Top Quality New York Restaurants, Bars and Hotel

The names that move are world-class for food, wine and service.    These are top-quality places, top value---but NOT top price.    Click for seafood, Mexican, Spanish, Brazilian, Moroccan, Greek, diners, bars and hotel.    Many of these places have their own Web Sites, often with the latest full menu ---do visit them.   Addresses in grey boxes are branches that we have not visited, yet.

Notice in a bakery on Madison at 82nd---"Life is uncertain.    Eat dessert first."

  Restaurant prices include half a bottle of wine, taxes and tip for one person.    Diner prices are a meal, single drink, taxes and tip.

Price $$

Opening Hours

Location

Phone

American

The owners (David Page and Barbara Shinn) come from Wisconsin, where one of their grandfathers, Julius Drover, was a German farmer.   He was also a bootlegger for Al Capone, distilling thousands of gallons weekly.   So, Home serves excellent, traditional, middle American food, with a bit of a German influence, but also tailored to modern styles.   Appetizers might be fiery shrimp cakes with chillis, coriander, ginger and lime or gingered black pepper salami with domestic cheeses.   Mains might be grilled quail with cream beans, hazelnut pancake and black cherry barbecue sauce or grilled squash, savory white beans and sage in a tomato broth with grilled bread or roasted Long Island duck breast with wheatberries, pistachios and figs.    Vegetable accompaniments are carefully tailored to the dish---they are not just "sides".   This makes the vegetable more prominent and more relevant.   The attention to detail is striking.    Service is superb.   There is a long, good wine list (interestingly, the owners now have a winery on Long Island).    The place is long and thin, with a heated garden.      Reservations recommended.

Amex card or cash only

Brunch 11 am - 4 pm Fri- Sun

Lunch 11 am - 2:30 pm

Dinner 6 - 11 pm (5:30 - 10 pm Sun)

(between Bleecker and W 4th St/Sixth Av)

Seafood

One of the top seafood places in New York.    In the lower level of the station, wonderful traditional architecture and décor, high barrel-vaulted ceiling, pillars, tables well spaced.   Beautiful crockery, cutlery, glasses, linen, etc.    Excellent dignified service, attitudes, extremely knowledgeable waiting staff, huge menu, everything top quality.   Superbly fresh seafood of all sorts, real fresh breads excellent.    Typically 25 varieties of oyster, lots of other shellfish, 30 fishes of 'Today’s Catch', 20 varied appetizers, 7 pot roasts...... 20 superb desserts.    Shellfish can be raw or cooked.    Stews, pan roasts, monkfish tournedos Béarnaise, smoked sturgeon, Cajun fried Florida rock shrimp with créole remoulade, oysters Rockefeller and so on......   Desserts include Florida Key lime pie, caramel custard, rice pudding, chocolate chunk pecan pie.   More than 250 excellent wines, 27 beers…  

5:30 pm - 9 pm Sat

Closed Sunday

Their Web Site

Fax: 212 949 5210

The other top seafood place.   In an attractively converted bank, with high, moulded plaster ceilings.   Marble walls.   Large, airy room.   Low, warm lighting, candles on tables.   Excellent fish and shellfish, with the flavours and textures very well balanced.   Maryland crab cakes with corn salsa and tartare sauce, large sushi menu, seabass (with Chinese broccoli, sushi rice with Japanese ginger dressing), tuna, swordfish (blackened with sweet potato/crabmeat hash), monkfish, skate (cooked al dente with apple, onion, red cabbage, vinegar).   Scores of oysters, lobster, clams, etc, shellfish platters.   Good wine list.   Excellent coffee (lemon rind served with espresso).   Open for brunch, lunch, sunset, dinner.   Good service.   Good jazz nightly in basement, Sunday evenings in restaurant.    Reservations recommended.

(at 16th St, Flatiron, Gramercy)

Rebecca Charles and Mary Redding opened this seafood bar in 1997.   It is small but top quality.   Marble bar, silver, moulded ceiling.   Old fashioned steel lights.   Wonderfully fresh shellfish and fish dishes (changed daily, according to market).   They are all East Coast  produce to keep prices down.   Creamy clam chowder, lobster roll, seared sea scallops, etc.   Excellent wines.   Lovely sweets---incredible "callabout" chocolate mousse with cream. 

6-11 pm

Closed Sat lunch and Sunday

(between Bleecker and W 4th St/Sixth Av)

Excellent seafood.   Large, airy room with light yellow walls.    Shellfish bar, plus terrace.   Large range of top quality oysters, shellfish.   As well as cooking many simple fish dishes, they have some exciting and somewhat unusual recipes.   They also provide lovely sandwiches, eg tuna steak with tapénade on home-made ciabatta bread.  Home baked bread--- ciabatta, corn bread with chilli, onion focaccia with olive oil and chilli.   Lovely fries.   Desserts excellent, especially apple tart with cinnamon ice-cream.    Large wine list, including ports, cognacs, armagnacs, sherries, malts.    Service is especially good, prompt and attentive (even by the normal high American standards).

(at Sixth Av, SoHo)

Mexican

The top Mexican restaurant in New York owned and run by Zarela Martínez.   Real Mexican food, cooked in the Mexican way---not just burritos and tacos.   Seafood unusually spicy and excellent.    Lots of meat and veggie dishes.    Second floor quieter than first, lovely décor, mirrors with surroundings of patterned panels (lots of colors).    Hanging card cut-outs of fish, stars, etc.   You get a large dish of tortillas with guacomole and a tomato/chili sauce as an appetizer.   Try salpicón de pescado chilaquiles (snapper hash, tomato scallion, jalapeño & aromatic spices), chilaquiles (crisp corn tortilla strips, shredded sautéed chicken, sour cream & white cheddar cheese casseroled with either tangy tomatillo sauce or salsa ranchera), fajitas (grilled marinated skirt steak, salsa, guacamole and flour tortillas),  hígado encebollado (pan-fried liver in pickled jalapeño juice and Worcester sauce, with onions and bacon).   The frijoles charros (whole pinto beans seasoned with tomato, onion, pickled jalapeños and beer) and plátanos (plantains with Oaxacan mole) are delicious, as are all vegetables.   Excellent American wines, service.    Desserts are rich, eg pineapple, coconut and macadamia pie with roasted peanut butter caramel sauce.   Our favorite is Gifts of the God "Quetzalcoatl" (Mexican chocolate flourless rum and pepita cake with chocolate, mango, and raspberry sauce and crème fraîche).   Musicians (guitar and harp) play on the stairs.   Reservations necessary, or wait half-an-hour in first-floor bar.

5 -11 pm 

(Fri/Sat to 11:30; Sun to 10 pm)

Closed Sat/Sun lunch

(between 50th and 51st St)

Their Web site

Fax: 212 980 1073

Small (21 seats) and brightly coloured.   Blue walls, big pictures, tablecloths with red/orange pictures of fruit.   High, silver ceiling.    Lovely menu, cooked freshly.   Textures and flavours excellent.    Home-made corn tortillas with salsas are exceptional starters.   Pollo con mole (chicken breast with sauce containing sesame seeds, chocolate and chilli,  with Mexican rice and black beans), and vanilla flan with caramel and goat's milk sauce are superb.   Very good fruit juices including tamarind.   Wines and beers.   Looks like an ordinary café, with the owner cooking at one end---but food and service are five-star.

Sun 5.30 pm - 11 pm

Closed Monday

Spanish

Tapas is Spanish for 'cover' or 'lid'.   Centuries ago in Spain, to keep the flies out of the glasses of sherry, bartenders used to cover the glass with a slice of jamón Serrano.   Other small food items were used later, on top of a slice of bread.   The tapas were free.    So, real tapas are small servings of food, with bread.   In Spain, larger dishes in tapas bars are called raciones.

The frontage is tiled with pictures in a typically Spanish way.    The inside, too, is a typically Spanish tapas bar--- tiled with big toreador pictures and wall mirrors.   Lot of wood--- floor, bar, pillars, ceiling, tables, benches.   As in Spain, tables with benches seat 4, 6, 8 people.    About 50 seats on first floor, plus a large basement.   Very lively customers.   Authentic tapas, such as bocquerones (white anchovies in oil), gambas al ajillo (garlicky prawns), chiperones (squid), jamón Serrano (cured ham), sardinas, patatas bravas (spicy potatoes), Spanish cheeses, olives.    Desserts (as in Spain) tend to be caramel flans, etc.   The quality is such that this place would get Michelin stars in Spain.   Excellent Spanish wines, large selection of sherries and beers from Europe, and sangria.   Live Spanish flamenco dancing at 9, 10, 11 pm Monday and Thursday--- very popular, desirable to make a reservation.

(Fri/Sat to 3 am)

(between 76th and 77th St)

Certainly divine tapas-- as good as Madrid, in textures and flavours.    Seafood, meat, salads, etc-- all superb quality.    Some dishes have lots of garlic, herbs, spices.    Huge, gorgeous desserts.    Real espresso.    Very good list of 170 wines (all available by the large glass), 50 beers, from many countries.    The wine list groups wines by characteristics and gives a full description of each.   The menu recommends a wine for each dish.   Also tastings of groups of wines--- small amounts in six glasses.   Excellent service.    Two, small tables outside on second floor balcony.    It is an old brownstone, with lovely interior décor.   Dragged red walls, black woodwork, sofas, upholstered and gilded French Empire armchairs, pictures, pink drapes.    Old fireplace (black) with vase of large flowers.   Carpet black, staff wear black.   Noisy and crowded by young people 6-10pm, quieter later, especially second floor.   Good for people-watching.    Said to be good for first-dates and romantic evenings.   We find this place is good when you have been together for 38 years, too--- maybe that is even more romantic.

Sat 7 pm- 3 am, Sun 7 pm - 1 am. 

Live music 8.30 pm Sundays (no charge) Jazz, soft rock, etc.

(between Second and Third Av, near Second)

Their Web Site

WINE

(corner of Nassau, near World Trade Center)

Brazilian

Very well known restaurant, on three floors.   Been here over 30 years.   You can select from buffets (not for dinner) or order from the menu.    Meat, seafood, eggs, veg.   Try feijoado completa (black bean stew with pork, beef and sausages), bacalhau Gomes de sa (salt cod with potatoes, onions and eggs), or mar e terra (pork, sausages, meat, seafood), or leitão assado a bairrada (roast suckling pig).   Desserts are mainly American but good.    Good wines and beers.   Coffee is real, top quality, made in a good espresso machine.  

Buffets 9.95 or 5.45; + drink + tax

(Fri/Sat to 12 midnight; Sun to 10 pm)

(between Sixth Av and Broadway)

Their Web Site

Fax: 212 869 9406

Moroccan

Small (34 seats), attractive restaurant with real Arabic décor, music and a water feature.   Appearance inside is much better than outside.    Upholstered bench seats around the walls, and stools on the other side of tables.    Tiled floor and half of the walls.   Authentic Moroccan food--- one of the most sophisticated Arabic cuisines.    Tastes, spices, textures all superb.   Tagines come in beautiful coloured dishes with conical lids.   Tagine del Hout (fish of the day) excellent, as are all the dishes we have tried.   Excellent starters are fresh sardines with garlic and cilantro, and harira (lentil soup with lamb, chickpeas, onions, coriander, garlic, paprika).   Homemade anise rolls.   Good wines and beers.    Very good service.

(at Charles St, West Village)

Greek

A 10-seater place selling light Greek food (not the dense stews that so many do).   Try spinach or cheese triangles in crisp light, warm pastry, roasted vegetable sandwiches, moussaka, chicken and roast vegetable salad, spinach or chicken pies, stifado, keftedes.    Also soups and dips (hummus, tzatziki, taramosalata) with pita bread.   Baklawa, kataifi and halva for desserts are delicious.

10 am- 8 pm Sun

Closed Monday

(SoHo, between Prince and Spring)

Diners

Large diner/restaurant with bar.   Some walls of brick, most light blue-gray with photographs on them.   Lot of plants.    Attractive tiled floor, wood tables, upholstered chairs and wall benches.    Wide menu--- full meals, salads, sandwiches, breakfasts, weekend brunches.    High quality.   Some of the best salads we have had in New York.    Good wines.   Very good service.

(at 20th St, Chelsea)

In one sense a typical diner, but definitely a cut above most.    Very good menu, food good, excellent, fast, attentive service.    Larger than most diners, with quite a large restaurant in back.    Very convenient for mid-Fifth Av (shops, Rockefeller Center, etc), and before/after visiting MoMA (or in the middle of a MoMA visit --- once you have a Museum ticket you can come out, eat here, and return to MoMA).   It is much better than the coffee shop in MoMA. 

No credit cards

(between Madison and Fifth Av)

Like Palladium, a cut above the rest.    Good food, well cooked, attentive service.    Wide menu with sections on Greek, diet, American, pasta, salads, sandwiches, burgers.   Very good service.    Very convenient before/after/during a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (at 82nd and Fifth Av) or the Frick (at 80th and Fifth Av).

The most real Irish pub in the area.   Excellent beers (including Irish stouts), drinks, brilliant cocktails.    Friendly, serious customers, quiet, often  seats available (unlike most bars in this area).    Food, including things like (English ?) Shepherd's Pie.   Live Irish music 9:00- 12:30 pm Thurs, 10:30 pm- 2:30 am Sat (Andy McGann), American music Wed 9:00-12:30 pm, Fri 10:30 pm-2:30 am.   Games room in rear, unnoticeable at bar.   Friendly, but unobtrusive, quick service.

11:30 am- 4 am

Food Mon-Fri to 10:30 pm

(between Second and Third Av, near Second)

Their Web Site

fax: 212 759 1610

This used to be a speakeasy.   It has lots of dark wood, tiled floor, chrome bar stools, subdued lighting, mural, old photographs, etc.   Large range of cocktails and American beers and wines.   The only place we know that does real, original Manhattans (with 3-year old rye, not bourbon).   Strawberry Margarita is good.    Food in restaurant, but we have not yet tried it.

5:30 pm - 1 am

(corner with Barrow, between Hudson and Bedford)

Kava is a ceremonial beverage made from an Australian pepper plant.   This relates to the red/orange tribal murals, and historical prints on the walls of this very attractive small bar.   Intimate, good music.   Very highly skilled bartender serves a vast range of drinks.    Excellent cocktails.   Twenty wines, eight champagnes, many whiskies (including a dozen malts), bourbons, over a dozen brandies, beers, sherries, liqueurs from all round the world.   Large selection of Australasian wines.   Customers are serious and nice, not loud.    Food looks good (including hot pies, pâtés, cheeses), but we have not tried it.

(to 3 am Fri/Sat night = Sat/Sun morning)

Their Web Site

Bar with food.   Attractive, old building, lovely décor.    Dark wood, scuptures behind bar, dark green wall with large sepia prints of old photographs.   Wooden, pitched ceiling.   Balcony.    Old, cash register behind the bar.   Wide range of wines, beers, liquors.   Good service. 

Hotel

Best midtown budget hotel, recently refurbished.    Lobby with columns and sofas, lovely chandelier.    Comfortable beds and rooms (400 rooms, 235 en-suite).    Roof garden.    Very helpful staff.    Excellent location, convenient for subway and buses, extremely safe area.   Across the street is a small park with large waterfall, and snack service.    Hotel entrance is flanked by Le Bateau Ivre wine bar that serves breakfast, and Montparnasse restaurant.   Both have tables on the sidewalk (seasonal).

70 - 105 single; 130 - 140 double 200 - 230 studio

+ tax

(between Second and Third Av)  

Their Web Site

Fax: 212 755 5029