Manhattan
15 EastWhen diners walk through the doors of 15 East, it becomes clear that they are about to have a unique, cultural experience. The restaurant is adorned with dark and minimalist décor that reflects a mysterious ambience. The staff, however, exudes a completely different attitude: executive sushi Chef Masato Shimizu loves teaching his guests about the fish he serves and the tradition behind each dish. The Michelin-starred Shimizu uses only seasonal products from the Union Square Green Market to build the restaurant’s à la carte and tasting menus.4 Charles Prime RibTucked away in the West Village, 4 Charles conjures up images of the classic haunts of New York.abcVJean-Georges Vongerichten introduced his third eatery, a vegetarian-focused restaurant, abcV, also inside the ABC Home Store.Adoro LeiDespite a trendy atmosphere, Adoro Lei is serious about its pizza. The pies feature intriguing combinations of toppings, including favorites like the Tullia (mozzarella, sausage, mussels, sambuca) and Pietro (cherry tomatoes, basil, arugula, prosciutto, truffle oil). Another highlight is the Lover’s Purses, a rich pasta that is stuffed with cheese and topped with pear, brown butter sage sauce, walnuts and arugula.AmaranthPopular with ladies and art dealers who lunch, this is a chic Upper East bistro located just off Madison Avenue. The Mediterranean cuisine has Italian and French influences.AOC EastThis UES outpost, of the beloved West Village bistro serves classic French fare in an atmospheric setting of exposed brick walls and antique maps.Arturo’sSince its opening in 1982, Arturo’s has been one of the most authentic Italian restaurants in the city. The coal oven pizza has garnered a cult following, and Neapolitan pizza lovers should look elsewhere. Thick, crusty and bold, the pizza ironically mirrors the restaurant’s mish-mosh of staff and locals, who sit at the bar and tell stories about old-time New York while eating an entire pie in one sitting, nightly. Everyone seems to be named Tony. Even better, there’s a piano stringing out tunes—make sure to clap.AtlaOpened in spring 2017, this casual sister to Cosme serves inspired Mexican cuisine. Read Indagare's reviewBabboServing inventive and elegant Italian, Babbo is the Batali/Bastianich restaurant. Northern Italian fare is traditional in technique but not necessarily in ingredients, which tend to come from Union Square Farmer’s Market as much as Italy. Simply, you cannot go wrong with anything pasta. Babbo’s wine list is extensive and offers delicious value bottles. Note reservations must be made weeks or months in advance and only the bar is reserved for walk-ins.Editors' PicksBalthazarSome mornings, there is no more restorative act than having breakfast at Balthazar. Just walking into the bustle and flow of that big Soho eating room is a mood-changer. The power of owner Keith McNally’s theatrical vision—great gilt-framed mirrors tilted to reflect the human swirl, tables of dark wood well-worn by life’s dramas (think La Bohème’s Café Momus)—makes this not so much an American version of a French brasserie as a glad and glittery place that’s seen it all. Or at least everything since 1997. It’s this obvious stagecraft that makes Balthazar doubly endearing.And of course those vast bowls of creamy café au lait, the soft-boiled egg in its shell with crispy toast “soldiers” for dunking, and the breads from the restaurant’s own exemplary bakery, next door: each gives one courage to face the day. But there’s more. Onion soup gratinée at 4 p.m., or at midnight, or for weekend brunch. Classics like choucroute and bouillabaisse, steak frites and duck shepherd’s pie, towering Parisian plateaus of shellfish. Here’s a place that can be what you need it to be, almost any time of day.Editors' PicksBangkok Supper ClubA blazing charcoal grill is the centerpiece of the open kitchen and menu at this inventive West Village Thai restaurant. Bangkok-born chef Max Wittawat riffs off tradition to create shareable plates like fried sticky rice–stuffed chicken wings and whole branzino with umami-packed nam jim seafood sauce. Well-known dishes like spicy grilled beef tongue are juxtaposed with fresh interpretations of classics like the “egg salad” of fried duck egg, trout roe and cured egg yolks. Suwincha Singsuwan (aka Bangkok’s queen of co*cktails) is responsible for the wildly creative drinks.Bar BouludLocated directly across Broadway from Lincoln Center’s main entrance, Boulud’s casual eatery offers a full bistro menu featuring classics such as coq au vin, escargots and steak frites. But the real star of the menu is the wonderful selection of charcuterie. The pâtés include a to-die-for beef cheek and the chef’s specialty, fromage de tête; ask the expert sommelier to match your dish to a wine from the restaurant’s cellar. Although the vins come mainly from the Rhône Valley and Burgundy, offerings also include lesser known varieties from outside the region.Bar PrimiThe critical darling from Andrew Carmellini (the restaurateur behind such classics as Locanda Verde, The Dutch and Lafayette) is a more casual take on a Roman trattoria, where the emphasis is clearly on the pasta. The menu wowed from the get-go, with instant hits like the linguini with four cloves of garlic and breadcrumbs, and the highly-photogenic fiore di carciofi, a spiral artichoke-stuffed pasta topped with bacon and pecorino.BarbettaOpen since 1906 and a favorite location for Woody Allen movies, this old-world restaurant is decorated with 18th-century Piemontese furniture and antiques. The staff is well accustomed to the theater crowd and will get you out the door in time for the curtain.BarbutoAfter shutting its iconic garage doors in 2019, Barbuto reopened in a new, larger space in the West Village. What has changed: the new Barbuto is more spread out, with an open-kitchen and floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor terrace. What hasn’t changed: Much of the menu has stayed as it was, offering homey pasta dishes and roasted chicken. And it’s still perfect for either a boisterous group dinner or a low-key date.BenoitThe legendary bistro, Benoit, has been open in Paris since 1912, but its New York branch is far younger. As soon as patrons step through the front door, however, they feel transported to an authentic Paris bistro. The classic bar with black-and-white-striped wallpaper and a tiled ceiling has putti dreamily floating over the leather upholstered stools, and near the few tables is a brass rack from which the daily newspapers hang. The dining room is lined in blond wood paneling with mirror insets. The chandelier and Art Nouveau sconces remain from La Côte Basque, the fabled café society haunt that used to occupy these rooms, as does the giant ceramic Art Nouveau bird sculpture. The charming portraits of well-dressed flâneurs that parade around the room’s perimeter above the mirrors were kept from Le Choux, the restaurant after La Côte Basque. Owner Alain Ducasse has added his own details, like the salvaged brass-edged milky glass dividers that separate the tables from an old Banque de France building. Antique carafes and liquor bottles from his collection line the bar and reception areas.Just as Ducasse has honored the restaurant’s namesake, its predecessors and his own tastes in the décor, so does he pay homage to all three with the menu. You’ll find Benoit classics such as paté en croûte (recipe dates to 1892) alongside lighter, more modern renditions such as braised barbue with Champagne, asparagus and sabayon. The chocolate soufflé and vanilla millefeuille will please the La Côte Basque loyalists.The private dining room upstairs competes with those at 21 Club (now closed). Ducasse found ornate 19th-century apothecary cabinets from an old pharmacy in Bordeaux and had them refurbished and installed in a second-floor room. They surround a glorious antique dining table and the hallways and meeting rooms bear the oil paintings of sailboats off the Basque coast for which the former watering hole was named.BG RestaurantOn the 7th floor of New York’s most stylish department store, this restaurant draws ladies who lunch and midtown shoppers. The enfilade of rooms face Central Park and has been glammed up by LA designer Kelly Wearstler to create the atmosphere of an elegant Park Avenue apartment. Its Gotham Salad is a popular favorite for good reason. It’s also open for tea and drinks and is a good spot for an early bite, since it stays open until 8 p.m. during the week.Blue Ribbon BrasserieBlue Ribbon restaurants are always three things, warm, sophisticated and rich in chef spotting. Open until 4 AM, this New York institution is especially known for its late-night dining scene, home to after-service diners. Regulars include chefs such as Bobby Flay and April Bloomfield. Treat yourself to the restaurant's raw bar selections, caviar, and Champagne.Bocaditos BistroBocaditos Bistro, near the Cloisters, is the perfect stop after a tour of the medieval museum. From the crystal chandeliers to the classic tea sets, the restaurant’s old-world décor juxtaposes the menu’s avant-garde spins on classic French cuisine.Boulud SudChef Daniel Boulud’s outpost next door to the lively Bar Boulud offers a quieter venue. The menu focuses on fresh, grilled ingredients with a Mediterranean flavor. The décor includes contemporary works by Brazilian artist Vik Muniz.BuvetteThis tiny French restaurant in the West Village is undeniably cute, perfectly Parisian and impossibly good. The small menu is complemented by a lengthy wine list and a short selection of delightful co*cktails. The food is always on point (especially breakfast, which many favor as the best in the city), and the outdoor garden is the ideal spot to enjoy steamed eggs in the morning, a croque madame at lunch and a tartine followed by coq au vin for dinner. Grab a girlfriend, sit in le petit jardin and dream of the City of Light.Café 2The Modern’s designers, Bentel & Bentel, are responsible for MoMA’s great surprise, Café 2: Meyer’s reimagining of a Roman trattoria. While the Modern’s entrance is on 53rd Street, you reach the informal Café 2 by going to the second floor of the museum (you’ll need a membership card or day pass). The set up is smart: a wall-sized menu allows people waiting in line to make decisions in advance. Beyond the block-long counter of antipasti and panini, cured meats have their own station, starring a venerable Ferrari-red meat cutter. Each order has a number; post it on a stand at your table, then wait as servers in long patterned aprons deliver.Café Altro ParadisoThe duo behind Soho’s renowned Estela opened their second restaurant, Café Altro Paradiso, in 2016. With a traditional Italian menu, the eatery features high ceilings, wood furnishings, a marble bar and a quasi-open kitchen. While the portions tend to be on the smaller side, the food is excellent in its simplicity—there are no textural tricks or superfluous ornamentation in starters like salami and parmigiano-reggiano or entrées of swordfish with farro panzanella.Café BilboquetLe Bilboquet’s sister café offers a delectable array of pastries and savory tarts in a space outfitted with toile wallpaper and velvet upholstery.Cafe ClunyCafe Cluny is the younger, more intimate sister-restaurant to The Odeon and serves classic French staples throughout the day.
