East/Central Village Dinner Help

[studentwife]

Looking for a dinner recommendation. We have out of town friends in unexpectedly Friday night for an 8:30/9ish dinner. It's too late to make a reservation at my usual go-tos (L'Artusi, Hearth, etc). Any suggestions for something I'm not thinking of where I might still get a reservation? Would like to take our friends out for a good NYC evening.

[Hey19]

How about Vandaag? May be just off the radar enough? I have never tried for a res there, just walked in.

[foodwhisperer]

It is only Tuesday, try all the good places. Be optimistic. If it's just good food you want, try D'Andrea the food is really good. Recette may have availability. Don't judge by "open table", restaurants leave many tables open for those who call direct. Da Silvano and Bar Pitti have good food. I don't think Bar Pitti takes reservations. Osteria Morini is worth a shot. Frankie's on Hudson St is relatively new, might have availability. Great Atmosphere can mean different things, Morimoto has a fun atmosphere, so does Sushi Samba i'd give them a shout

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Da Andrea
35 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011

SushiSamba 7
87 Seventh Avenue South, New York, NY 10014

Bar Pitti
268 6th Ave, New York, NY 10014

Morimoto
88 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

Da Silvano
260 6th Ave, New York, NY 10014

Recette
328 West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014

Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

Frankies 570 Spuntino
570 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

[kathryn]

How about the new-ish Whitehall? They seem to have some availability on OpenTable.

Whitehall:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/815831

Vandaag also looks like it has availability, but I've not been since the head chef changes.

I'd also give Prune a call (just in case), or try Fedora (great atmosphere and they only take reservations on the day of unless it's Sun/Mon).

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Prune
54 E 1st St, New York, NY 10003

Fedora
239 W 4th St, New York, NY 10014

Vandaag
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Whitehall
19 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10014

[Pan]

How big a party? That matters. If you were a party of 2, I'd suggest trying Cacio e Vino (apps and pizza or/and schiacciate), but you're at least 3, which makes it somewhat harder.

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Cacio e Vino
80 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003

[michelleats]

You could walk into L'Artusi if you don't mind dining at the bar. We've always been seated either immediately or very quickly as walk ins, around the same time you're planning on going.

Since you seem to like Italian, how about Morandi? It's not quite as excellent as L'Artusi, but it's good and very likeable. Extra Virgin is another solid neighborhood favorite that does well with last minute reservations / walk-ins.

Any favorite cuisines other than Italian? What's your preference for avg. entree price?

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Morandi
211 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10014

Extra Virgin
259 W 4th St, New York, NY 10014

L'Artusi
228 West 10th Street, New York, NY 10014

[studentwife]

Thanks for the suggestions. There will be four of us, and a reservation is preferred if possible. (I know it's late for that!). Average entree between $20 and $30. We are actually not really looking for Italian, but are not picky. Mediterranean, American, seafood. We are looking for a great atmosphere. Any east/central/west village location works. Thanks!

[michelleats]

Great atmosphere + last minute reservations available... Look into Perry St. It gets approx no attn these days since it lost its Michelin star, but it is still a good restaurant for food. It's just pricey for what it is, if you're judging by food alone and not location or decor. The space is beautiful and very NYC glamorous in feel and it's associated with a celebrity chef (Jean Georges Vongerichten), if that's important to you and your guests. It's located on the ground floor of a residential building where quite a few well known New Yorkers live, so if you're into celebrity spotting, Perry Street is a good place for indulging. On the off chance you're not able to reserve for your time and date, there's a really nice lounge area where you have access to the full menu as walk-ins.

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Perry Street
176 Perry Street, New York, NY 10014