Upper west side

[eathere]

reccomend a place w/ food and a bit of a scene? not dark and dreary please!

thanks

[piccola]

Citrus or Nice Matin.

[cimui]

Hmm, perhaps you should give a better idea of what you seek when you say you want a "scene". I agree with most of nativeNYer's observations. Younger scene: Calle Ocho and maybe Citrus (at least it's loud; the food is terrible, be warned). Older scene: Compass and Ouest. Frankly, the food at the older sceney places is better in these cases. Cesca is a 30-40's ish scene.

AIX is sort of sceney -- or at least it's pretentious. Patrons are mostly in their 30-40's. The food is terrible.

If you want celebrities, I've seen more at Josie's than at Ouest. The food at Ouest is distinctly better.

[Stuffed Monkey]

I've seen more at the Cafe at Fairway...and that's a food market. Celebrities who eat out up here are eating out in their neighborhood. But perhaps the OP was looking for atmosphere rather than a scene, in which case we need to know what kind of atmosphere is wanted. Ouest, Cesca Calle Ocho or even Nice Matin might be right.

[cimui]

>>OP was looking for atmosphere rather than a scene

For the sake of her/his tastebuds, I hope so. =)

[Daniel76]

"UWS Rooby Foo's is great"

No, its not.. And I am willing to take it a step further and say that it sucks..

[cimui]

Uh, just to clarify, I would only recommend Ruby Foo's on opposite day.... So I hope that wasn't a response to anything I said.

[nativeNYer]

i think daniel76 was replying to bosox above (posted 10/25). it was a direct quote from his/her message.

[cimui]

Aha. Got it. =P

[nativeNYer]

well, you said a place with food and a bit of a scene? some of these places have much better food than others but since you didn't specify, i focused more on the "scene" request:

calle ocho - this is definitely a scene.
compass
nice martin
citurs bar and grill
Ruby Foo's
Ouest

I feel like i am a bit all over the place with these recommendations as each place is vastly different from each other. if you want a 20-something type scene, i'd recommend calle ocho and citrus. if you want a more mature scene, i'd recommend the others. i think compass and ruby foo's can go either way. if you share additional specifics, i'll be happy to give this another shot (i.e. price range, cuisine, young or mature scene, loud or quiet, etc.?)

[mcoleman]

Compass was packed w/retirees the last time we went, felt like the youngest people there (and I'm almost 50), that's fine for dinner after a movie tho not quite what I'd call a scene. FWIW this is also the most consistently over-rated place on this board, utterly mystified that anyone could prefer Compass to Telepan but what the hey.

[bosox]

the UWS ruby foo's is great. i know the times square one is pretty lame and uber-touristy, but a friend and i had a fabulous meal at the UWS location. the food was wonderful, the drinks were very reasonably priced, and the service was great!

[piccola]

This was actually the first restaurant I ate at in NYC (it was across the street from our hotel) and I liked it. Yes, there's better and cheaper in Chinatown, but this is great when you want something a little cooler.

[JungMann]

The restaurants on Amsterdam in the 80s tend to do a brisk business with the younger diners you'd otherwise expect to see downtown. That extends a bit to Columbus also with Calle Ocho, Cafe Ronda, Wine and Roses, etc.

[doona]

I just went to Ouest and it was spectacular. Service was brilliant, atmosphere is big yet quaint and comfortable at the some time. Food was perfectly cooked.

I highly highly recommend.

[1uc7]

don't forget about 'cesca -- i found the food to be pretty solid there. second calle ocho for scene definitely. isabella's has scene but wouldn't necessarily recommend the food.

[idia]

From those listed on this thread so far, Ouest far and away is the one that has the best "scene." Celebs enjoy frequenting it.