John's of 12th Street or Patsy's?

[johnpressman]

Showing an out of town relative around NYC. Looking for an "Old-School Red Sauce" place with authentic NYC feel. Narrowed it down to Patsy's (Midtown, NOT the Spanish Harlem pizza place) and John's of 12th Street. Opinions, anyone?

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John's of 12th Street
302 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003

[mimi222]

Went to Patsy's on 56th for lunch. Elegant, stuffy but impressive atmosphere . nice attentive waiter. overpriced but good food, stuffed shells were very small but tasty. chicken cesar salad was excellent but expensive at $24. I would take my parents there because of the old new york-ish atmosphere but otherwise wouldn't return. oh, and they had no lasagna on the menu.

[AdamD]

Patsy's atmosphere is better and there is the Sinatra angle. Food is about the same although Patsy's is more pricey than John's. Want to tell a story in midtown and don't mind paying a bit more=Patsy's
want old school village charm=John's

[bronwen]

I'm glad Patsy's is getting a mention as it's great fun. Your out of town relative will like it! Much better than Carmine's or other red sauce places.