NYC Guide 2022

TravelLifestyleFood and Bev

Apr 7

Written By Taylor St. Claire

Covid has unfortunately closed some of my favorite restaurants.

After a few recent visits, this is my updated list —

My Personal Favs —

Thursday Kitchen

Locanda Verde

Cafe Habana

Cecconi’s

RH Rooftop

Don Angie’s

Maison Premiere

Dominique Ansel

Cotenna

HOTELS

Greenwich Hotel
The Ludlow
Nomo Soho
The Bowery
Highline Hotel - Dog friendly
Williamsburg Hotel
1 Hotel Brooklyn
The Hoxton Brooklyn

Coffee

Cha Cha Matcha

Cafe Leon Dore - Overhyped Instagram spot

Felix Roasting Co - Gorgeous interiors

Maman - Yummy pastries & choc chip cookies

Mud

Matchabar

Ralph’s - Ralph Lauren’s spot

Variety Coffee Roasters - UES

Breakfast

Bubby’s - worth the wait. Yummy pancakes

Carthage Must Be Destroyed - Williamsburg, cute interiors

Good Thanks

Jack’s Wife Freda

Maman

Two Hands - Aussie spot

Sunday in Brooklyn

Gran Electrica - Mexican food

Sadelle’s - bougie bagel spot

Broken Coconut - instagrammy acai spot

brunch/lunch

Cafe Habana - tiny cuban spot, get the tostones, tacos & a frozen marg

Ruby’s - Aussie cafe, yummy burgers & sweet potato fries

Sonny Boy

Egg Shop - incredible breakfast sandwich

Miznon - Israeli food in the Chelsea Market

Restoration Hardware Rooftop - make a res, this place has a gorgeous rooftop patio

The Butchers Daughter - Plant Based

Clinton Street Baking Co

Boathouse in Central Park - gorgeous setting, & has been in tons of movies

Shake Shack - fast-food chain for a quick burger & milkshake

The Smith - Super basic, but the mac & cheese & smores dessert are good

Dinner classics

Gramercy Tavern

Cecconi’s - get a table outside for the best views of the city

Balthazar

Cafe Cluny

Dante

The Polo Bar

Maison Pickle

JG Melon - Incredible burger

Mercer Kitchen

Charlie Bird - Incredible Pasta. The chef used to be Beyonce’s personal chef. Need I say more?

Dirty French - bougie french spot by the same people from Carbone

Burger Joint - no frills, burger spot, cash only hidden in the parker hotel

Italian

Locanda Verde - restaurant in the Greenich hotel. Some of my all time favorite pastas.

Cotenna - hole in the wall with yummy pastas

Barbuto - Chicken & kale salad!!

Don Angies - get the lasagna.

Lilia - Brooklyn, every pasta is incredible.

Misi - Same restaurant group as Lilia, but easier to get into

Pasta Louise - Park Slope, pasta shop & restaurant, adorable outdoor summer dining

Rubirosa - One of my fav pizza spots in the city. Get the tie-dye pizza.

Lil’ Frankies - incredible spaghetti limone

Pasquale Jones - pizza, pasta + foccacia

Carbone - overhyped but the spicy pasta really is sooo good. Make a late-night res to be seated next to your fav celeb

Pietro Nolita - insta heaven, all pink tiny restaurant but the pasta & cocktails are goooood.

Emmy Squared - Chicago style pizza

Prince St. Pizza - pizza by the slice, worth the wait

Emily - known for their pizza, but the burgers are also bomb

Roberta’s - Brooklyn Pizza spot - get the bee sting.

Bar Primi - yummy pasta - even at brunch time

Bar Pitti - good pasta, go for the people watching

Lucali - Tiny pizza spot, line up at 5 PM, put your name on the list & grab a drink around the corner. BYOB. A Beyoncé favorite…

Il Buco - celeb hot spot

Paulie Gee’s - pizza spot

Motorino - locals pizza spot

Mexican

Tacombi - multiple locations, cheap tacos, cute interiors

Los Tacos No. 1 - Chelsea market taco stand

La Esquina - fast-casual taco stand on the street with a sceney hidden, reservation-only tequila bar & restaurant downstairs

Borrachito - taco stand by the Garret group

Oxomoco - brroklyn spot with cute cocktails & interiors

Taco Dumbo

Gitano - super cute outdoor spot only open late spring-summer

Lupe’s - cute interiors

Asian

Thursday Kitchen - one of my favorite spots in NY. Do not skip. Get the edamame dumplings, steak, & gnocchi + a light-up Capri Sun style cocktail. Put your name on the list & grab a drink around the corner

Mokyo - sister property of Thursday Kitchen, if you can’t get in there, go to Mokyo, its right around the corner

Mimi Chengs - incredible dumplings

The Dumpling Shop

Momofoku Noodle Bar

UpThai

Dessert

Dominique Ansel - they invented the cronut, go for the chocolate chip cookie shot & get a few cookies to go. They are the best in the city

Doughnuttery - mini donut spot in the Chelsea Market

Magnolia Bakery - famous bakery, get the banana pudding

Milk Bar - all over the city, yummy “cereal milk” froyo, cookies & cake truffles

Emack & Bolios - Ice Cream shop with custom cones

Laduree - bougie french macaron shop

Baked by Melissa - craveable mini cupcakes

Little Cupcake Bakeshop - I like the rice Krispy treats here better than the cupcakes

Levain - massive cookies, worth the wait

Morganstern’s - the best ice cream in the city

Van Leeuwen - Vegan Ice cream

Bon Bon - cute candy shop

Rooftops

RH Rooftop - make a res!

Broken Shaker - tropical bar, fun in the summer

Mr. Purple

The Roof at the Public

230 Fifth - fun igloos in the winter

Westlight

Dumbo House

Drinks

Maison Premiere - incredible cocktails & oysters in Brooklyn

Dante - pretty cocktails

B’Artusi - bar by the L’Artusi group

The Flower Shop - 70s bar

The Garret

Grand Banks / Pilot - Oyster bar on a docked boat, only open in the summer

Cocteleria - by the Garret group

Apotheke - super cool cocktails

Bar Belly - cute interiors

Marlton Hotel Bar - cool patio

Goodnight Sonny - Oysters & cocktails

Bandits - diner vibes, cute parklet

Mister Paradise

Bar Blondeau - formerly Lemons at the Wythe hotel

Peachy’s

Short Stories

The Clocktower at the Edition

Happiest Hour - drinks are ok, interiors are super cute

Lovers of Today - tiny bar, fun vibes

Food Halls

Eately

Chelsea Market - right by the Highline, some cool restaurants inside & food booths, & then if you go right outside & walk the Highline to the left there are some cool hidden restaurants and food booths as an extension to the Chelsea market that have super nice outdoor seating views. In the market, go to Doughnuttery to make your own mini donuts & Miznon for lunch.

Dekalb Food Hall

The Plaza Food Hall

Things to do

Chelsea Market

The Met

1 World Trade Center - go to the top before sunset to get pics of the sun & watch all of the lights come on in the city.

The Moma

The Whitney

The Brooklyn Museum

Museum of Natural History

Fotografiska

Winter Village at Bryant Park

Central Park - Gapstow bridge has gorgeous views of the city. There’s a cute Alice in Wonderland sculpture in the park. There’s a zoo you can quickly walk through. Bethesda Fountain is where all of the movies film in the park. If it’s nice out you will see people sailing mini sailboats (like in Stuart Little) at the Conservatory Water

Rockefeller Center Ice Rink

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

Shop in SOHO, West Village, & Meat Packing district

Casa Magazines, Iconic Magazine & Casa Magazines are my three fav mag shops in the city

The Edge - tallest building with cool views

Little Island - make a res, or go before noon to beat the crowds