Best restaurants to eat at the bar

[jcshipley]

What are the best restaurants right now in Manhattan to eat at the bar? I have always gone to Lupa, and that has never failed until recently. Any suggestions for a similar place with good food and similar atmosphere at the bar? Thanks!

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Lupa
170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

[princeofpork]

I always find steak houses great places to eat at the bar. Specifically Wolfgangs on Park and S&W Grill

[glutton08]

Keens would be great as well.

[jesse]

While I used to eat dinner at the bar at Wolfgang's on Park on a weekly basis, it's become a lot more crowded of late. At lunch you can still walk in, and we've basically switched our eating habits to take advantage of this, but there's regularly 3-4 people deep at the bar, making eating a lot more uncomfortable.

[princeofpork]

That would kill it for me. Nothing worse than trying to eat dinner and getting bumped from behind and having drinks spilled on you.

[snaporaz]

It's not the same vibe as Lupa, but Degustation is all bar and the food has always been great IME.
Yakitori Totto would qualify as some pretty amazing bar eating as well provided you go early enough to get the "chicken limited" menu items.

*EDIT* Just reread the OP's post and realized they were mostly looking to replace Lupa with something similar, so apologies for my post being more about good bar dining.

[Desidero]

dell'Anima
Maialino

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Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

[gramres22]

Is it worth going to Maialino for the bar menu items or better to wait for a reservation? Last time I called for information the Trattoria menu was not being served in the bar and the bar menu looks pretty limited. What do you like? I love eating at the bar but typically do so at places where the full dinner menu is available.

To the OP: Scarpetta

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Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

[Desidero]

I like the bar area better than the more formal dining room. You are correct that the full menu is not available, but I think you should be able to find plenty of items to satisfy you. Last time I had the bucatini all'amatricana, which was not on the menu, but they were willing to make for me. It was terrific and one of the best renditions of the dish I've had in NY.

[Nick F.]

Per Se!

Surprised no one has said it yet!

They have a beautiful bar/salon where you can order on their much less expensive a la carte menu. I got a five-course dessert there a few months ago for 14 bucks (well-worth the value).

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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

[cubanat]

second for Nougatine. the snacks and the drinks are awesome. also good but more crowded which might be annoying is the bar at marea

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Nougatine
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023

[stephaniec25]

Peasant's wine bar (subterranean level next door to the restaurant) is a favorite of mine.

[wadawada]

Nougatine (Jean Georges). If you're dining alone or even a party of 2, chances are you can get a seat at the bar as a walk-in. Their bar snacks of spiced nuts, homemade wasabi peanuts and popcorn are great. You can order anything off their food menu. Always a nice backup plan whenever we can't decide where to have dinner.

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Nougatine
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023

[fm1963]

For non-Italian:

Casa Mono
Modern Bar Room
Momofuku Ssam Bar

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Casa Mono
52 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003

Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

[hcbk0702]

The closest thing foodwise (Roman) to Lupa would be Maialino. The vibe is different (to most people, probably better), but it is a great alternative.

I'll also echo kathryn's Scarpetta suggestion if you want to stick to Italian.

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Lupa
170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

[Littleman]

What about Sutton Place Bar and Grill. They have TV's at the bar too.

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Sutton Place
1015 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10022

[gutsofsteel]

That's a bar, not a restaurant where one can eat at the bar. It's mediocre food and a TV-driven, bar atmosphere. Not at all what the OP is looking for.

OP: consider eating at the pass at Hearth. Great food, a lot of fun, you can see all the action in the kitchen too.

[roze]

I love eating at the bar at Otto. Gramercy Tavern is also another personal fave of mine. Can't go wrong with either IMO.

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Gramercy Tavern
42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003

[daffyduck]

Otto, really? Wouldn't you be standing the whole time?

[chow_gal]

No, there's a very long bar with many seats. Great bar dining. There are also the high tables in the bar area, with no stools.

[daffyduck]

Oh, okay. I must have missed it. I never hung out at the bar in Otto, I always assumed it was just the high tables.

[kathryn]

For Italian, what about Babbo or Scarpetta?

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

[chow_gal]

Raoul's
Blue Ribbon Brasserie
Gramercy Tavern
Gascogne
Cabrito

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Gramercy Tavern
42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003

Blue Ribbon Brasserie
97 Sullivan St, New York, NY 10012

Gascogne
158 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Cabrito
50 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014