We’ll be staying in Midtown Manhattan but are open to recommendations anywhere in the city. We’re prioritising the experience over price, so don’t hold back!!
I’d also love recommendations for a Christmas dining experience.
Thanks in advance!

I used to love the fried stuffed avocado that was served at Avenida Cantina on Avenue B, does anyone know of any place that makes something similar?

My plan is to visit New York in early February. Understand the weather will not be pleasant but what is great to see and do besides museums and Broadway?

Where do you go for best Jewish, Mexican, Sichuan or Dim Sum? Prefer local and cutesy neighborhood spot but are there any popular restaurants or bakeries or bars that are actually worth it?

There are so many ways to find restaurants here - Google, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, friends, reviews, etc.

When you find a place that looks interesting, what usually gets you from “maybe” to actually deciding to go?

Is it a specific dish, photos, reviews, someone’s recommendation, the menu, location, price, or something else?

Also curious if you usually check more than one place/app before making the final decision.

Disclosure: this is a small project I’m personally testing.

NYC has endless restaurant lists, but sometimes comparing all the options is the exhausting part. I want to test a different approach: tell me who you’re dining with and what the evening needs to be, and I’ll make the decision.

I’m offering five NYC dinner plans for free. I’ll send you:

• One restaurant selected for your particular group
• A specific, currently available reservation time
• Expected price
• Why I think it fits
• A direct booking link
• A backup if the first table disappears

This can be for a date, friends, family, a birthday, or an ordinary dinner you keep putting off.

There’s no app or payment. I’m doing the research manually, and you’ll book directly with the restaurant or reservation platform.

Request a plan here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfF9junjVe6E57qCGSR8tzucExDJV_IADXrlwBaCLJWPunylQ/viewform

The link is completely safe and brings you to this form! Thanks!!

I need to understand who or what bots are snagging these reservations. Like yes I can get a Theodora reservation when they drop but it’s always after a 9pm time.

Four horseman? Never seen anything later than lunch.

I click into the reservation right at the drop time on my phone so it loads the date right at the drop time…I just don’t get it.

The only way I’ve been able to get prime time is if I ask the host while I’m physically at the restaurant, they are in a good mood, and the reservations for the day I want haven’t dropped yet.

Take my $500 for dinner and let me eat please :(

I’m a buffalo chicken connoisseur. I eat all forms of buffalo chicken from wings, to wraps, to pizza, to dumplings and anything in between. NYC has some great buffalo chicken options and I want to know what your favorites are so I can try them!

Hello Reddit! I’m (41 about to be 42 yo female) and going to NYC this weekend for the first time. It is going to be a VERY quick trip, but I wanted to ask for your opinion on a couple of things.

We’ll be staying in Manhattan and I’m looking for two things in particular:

1. Your best most favorite coffee spot. I love coffee and I’m open to pretty much anything. I love a good PSL (a GOOD one), big fan of fun latte flavors and real good espresso. I’m a Fall lover and particularly enjoy anything seasonal 🍁 🎃

2. A bagel! But I have a question: I’m a salt lover and I’ve heard about salt bagels. Are they good? Should I seek one out? If not, what would you recommend? I’m a vegetarian and looking for a spot that has some good options as the place my partner wants to go is very lox focused. I love savory, if that helps.

I would be so grateful for any recommendations! Thanks!

Hey All,

I'm visiting the city at the beginning of November with my wife who is a first timer to NYC.

I want to curate the ultimate list of pizza, delis, hot dogs, restaurants, bakeries...Essentially unmissable food spots AND the best wine bars in the city, so I can make reservations where needed in advance (which i assume is almost every restaurant).

My list so far looks something like this:-

Pizza

• Ceres
• Joe’s Pizza
• Mama’s TOO!
• L’Industrie Pizzeria
• Bleecker Street Pizza

Bagels

- Apollo Bagels

Breakfast, brunch & bakeries

• Bubby’s — American breakfast / brunch
• Sunday Morning — morning buns and pastries
• Levain Bakery — cookies and baked goods

Burgers

- Hamburger America

Noodles & Chinese food

- Very Fresh Noodles

Cafés & coffee

• Silence Please
• Fast Times
• Canyon Coffee
• Remi Flower & Coffee
• Hungry Ghost Coffee
• Ralph’s Coffee

Restaurants & dinner

• The Commerce Inn — American / seasonal dinner
• Medium Rare — steakhouse
• Katz Deli- Pastrami Sandwich *Thanks Possible-Scarcity for the rec.
• Cervo's

Dessert & sweet treats

• Glace NY — ice cream
• Levain Bakery — cookies

WINE
- Ten Bells- Thanks Red Head Girl
- Stafili
- Bar Pisino

For context- We arrive Friday afternoon and leave the following Tuesday evening- So best part of 5 days.

We're staying in Midtown but willing to travel anywhere in the city and burbs.

Thank you for all your contribution in advance!

I’m trying to plan a post-engagement dinner for my partner and our families (8 people) this December.

I’ve seen The River Cafe recommended a lot in older threads, but I read some recent reviews that say the food quality has declined. Also, I’m not sure how much of the atmosphere/experience would be diminished in winter, given the sun sets earlier (though our party would be too big for a window table anyways) and garden would not be in bloom.

Does anyone have any thoughts / recent experiences / alternative recommendations?

I travel to NYC a few times a year just to eat and watch Broadway shows, and here's where I ate with my husband back in late April during our last visit.

Pic 1: Kong Sihk Tong - I've been here before and loved the salted egg yolk lava toast. This time I got the mixed sauce rice rolls (nice but just okay), the sausage and egg sandwich (very meh) and the black sesame lava toast (still frozen inside). Not our best breakfast in Chinatown. 4/10

Pic 2-3: Katsu-hama - We needed a pre-show meal, and this was a convenient spot. The katsu was just okay. My seafood combo and my tuna poke appetizer didn't taste super fresh, while my husband's curry sauce was weirdly sweet compared to what we've had in Japan. Not memorable but it did the trick. 5/10

Pic 4: Red Gate Bakery - Came for the chocolate chip cookie but they were out, so I got a couple of bars instead. The pickled PB&J bar blew me away! Just packed with flavor. I snacked on this over the next few days, and it held up well too. When I go back in November, I'm leaving with a box of these. The brown butter blondie was good too but much less memorable. 10/10

Pic 5: Kolkata Chai Co - I walked in looking for a quick drink and got the matcha chai. I didn't think it would work but it was one of my favorite matchas I've ever had. The warmth and sweetness of the chai really tempers the bitterness of the matcha. 10/10

Pic 6: Thai Diner - I've been here before for brunch and was a huge fan of their Thai breakfast sandwich but wanted to come back for the Thai cheesesteak. It is a huge salt bomb, (borderline too salty even for me as a salt lover), but very flavorful. The herb and crispy rice salad it came with was the surprise hit for me. Service at the counter was top-notch and the vibes are always great. 8/10

Pic 7-8: Clinton St Baking Company - I've been trying to come here for years and finally got a res ahead of time. The pancakes were good but not amazing by our standards (but we have amazing pancakes at our diners back home in VT). The maple butter was tasty but nothing beats VT maple syrup for us, and my husband honestly thought the butter got in the way of the maple flavor. What actually blew me away was the goat cheese scone. I'll be coming back for those. 7/10

Pic 9: Kisa - I've heard a lot about this place being overrated but I loved it. Everything was cooked so well and tasted like good Korean comfort food. Our personal favorite was the dried pollock soup (not pictured) that came with our meal. Perhaps it's a little overpriced but we left stuffed and couldn't finish all of our food. 9/10

Pic 10-11: Nishaan - We had just finished watching the Great Food Truck Race and really wanted to try their food. It was all absolutely delicious. The birria tacos and Pakistani chopped cheese were both super flavorful, but my personal favorite was the elotes chaat (not pictured) which I couldn't stop eating. The owner came out and chatted with us, and he was just the nicest. 10/10 experience.

Pic 12: Librae Bakery - I've been here before and feel like their baked goods tend to be hit or miss. I randomly passed by and got a tahini chocolate chip cookie and this was so soft and bland that I ended up throwing it out. 3/10

Pic 13: 12 Matcha - Everything about this place was so over-the-top and ridiculous and I wanted to hate it, but the matcha was undeniably amazing. Probably the highest quality matcha I've had in the city, and I've tried a lot of well-known places. I will unfortunately return. 10/10

Pic 14-15: Win Son - I'm a defender of this place despite all the criticism it gets. I love their fan tuan. I love their millet mochi donut. My husband loved their pine nut cookie. It's not the most authentic food but it reminds me of Taiwan, and it's hard to find Taiwanese food in Manhattan. 9/10

Pic 16: Sushi W - We really enjoyed a lunch omakase here on our last trip. This time we came for their 5pm dinner special ($10 off their $68 premium omakase, no tipping policy). It's an amazing deal for 15 nigiri and 2 hand rolls. It's not the fanciest omakase place but every bite we had was solid, and we appreciate that they don't try to hide the flavor of the fish with a million toppings (my husband is more of a sushi purist). We also didn't feel as rushed here as we've felt at some other budget omakase places in the city. 8/10

Pic 17: Santo Taco - Came just to try the steak trompo taco as a small bite before dinner, and I really didn't get the hype. For $7, the taco is absolutely tiny, and nothing about the flavor really stood out. I'd rather walk a little further and go to Carnitas Ramirez which was much better. 6/10

Pic 18: Eileen's Special Cheesecake - I've passed this place many times without stepping in but my curiosity finally won out. The banana cheesecake was great. Not the most memorable but a good sweet treat with a reasonable portion size. 7/10

Pic 19-20: Ivan Ramen - We meant to go to Okiboru House of Tsukumen but they were unexpectedly closed so we pivoted. My chicken paitan was a solid bowl of ramen. My husband enjoyed his shoyu shrimp wontonmen. I found the bowls a little small for the price. I do want to come back for the small plates which looked more interesting to me than the ramen. 7/10

Found a new chocolate shop on 36th street called Pink Chocolate that just opened a few weeks ago. Chocolate made to order, various chocolate dipped fruit and other unique chocolate delicacies. Cool set up and have an open kitchen and are tempering 5 types of chocolate: milk, white, ruby, 60% & 76%. They offer small tastings of chocolate to everyone who walks in. My new favorite chocolate shop.

Hi, visiting and looking for amazing local or more not touristy resto tips plssss

This coming Sunday is the Mac and Cheese Takedown at Royal Palms! People can compete, or come and try all the different 15+ Macs - and vote on the winner.

We are visiting NYC (staying on 5th Avenue) for a long weekend (Fri - Mon) from Europe. Our first trip without kids!

We love food, and tend to go for great casual food rather than super high end when we’re traveling to cities. Think of brunch, coffee and dinner. No dietary requirements and only slight preference is we love getting really good Asian food when we can as the standard is not amazing at home! However, it can be anything from pizza, burgers, sushi, to Italian or modern bistro. We just love a restaurant that knows what it is and kills it. Cocktails are good too!

Give us your best recommendations! Thank you!

I’m from San Diego, but used to live in OC; and the pho, banh mi (especially oc), com tam, and just viet food in general is gas. I’m planning to visit NYC and I heard pretty negative things about the viet food there like the pho has no flavor, the banh mi bread being too doughy or the meat not enough flavor, or like the com tam rice being jasmine instead of broken rice, etc.

Anyhow, how is the viet food in nyc?