On a lazy Sunday, we decided to stay around our living area to eat. There have been several new restaurants that have opened in the past few months, and this one is the most recent one. The restaurant features ramen and European-Japanese dishes from Nobuyuki Shikanai, the owner of Kanoyama in the East Village. We were able to walk in without reservations on a Sunday at around 6 PM.
We had a show to go to around 43rd and 9th Ave, so we decided to look around the Hell’s Kitchen area. In this area from my research, there seems to be some pretty good Thai restaurants that have been here for a bit or are opening up. We had recently gone to LumLum, which focused on more Northern Thai cuisine. Here in Chalong which is on 9th Ave between 51st and 52nd, they are focused on more Southern Thai. This restaurant is a few months old, and we were able to get a reservation for 2 for 5:30 PM the night prior to our arrival.
We were running errands around 5th Avenue, and this restaurant was on my partner’s list. I learned that my partner picked this restaurant because it was on Sex & The City, so I had very low expectations. We stopped by around 5:30 PM on a Friday night, and we were able to walk in without reservations. The restaurant itself is at the bottom of the staircase as you walk in. We were seated in one of the private booths, which was quite comfortable and serene.
In our area, there has been a plethora of Chinese restaurants opening. Literally around us, there are at least 3 hot pot places. I don’t really consider Nai Brothers a hot pot, but what grabbed my attention was that it specializes in sour fish soups. Nai Brothers is a very small chain with its primary location in Flushing, and this Long Island City location being it’s smaller sibling that’s closer to Manhattan. This is something that’s not only comfort food, but something that I quite enjoy from Chinese cuisine. We were able to walk in on a Saturday without reservations very easily.
One of the nice parts of living and working in Manhattan is that there is so much you can do and improvise after work. We had a show at 8 PM from winning a lottery, so it was easy to meet up after work and look for something to eat. Pre-theater prix fixe menus are a nice thing. They are basically a small tasting menu that won’t fill your belly too much, and the price is reasonable. We ended up at Oceana here since we realized we were within its small pre-theater hours of 5-6 PM on Friday.
Kono has been something on my radar for quite some time. It’s been a bit since we’ve splurged quality yakitori, so I was able to snipe a reservation for a Saturday night out at 5:30 PM fairly quickly on Resy. Chef Atsushi “ATS” Kono was originally at Torishin, and after looking at the menu, I was excited to see what this experience brought. This restaurant focused on kappo-style yakitori omakase featuring organic Amish chicken and seasonable vegetables.
PizzArte is one of those casual Italian pizza-esque restaurants in the Midtown area. Their goal is to deliver the spirit of Naples with affordable costs. We ended up here after looking for a cheaper Italian restaurant in the area that also had lasagna since we had more expensive plans the next day. We were able to walk in without reservations on a Friday evening around 7:30 PM and were seated upstairs.
Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare is a renown three Michelin Star restaurant by Chef Cesar Ramirez. It’s inspired by Japanese cuisine with French technique, and the 13 course tasting menu tonight is focused on fish & shellfish with 1 meat course and 4 dessert courses. I was quite excited to come here since moving to NYC. This restaurant was always very difficult to get reservations, so it was great that we were able to when we wanted. This restaurant is currently rated number 61 out of 100 on the The World’s Best 50.
What’s an Italian restaurant in Midtown that didn’t require reservations at 6 PM on a Friday evening after work? This one. It’s very close to the Rockafeller area, right across the street from a food hall. There’s a small car with a ton of flowers coming out of it. You can’t really miss it. We were able to walk in pretty easily, and we were seated towards the front. Because this restaurant is not exactly super popular, the attention and seating was quite comfortable.
Ophelia is a cocktail bar located in Midtown East near 1st Ave and 50th. It’s located at the top of Beekman Tower. This was built in 1928, and it was originally known as the Panhellenic Tower. The bar and hotel originally served as a womens-only club and hotel space for Greek sororities. When you walk into the lobby of the hotel, take the middle elevator to the 26th floor for entrance. We did have to make reservations ahead of time, but they are pretty easy to procure weeks in advance.