NYC Restaurant Reviews

Our New York City restaurant reviews

Elegant dinner at Chef Michael White’s Santi, Midtown, NYC

My birthday celebrations began with a dinner at Michael White's newest iteration, Santi, an Italian restaurant off Madison Avenue. As you expect with him at the helm, the service is outstanding. I smiled seeing the table placecard that greeted us with a "Happy Birthday." Our amuse-bouche was a spoonful of mozzarella and fresh peaches.  From there, we started our feast, sampling so much of the menu that I had lots of leftovers to take home. Our apps included two tasty creations from the sea: a warm seafood salad with Ligurian olives, tomatoes, and bottarga ($36), and a crispy soft-shell crab with ramp aioli and a pomodoro verde ($39). With that, [...]

By |2025-06-28T10:39:42-04:00July 17th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Lunch at Jean George’s The Fulton, South Street Seaport, NYC

On one of the overcast, damp June days, we headed to South Street Seaport for lunch at Jean-Georges The Fulton. We had hoped to dine on the patio but instead sat inside, overlooking the harbor. The food was attractively presented, the service was outstanding, but I felt something was missing. Oh, everything was tasty, but just missing the finesse of making the flavors perfect, as usual in Jean-Georges' dishes. For starters, we shared the unusual and tasty fresh mozzarella and warm octopus with lemon zest ($32) and the Long Island fluke in a spicy habanero vinaigrette ($19). We paired these dishes and our entrees with a Sancerre, Domaine Pierre Martin, [...]

By |2025-07-15T06:30:25-04:00July 15th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at Bobo Rooftop, West Village, NYC

Bobos occupies several floors of a 1930s townhouse in the West Village, located at the corner of 10th Street and Seventh Avenue. The venue features a covered rooftop lounge where we celebrated two June birthdays. We chose their "boozy brunch" option ($28), which includes unlimited drinks for one hour with the purchase of an entrée. The drink choices included Bloody Marys, Dubonnet Spritz, Mimosas, or white sparkling wine. Three out of the four of us decided to sample all the drink options. To start, we enjoyed their tender, crispy artichokes served with a béarnaise sauce—definitely not to be missed. Three of us indulged in delicious cheeseburgers topped with Comté cheese [...]

By |2025-07-13T07:28:25-04:00July 12th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Spice Symphony, UES, NYC + UN Gardens

One friend who works at the UN was able to take us on a visit to the gardens. These impressive gardens feature numerous unique statues and monuments, all of which are open to the public through guided tours. After our outing, we walked west towards Third Avenue to Spice Symphony, an Indian restaurant offering a prix fixe lunch. They served us spicy samosas as an amuse-bouche while we browsed the menu options. One of my dining partners ordered their hearty portion of paneer ($20), while another opted for the shrimp salad, which came with five large shrimp ($17). Three of us tried the pre-plated lunch, priced from $16 (vegetarian) to $20, [...]

By |2025-06-13T08:55:54-04:00July 9th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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**Happy Hour at Mermaid Inn, Times Square, NYC + John Proctor, The Villain

We grabbed a bite during The Mermaid Inn's Times Square happy hour, as my theatre-going friends are oyster lovers. That and it was close to the theatre where we were heading to the Tony-winning play, John Proctor the Villain, which I would recommend.  During happy hour, the restaurant offers the chef's choice of oysters for $2 each, with a minimum of six.  In addition to the oysters, we tried the fried calamari ($11), which was almost entirely composed of fried coating. I'd skip the lobster roll ($26), as it the crustacean wasn't very fresh. What I'd recommend is the country-fried free-range chicken, served with jalapeño cheddar cornbread and braised collard greens, [...]

By |2025-06-28T10:39:29-04:00July 7th, 2025|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Tang by Mr Sun, UES, NYC + Met Opening Superfine of Tailoring Black Style

After the Met opening of the Superfine of Tailoring Black Style, exploring the importance of black fashion, the five of us walked east to Tang by Mr Sun on Third Avenue as we were hungry. At the opening, the only food available was small paper bags filled with either pretzels or potato chips. We ordered a variety of apps as we were hungry. We started with the interesting presentation of red lychee shrimp balls ($16 for 5) on the arms of a special holder, where the server added water to dry ice at the base, and smoke appeared all around them. To that, we added chicken satay ($12 + $4 [...]

By |2025-07-05T07:42:38-04:00July 5th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at Catch, Meat Packing District, NYC + The Whitney: Amy Sherald: Four Ways of Being

Most museums in New York City offer free admission at some point. The Whitney Museum offers Free Friday Nights, Free Second Sundays and is free every day for those 25 and under. I took advantage of that second Sunday and met a friend there to see the Amy Sherald: Four Ways of Being exhibition. She's the artist who Michelle Obama commissioned to paint her portrait as First Lady, which is in the exhibit. After visiting the museum, we headed to the fourth-floor rooftop location of Catch. Sharing a little secret, if you go: the elevator button is difficult to find in the dark. We laughingly took out our iPhones for [...]

By |2025-07-05T07:46:55-04:00July 3rd, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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**Happy Hour at Aqua, Flatiron-Gramercy, NYC

A group of us met for happy hour at Aqua, a relatively new restaurant located in the former WeWork space on Broadway, which serves Italian and Japanese cuisine in a cavernous space. The one-star rating is not due to quality but rather because of the limited options. The sushi is good, with two options, attractively presented. I sampled their espresso martini ($12 for happy hour). One person had their cocktail special, a spicy passion fruit margarita, while others sipped the happy hour wines ($10). Like many websites, Aqua is not up-to-date with pricing. As of today, June 1, the cocktails are listed at $12; they're now $16. Happy Hour details [...]

By |2025-07-05T08:01:32-04:00July 1st, 2025|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Prix Fixe Lunch at The Palm, Theatre District, NYC

When I think of The Palm restaurant, I envision a humongous steak overlapping the plate. I also think of those walls adorned with fun caricatures of famous people. Recently, I discovered that this classic establishment now offers a "Power Lunch" featuring a three-course prix fixe menu for just $34. I visited with a friend to give it a try. We both began with an over-dressed Caesar salad and their wonderful bread basket, which included fresh-sliced bread, cheesy rolls, breadsticks, a pretzel roll (my favorite) and fresh butter. I highly recommend choosing their fresh options. My dining companion ordered the "Catch of the Day," which was a fabulous branzino served over [...]

By |2025-06-02T06:42:25-04:00June 26th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Pig & Khao, Lower East Side, NYC

NOTE: After visiting, we saw this notice online: "Our last day of service will be June 22." Both the UWS and Chesea (Piggyback) locations are open.  Earlier this year, my daughter-in-law raved about a Southeast Asian restaurant on the Lower East Side where she met a colleague when in town. I couldn't resist trying it, so I made a reservation with some friends I had met on a recent trip to Ecuador. We squeezed into a cozy corner booth, and right away, the atmosphere was lively and casual, with loud 90s hip-hop music playing in the background. I love the family-style dining experience, as it encourages sharing. Once we sipped our [...]

By |2025-06-30T16:01:33-04:00June 18th, 2025|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|2 Comments
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***Happy Hour Tao Uptown, Midtown, NYC

Our ex.expat New York group New York group began hosting happy hour gatherings on the first Wednesday of every month. This time, we chose the stylish Pan-Asian eatery, Tao Uptown. What we loved about this happy hour was the spacious lounge with comfortable seating, which made chatting much easier than sitting on bar stools. The highlight was their martini flights presented on a carousel, allowing you to choose three mini martinis for $15. The options included lemon drop, dirty martini, cosmopolitan, lychee martini and appletini. The only downside: the restaurant didn’t have enough holders or glasses, and servers would take them away as soon as one was finished. I would [...]

By |2025-06-01T06:58:01-04:00June 13th, 2025|Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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MAD Museum’s Robert Restaurant, Midtown West, NYC

After visiting and shopping at the fabulous MAD About Jewelry 2025,  the annual benefit awards celebration and sale of contemporary jewelry at the Museum of Art and Design, we took the elevator up for a quick lunch at Robert, located on the ninth floor. If you go, request a window seat with views of Columbus Circle and Central Park. Service is top notch in this quiet setting. We sipped the Pasqua, Rose, 11 Minutes, Treviso, Italy, 2023 ($55) while savoring our lunch. My dining partners enjoyed their toothsome pasta. One had the rigatoni ($25) with a pomodoro (tomato) sauce topped with artisanal ricotta and fresh basil, the other their penne [...]

By |2025-06-01T06:58:09-04:00June 11th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Joseph Leonard, West Village, NYC

"I'm in love! This place is a great find. The friendliest staff!" I texted my dining partner when I arrived at Joseph Leonard in the West Village. Each staff member greeted and welcomed me warmly to the restaurant. "That's the best table," Daly commented as he seated me window side on the upper bar level. He then proceeded to describe the menu items in mouthwatering terms. I couldn't wait. While waiting, I sipped their nectarous JL Old Fashioned ($19), a blend of rye, bourbon and—for the sweetness—amaro.  My dining partner started with a glass of rosé, the Famille Coulon 'Le Petit Renard' ($16), Rhône Valley, France 2024, grenache. Following Daly's [...]

By |2025-06-09T09:34:35-04:00June 9th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Birthday at Zizi, Chelsea, NYC

I had only been to ZiZi for their happy hour and liked what I tried when one friend suggested it as the location for a birthday gathering. Five of us went, starting with their $11 happy hour martinis! Remembering a wonderful lemon drop martini at Bar Hemingway in the Ritz Hotel in Paris years ago, I had to try the Motek Martini lemon drop one. Delicious. The five of us then shared some apps. After ordering, one server accidentally served us someone else's halloumi pesto and hummus and decided to leave it for us, which we devoured. After enjoying that, we shared the roasted cauliflower with lima beans ($16), crazy [...]

By |2025-06-07T08:11:41-04:00June 7th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Felicè 56, Midtown, NYC

A gathering of girlfriends took place at Felicè 56, which we discovered is regarded as one of the best Felices in Manhattan. At least, that's what we heard and experienced while dining with Italian royalty at this lower level location. Some of us had drinks while catching up. I recommend their Espresso Martini. Make sure to request their special pizzetta, which isn’t listed on the menu ($25). It's a small, pizza-like, unleavened bread, we ordered ours topped with prosciutto. I also recommend the fried baby artichokes and calamari ($25) as well as the baked eggplant parmigiana ($22). Management surprised us by sending out the Fusilli al Ferretto e Burrata ($29) [...]

By |2025-06-01T14:45:26-04:00June 5th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at Pascalou, Upper East Side, NYC + Conservatory Gardens

After meeting at the 86th Street subway entrance, we walked along Central Park to the 105th entrance to the Conservatory Gardens, passing from the formal French gardens to the more relaxed English gardens, both in full bloom. I highly recommend making this stroll. We headed downtown on Madison to find a place to grab a bite. Fortunately, we snagged a window seat (which had the best light for photos!) at the small split-level French bistro, Pascalou. We started with an Aperol Spritz and engaged in lots of conversation while sharing two delectable entrees. One, a bucheron goat cheese omelet, the other a ham and cheese quesadilla. Each came with two small [...]

By |2025-06-01T14:39:43-04:00June 3rd, 2025|City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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A Return to The Little Owl, West Village, NYC

Like many West Village restaurants,  The Little Owl is a cozy neighborhood gem; this one offers bold Mediterranean cuisine with friendly yet professional service. As the waiter began describing the soft-shell crab special, two of us lit up! We had to have it, sharing an entree portion with two crabs as our appetizer ($48), while our other dining companion enjoyed their rich onion soup topped with a Gruyère gratin ($19). With both, we three sipped their Garnacha ($76) Pegaso 'Zeta', Cebreros, Sierra de Gredos, Spain 2022, then shared the asparagus & mushroom risotto ($36) with roasted cherry tomatoes and the delicious zucchini ($18) and yellow squash. Two light and delicious [...]

By |2025-06-13T08:53:51-04:00June 1st, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC

I looked forward to what I remembered as authentic Southern cuisine before enjoying some great jazz and panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline at Dizzy's Club. The venue is located within Jazz at Lincoln Center, on the 5th floor of The Shops at Columbus Circle, not at Lincoln Center. When I visited  Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center a decade ago, the food from Great Performance Hospitality Group and the service were good, and the jazz was great. I had the same experience this time, although the minimum cover charge has increased to $21 per person per set, up from $10 a decade ago. We experienced the incredible "South African [...]

By |2025-06-01T16:58:58-04:00May 30th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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John Fraser’s Iris, Midtown, NYC + All-Schubert Program at Carnegie

Before heading to an All-Schubert Program, Piano Four Hands, at Carnegie Hall, we stopped at John Fraser's Mediterranean restaurant, Iris. At this Aegean restaurant, we chose an Assyrtiko white wine for our meal. Specifically, the Atma Assyrtiko, Macedonia, Greece 2022 ($98), a crisp white variety with notable acidity. My friends selected some items from the menu I hadn't noticed before, as at Iris, I often enjoy their mezze options with their incredible spicy lamb flatbread ($18), which we did, too. Their crispy veal sweetbreads came with chili-honey savoy cabbage with a pine nut gremolata ($30) and the two meaty, small—and quite bony—pepper-crusted quail ($32). Also tasty is the branzino fillet [...]

By |2025-05-27T09:06:47-04:00May 27th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Ci Siamo, Manhattan West, NYC – After A Walk on the Edge

The first time, a private event had locked us out of The Edge at Hudson Yards. We had spent the required amount ($40) at The Peak to secure free entry, but we talked too much. By the time we were ready, the party had already started. Their management promised us free entry upon return. It worked. We skipped the lines and walked right out onto that triangular point sticking out of the 101st floor of 30 Hudson Yards. It was a chilly spring day with incredible 360-degree visibility. Lucky us. We had escaped the line-up to get in, but for the first time I remember, we found ourselves queuing in [...]

By |2025-05-27T08:45:51-04:00May 23rd, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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