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Thanks once again for replies. OK - I have a pre theater reservation at Esca for another evening. I could change it but see that only time available before Birdland is 19:30 - feel this is cutting it a bit fine? Also - for the 'biggest' meal we're doing on our final night - I had booked Jean Georges at 19:30. Wife prefers the look of Daniel having looked at both menus. I can only get the Lounge at Daniel at the moment (and be on waiting list for main room) at 20:30 (or I could get main room but not till 22:30 which is late for me to eat). What's the thoughts on the lounge at Daniel compared to JG? One last thing for the moment - wife is doing dance classes at Steps NYC (which is on Broadway at 74th Street). She finishes classes at 14:30 and will be starving. Anywhere decent in that area to grab something at that time? Thanks again - this forum has been a huge help Martin

Hi. Thanks for suggestions. Might change les halles. Especially as we now have reservations that night at birdland (is birdland ok?!?). So to approach it from a different angle - if you have a 9 30 show at birdland to see - where would you eat before it? Really like bar boulud for pre lincoln. Sounds ideal. Thanks martin

Thanks for that - some great ideas. Should probably also have said I'll be staying at the Affinia Shelburne in Murray Hill so any good places nearby it to eat or drink could be useful as it's an easy stagger back! Thanks Martin

Hi Thanks so much for advice previously on this thread - things are coming together and we've booked most of the places. Have a couple of gaps and hoping for advice. 1. We're seeing a lot of theatre. Any good places to go for a drink after the theatre nearby the theatre district? 2. Dinners are booked at Les Halles (Park Avenue), Aldea and Jean Georges. Again, any nice places to go in those areas after dinner? 3. We will be at the Lincoln Center for a matinee - any nice places for a lunch (nothing too massive as we're going to Aldea that evening) in the area around Lincoln Center? Many thanks Martin

Tried EMP and pleased my case but still only a 10pm sitting. Have been put on waiting list though for earlier time - oddly they said they won't call Internationally to confirm reservation if one becomes avaiable. This seems odd to me. Is it standard practise in US? Thanks Martin

Thanks so much for all the replies. Really good advice. I guess if being picky, we're looking for different experiences with the 3 meals. Maybe 1 really upmarket one (like Per Se would have been), 1 quite upmarket one but not quite as fancy or long as experience as a Per Se would be and maybe 1 more 'regular' place - still with really good food but where we won't be there for 3 hours plus and maybe in an area we could do a nice cocktail bar after it. So sorry for giving the impression I was looking for the 3 most high 'upscale' places. Martin

I am tempted by EMP even though it is a 10pm booking. Could try for lunch I suppose. Spice Market menu looks great - would this place be better for lunch or dinner? If there's any other suggestion not on my list please mention them. Thanks Martin

Hi Thanks for replies. OK - I've spent all afternoon trawling these boards for restaurants that are mentioned in a good light. I've now checked availability for them all. The one's I can get a reservation for a good time (i.e around 8pm) are: Aldea Apiary Blue Water Grill Cru Gilt Jean Georges Picholine The Modern Turquoise The one's I can get a reservation for at a bad time (i.e 5:45 or 10pm) Eleven Madison Park Daniel Maialino Scarpetta The one's I can't seem to get a reservation for Corton Gramercy Tavern Le Bernadin Minetta Tavern I was desperate to go to EMP - but can only get a 10pm reservation which I feel would be a bit late to enjoy their food properly. Are any of the 'bad time' reservations SO good that I should just go? If not - if picking 3 of the 'good time' reservations, which would be a nice 3 to pick so that it's balanced (i.e not eating the same kind of food at all 3). Many thanks Martin

No other real parameters. Just looking for excellent quality meals in really nice locations. Thanks for suggestions so far. Martin

Hi I'm in NYC in late December and have reserved 3 evenings for really nice meals for my wife and I. Tried Per Se but they're fully booked so I'm on waiting list. Also tried Babbo but they're full too. Any suggestions for a really nice meal for 2 for these 3 evenings? Many thanks Martin

What about the sea grill at rockerfeller for Christmas day? Just thought it would be nice to sit looking out onto the ice rink and tree? Thanks martin

Thanks for the replies. We will definitely consider the Aquavit Christmas Eve dinner, however we will still need to eat on Christmas Day so any further suggestions welcome. Thanks Martin

Hi My wife and I will be in New York for 7 nights in December, which will encompass Christmas Day. So I really have 2 questions - Firstly - where will be nice (and open!) for a Christmas Day meal? Price no concern and willing to consider any type of food but would like it to be fairly special. Secondly - any other general recommendations for our trip? Have been a couple of times before so looking for untried places. Would like a mix of high end places to real cheap authentic ethnic places. Many thanks for your help Martin

Hi I posted a while ago looking for London restaurant recommendations and got a couple of crackers. Hoping you can help me out for closer to home. I live not far from Glasgow but as it's almost 'too close to home' we rarely go for meals there and if we do, go to a couple of old favourites that the family know about. I've never really researched quality restaurants. With a birthday meal coming up in the next few weeks, I'm looking to find somewhere really nice. Any cuisine is fine - we're open to anything at all, just looking for some real quality. We'd consider Glasgow city centre or anywhere within maybe a 15 mile radius. I see there is a quality topic already on Edinburgh but I don't see similar for the Glasgow area - apologies if it exists and I just can't find it. So.... Any suggestions? Thanks Martin

Hi Just back from London, so thanks for the recommendations. My review is below – please understand that I’m not a food writer or blogger and this is the first review I’ve ever done like this, so I apologise in advance! Maze We arrived on Saturday morning early and we decided to check in to our hotel in Grosvenor Square first. Having unloaded bags (room wasn’t ready yet), the fact that we were starving and Maze was right across the road influenced our decision and we decided to go there for breakfast. We both had the full works which was £22 each – this consisted of helping yourself to the cold buffet and any choice of the hot dishes on offer plus orange juice and tea or coffee. We both plumped for the Full English. The cold buffet was nice with a selection of cereals, yoghurts, cold meats, cheese, smoked salmon etc. I found the meats a bit hit and miss – some was lovely and flavoursome and some seemed to have been sitting out too long. The smoked salmon however was divine and plentiful. The Full English arrived (while we were still eating from the cold buffet – this could have been timed better) and it was fantastic. 2 big plump sausages, some lovely crispy bacon, 2 eggs, mushrooms, baked beans and a fried tomato. Everything on the plate was cooked to perfection (albeit it’s a fry up, not 3* food). The Full English on it’s own is £11 and I think that’s excellent value as it’s very filling and my local Little Chef charge about £8 for the same thing. We would definitely go back – only criticism was that I felt the service was just ok (and I was expecting more at a place like Maze – having eaten there before for dinner and the service was excellent). It was nothing major and maybe I’m being picky but – as mentioned before, the hot breakfast was served before we finished the cold one, when the hot breakfast arrived we were asked if we wanted toast (which was a bit late in the day to ask anyway), we said yes but had to remind them half way through our hot breakfast about it and only received the toast as we were finishing, our tea came with no teaspoon, getting someone’s attention to refill the tea was very difficult. The actual breakfast though was very good and as I said, the Full English on its own is decent value. Bar Italia Still my favourite haunt in London for a coffee and a quick bite. Had a very good Macchiato and a cannoli and a nice bit of banter with the staff. Latium Post theatre meal was at Latium, thanks to recommendation from here. As stated before Locanda Locatelli is our regular haunt and fancied something different. Arrived at 10:30pm after seeing Jersey Boys (an excellent show by the way). First impressions were good – excellent welcome from the staff and the place has a very inviting feel. Unfortunately sat next to the door which was regularly opened during dinner so it was quite cold but apart from that, very nice. Menus were excellent – a nice amount of choice – enough to have plenty of options but not too many that you feel the kitchen is having to do too many things. The Ravioli menu was very interesting and nice idea. I ordered the selection of Fish ravioli to start and a Taglioni pasta dish with prawns, broccoli, garlic and chilli as my main (drawing a strange look from the waitress as I guess you’re not meant to have a pasta main after a ravioli starter but what the hell, I was paying). Wife had a Ravioli starter with pumpkin and sage followed by Monkfish with lentils. Due to it being so late we didn’t fancy a full bottle of wine so went for a half bottle of Valpolicella which was reasonably priced and was lovely and light to go with the pasta. On an aside, I was impressed with the wine list – it wasn’t huge but had plenty in each price bracket to pick from. After ordering we were brought a small starter courtesy of the kitchen which comprised of a risotto ball with cheese, a tiny calzone thing with ham and cheese and a small bruchetta type thing with tomatoes – all 3 were fantastic and a nice way to start the meal. The breads then arrived and while good, not quite as good as the bread at Locanda Locatelli. Onto the meal - The ravioli’s were divine – easily the best single thing we ate in our time there. My fish ravioli came in the form of 4 different pastas (squid, saffron, spinach and tomato) each with a different kind of fish filling. It was superb, perfectly cooked. The pumpkin ravioli was also excellent although my personal preference is for the similar Pumpkin ravioli at Locanda Locatelli. My pasta main was good but not outstanding, the thin Taglioni was slightly overcooked for my liking and not quite as al dente as it might have been making it a bit mushy in the mouth. The actual sauce of chilli and garlic was lovely though and there were prawns in abundance which were perfectly cooked, not chewy at all. The Monkfish was also very good (I had to have a taste of everything). Fish perfectly cooked and the stew of lentils below very warming and homely. By now it was getting late but the desert menu looked so appetising that we couldn’t refuse. I had the Tiramisu (superior to the one at Locanda) and my wife had a Chocolate and Almond cake which was also excellent. To finish the meal I had an espresso and my wife had a Caffe Latte which were both ok – quite good probably but I’m probably a bit of a coffee snob (I have a kitchen type machine I imported from Tuscany and I import my coffee from a small supplier in Tuscany at home so I tend to feel it when coffee isn’t quite there). Only small niggle through the meal was that a female waitress was obviously upset about something and was arguing quite loudly in Italian with another waiter. I thought the bill ended up being quite reasonable given what we had and I would definitely return (especially for the ravioli menu). Richoux There was a Richoux right next to us so we just went there for breakfast on the Sunday. We both had waffles and they were fine but it wasn’t exactly the breakfast of a lifetime. Maison Bertraux Stopped mid morning at Maison Bertraux for a cup of tea and a macaroon biscuit. Biscuit was very nice and tea was excellent – it’s a really nice place to just chill out for 20 minutes and take a break. Would go back but (maybe it’s just me) the tea poured SO slowly out the teapot, it took minutes to fill a cup! Tamarind Lunch was at Tamarind due to another recommendation from here about their 2 for 1 offer. On arrival the place looked very nice and the staff were excellent and very welcoming. We both went for the tasting menu as it was the 2 for 1 offer. The starters comprised of some chicken tikka, a vegetable samosa type thing and a chickpea starter with yoghurt – all very nice and delicately spiced, nothing too hot. Mains were swordfish in a dry marinade, chicken in a spinach sauce, Bombay potatoes, pilau rice, naan and lentils. Again all were very nice and tasty but nothing really stood out as being fantastic. The chicken was probably the best dish out the mains as it was succulent and the sauce was very nicely spiced to give a kick but not so much that it took the flavour out the dish. Desert was cottage cheese in a sweetend milk which wasn’t to my taste. Overall I enjoyed the meal but it would have been expensive for what we had, were it not for the 2 for 1 offer. I’m glad I went and tried it but I wouldn’t have been happy paying the full price as I don’t think it was worth it. Bar Italia Time for one last trip to Bar Italia for a cannoli and a macchiato before we had to leave. Thanks so much for those who contributed and also to all who use this forum. I only just found it after reading Jay’s book and it has been fantastic reading for me catching up on old threads and getting ideas of where to eat. Martin

Hi Apologies if this isn't the right place for this post. I live in the UK and am fed up buying wine from Supermarket (I live in small town and there isn't a great selection). I'm looking for a supplier through the web that I can order boxes of wine from for reasonable (not necessarily cheap) prices. Any ideas? Thanks Martin

Hi OK - We're getting there. Latium is now booked for Saturday dinner. The Bincho was the Japanese restaurant in Soho. Grazing just seemed to get great reviews for breakfast. If anyone can suggest good places closer to Grosvenor Sq, I'd be happy to try them! Thanks Martin

Also - thinking of going to Grazing for breakfast and maybe Bincho for lunch on Sat - would these places be recommended? Many thanks Martin

What about Texture? They have reservations and their fish tasting menu looks interesting Thanks Martin

Thanks for replies so far. Wife not into offal at all so St Johns might be a bit limited for her. Have booked for Tamarind for Sunday lunch making use of their 2 for 1 offer on their tasting menu. We'll do Indian instead of Thai I think as there appears to be better Indians (Tamarind is one of them?) rather than forcing a Thai restaurant. Still left with Sat night - you were right about Le Gavroche - no Sunday lunch and fully booked on Sat night. Have inquired about Latium for a table but not heard back yet. Any other suggestions welcome - if it makes any difference, we're staying at Grosvenor Square - willing to travel a bit for a meal but obviously the closer by it is the easier to stumble home! Also, we've done Maze Grill so would probably avoid there even though it's very close by. Many thanks Martin

Hi First post here so please be gentle My wife and I are off to London this weekend and am looking for some nice places for dinner/lunch/snacks (we eat a lot when we are down there). Here's the dilemna - we go to London a lot as our business requires it, we've eaten at a lot of the really fancy places (Claridges etc) but recently have gotten into a rut of going to the same places (don't shout when you here where, we quite like them) - La Porte Des Indes for lunch, Locanda Locatelli for dinner and Bar Italia for coffee and snacks. This time, we'd like to try different places. In particular - my wife would like to try and find a Thai/Malaysian restaurant - any suggestions? Dinner on Sat might be post theatre as we'll probably go and see something - from looking through previous posts, I was intrigued by Giaconda but don't know how late they open. We'll need a reasonable sized lunch on the Sunday to set us up for journey home as well. Only high-endish place I was considering was Le Gavroche as we've never been and I think they cater for post theatre and also Sunday lunch? Any recommendations/suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks Martin