunch: Bottomless brunch is a Sunday ritual in the city, easing thousands of residents out of their hangovers into day drinking. Mimosas, bloody Mary’s, sangria – Poco has it all for only $35, and you will leave here with bellies full of champagne and delicious breakfast food. The restaurant is in the East Village’s Alphabet City section (the name for the area between Avenues A, B, C and D), a vibrant cluster of streets home to NYU students and many young professionals alike.
Lower East Side
Eat: The eatery options in Manhattan’s trendiest neighbourhood – a title that seems to change daily – are abundant and overwhelming, so our pick for where to eat in LES serves the most archetypal and simple New York City food item – pizza. Pizza Beach gives serious surf shack vibes with its bright white and blue décor, palm trees and California coast prints. Indulge in some of their unique pizza creations, including the famous Crushed Avocado pie or the tropical Jamaican Jerk Chicken, and do not miss out on some of the refreshing frose.
Drink: Step into one of the Lower East Side’s longstanding nightlife spots when you visit 169 Bar, an eclectic, New Orleans-inspired dive bar. Soul food, jazz music and cheap drinks mix together to create unforgettable nights downtown. An added benefit – you just need to text your waitress whenever you want another round. Convenient and fun
Brunch: Beauty & Essex is a stylish, slightly-expensive brunch spot in the heart of LES. With its name written in golden neon letters on the outside, Beauty & Essex is hard to miss — and rightfully so. The food is to die for, the vibes are the definition of cool and the prices are worth the ultra-chic Instagram you’ll get there.
Williamsburg
Eat: Make the trek across the East River to Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s most popular tourist destination, for some great food options. Here, the buildings are smaller and crowds are less, giving a more residential feel than the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. We’re recommending Four Horsemen as the go-to place to eat in Williamsburg. Owned by the frontman of LCD Soundsystem, the neighbourhood restaurant has an extensive wine list (we’re talking pages), impeccable food and a cosy, minimalist aesthetic — this is peak Williamsburg.
Drink: Gothamist called Williamsburg’s signature bad-boy bar a “deluxe dive,” and with its mix of 70s grunge bar and a tropical surf shack, the description sticks. Rocka Rolla is only a few years old, but has gained notoriety for its authentic decor – jukeboxes blast rock classics, and neon signs and band posters litter the walls. The bar serves up its boozy concoctions in goblet-sized glasses, ranging from cheap beers to popular speciality drinks like the Frozen Coffee. If you come later in the spring, you’ll be lucky enough to enjoy the warm weather on the bar’s back patio while grunge rock tunes blaring in the background.
Brunch: Something just feels so right about spending your Sunday morning in Brooklyn at, well, Sunday in Brooklyn. The trendy spot serves a mean brunch: menu highlights include cold-pressed juices, light breakfasts, delicious twists on brunch staples and of course, avocado toast.
NYC locals! Share your best food tips below.
The adventure starts now. Find the perfect tour to New York City here.
