East Village restaurant recommendations

[originalfoodie]

We are going to the Theater for the New City (1st Ave. between 9th and 10th Streets) and would like to have a nice dinner beforehand. Any cuisine will do--just good food. Thanks!

[TheVerzhinTheory]

Supper- Italian- 2nd st between A and B
Westville East- American (traditional) 11th and A
Caracas Arepas Bar- Venezulan- 7th between 1st and A
Xunta- Tapas- 1st ave between 10th and 11th

[tatiana_nyc]

Here is my best of the EV list:

Pylos - Greek
Bourgeois Pig - Fondue
Barbone - Roman Italian (i.e. not red sauce)
Il Bagatto - Southern Italian
Mercadito - Mexican
Royale - Burgers
Boquedita Cubana - Cuban and BYOB

[hungrycomposer]

Sobaya, on 9th between 2nd and 3rd ave's, has a very good special before 6:30 PM: hot or cold soba that they make on the premises, appetizers, tempura, dessert, all for about 13 bucks. All high quality, nice service, pleasant, casual place.

[superego]

My favs:
momofuku ssam bar
Frank
Takahachi
Perbacco
Bondi Road (LES... if you like good seafood, can't say much for the ambiance)

Enjoy!

[Kameli]

momofuku ssam bar - a must
cafe centosiette - penne arrabiate
max - lamb ragout
kebab garden - simple down home eats
resto leon - solid fare, euro groove
have fun

[katie570]

Though I am a huge Kebab Garden fan, I am not sure anywhere that has food on steam tables fits the OP's criteria--a nice, pre-theater dinner? It's sooooooooo good though...

[scarlet starlet]

My picks are Klong (Thai food, St. Marks b/w 2nd & 3rd) and Supper (Italian, 2nd b/w A & B)

[jsmitty]

just ate at supper on sat. i am a huge fan.. grilled polenta, burata, sliced steak, grilled aspargus et. al.. all good. dessert.. hazelnut pana cotta, chococlate cake very god..

[iforman2001]

Hearth
Back Forty
Matilda
Seymour Burton (just opened in the old Le Tableau space)
Mermaid Inn

[cdog]

hearth or EU
i also like perbacco

[financialdistrictresident]

iforman2001, have you (or any other hounds) been to Seymour Burton yet?

[katie570]

I tried Belcourt (4th St. and 2nd Ave.) recently and really liked it. I also like the EU a lot, but I feel like not everyone would.

[jsmitty]

we have a reservation at belcourt for valentines. what did you eat there?

[katie570]

Oh well, guess I missed you in time for V-day, but I had the hanger steak with the fried tempura-like scallions on the side... it was DELICIOUS.

[ttzur]

EU is shut, now a (good) pizza place

[kathryn]

This thread is over 15 months old.

[bastet212]

Xunta is fun and tasty (tapas, 10th and 1st?).... Also i second Supper and Mogador.

[JSHAFT78]

Tsampa for Tibetan is a nice place with affordable food. On E 9th. Nice ambiance, although a bit on the dimly lit side. Light, but filling which is the type of place I like before sitting down to see a show

[Mazzer]

I had one meal at Xunta, and found it a better bar than restaurant. Poorly executed tapas, in my opinion.

[bastet212]

I probably like it more for atmosphere than anything... comfortable and fun. The prices arent bad and if you order wisely, i think the food is fairly decent. The Live flamenco is always a good time. All in all i like the package.I would agree there are better tapas out there though :)

[heinlein42]

Also had a bad experience at Xunta- rude wait staff, loud and mediocre food.

[kayonyc]

Kanoyama @ 2nd st nr 11th st is great for sushi - try their omakase.

[rrems]

Re: recommendation above for Mermaid Inn: do a search and read the posts about it. A number of hounds, myself included, find it overpriced and boring.

[financialdistrictresident]

rrems, ditto re: Mermaid Inn . . .

[RCC]

Prune on 1st Street (1st and 2nd Aves.); or,
Momofoku Noodle on 1st or Momofoku Ssam on 2nd.

[douglas525]

Momofuku Ssam Bar would be my safest recommendation. Hearth is a little more upscale and at one time was probably the top restaurant in the area, but lately it's been getting mixed reviews. You might also look at Orologio--never been but it's always got people in there (which says a lot in a neighborhood where I've seen more than one restaurant sit empty). I also suggest Veniero's for dessert after the show.

[eeee]

Mermaid Inn on 5th and 2nd is very good if you like seafood, and they take reservations if that is a concern.

[Mazzer]

Agree with all but Orologio, and you're excused for never having been there. I have, and it's nothing worth recommending. You'd be much better off across the street at Westville East.

[douglas525]

I actually just tried Orologio on Saturday, and was quite impressed, especially for the price. I got the salad with gorgonzola and walnuts, and my wife got the one with beef carpaccio. While neither had a wow factor, both were made with fresh ingredients and were wholly satisfying. For entrees, my wife got the penne with eggplant, which she enjoyed, and I got the pizza with arugula and prosciutto, which was excellent. My only slight is that it didn't have any tomato sauce, but then, it's an actual Italian restaurant and the menu didn't say tomato sauce. Back to the "wow factor," I have to mention the bread. I know it's odd to say, but it was delivered hot and delicious, and was not just an afterthought the way it is in even some higher end restaurants. Considering we walked out with leftovers for under fifty dollars including tip, I would definitely recommend this place.

Westville East, on the other hand, I just don't get. It's always packed, but for no reason I can figure. The food is mediocre at best--almost as good as any diner that almost didn't go out of business anywhere in the South.

[flickergrl]

Yuca Bar on 7th and A. the cuisine is billed as "nuevo latino." i've never had a bad meal there.

[loveroffood]

My good ol' standby's in EV are Supper (Italian) on 2nd St b/t A and B, Cafe Mogador (Moroccan/Mediterranean) on St Marks Place b/t 1st and A, and the two Momofuku restaurants but they may be too small/casual?

[intrepid]

i coppi italian, its right there and good

[financialdistrictresident]

I Coppi is nice and they have a year round garden. Do a search of this site there have been some recent hound reports about it being inconsistent. Also service can be relaxed which might not be good if you have a show. I would go to LaVagna (5th and B) or Pylos (7th and A) over I Coppi. Neither is on opentable.com. We just ate at LaVagna and Pylos and everything was delicious. LaVagna has an excellent wine list if you're into that. LaVagna also has a prix fixe dinner. When my SO tried to make reservations at Pylos recently he had to call three times and they didn't return his voicemail. It appears they have some new hosts. This was surprising because we eat there often and had not encountered this before.