NYC dinner recommendations

[OnlyLittleMissOrganised]

Hi,

Me and my husband will be going to NYC over the new year period and we are looking for restaurant recommendations for dinner.

Also if anyone has any quick eat suggestions for lunch when doing touristy things that would be great too!

Thanks!

Are you talking here about New Years Eve or in the days leading up to this?. The period in particular between Christmas and New Year in NY can be extremely busy in terms of visitor numbers.

What sort of food do you like?. There's all sorts of cuisine available.

Many places on NYE close early or are hosting private parties.

We are there from 29th in the evening to morning of 2nd Jan. We like all cuisines. We are looking for recommendations maybe one for brooklyn as we are going to prospect park NYE.

Peter Luger peterluger.com/ Utterly divine.

New York yankees steakhouse is good as is The palm. Would also recommend johns pizzeria and Virgil’s (if you like bbq).

Wrap up well, particularly if it as bone chillingly cold as it was there last New Year’s Eve. The temps there at present are also quite variable.

Family spending NYE in Time Square booked dinner reservations months ago.

I struggled to find one decent restaurant when I was in NYC!

Thanks guys! @armchairanarchist we are going to walk through Times Square but aren’t going to eat around there on NYE we are going to Brooklyn and Prospect Park. We heard it’s very crowded in Times Square and isn’t actually the best experience being penned in like cattle.

@OnlyLittleMissOrganised I was told to get through the cordon on NYE in Time Square you have to have reservations.

Buddakan - Asian fusion food in meatpacking district. Out of SATC. Scrumptious. You can book online.

If you are hungry try Carmines - there's a Times Square one which is always busy and one in upper Manhattan a couple of tube stops away that tends to have availability.
Good Italian food. Mega portions. Really tasty.

@armchairanarchist from what I have read it’s free and the reservations allow you into certain bars and restaurants around Times Square. But you have to be there from 3pm and it’s one in one out with no toilets and no alcohol allowed. So we decided against it.

The fireworks in prospect park are free. And no reservations necessary so we are heading there.

We loved Blue Smoke near the WTC site/Lower Manhattan. It was very vibrant, the gin measures were amazing and the food great too. It was the best meal we ate in NYC. www.bluesmoke.com/

We found lots of little bakeries on side streets, and piping hot soup/rolls for lunch were great. I had an amazing pumpkin soup that I've tried and failed miserably to replicate.

2nd Avenue between 25th and 35th
take your pick

seconding Buddakan, we’ve eaten there both times we’ve been to NY.

We also had pizza at Grimaldi’s after walking over the bridge to Brooklyn which was so good. And we ate at the restaurant in Central Park for lunch which was nice, and just the atmosphere and looking over the lake made it an experience.

We tended to have a big diner style breakfast (or early lunch) then a late dinner in the evening.

Lunch... quick places to eat often won't have seating. I work in midtown by Times Square and it's slim pickings. There is a good noodle place on 44th by the frozen theatre. 2nd Ave around 50th has a lot of great places.

Whole Foods have excellent food and most of the time I get a sandwich there and go sit in Bryant park if it isn't too cold. Sometimes there can be almost like a mini heatwave around new year.

Places we liked:-

Sotto 13
The Old Homestead
Keens Steakhouse
Johns Pizzeria (Bleeker St one)
Joes Pizzeria (just around the corner from Johns - good to grab a quick slice as nowhere to sit really)

Oh a really lovely breakfast was at Empire Diner in Midtown. Waffles were really good empire-diner.com/.

Ellens Stardust Diner if not for the food then the entertainment!