The best restaurants New York (Manhattan)

Timetable

If you fancy a pasta dish at snack time or a burger in the middle of the night, you'll have no problem doing so in New York! Most restaurants are open non-stop, serving food all day long. Diners have the longest opening hours, from breakfast early in the morning to late at night. Some restaurants are even open 24 hours a day, such as Cafeteria in Chelsea(www.cafeteriagroup.com/), Empanada Mama in Hell's Kitchen(www.empmamanyc.com), or Waverly Diner in Greenwich Village(www.waverlydiner.com). The only exception to the rule are gourmet establishments, which often break for the afternoon or open only for dinner, and may close on certain days of the week.

Peak hours vary according to restaurant type and neighborhood. Where there are businesses, particularly in Midtown and the Financial District, restaurants are often taken over at lunchtime by office workers. And on weekends, they're packed to the rafters, as brunch drives New Yorkers crazy! Finally, the restaurants that enjoy a certain hype (and there are many) are rarely empty.

If you're planning to sample the menu at some of these fine restaurants during your stay, we strongly recommend that you make your reservation well in advance. The www.opentable.com website is ideal for this. Some establishments don't accept reservations, especially for brunch, in which case you'll have no choice but to wait in line, like a true New Yorker!

Budget & Tips

Food isn't cheap in New York. Restaurants are quite expensive, especially as the prices do not include tips or local taxes. If you're staying with an AirBnB or your hotel room is equipped with a kitchenette, you're in for some serious savings!

Even so, there are options for smaller budgets. The first is to eat a slice of pizza for US$1 or US$2 at one of the city's countless pizza joints, a typically New York experience! Low-priced Asian restaurants often offer dishes at unbeatable prices, as do salad bars. Finally, food carts generally offer hearty dishes for under US$10. They're everywhere, even on the chic Upper East Side, where you'll find one of the city's most famous food carts, Tony's Dragon Grill. Last but not least, fast food chains - and God knows there are plenty of them in the U.S. - offer bargain prices, even if, from a dietary point of view, you could hardly do worse.

The best way to treat yourself at one of the city's fine restaurants without blowing your budget is to take part in Restaurant Week. This gourmet event is held twice a year, in June/July and January/February. Around a hundred restaurants take part, offering very attractive fixed-price menus. For more information on participating restaurants, visit www.nycgo.com/restaurant-week.

The Zagat guide to the city's must-try restaurants has long been a New Yorker's bible. In recent years, however, The Infatuation (www.infatuation.com) and Eater (www.ny.eater.com) have become the main reference sites. These sites offer good addresses for every wallet, with interactive maps by neighborhood.

The vast majority of restaurants accept payment by credit card, with the exception of some that opened ages ago. This is particularly true of Lombardi's, New York's oldest pizzeria, located in NoLIta.

What costs extra

A thorny subject if ever there was one, tipping deserves a few explanations! To begin with, in the United States, service is never included in a restaurant (with rare exceptions, in which case the words " gratuity included " are displayed on the menu). So, whatever the quality of service, you're expected to leave the equivalent of 15-20% of the bill as a tip.

To simplify the calculation, multiply the local tax (8.875%) on your bill by 2. Even simpler: use the Tip 'n Split mobile app, which will calculate the tip for you. In any case, the reputation of the French is so well established that, once someone has guessed your country of origin, you'll often see the "Tip" box already filled in at the customary rate! Even if you pay by credit card (we see you coming...), you can't escape the tip. In this case, don't forget to enter the amount of the tip in the "Tip" box and the total amount of the bill yourself, or you'll be in for a nasty surprise later on.

Finally, you should be aware that restaurant prices do not include taxes. In addition to the tip, the 8.875% local tax mentioned above is added to the total amount. Suffice it to say that after all this, the final bill has little to do with the menu prices.

The local way

What inevitably shocks Europeans when they travel to the United States are the portions! Even in New York, where fashion has been healthy for several years, dishes can be more than generous. If you have a fridge and enough to reheat your food in your hotel room, just sit back and ask for a doggy bag, it's very common and no one will look at you sideways, even in fancy restaurants. The other surprise often comes from the large glass of water filled with ice that the servers automatically bring to each guest, usually before even taking the order. Don’t force yourself to finish your drink, it is impossible since the waiter will be quick to refill it as soon as you have swallowed the slightest drink!

To be avoided

Convenient: the A, B or C grade displayed on all establishments serving food means you can find out how hygienic a place is without having to go inside! A, the best grade, is given to the vast majority of restaurants, while B means there are several violations. You'll find that this doesn't stop New Yorkers, who eat without batting an eyelid in B-rated establishments. A word of advice, though: don't set foot in a C-rated restaurant if you don't want to get sick... When it says "Grade Pending", instead of letters, it means that the restaurant has been given a B or C grade and is contesting the New York Health Department's decision. In this case, a new inspection is organized within a month.

Kids

In the land of the child king, it is not difficult to find restaurants that please the little ones. Restaurant chains will be the best equipped to welcome your tribe: high chairs, changing tables, children’s menus, etc. Some restaurants are particularly fun for children, such as Ellen Stardust Diner (www.ellensstardustdiner.com/) or Alice’s Tea Cup (www.alicesteacup.com), on the theme of Alice in Wonderland. Establishments that do not accept children are rare, they are most often gastronomic establishments in which you would not feel comfortable with an infant anyway!

Smokers

In New York, smoking is strictly forbidden in enclosed public spaces, including restaurants. If you're eating on a terrace, don't light a cigarette either: even if there's no explicit ban, it's highly frowned upon and so unusual that your table-mates are likely to roll their eyes at you. If you wish to smoke before the end of the meal, leave the restaurant and move a few metres away so as not to inconvenience the customers on the terrace.

Tourist traps

If you can, avoid restaurants in high tourist areas, especially around Times Square. In most cases, these are restaurant chains that serve an American cuisine that is not famous and often too expensive. If you move away from even a few blocks, you will find restaurants of a much higher quality. Because we can’t always do otherwise, we still have selected the best schools in these neighbourhoods!