What is Your Favorite Restaurant in Your City?

[junie]

i love avenue a sushi on avenue a and 11th in NY.. its really dark with a dj every nite and has really weird out there art on the walls, has really good rasberry sake that gives you a nice wine-type of drunkness
the food is pretty cheap and the atmosphere is just fun and unpretentious

oh and i love the waitresses, they all look like japanimation cartoon characters! so cute

 

[paris]

I second La Bonne Soupe- it's on 55th st. I forgot the cross streets-really good onion soups. and French food. yum!

Esca
West 40s
402 W. 43rd St. (9th Ave.)
New York, NY, 10036-6322
(212) 564-7272
Not too far from Times Square-The seating outside is really great, and the fish is amazing! So fresh, totally recommend it!

Il Menestrello
14 E. 52nd St. (bet. 5th & Madison Aves.) East 50s
New York, NY, 10022 (212) 421-7588
Old World Italian-served the most incredible farfalle with salmon vodka sauce, the Penne Arrabiata is served in a light summer tomato sauce with a kick, and the Spaghetti Bolognese is a classic. They have tasty Calamari or the Fresh Tuna Carpaccio appetizer-totally sashimish. After an intense shopping or window shopping off 5th Avenue.

Bolo
23 E. 22nd St. (bet. B'way & Park Ave. S.) Flatiron District/Union Square
New York, NY, 10010
ph: (212) 228-2200
Spanish food with many seafood choices, the Whole Fish is overwhelming to look at but the fish is very fresh and light. The paprika fries were tasty and the Paella is definitely enought to share with your date or friend. The desserts were delicious: Creme Brulee, various tarts, raspberry cake with vanilla ice cream. yummy =P

Sandobe
330 E. 11th St. (bet. 1st & 2nd Aves.) East Village
New York, NY, 10003-7423
ph: (212) 780-0328
Cheap Japanese-a Sushi place with long lines must pay in Cash, but with good quality for the price. U can choose from a large assortment it's pretty crowded- go over to venero's bakery for some good italian desserts next door.. or maybe a few doors down-

The Mercer Kitchen
99 Prince St. (Mercer St.)
New York, NY, 10012-3218 (212) 966-5454
French-Nouveau American-My fave for desserts-Service is excellent, environment is chic and the cuisine is definitely dazzling. The star of the evening though, is the dessert! Always a piece of art that makes yor eyes feast and leaves you yearning for the next trip back.

Menchenko-Tei is excellent for noodles, rice balls, and authentic O-Dien; there are two locations,
131 E. 45th (between Lex and 3rd, closer to Lex) and
43-45 W. 55th (btwn. 5th and 6th). I've eaten at both
& recommend them though prefer the 55th st for the atmosphere.

Ouest: French Cuisine
Often packed with people it looks small but if you follow the waiter it opens up to an elegant decor and incredible food and dessert. Make reservations! 2315 Broadway between 83rd and 84th Sts (212-580-8700). Subway: 1, 9 to 86th St. Dinner. Average main course: $23.

Sushisay: East 50s Japanese Cuisine
Has the most amazing sushi-one of the best in the city, with very good grilled appetizers. Not for people who want chicken terriyakis mostly fishes like sushi and sashimi.
38 E. 51st St. (bet. Madison & Park Aves.) New York, NY, 10022-6801 (212) 755-1780

Aquagrill in SoHo - Little Italy Seafood-this place had the most friendly atmosphere, come when the sun is out, but make a reservations and yummy seafood!!!
210 Spring St. (6th Ave.) New York, NY, 10012-3601 (212) 274-0505

Republic
37 Union Sq. W. (bet. 16th & 17th Sts.)-Flatiron District/Union Square
New York, NY, 10003
(212) 627-7172
This place is always packed in a crowded cafeteria feel room.
But if you are in Union Square it's not a bad place to pick up some noodles Serving modern Pan-Asian cuisine, the room is packaged in by huge images of noodles with people posing eating or draping the noodles artistically. Food is good, fast and communal-table-wise is nice when you are by yourself.

Gramercy Tavern
42 E. 20th St. (bet. B'way & Park Ave. S.) -Flatiron District/Union Square
New York, NY, 10003
(212) 477-0777
Note: they have only 6:30 or 9:30 seating for the Dining Room.
so tell them when you make your reservations.-
This is the place to SPLURGE like Jules Vernes on the Eiffel Tower-bring your bf or lover here and have him treat you- they have 2-3 fix prix menus. The Veal Cheeks appetizer, Tuna Tartare, and Hamachi appetizer are exquisite... the entree if not selecting the tasting menu... of salt cooked Salmon or the Cod Entree were excellent fusion of flavors... and the desserts are a work of art.. especially the coconut tapioca or any other choices. It will be dining at it's finest. The Decor was colonial but modern, and for the dining experience be prepared to spend over 70-80 dollars per person on the fix-prix menu.

You can always opt to the front tavern room where it's not as expensive and reservation is not neccessary...=P

 

[Patsy Stone]

Ahhh!! Menchenko Tei! I go there for lunch sometimes! Their noodle bowls are just the thing when its cold out, and you need some comfort food!

I also need to recomend some good places for lunch in upper east midtown...

Brasserie 8 1/2- they have a $25 Prix Fixe menu, but I can't resist ordering from the full menu. They have a habit of doing 'Tall Food' (when its piled artfully in the middle of the plate), which makes me giggle, but its fun to knock down and dig in. I recomend the Chocolate Ring Ding dessert. Yummy!

Aureole-another great place with a prix fixe menu. The new chef is amazing, the service is the best, and its fun to take a break from work in such a 'Ladies who lunch' cha cha cha setting.

Topaz-best thai in midtown.

Mangia-for when you want pizza, your friend wants fried chicken, andyour other friend wants cous cous and pasta salad. The dining room upstairs is nice as well, but the service is slightly dumb.

Wolf's Deli-best burger in midtown.

Amaranth-Nice italian. The staff is VERY cute, and its always full of italian expats, and highly amusing UES types.

Korea Palace-best Korean.


I really need to bring my lunch to work more often, but there are so many great places to eat around my office!!

 

[Miss Elaneous]

If any of you can ever get to Scotland, you have to try the Plaisir du Chocolat in Edinburgh. Beautiful Art-Nouveau tearoom with hundreds of different varieties of tea, and the most chocolatey hot chocolate...try the one infused with chillies - it's so strong it gets served with a glass of water!

The French owner/chef makes all his own jams/confiture and cakes and chocolates, and all the breads and butters come daily from France. It's the kind of place you could spend all afternoon....bliss!

 

[Catherine-Marie]

Really just discovering restaurants in New York...I'm kind of new here, and anyway the selection is just mind-boggling to pick a "favorite." Plus, my boyfriend cooks a lot, so I really don't eat out at "special" places all that often. But in general, aside from the usual neighborhood places, I've really enjoyed:

*Gotham, which is like new American food, above-average quality, maybe I liked the presentation more than the food? I can't tell, but I had a great evening there the week before last.
*Patria, which is a mix of Spanish and Mexican (I think it's 20th and Park, maybe?). Delish!
*Malaga, a Spanish restaurant on the Upper East Side (in the low 70s, I think?). It looks like a dive but with not-so-divey prices. The chicken villaroy is amazing, as is this shrimp dish with green sauce on it...the names are escaping me right now, I apologize, but it truly is delicious. We always order extra for later in the week!
*I too enjoy Le Bonne Soupe!
*Second Gramercy Tavern
*City Crab, I think it's on 19th and Park? Nothing totally special, but consistently yummy!
*Churriascurra (sp?) Plataforma--a Brazilian restaurant, I think it's on 49th b/w 8th and 9th? A nice, crisp atmosphere with amazing food and a fabulous salad bar (the fish is great!). I went with a Brazilian friend, who special-ordered some type of veal with this garlic and salt rub...cannot remember the name, but it was divine. Great service, as well.

 

[Catherine-Marie]

Ooooh and I have to mention the Wine Dinner I had at Cite, which is on 51st b/w 6th and 7th. It's basically a price fixe dinner (sp?) with a nice amount of options for each course. The food is decent, but what really makes the evening is the constant flow of wine and champagne, I mean really it just does not stop! By the end of the night you are full, drunk, and happy!

 

[cat]

ooh, i remember having the most amazing sandwiches and midnight snacks at coti xando (not sure if thats the right name) in nyc...

 

[paris]

cosi Xando!! yum good smores platter- make your own smores with your own tiki fire! it's definitely fun!

 

[Catherine-Marie]

Cosi/Xando is one of my favorite lunchtime spots! I used to get the #100, which is a cold barbeque chicken with cheddar cheese, in their delicious bread, of course...

But what I have to recommend here is a Double O....a thick milkshake, with huge Oreo cookie wafers. Ohh, I want one now!

 

[cat]

cosi Xando!! yum good smores platter- make your own smores with your own tiki fire! it's definitely fun!

yeah, i love that! it makes the perfect midnight snack with girlfriends

 

[cat]

oh, and those cosi bread!! i miss those warm cosi bread...with the sundried tomato...delicious!

 

[paris]

catfight- regarding midnight snacks of smores- my thoughts exactly! & Bread is yummy!! hee hee

 

[mrrene]

When I was twelve and my family moved to Spain from Germany we stopped in Lyon on the way down and had dinner at Paul Bocuse....
My dad asked me to ask him for an autograph and I got a signed poster of him in return ("A René.....avec ma sympathie gourmande"). It is in my mother's kitchen in Spain now, watching her while she cooks.

 

[a4chnkuky]

hmm well here in Rio de Janeiro the best places are

Madamme Butterfly- the sushi at this place is the best i have had EVER!!!

Antiquarius- for traditional Portuguese food its amazing but good luck getting a table my boyfreinds parents have been goging there for like 20 something years so they have their own table with their freinds

for meat my bf and i are at odds- I think Esplanada Grill in Ipanema is the best meat in town but my bf thinks that Barra Grill is better so take your pic- more tourists at Barra Grill so maybe that is why i dont like it so much

Bar d'hotel is new and fun and so is 00 very hip and trendy if you go for that kinda thing but the food is killer so its worth going

Gourmet is a self serve restaurant that is AMAZING if not for the food than for the ambiance and the color its simply beautiful

Siri Mole- great place for food from Bahia lol not for those on a diet

Cais do Oriente- is simply put the most beautiful restaurant I have ever been to in my life and i have been to quite a few- it is only a year old and hidden away in the old streets of Downtown that still have cobblestown
the owner bought a crud hole of an old building from the 1700's i think and turned it into amazing place with an old world feeling but modern feel to it kinda middle eastern colonial tropical the food is wonderful and the owner is also a wine connoseur ( spelling) so they have a wonderful selectin and all the staff tests the wine and are trained in how to decifer what will be great with what you order
YOU MUST GO TO THIS RESTAURANT!!!

Academia Da Cachaca is just gooooooooooooooooooodddddddd


and finally the Mcdonalds is way better than in America and you can get great Ovaltine Milkshakes at Bob's!

 

[mrrene]

Tiggy what is "The Ivy" like where so many celebs supposedly go? (Am I making up this place?)

 

[Chic_Geek]

Mrrene - The Ivy is really nice if you like modern english food - don't expect anything too healthy though - it's not all that expensive onsidering the quality at around £40 a head including wine
I have been there a few times over the last 3 years and the celeb count is going down now that they are under new ownership but you can still spot a few in there most evenings.
You will need to book well in advance (3-4 months at least right now) - although there are ways to jump the queue -
Unless U are a celebrity you could try being American as this seems to take the wait down to just a few weeks ( I always get my American friend Lauren to phone up and book for me)
Or you could just phone up and try your luck for a table for the same day or the next day - they get cancellations after all - you might end up with a wierd time slot and have to be off the table in 2 hours though.
Failing that just beg them for a table - I did this the day before my 30th Birthday and got a table for the next evening sat right next to Annie Lennox

 

[trean]

Toko Karachillio have good food

 

[Chic_Geek]

Some Great London restaurants:

Fujihama (brixton - eclectic all organic Noodle bar - really cheap

Fish in a tie (Clapham Junction) - Good honest simple anglo french / mediterranian cooking - really cheap.

Kastoori (Tooting) - the best Indian restaurant in London - 100% vegetarian - even confirmed meat eaters love this place - medium price range

The Ivy ( covent Garden) as mentioned in previous posting - medium/expensive

Ricks Cafe (Wandsworth Common) great mediterranian food - full of celebs - medium/expensive

 

[Biggles]

:|

 

[paris]

Emack & Bolio's
389 Amsterdam Ave. (bet. 78th & 79th Sts.)
New York, NY, 10024-6207
(212) 362-2747
151 W. 34th St., 4th fl. (Herald Sq.)
New York, NY, 10001
(212) 494-5853
56 Seventh Ave. (bet. 13th & 14th Sts.)
New York, NY, 10011-6672
(212) 727-1198

West 70s,Greenwich Village,Garment District/West 30s

Cool down the hot summers with a blast of yummy ice cream, frozen yogurt in experimental flavors, always people waiting on long lines for Ice Cream!

Veniero's
342 E. 11th St. (bet. 1st & 2nd Aves.) East Village
New York, NY, 10003
(212) 674-7070

Classic place for that confectionery hunger. It's a landmark established in 1894, providing New Yorkers with cannolis, tarts, and choices that will make you lust for a bite, a cup of coffee and some good conversation

Cupcake Cafe
522 Ninth Ave. (39th St.) Garment District/West 30s
New York, NY, 10018-2803
(212) 465-1530

Located conveniently behind the Port Authority, Cupcake Cafe offers eye candy-pastries and cupcakes -eating is full of guilty sinful indulgence.

UT/DT
1626 Second Ave. (bet. 84th & 85th Sts.) East 80s
New York, NY, 10028-4472
(212) 327-1327
Know someone with the ultimate sweet tooth? UT/DT offers yama-sized portion of sweets and is a great place to bring a date or chill out and try out their goodies.

Krispy Kreme

East 80s,West 70s,West 40s,Chelsea,Garment District/West 30s,Harlem
265 W. 23rd St. (bet. 7th & 8th Aves.)
New York, NY, 10011-2302
(212) 620-0111
280 W. 125th St. (Frederick Douglass Blvd.)
New York, NY, 10027-4410
(212) 531-0111
2 Penn Plaza (33rd St. on Amtrak rotunda level)
New York, NY, 10121
(212) 947-7175
1497 Third Ave. (bet. 84th & 85th Sts.)
New York, NY, 10028
(212) 879-9111
141 W. 72nd St. (bet. B'way & Columbus Ave.)
New York, NY, 10023
(212) 724-1100
625 Eighth Ave. (bet. 40th & 41st Sts.)
New York, NY, 10018

Even Starbucks sells Krispy Kreme doughnuts-mostly because they have a cult following here in nyc, and now i guess the world-it has even spread to our neighbors in Canada, I think outside of Toronto.

Lady Mendl's
56 Irving Pl. (bet. 17th & 18th Sts.) Gramercy Park
New York, NY, 10003-2314
(212) 533-4466

Afternoon tea at this tea room invokes images of ladies wearing hats that would make the Queen of England proud. Immerse yourself at this Victorian decor and join these ladies who lunch or witness a beautiful bridal shower.

Le Pain Quotidien

East 80s,East 70s,East 60s,West 70s,Flatiron District/Union Square,SoHo - Little Italy
1131 Madison Ave. (bet. 84th & 85th Sts.)
New York, NY, 10028-0413
(212) 327-4900
100 Grand St. (bet. Greene & Mercer Sts.)
New York, NY, 10013-2659
(212) 625-9009
833 Lexington Ave. (bet. 63rd & 64th Sts.)
New York, NY, 10021
(212) 755-5810
38 E. 19th St. (bet. B'way & Park Ave. S.)
New York, NY, 10003-1314
(212) 673-7900
1336 First Ave. (bet. 71st & 72nd Sts.)
New York, NY, 10021
(212) 717-4800
50 W. 72nd St. (bet. Central Park W. & Columbus Ave.)
New York, NY, 10023-4132
(212) 712-9700

This Belgian bakery & cafe shines in their selection of bread and pastries. Stop in and take a seat at their communal tables and people watch while enjoying the treats.

Grey Dog's Coffee
33 Carmine St. (bet. Bedford & Bleecker Sts.) Greenwich Village
New York, NY, 10014-4428
(212) 462-0041

For those who need not be bothered, or the writing the next Harry Potter-the next Ms. J.K. Rowling, found in the West Village, this cafe is full of the Birkenstock wearing, nyc bohemians who will charm you with a good cup of coffee and generous sandwiches

Once Upon a Tart
135 Sullivan St. (bet. Houston & Prince Sts.) SoHo - Little Italy
New York, NY, 10012-3056
(212) 387-8869

Treat yourself into this fairy-tale of sweet things infamous for their buttermilk scones for a breakfast treat, just ignore the staff while dipping into a tasty gourmet sandwich or a sweet fruit tart

Cafe Lalo
201 W. 83rd St. (bet. Amsterdam Ave. & B'way) West 80s
New York, NY, 10024
(212) 496-6031

The menu is overwhelming and their coffee is divine. Just don't sit their with a rose and a copy of a Jane Austen classic hoping your Joe F-O-X comes waltzing into your life(from you got mail) Note you can sit outside on the benches away from the noisy people and enjoy the night air. We wished we had done that!

Ferrara
195 Grand St. (bet. Mott & Mulberry Sts.) East 40s,SoHo - Little Italy
New York, NY, 10013-3795
(212) 226-6150
363 Madison Ave. (bet. 45th & 46th Sts.)
New York, NY, 10017-3108
(212) 599-7800

One of the busiest joints and packed with tourists in Little Italy, but another landmark circa 1892 brings the Italian staples of pastries. Indulge in their authentic cannolis, biscottis, and sweets and enjoy the coffee or tea with you choice.

Serendipity 3East 60s
225 E. 60th St. (bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves.)
New York, NY, 10022-1498
(212) 838-3531

From the movie of the same name-this kitschy dessert wonderland. Part toy store and part 90's version of the soda fountain, grab a meal here and top it off with their tantalizing desserts or frozen hot chocolates. Just remember that the lines are long and the prices are not kind. And the Corner has Dylan Candy owned and runned by the Ralph Lauren Empire- well his daughter's pet project!

Edgar's Cafe
255 W. 84th St. (bet. B'way & West End Ave.) West 80s
New York, NY, 10024-4321
(212) 496-6126

Paying tribute to Edgar Allen Poe, stroll into Edgar's Cafe and be prepared to reach the local sanctuary of your New Yorker. Come here to get away from the hustle and the bustle and try their desserts and enjoy a lazy afternoon pondering where the cocoa bean comes from.

La Lanterna di Vittorio
Greenwich Village
129 MacDougal St. (bet. W. 3rd & W. 4th Sts.)
New York, NY, 10012-1076
(212) 529-5945

A cute date place to drop in for desserts and a fireplace. Their food doesn't mark highly for those who look past the fireplace on a wintry day.

That is my list of Cute Sweet Places Day or Night in NYC!!