All of these restaurants have a huge majority of excellent reviews – and I’ve tried them all too and of course there’s every type of food imaginable so if you fancy a burger don’t read on. My favourite restaurants in New York are Mediterranean and Italian. This four are perfect for a celebration, an intimate dinner or a casual lunch.
Estatorio Milos
This is an upmarket Mediterranean restaurant where it could be easy to spend a small fortune, particularly if you go off menu and order fish from the iced display.
Everything is superbly fresh, and if you eat healthily and want the very best then Milos may well be a very good spot for you. If you come on a Sunday they serve their pre theatre menu all day, which yesterday was $55. Most days this menu finishes at 6.30pm. The fixed price lunch menu is $29, which is superb value for what you get.
Book in advance. Estatorio Milos - 125 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019
Avra Madison
Another excellent Mediterranean restaurant in the center of the city with a very similar menu to Milos. Avra is a little less expensive for the a la Carte, the fixed priced lunch menu is $29.50 and there’s more choice.
I particularly liked the fact that there’s more room at Avra Madison so it feels a bit more as if you’re dining with your own table rather than the rest of the room and the noise level is far down.
Book in Advance: Avra Madison 14 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022
Il Gattopardo
Il Gattopardo offers traditional southern Italian food using authentic ingredients and in a small restaurant which is always full. So make sure you book.
Unlike the Mediterranean restaurants above the menu changes with the seasons, but always expect to find Italian specialities such as pasta with clams, and risotto.
Expect to find excellent Italian food here and look out for your bank balance. But it’ll be worth it.
Book in Advance - Il Gattopardo: 13-15 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019
Maialino Gramercy Park
Maialino is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s attached to the Gramercy Park Hotel and offers authentic Romanesque cooking. Created by restaurateur Danny Meyer, Maialino is so popular that if you’re visiting New York and you want a real treat you should go there, but make sure that you book.
Maialino is a huge restaurant and when you walk in, particularly if you’re seated at the back, you may think you’re walking through a maze, there are so many different areas. Service is really good. Prices are high as you’d expect from somewhere so popular, currently they offer a fixed price lunch menu for $48.
The pasta makes you feel as though you’re back in Italy. Try the spaghetti alla vongole and share it if you don’t want a whole bowl but want to try other things as well. Maialino means ‘little pig’ in Italian and two of the specialities here are the different types of salami (salumi) and their roasted suckling pig which again you can share. Everything I tried there was delicious and I would go back in a flash.
Book in Advance: Maialino 2 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10010 - (212) 777-2410
You’ll find a mixed dress code at all of these restaurants, with the Mediterranean restaurants being more sophisticated in the evening. But as there’s always a complete mix where the clientele is concerned pretty much anything goes.
