NYC Restaurant Reviews

Our New York City restaurant reviews

Speakeasy Apotheke, Chinatown, NYC: Stop on Doyer Street Crawl

Having noticed that the other Apotheke locations take reservations, I had been emailing Emilio, General Manager, about a res when I mentioned I was coming in for a birthday drink with a friend. I asked whether they offered a sparkler in one of their unique cocktails, but he didn't respond. I wondered how he'd handle it, so I didn't email again! He didn't, but Abby, our lovely waitress at — according to Architectural Digest—one of the "Best Speakeasies in the US," did. Their 2020 book, "Apotheke: Modern Medicinal Cocktails" describes the establishment as "the original New York City cocktail apothecary that applies mixology to the world of plant science wellness." [...]

By |2024-12-28T10:49:08-05:00January 19th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Speakeasys|0 Comments
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A New Chef at Le Rivage, Theatre District, NYC

Chef de Cuisine David Cámara, a veteran of Vin Sur Vingt, has recently taken over the kitchen of Le Rivage, and I was invited to sample his cuisine. We arrived one December night at a tastefully decorated dining room. From 4 pm to 7:30 pm, Le Rivage offers a three-course prix-fixe dinner ($70) To join in the festivities, we ordered some bubbly. When they served the Pommery POP Extra Dry champagne ($25) in individual splits, I asked for straws, recalling a press event where they had served it that way. Do try it, as the effervescence is more intense. While sipping the sparkling, we devoured the piquillo peppers ($18) stuffed [...]

By |2025-01-17T11:21:33-05:00January 17th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Baar Baar, Lower East Side, NYC + Wicked

My friend asked me to join her for comp cocktails and a meal at Baar Baar, an Indian gastro pub with a modern yet rustic approach to contemporary Indian cuisine. The restaurant is walking distance from where we saw Part I of  Wicked at the local AMC with their comfy reclining chairs! We began sampling their unusual cocktails, with my friend sampling their Anarkali made with gin, Aperol, housemade rose cordial and Prosecco and the Hera Pheri with clarified Mezcal, orange liqueur and spicy guava chutney. We nibbled the assorted papad and crisps, along with three homemade chutneys including mango and tomatillo chundo, chili and peanut and mint cilantro ($15). [...]

By |2024-12-15T14:51:25-05:00January 15th, 2025|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Holiday Luncheon at Central Park Boathouse, NYC

Our ex-expat planning team always gets together for a festive holiday luncheon to enjoy each other's company at one of New York's festively decorated restaurants. This year, we enjoyed the lake views from the glass-windowed room at the Central Park (formerly Loeb) Boathouse. We nibbled on the olives, cucumbers and hummus while we perused the wine list and menu. We each ordered a glass of wine to accompany our meal ($17 - $20); two of us selected the crab cake ($40) and another the branzino ($38). Fry-lovers, we added one serving we all shared ($12). I highly recommend visiting the Boathouse for a peaceful escape in the heart of New [...]

By |2024-12-15T14:06:31-05:00January 13th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Pete’s Tavern, Gramercy, NYC + Bryant Park Ice Skating

One chilly day this winter, we walked around the shops at Bryant Park before bravely donning ice skates for a few spins around the rink. We then walked downtown to the oldest continuously operating restaurant and bar in NYC. It opened in 1864. At that time, Pete's was a “grocery and grog store,” the first drinking establishment on the main floor of the Portman Hotel. Today, it's a popular tavern that goes overboard with festive holiday decorations. We thankfully were in the back room to enjoy our food while being able to hear each other. Instead of ordering a full meal, we picked some apps as they had nibbled at [...]

By |2024-12-15T14:50:47-05:00January 11th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Mahjong at Siena Cafe, UES, NYC

I headed to Siena Cafe for the afternoon to play Mahjong. We had lunch, too. The new group I joined as part of NYC Women (a new iteration of the Manhattan Women's Club) met frequently at this Upper East Side location. It's a cute place with attentive service. I sampled their eggplant rollatini appetizer ($12), a portion large enough to be satiated and take half home. My friendly waiter gladly added additional sauce for my reheating. Others sampled their giant meatballs ($12), plentiful chicken panini ($12), layered salmon tartare ($15), flavorful truffle risotto ($14) and Siena Ceasar salad ($13) before starting our tile play. If you're in the neighborhood, I [...]

By |2024-12-15T14:50:33-05:00January 7th, 2025|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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**Happy Hour at Haven Rooftop, Theatre District, NYC + Left on Tenth

I had a crazy day, with a funeral uptown to picking up a friend after their medical procedure on First Avenue, so instead of heading downtown to my home, I stopped in Haven Rooftop for a glass of wine before meeting my friend at "Left on Tenth."  Julianna Margulies is on stage in Delia Ephron’s memoir about reconnection and love. I recommend. Lucky me, it was happy hour from 4 to 6 pm. I sipped a glass of their cabernet ($9) and enjoyed the slider ($6) and the cauliflower bites ($12) both of which   I would recommend. Skip the bready spring rolls ($12) Happy Hour details as of 11.26.2024 Hours:  [...]

By |2025-04-14T08:00:07-04:00January 5th, 2025|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, Midtown, NYC

I first ate at Pera with a Turkish friend fifteen years ago and have frequented it both up and downtown. I hadn't returned to the midtown one in ages. This time, I went with a friend after the fabulous multi-media event at the Morgan Library about the life of Bella Costa Greene. Safa, our server, offered us a sip of the medium-bodied Greek Assyrtiko Moschopolis ($58) before we ordered a bottle to accompany our trio of dips ($19). Pita chips accompany the hummus, smoked eggplant and spicy pepper muhammara. Pita bread costs extra. The skewered marinated chicken breast shashlik arrived overcooked yet flavorful ($26). The fries, though, were perfectly crisp [...]

By |2024-11-28T11:42:21-05:00January 3rd, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Essential by Christophe, Upper West Side, NYC

Standing on the subway platform after Kevin Draper's lecture "The Second Toughest Job in the World: A History of New York City Mayors, 1700-1950" at New York Historical (no longer Society!) to grab the B downtown, I met this adorable, perky woman. We started talking about restaurants and squeezed in lots before one of us got off the B train. She mentioned working at the Michelin-starred Essential by Christopher and said I had to try it. I convinced a friend to join me at the inviting bar to sample some Chef Christophe Bellanca's dishes. The restaurant started us with an amuse bouche that I thought needed a touch of color. That [...]

By |2024-11-29T09:31:20-05:00January 1st, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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An UWS find: Harvest American Bistro + New York Historical

If you haven't heard, the New York Historical Society has dropped "society" to become New York Historical. A change they think is more welcoming. Go figure! We bought tickets to their lecture, "American Chefs: From the White House to Julia Child, " but we didn't get the lecture. Instead, we had a delightful evening hearing Julia Child's "grand-nephew" (Not the heir kind of nephew — one who is the grandson of her husband Paul's grandfather's twin brother.) Paul Prud'homme regaled us with stories about the White House, Presidents and his great aunt's tales, all from his recent book, "Dinner with the President." Afterward, we walked down Columbus past the newly opened [...]

By |2024-12-30T03:08:03-05:00December 30th, 2024|Big Apple Life, Foodie Interviews, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Japanese Restaurant Momoya SoHo, Soho, NYC

The Japanese restaurant Momoya recently opened a sleek new incarnation in SoHo at 47 Prince Street, corner of Mulberry Street. This is the third, more upscale location of this Japanese restaurant. As their guests, we were celebrating a birthday and started with three of their apps, including lots of cooked items and sushi. We nibbled on their organic edamame with sea salt ($10), crispy chunks of karaage, and the Japanese fried chicken ($15) with a spicy sesame-mayo. I'd skip their delicious-sounding fried spring roll ($13) filled with lobster, fish cake, jalapeños and shiitakes as we found that the cheese in this didn't work. At least for us. We did enjoy [...]

By |2024-12-28T08:50:02-05:00December 28th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Osteria Nonnino, West Village, NYC

I always like trying new places, especially friend's favorites. When I asked, my floormate shared Osteria Nonnino, her favorite West Village restaurant. It's an inviting Italian place with large glass windows on the corner of Hudson and Horatio.  I decided to try it. I arrived early and witnessed a tableside preparation of tiramisu for my neighbors, who were so close it was as if we shared a table.  Yes, the tables are very close along the banquette. The server poured fresh espresso over housemade ladyfingers in a small au gratin dish, topped it with creamy mascarpone and sprinkled it with cocoa powder. I knew what we'd have for dessert! Once [...]

By |2024-11-17T07:45:08-05:00December 26th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Rosemary’s, West Village, NYC

Rosemary's on Greenwich Avenue in the West Village was convenient as it is halfway between us. We started with their Point Judith calamari fritti ($19), with garlic aioli lemon, requesting some Pomodoro sauce to dip. They heated some just for us, delivering it as we had almost finished the squid. With that, we enjoyed gratis focaccia ($9). Next, we each ordered one of their pasta, realizing after being served that we could have easily shared as the portions were large. This gave us each lunch for the following day to take home. I do recommend both their rigatoni all arrabbiata ($22) topped with burrata and Calabrian chilies and their linguine [...]

By |2024-12-24T08:16:31-05:00December 24th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Rosa Mexicano, Lincoln Center, NYC + Robert Downey Jr. in McMeal

After seeing Robert Downey Jr. in McMeal at Lincoln Center Theatre, we crossed the street to grab a bite at Rosa Mexicano. The show is Ayad Akhtar’s new play, which closed in November, about a literary icon who gets assistance from AI. The subject matter reminded me of Glenn Close in The Wife. With five of us, we started with a double portion of their tableside guac ($32)— served with warm corn tortilla chips and roasted tomato salsa—and margies, with one ordering the frozen blood orange ($16). Being hungry, I overindulged in the guac and chips! Four of us then shared two orders of the roasted half chicken ($31) with sautéed [...]

By |2024-12-20T09:51:09-05:00December 20th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Raku It’s Japanese II + American Museum of Natural History

On my granddaughter's last full day, we started at the planetarium show inside the American Museum of Natural History, where we watched the awe-inspiring Worlds Beyond Earth, featuring scenes depicting the evolution of our solar system. The program told the story of the worlds that share our solar system and the unique conditions that make life on Earth possible. Afterward, we headed to the Davis Family Butterfly Vivariuam, which has 80 species of butterflies among lush vegetation in tropical temperatures. Both exhibits are time-ticketed. After leaving the museum, we walked down Columbus Avenue until we tripped over the Upper West Side Raku. It's Japanese II, as they all wanted ramen. We [...]

By |2024-11-10T11:03:29-05:00December 14th, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Lunch Bargain at Fogo de Chao, Midtown, NYC + Rockefeller Center Tour

A midtown lunch for $20. Yes, I am talking about New York City! If you haven't yet tried Fogo de Chao's Market Table for lunch, I highly recommend. During the day, the continually re-filled market table costs a mere $20; at dinner, almost twice as much as they prefer, you indulge in the Churrascaria, as it's a Brazilian steakhouse offering a selection of roasted meats. A larger group of us headed there for lunch after a wonderfully informative tour of Rockefeller Center's sights and stories, learning about the rich history and architecture of the 12-acre campus. The photos of the market table say it all with their fresh and roasted [...]

By |2024-11-10T11:03:21-05:00December 10th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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New Mikado, Chelsea, NYC

After taking my granddaughter to The Lion King, her first Broadway show, we headed downtown to New Mikado, a Japanese restaurant, as she had requested salmon sushi for dinner. We started with appetizers of tasty pork, shrimp and snow crab dumplings topped with caviar ($20 for four), which I'd recommend. We also got lucky with some items' pricing as it was still happy hour. Our edamame cost $1, the cucumber salad with sesame sauce only $3 and the white wine only $5.  Oddly, our edamame, although good, were unsalted and chilled. Also tasty and not at happy hour pricing is their West 14 ($12), a blend of milk tea and rice wine. [...]

By |2024-12-05T07:28:18-05:00December 4th, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Colossal Sundae at Serendipity, Midtown, NYC

My 7-year-old granddaughter had just arrived in the city from Den Haag. Before flying across the pond, she had studied Serendipity's menu with her parents to decide which treat to indulge in. She chose the unicorn bliss sundae that contained rainbow-striped cake, confetti sprinkles, a sugar cone, ice cream, cherries, whipped cream and cream cheese icing. Since Serendipity has a minimum, we ordered food—not something I'd recommend. We ordered one footlong ($18.95) with French fries, another footlong topped with mac n' cheese ($25.95) and their unremarkable nachos with Tex Mex chili, queso, jalapeños and pico de gallo with added guac ($22.45). We didn't eat much, so most of the food [...]

By |2024-11-10T11:03:00-05:00December 2nd, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Cafe Luxembourg, Upper West Side, NYC

My Upper West Side friends always raved about Cafe Luxembourg, but I only recently got there. I should have gone when it was in its heyday. We sat outside on an unseasonably warm day and had difficulty getting our server's attention, who was more interested in flirting with one of the other waitstaff. When we finally did, we ordered cocktails to enjoy while we caught up, as my dining partner was in from Florida to meet her new grandchild.  I loved my Better than Bond, a stirred, not shaken, blend of Hendrick's gin, Tito's vodka and Lillet Blanc; my friend tried their Luxembourg Manhattan made with Bulleit bourbon, Antica Formula [...]

By |2024-11-30T11:36:58-05:00November 30th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Orso, Theatre District, NYC + The Counter

Orso on Theatre Row was one of my go-to's when I lived in Connecticut and came into the city to the theatre. The food was consistently good, and I often saw a celebrity at a table. We started with a white pizza topped with fennel sausage, romano and mozzarella cheese, sprinkled with rosemary ($24). It could have been our meal! I had their rigatoni with a bolognese meat sauce ($28) and my dining partner, the sauteed calf's liver with fried onions ($32). Sadly, nothing stays the same. The service was lackluster, but the food was fine. I loved that they still served on a beautifully painted Italian terra cotta dinnerware. [...]

By |2024-11-26T07:45:06-05:00November 26th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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