I need a recommendation for west 50's to 80's please!
A dear friend from San Fran is coming to visit. I would appreciate a suggestion for a really good, reasonable, non-asian restaurant in the wast 50-80s. It will be a friday evening. Price range moderate (maybe no more than $30 max per item)? She lives near SF chinatown and she eats a lot of asian, so a non-asian restaurant suggestion...maybe Italian or French or american or Indian...really up for anything great! i do not visit the UWS much. I really want to take her somewhere delicious that she doesn't eat every day.I so appreciate your suggestions. They are always right on the spot. Thanks
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re: thew
I've been to Picholine and sat at the bar. Great food and great service, though I can't speak for the fancy sit down area. I also liked Bar Baloud. If you're on the UWS, why not try the Time Warner Center? There's a bunch of places there. I've eaten there a few times and the food was good. A table with a view is a must if you want to go all out and show your friend the town. Also, Bar Masa is nice (a little pricey) but it's a cool experience.
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Picholine
35 West 64th St., New York, NY 10023Bar Masa
10 Columbus Cir, New York, NY 10019
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coasts
Nov 19, 2010 11:50 AM
if she's a beer drinker, B Cafe is a nice Belgian bistro with an excellent beer menu and great mussels. it's not upscale, but it's far from pub fare. we tend to go there a lot in cooler weather, as the exposed brick and narrow dining room creates a very cozy vibe.
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re: kelea
hungryinmanhattan
Nov 19, 2010 05:24 PM
I looked at the menus of the placed suggested. They look perfect and I appreciate the help very much. I will have to venture to the uws more often to try all of these restaurants! And I have wanted to try the Mermaid inn also, but so far from where I live. One day...
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re: hungryinmanhattan
hungryinmanhattan
Nov 20, 2010 05:22 AM
Would you suggest the same places for lunch? Do you find restaurant lunch to be the same quality as the dinners? We will also be doing a lunch.
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one of my favorite meals in the city is the soba beef salad at soba nippon, which is more mid-town (at 53rd btw 5th and 6th -- or is it b'way up there?) anyway, it's business-y, but the salad is amazing. (it's been my first meal after giving birth to each of my 3 kids...) their sushi is great too.
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kelea
Nov 19, 2010 06:13 AM
Calle Ocho, Kefi, Mermaid Inn, Dovetail, Nice Matin and Spiga are some alternatives in the 80s
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Mermaid Inn
96 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024Nice Matin
201 West 79th Street, New York, NY 10024Calle Ocho
45 W 81st St, New York, NY 10024Spiga
200 W 84th St, New York, NY 10024›1 Reply-
re: kelea
I'll second Kefi and Spiga, Nice Matin looks good too though I have never been. There is also a nice little Italian place on Amsterdam near 79th called Bettola, its cheaper than Spiga and their pizza's are really delicious.
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Bettola
412 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024Nice Matin
201 West 79th Street, New York, NY 10024Spiga
200 W 84th St, New York, NY 10024
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Best Italian I've had in the area is Maria Pia. Well, Bella Vita on 58th has the best pasta dishes in the neighborhood by far, but they're a pizza joint/takeout place.
Best Mexican would be Arriba Arriba on 9th around 52nd or 53rd. Cool, fun atmosphere, but you might need a flashlight to read your menus.
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Maria Pia
319 West 51st Street, New York, NY 10019›10 Replies-
re: hivemind
love Telepan, Bar Boulud. There's also Cesca. Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar (72/wea) is cool and different with open mike some nights. For cheaper there is Kefi (greek 80's columbus--kind of noisy though). Even cheaper is Celeste italian (74/amsterdam) yummy but super crowded.
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Telepan
72 W. 69th Street, New York, NY 10023Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway, New York, NY 10023-
re: LilianNY
JoanN
Nov 19, 2010 02:07 PM
I simply do not get the love for Kefi on this board. The food is okay, but nothing special. The service ranges from tolerable to painful. And the noise level, especially downstairs, can be horrendous. Last time I was there someone in the room shouted "Everybody shut up!" There was dead silence for about 2 seconds, then people laughed, then it was intolerably noisy again. If I want cheaper, I go to Bistro Cassis, which gets practically no love on this board and has much better food than Kefi. IMHO, of course.
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Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024Bistro Cassis
225 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10023-
re: JoanN
i agree with you, JoanN. I will never understand the love for Kefi. it's very bizarre.
i would second the recommendations for nice matin, telepa, ouest and bettola. earthen oven (indian) was amazing when it first opened then it slipped but it seems to be really again. i feel it's the best Indian food on the UWS..
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Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024 -
re: JoanN
No disputes on the noise level. I've had mostly OK service, but don't dispute you on that, either. But as for the food, I think it's at a very high level for the price, and I've never had a meal at Kefi - either their original location or the current, bigger restaurant - that wasn't delicious. So we simply disagree. But I would ask you whether there's another Greek restaurant in Manhattan at a similar price point that you find clearly superior. And if you say Pylos, I disagree (it's somewhat more expensive, and good but not as consistently good across the menu, in my experience).
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re: Pan
JoanN
Nov 20, 2010 05:10 AM
It's gone downhill considerably in the past couple of years, but I actually used to prefer the food at Niko's--which is really just a diner--to the food at Kefi. It could well be that the noise and lousy service I've experienced at Kefi have influenced my judgment of the food. But last time I was there the grilled sardines didn't compare to what you can get at the Atlantic Antic and their lamb chop special was overcooked and rather flavorless.
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Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024-
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re: coasts
kelea
Nov 20, 2010 11:13 AM
I agree with the noise at Kefi but I've never had a bad meal there. The lamb shank, lamb meatballs and the spreads appetizer has never failed me. Plus the delicious beers. The service has always been passable, but walking out of there with a $30 meal plus beer, I usually don't complain.
I'm with coasts...I've had Niko's once and never went back. I didn't hate my meal, just didn't care for it.
I would admit it's not a place I would get people to travel for and i prob like it cause it's 2 blocks from me. But since the OP was targeting UWS, I figured why not.
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Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024-
re: kelea
I think the meze's at Kefi are pretty good especially for the price. The grilled octopus, the warm fingerling potato salad, the spreads, and I think the meatballs were all pretty tasty.
I've had better greek food in my life, but I've also had much much worse. From what I've had on the UWS I think Kefi is fine, but I'll check out ethos soon and see which I prefer.
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Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024
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