Hello! this post is one I’ve been cooking up for a little while, pardon the pun, and am so excited to post it. As I mentioned in my latest catch up, Luke and I took a trip to New York at the end of May, and we haven’t stopped day dreaming about it since, especially the food, Oh My God. NYC food really is something else. So, it’s only right that I share some of the absolute gems that we stumbled upon whilst we were in the big apple, in case any of you might be interested or planning a trip there yourself. It’s alway’s good to have some recommendations in your pocket! And none of them were particularly expensive either. It’s not all about the food though, there’s obviously so much to see and take in when you’re in New York, so I wanted to jot down our overall highlights and share some pics, but those will come in a later post, as quite frankly it would be too much of a whopper once I’ve finished talking about all the incredible food and drink!
Trigger warning- don’t read if hungry. Continue at your own risk….
Bars and Restaurants
The Ragtrader
W. 36th between 5th & 6th Av.
First on my list is a spot that has become a special one for us to remember, as the night we ate here for dinner was the night we got engaged- hence the champagne (we aren’t usually that boujee!). It was close to our hotel and we just stumbled across it looking for somewhere to celebrate, and it turned out perfectly. We both had the most delicious Neapolitan style pizzas and shared a bottle of fizz, and it was the perfect way for us to celebrate. There was loads of choice on the menu from what I can remember, and the staff were super lovely, so it’s definitely somewhere I’d recommend checking out for a reasonably priced dinner in a swanky-feeling spot in midtown!
The place was decorated really suave, a real dark and moody whisky bar vibe, and they also have a piano and cocktail bar called BoPeep downstairs which looked really fun! Although we were both absolutely exhausted as it was our first full day in New York, and we spent the entire day walking the entirety of Central Park in 33 degree heat, and all the excitement of getting engaged took it’s toll on us once we had devoured the pizza and champagne, it was time to trot back to our hotel for some sleep.
Barn Joo
W. 35th between 5th & 6th Av.
Ok, I think this was our all time favourite meal from the entire trip. Honestly, incredible. I didn’t take any pics of the food as we were both so hungry that it really didn’t stand a chance of waiting around. I did, however, make sure to snap the napkin so I would remember the name of the place. This Korean restaurant was right across the street from our hotel, but we did see another in Chelsea when we were walking around, so I think there is a few of them in Manhattan. The dining experience was true Manhattan style, a long and thin restaurant where the tables are all squished in right next to one another, but such a great atmosphere and the tastiest food. Service was super quick too which is always great when you’re hungry! We ordered tapas-style small plates to share and try a variety of dishes like dumplings, spicy chicken and sushi- and it was honestly the best sushi I’ve ever had in my life. SO. GOOD.
If you like that kind of food then I beg you to try Barn Joo if you go to New York. It was one of the highlights of our entire trip and we will definitely be eating there again next time we go, it’s a credit to the NYC food reputation for sure.
Love Korean BBQ
5th Av, corner of W. 32nd
This was a bit of an odd-ball, and unlike anywhere I’ve ever eaten before. It was almost like a club as there was a DJ at the door with tunes blasting throughout the restaurant, along with disco lighting, it was a bit of a vibe. There was ling wooden bench style tables to share with big hot plates in the middle, and it looked pretty great for the bigger groups who ordered a wide variety and were cooking their own meats on the hot plates. It’s a real immersive cooking/ flavour/ party experience! We don’t eat beef so the hot plate was off for us, but we had teriyaki chicken noodles and grilled shrimp with rice and veg, and it was really delicious! It wasn’t what I was expecting, again we just stumbled across it late one night, but it’s definitely one I’ll remember for sure!
The Liberty NYC
W. 35th between 5th & 6th Av.
The is a sports bar we visited a few times as it was near our hotel, the atmosphere was really chilled but fun, and the frozen margaritas were a serious 10/10 which had me hooked. We had happy hours here – hence why Luke is double parked in the picture! And we ate dinner here too one night and it was really, really good food! Portions were mammoth, we ordered calamari expecting the tiny dishes you’d get in the UK with about 10 pieces on, and it turned up as a full sized plate with a huge mound of calamari on! I think if you stumble across a good sports bar or ‘Dive’ bar in New York , it’s one that you’ll keep going back to. The staff, again, were lovely to chat too which is a common theme in New York for sure!
Copper John’s
W. 54th, between 6th & 7th Av.
I don’t have any pictures from this one, but it was another bar we stumbled across, I think it was to get a break from the heat one day from Central Park and enjoy some air con over lunch! It’s an Irish pub with a really chilled vibe, but the food was surprisingly good. I had a grilled salmon salad, and it was 10/10, possibly the tastiest grilled salmon I’ve had! Another credit to NYC Food!
Turntable Chicken Jazz
W.33rd between 5th & 6th Av.
This place is right opposite the bottom of the Empire State Building, and was where we found ourself on the first night wen we arrived in New York. After a full day of travelling, chicken burgers and chips totally hit the spot for us. The portions were beyond huge which I don’t think you can really grasp from the picture- there were honestly about 5 pieces of grilled chicken on the burger stack! All washed down with a fresh homemade lemonade which was an absolute dream.
The Harold
W. 32nd on Broadway.
You can’t go to America and not have a pancake stack for breakfast, right? So we went on a hunt one morning and ended up at The Harold, which was a really cute and chic little café/ restaurant in Herald Square . The coffee was STRONG compared to what we are used to, which was a definite shock to the system. But the pancakes were beautifully fluffy and delicious, and exactly what we were looking for. The best of NYC food when it comes to breakfast time potentially!
Street Food and Snacks
Takumi Taco
Chelsea markets- 9th Av
This was another of the NYC food highlights for us for sure. Luke and I are a little bit obsessed with Mexican food, and are big fans of Japanese too, so when we laid eyes on the Mexican-Japanese fusion joint in Chelsea Market, we knew we had to go for it. We had nachos which were absolutely divine, covered in the freshest salsa and guacamole you’ve ever tried. And then we shared a bento box of tacos, tortillas and a bean salsa. It was all so fresh and divine. had a taco filled with a Japanese lentil curry and I’ve thought about it on multiple occasions since. Chelsea Market had so many street food places to chose from and I wish we had a chance to try a load more of them, but Takumi Taco definitely didn’t disappoint!
Giant Pizza Slices
All over NYC.
There’s no specific place to recommend here, as there must be thousands to choose from that are virtually the same. But this is another ‘when in Rome’ moment on the NYC food scene, especially if you’re a pizza lover like me.
I like to keep it simple when it comes to pizza, you just need the right herbs on there to make it a banging slice. We grabbed a giant slice for lunch or a snack a few times and each time was simply great. Cheap and cheerful and delicious.
Dough Donuts
W. 19th between 5th & 6th Av.
Can you go to New York and not have donuts? I think it may actually be criminal, so we made sure we had a few, the best of which was definitely these absolute beasts from Dough. We found this place whilst pottering around the Flatiron district on our last day before we travelled home. It smelt amazing so we were drawn in straight away. They had a counter full of different flavours and you could see through the glass screen through to the huge kitchen where they were all being made fresh which maddest even more enticing. They also had a lot of Vegan options too which Is nice to see so this is definitely one for the list if you’re vegan!
I opted for a lemon & poppyseed donut which is a flavour I’ve never thought about in conjunction with donuts before, but I can confirm it was pretty delicious. Luke went for a coffee flavoured one which was dreamy too. They were massive though, you could probably get away with sharing one between 2 people, but when in Rome, hey?
La Bagel Delight at Dumbo
Front Street, Brooklyn
Another absolute must when it comes to NYC food, everyone needs to try a a New York bagel. We went to La Bagel Delight in Brooklyn. There were queues out of the door which is always a good sign, and especially when we realised they were all local New Yorkers. We both had grilled cheese, egg and turkey bagels, which we got to take away and went and headed over to the benches at the edge of Bridge Park right underneath the Manhattan bridge. We tucked into the bagels there, and again, 10/10 for tastiness, 11/10 for portion size, as with all NYC food, it seems, it was too big for me to finish.
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn
I won’t waffle on about an ice cream cone too much, but all I’ll say is I’m not really an ice cream fan, I only ever go for it when it looks like top-tier ice cream… and I can confirm that this place definitely qualified. I had the coffee flavour which was pretty epic.
There’s a lovely little courtyard out the front of the stall to sit and eat your ice creams with a stunning view of Brooklyn bridge, as well as a lot of beautiful old Brooklyn buildings too which really can’t be beaten.
Chip City
Rockefeller Centre
We found this by literally following our noses on the way down from the Top of the Rock viewpoint. Something smelt INCREDIBLE and we were just adamant we would find the source. And there it was, Chip City, serving up huge, fresh and gooey chocolate chip cookies. They were huge, as you’d expect in New York, with a nice crunch on the outside but a soft warm cookie dough centre scattered with gooey chocolate chips. Honestly believe me when I tell you that these were out of this world. I recently watched them get a shout out in Emma Chamberlain’s recent video too which brought it all back. So. Good.
Coffee
Starbucks Reserve Roastery
9th Av, corner of W 15th
Somewhere I’d heard about online, and I know there is only a few of these in the world so I wanted to give it a chance. It was a true Starbucks wonderland inside, and was so much bigger than I was expecting. You could see all the coffee beans going through their roasting journey and through the pipework over to the counter to serve which was pretty cool. It was huge. I would definitely recommend going if you’re a coffee lover. They even have a little bar upstairs on a mezanine level where you can oversee the whole process whilst sipping on an espresso martini. And the coffee was great too of course.
Joe Coffee
All over NYC
We picked up a Joe coffee a few times whilst walking around and it was great and it was simply a really tasty coffee. I meant to pick up a bag of beans to bring home before we let and I’m gutted that I totally forgot.
I also gave the one of their many flavoured iced teas and blueberry breakfast muffin a go too which were delicious. All of the Joe Coffee’s we went to were always really busy so I think it’s definitely a popular spot for locals too!
Culture Espresso
W. 38th St between 5th & 6th Av.
This was a quick breakfast and coffee pit-stop for us one day, the coffee was delicious. It was a really small space but they had a lot of tattoo-esque artwork around and it was just a. really cool vibe in there. It felt very New York and very independent, definitely a good and simple way to start a day exploring New York.
So that’s it, the round up of my top recommendations from the places we found ourselves in in NYC. We didn’t want to have too much planned when we were there so these were all purely spontaneous finds and there are some absolute gems in there. I know I’ve said it already, but NYC food is honestly something else, and I can’t wait to go back again and try a whole host of new amazing places. Please let me know if you’ve ever been to any of these places or have any other insane recommendations that you’ve stumbled across.
K x
