Restaurant Hop in NYC

[Amy_2008]

My husband and I will be in NYC for 4 nights in May. We enjoy sampling several restaurants in one night by having an appitizer and drink at the bar and then moving to the next restaurant. This strategy works well when restaurants have are relatively close to each other and we typically get through 3 a night if we don't eat too much at each stop and the wait is reasonable.

Thanks to this discussion, I know we want to have one night a Per Se and one lunch at Jean Georges (if we obtain reservations). Other restaurants like Craft, Babbo, Momofuku Ssam, The Modern, and Auqavit are of interest, however I can't group enough in any one area.

I would appreciate any ideas for the "restaurant hop". It is very difficult to understand from the websites which restaurants serve off the regular menu at their bar (or at least a good limited menu). If this has been posted previously, please provide me a link to the previous discussion.

Thank you!

[Nathan]

new York is the nation's bar dining center and it shows. Virtually every restaurant that has a bar (almost all) will serve the full menu at the bar. Most will even serve a tasting menu.

EV hop: bar veloce or carrera, ssam bar, noodle bar, kasadela.

Flatiron/Murray hill hop: casa mono, resto, hill country, pamplona

WV hop: gottino, del'anima, centro vinoteca, barbuto, perry street, bellavitae, fatty crab

WV batali hop: babbo, lupa, otto

Midtown hop: bar room, maze, grayz, robuchon

I could come up with many more depending upon your tastes. Please note: the above are not in order. Plot them on a map and plan accordingly.

[BryanZ]

I'd first come up with a list of restaurants you want to hit, then ask them if they serve at the bar. Even if they don't, you can explain your situation and I'm sure they'll be amused and accommodate you. That is if they're not prix fixe.

A couple general suggestions.

Madison Square Park and vicinity - EMP (food at the bar), Tabla Bread Bar, Gramercy Tavern front room, Flatiron Lounge

50s, south of Central Park - Grayz, The Modern Bar Room, Maze

East 40s/50s - Yasuda, Yakitori Torys, Tsukushi, Aburiya Kinnosuke

EV - Momos Ssam and Noodle Bar, PDT, Death & Co., Casa Mono (sort of), and lots of Jap Izakaya

WV (a broad area I define from south of 14th over to Union Sq. down to, like, Houston) - Perry St., Batali Italian spots, Ushiwakamaru, Bar Blanc (not enough people have weighed in to make this a surefire recommendation), Little Branch, Pegu Club

Lots of options. The city is small, so, if you start early there's no reason you can't hit like 5 or 6 places in a night. I do it with some regularity.

ETA: Clearly some overlap with Nathan's post. I offer this map as guidance; I've posted this on another thread. Some things on it won't make sense to you, don't worry about it. They're personal. Map.

Edited January 21, 2008 by BryanZ (log)

[Nathan]

flatiron lounge does not serve food. Every new York restaurant that has a bar serves food at the bar. Exception: del posto (which serves food in the lounge where the bar is but not the bar itself). A couple restaurants situated in hotels do not really have a bar: Insieme.

All the places they listed serve the regular menu at the bar. (The Modern does not have a bar per we, as the Bar Room is a separate restaurant. The bar at Gramercy Tavern serves the same menu as the room that it is in.)

[BryanZ]

I think it's also important to keep in mind that you by no means have to eat at the bar. If you're more comfortable doing that, that's fine, but don't think you can't just have a course or two at a table, especially in a more casual restaurant.

I also should've made it clear that a lot of the drinking places I mentioned are obviously more known for their drinks than food. With that said, it would border on uncivilized to start or end a full night of restaurant hopping without a proper drink.

Edited January 21, 2008 by BryanZ (log)

[daisy17]

love the idea, especially since I prefer eating at the bar. on the WV one I would add Spotted Pig if just for gnudi and nothing else.

Bryan suggested the following, which I really like:

Madison Square Park and vicinity - EMP (food at the bar), Tabla Bread Bar, Gramercy Tavern front room, Flatiron Lounge

←

and to which I might add a couple of small plates at boqueria just 2 doors down and Craft, which you mentioned specifically, and is very close to Gramercy Tavern. You could also do Casa Mono with these, it's just 3 blocks south. If it were warmer I'd add Shake Shack.

What about far west chelsea for food? tia pol, cookshop, del posto. you could just shoot down to the WV for cocktails at LB or Pegu.

[BryanZ]

I thought of W Chelsea/NoMeat, but I think the other locales are cooler and have more of a NYC feel. Worth considering though. In that strip you obviously have Tia Pol, Quinto Pino, then a bit further south Del Posto, Crafsteak, Morimoto, Buddakhan, etc.

[Sneakeater]

BIG NEWS

(not necessarily for the OP, but for NYC bar-eaters in general):

Insieme has now activated its bar, AND SERVES FOOD THERE.

(This is very recent.)

Edited January 21, 2008 by Sneakeater (log)

[Nathan]

that is very good news!

[Amy_2008]

BIG NEWS

(not necessarily for the OP, but for NYC bar-eaters in general):

Insieme has now activated its bar, AND SERVES FOOD THERE.

(This is very recent.)

←

Thank you very much for the great suggestions and the map. We are very excited to try as many NYC dining highlights as we can in a short period of time.

[Mayur]

Nathan's recommendations are quite good. Add to them:

EV hop: bar veloce or carrera, ssam bar, noodle bar, kasadela.

+Hearth for a glass of wine and a pasta or app.

Flatiron/Murray hill hop: casa mono, resto, hill country, pamplona.

I have a hard time imagining "hopping" through Hill Country, but hey. Might also recommend Gramercy Tavern front room for an app or actually even a main, and 15 East for sushi.

WV hop: gottino, dell'anima, centro vinoteca, barbuto, perry street, bellavitae, fatty crab.

Um, yeah, except that I'd skip centro, barbuto, and perry street (I think the latter two are hard to do for "hopping" and I'm not that big a fan of centro) and hit Bobo and Sumile instead.

WV batali hop: babbo, lupa, otto

Yeah, though if I got a seat at the bar at Babbo, I'd probably just engage in a full-on feast.

Midtown hop: bar room, maze, grayz, robuchon

Might as well throw in the kitchen counter at Beacon while you're doing this, although being able to handle anything else + robuchon is going to be a big hit to the wallet.

[Nathan]

Nathan's recommendations are quite good. Add to them:

EV hop: bar veloce or carrera, ssam bar, noodle bar, kasadela.

+Hearth for a glass of wine and a pasta or app.

Flatiron/Murray hill hop: casa mono, resto, hill country, pamplona.

I have a hard time imagining "hopping" through Hill Country, but hey. Might also recommend Gramercy Tavern front room for an app or actually even a main, and 15 East for sushi.

WV hop: gottino, dell'anima, centro vinoteca, barbuto, perry street, bellavitae, fatty crab.

Um, yeah, except that I'd skip centro, barbuto, and perry street (I think the latter two are hard to do for "hopping" and I'm not that big a fan of centro) and hit Bobo and Sumile instead.

WV batali hop: babbo, lupa, otto

Yeah, though if I got a seat at the bar at Babbo, I'd probably just engage in a full-on feast.

Midtown hop: bar room, maze, grayz, robuchon

Might as well throw in the kitchen counter at Beacon while you're doing this, although being able to handle anything else + robuchon is going to be a big hit to the wallet.

←

Hearth is a good idea.

Barbuto has a bar.

Perry Street has a nice lounge area and bar and even has a "snacking" lounge menu which includes some of their greatest hits in perfect portions.

Bobo isn't very good...heck, they're already changing chefs. Barfry is an idea.

agreed on Babbo.

[chefboy24]

Nathan's recommendations are quite good. Add to them:

EV hop: bar veloce or carrera, ssam bar, noodle bar, kasadela.

+Hearth for a glass of wine and a pasta or app.

Flatiron/Murray hill hop: casa mono, resto, hill country, pamplona.

I have a hard time imagining "hopping" through Hill Country, but hey. Might also recommend Gramercy Tavern front room for an app or actually even a main, and 15 East for sushi.

WV hop: gottino, dell'anima, centro vinoteca, barbuto, perry street, bellavitae, fatty crab.

Um, yeah, except that I'd skip centro, barbuto, and perry street (I think the latter two are hard to do for "hopping" and I'm not that big a fan of centro) and hit Bobo and Sumile instead.

WV batali hop: babbo, lupa, otto

Yeah, though if I got a seat at the bar at Babbo, I'd probably just engage in a full-on feast.

Midtown hop: bar room, maze, grayz, robuchon

Might as well throw in the kitchen counter at Beacon while you're doing this, although being able to handle anything else + robuchon is going to be a big hit to the wallet.

←

wallse has a nice bar you can definitely nibble at! and of course spotted pig has some great snacks.

and a trip to the west vill isn't complete without a taste at soto or barfry!

Edited January 22, 2008 by chefboy24 (log)

[Mayur]

Barbuto has a bar.

Perry Street has a nice lounge area and bar and even has a "snacking" lounge menu which includes some of their greatest hits in perfect portions.

I wasn't suggesting that these might be a problem due to lack of bar eating, but rather remoteness. The restaurant hop implies something doable for a number of stops, and both Perry Street and (to a lesser extent) Barbuto are a bit westerly compared to the other options.

[autevsky]

Its so hard when you have so many options but places I would incorporate and not miss are Tia Pol, Trestle on Tenth, El Quinto Pino and Cookshop while in Chelsea. Have some cocktails at Cookshop and the spicy hominy, the fried duck necks at Trestle are outstanding and they always have a thoughtful very Swiss charcuterie selection, the do Tia Pol and El Quinto Pino. The soft serve cocktails at EQP are a good way to end the night.

When you're in the West Village you should not miss P*ng, get a tarte flambe at August, some piccolini at Centro, I'm becoming a fan of Perilla, maybe Soto and get some cocktails at Little Branch.

In Soho you can drink at Pegu Club, eat at The Monday Room, Tailor, 'ino, BarFry

Then in the Gramercy area you have to eat at Resto, Pamplona, Via Emilia, Bar Stuzzichini, cocktails at Flatiron Lounge.

Good Luck and Have Fun!