There are enough restaurants in New York City for one person to eat out every night for 54 years and never visit the same place twice.
With a stat like that it’s important as a customer that you only chose the best ones, and with so much competition it’s important for the eateries that they are always at the top of their game.
So with that said if you are lucky enough to be there for New York Fashion Week then here are some of the top restaurants in NYC.
Ralph Lauren Polo Bar
What better way to start than with a cross over between fashion and food: The Polo Bar – Ralph Lauren.
The 178 seat venue on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 55th Street (located beside the Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store), is a casual, yet refined setting for food and drinks in the heart of the Big Apple.
Their aim is that The Polo Bar will capture the imagination and appeal to the midtown demographic of workers and shoppers in NYC. Ralph stated that he didn’t want a “a formal restaurant", although he has stopped short of saying that people are free to just turn up in t-shirts.
The interior is an ode to a classic America. Think equestrian wild west vibes, country club-style leather accents, and luxuriously-crafted interiors.
The food menu at the Polo Bar is just like the décor; drenched in tradition. Loch Duart wild salmon and BLT salads are among the choices offered, as well as crab cakes, corned beef sandwiches (apparently Mr Lauren’s personnel recommendation) and steaks — produced, when availability allows for it, on Mr. Lauren’s 17,000-acre cattle ranch in Colorado. There will naturally be burgers too.
The dessert menu is also heavily influenced by Ralph himself, with the coffee ice cream, made from the designer’s own custom coffee blend.
Oh yeah and the staff are naturally fitted out in Ralph Lauren clothing too.
You can find out more here.
Daniel
To be ranked number 1 out of 11,461 restaurants in the whole of New York is something not to be scoffed at (excuse the bad pun), but that’s just what the Daniel Restaurant has achieved on Trip Advisor.
Located on East 65th Street (between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue), on the Upper East Side in Manhattan it is one of only seven Double Michelin Star Restaurants in NYC. And it’s not hard to see why; the distinctive setting boasts contemporary furnishings and finishes atop the restaurant’s grand neo classical architecture, a breathtaking French cuisine menu, and an exceptional standard of service that goes above and beyond.
However please note that jackets (and a lot of money are required) before dining.
You can find out more here.
Batard
Another highly awarded restaurant is Batard, which was voted the number one restaurant by the New York Times in 2014.
The food is what you expect from a head chef that has worked in Vienna for Heinz Reitbauer, in Chicago for Charlie Trotter and in London and New York for Gordon Ramsay. And whilst the food may be heavenly the winning formula seems to be that customers are made to feel that the place revolves around them, not necessarily the artistry on the plate. There is plenty of that though in Markus Glocker’s cooking mind you, but it doesn’t demand supplication. The menu is à la carte, hardly a radical idea but one that puts the customer back in charge.
Mr. Glocker’s flavors make sense, and when he fusses with an ingredient, it’s not for the sake of showing off; it’s because he’s bringing to the foreground some quality that may be missed elsewhere. Some of his most enjoyable food leans toward Austria, where he was raised, like the chicken schnitzel served with what has to be the finest potato salad in the city. It’s a wonderfully sane dish in a restaurant that tries to bring sanity back to high-style dining, and that must surely be a recipe for success (sorry I can’t help it with these bad puns).
You can find out more here.
Ninja New York
A windowless restaurant deep in the basement of a Tribeca building, might not seem like an ideal location for a Japanese restaurant, but when it’s called Ninja I’m sure it already has your attention.
Add to this sword / knife Ninja waiters jumping about, as well as pretending to throw your plate to you instead of serving it to you and you have a great gimmick.
The restaurant attracts both young and old, but is not for the faint hearted. However if you don’t mind people hanging from the roof whilst you eat this place might just be for you.
Ninja’s figure prominently in folklore and legend, and some legendary abilities purported to be in the province of ninja training include invisibility, walking on water, and control over the natural elements. These ninja’s might not be able to do that, but they can get your order correct though.
You can find out more here.
Houseman
Houseman is another restaurant in the Tribeca area, however this one is literally just around the corner from Skylight Clarkson Square in SoHo which is one of the two host venues for the week.
Inspired by the word husmanskost, ‘everyday food’ in Swedish, Houseman prides itself on being a neighbourhood restaurant.
The menu features favourites such as a hamburgers, roast chicken, or seasonal vegetables but also offers something out of the norm with dishes like pickled bluefish, goat sausage, or roasted eggplant.
The tables are made with recycled bowling-alley wood and quirky Lindsey Adelman fixtures light the area it is one of the places to be seen.
You can find out more here.
230 Fifth
Offering some of the best views of the New York City skyline (including the Empire State, MetLife and Chrysler buildings), 230 Fifth is among Manhattan's largest indoor and outdoor rooftop-bar and event spaces, making this one of the busiest restaurants in the whole of New York.
Although it's primarily a lounge and event space, 230 Fifth offers a varied menu of small and large dishes primarily created by renowned chef John Benedetti, along with a popular all-you-can-eat brunch buffet, and a wide range of specialty cocktails.
Towering palm trees, flowers, and foliage interspersed with park benches and patio chairs combine to create a natural wonderland, made all the more incredible by the panoramic view of the New York skyline in all its glittering glory. Alcoves and private cabanas offer space for groups. Patrons stopping by in the winter needn’t worry about missing out on the rooftop experience, as heat lamps and rolling racks of red robes and blankets are provided to keep the crowds warm when the weather isn’t.
You can find out more here.