The Independent
The Independent is a New American joint that is close to the Theater District. Because we had a show to catch and running out of options, we walked into this restaurant on a late Saturday afternoon without reservations. The restaurant has a pretty small menu, and it’s slightly different than your pub style food. For the price, we thought this could be a quick and good way to try this out.
Ambiance & Service
The service was very quick, partly due to us being one of two parties in the area. Because it was relatively early and restaurant traffic being at other places, this meant our service was very attentive. Once we ordered, the food came out really quick and piping hot too.
Food
The Blackberry Faux-loma ($9) came with muddled blackberries, grapefruit soda, and agave. This turned out to be pretty decent, albeit a bit sweet for me. Nonetheless, it had a very fruit forward flavor with the bubbles.
The Tuna Crudo ($22) came with citrus, radish, fresno chile, capers, nori, sesame, olive oil, and Maldon sea salt. The tuna was definitely on the thinner side, but it tasted fresh. The ingredients around it made it slightly spicy, so if you have some sensitivity to that, be warned. Otherwise, this was a good dish for a hot summer day.
The Chicken Schnitzel ($29) came with miso mustard cream, baby leaves, marinated tomatoes, and Parmigiano Reggiano. This was surprisingly very large, and you can probably share this with another person and order an appetizer. The chicken was dark meat, so it was also very tender and juicy. The schnitzel was crispy, and it didn’t appear to be completely flat. Despite the appearance, I thought the value for this was actually quite good. Flavor wise, it was seasoned well and balanced, and I really enjoy the texture and taste of everything.
Overall Impression
For a non-frills New American bar, definitely consider The Independent an option if you are around the Times Square area. You won’t be getting anything gourmet, but the food is priced well, and the taste was pretty good.
Yelp & Google Jabs
The Independent is participating in NYC Restaurant Week from Sunday-Friday, January 20th-February 12th, 2026
There appear to be many Yelp reviews, including ones from this Elitist, that judged the restaurant based on the restaurant week menu. Restaurant week is not the best time to judge a restaurant, especially if they are just trying to churn out food. However and fortunately, it sounds like the restaurant did a good job at satiating these diners.
The food was pretty good not a very extensive menu decorated very tastefully for xmas wouldve gotten 5 stars the 20 peecent added to bill is crazy when server wasnt even attentive for drnks
Looking at my bill, there was no 20% added to it automatically. Chances are that this Yelper had a table of 5 or 6 people, and by default, most if not all restaurants will add a 20% tip to the bill. Although tipping culture is an unfamiliar territory for people outside of the USA, this Yelper lives within. But they are probably not accustomed to city habits.
Revisions
- Jun 6, 2026 - Initial revision.