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Searching for the best restaurants in Midtown Manhattan? The neighborhood has been experiencing a newfound air of cool as of late: this fashion week, Marc Jacobs and Tory Burch are holding their runway shows in the corporate and tourist epicenter of New York City, while trendy downtown restauranteurs have opened ambitious new projects in Rockefeller Center. And those are just the new-ish haunts. There are a lot of storied options, from steakhouses to Michelin-starred restaurants to omakase bars, that New Yorkers have been dining at for decades. (Or, in the case of Keens Steakhouse, over a decade.)
Below, find the best restaurants in Midtown Manhattan, which we define as north of 35th Street, south of 60th, and east of 7th Avenue. By the way—if you are looking for suggestions in the nearby Theater District, we have a guide for that too.
The Grill
Warhols hang on the wall of The Grill as white-jacketed waiters carve prime rib tableside in this ultra-luxe restaurant housed in the Seagram building. Run by Major Food Group, the operators faced a tough challenge when they opened in 2017: the space formerly housed the iconic Four Seasons restaurant, a haunt of Truman Capote’s swans, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and endless more famous society figures in New York history. But when preeminent New Yorker Marc Jacobs hosted his wedding there in 2019, the re-christening was complete. The Grill is just as much a part of the city’s fabric as ever.
BG Restaurant
If you are a lady who lunches—even if just for the day—BG Restaurant is your clubhouse: peruse the designer racks on the third floor of Bergdorf Goodman before riding the escalator up to the seventh for their famous Gotham salad (diced chicken breast, ham, gruyère, tomato, bacon, beets, hard-boiled egg, crisp lettuce, Dijon vinaigrette dressing) and duck dumplings. Or skip the American meal and opt for an Anglo treat with their afternoon tea service.
The Lobster Club
When Vogue covered The Lobster Club’s opening in 2017, we described it as “extravagant Japanese cuisine in an even more extravagant space decorated with sleek furniture colored in ’80s pop.” Indeed, the Peter-Marino design restaurant is still known for its sushi and wagyu sandos, all served in a colorful setting with lime-green booths and peach chairs.
The Polo Bar
Ralph Lauren’s The Polo Bar on 55th Street is one of the few restaurants that has a dress code. It’s also one of the few restaurants where dressing up feels like a privilege rather than a burden. Done in Lauren’s distinctly Americana style—a little bit equestrian, a little bit Western, a little bit prep—the dining room feels like a cool, nostalgic clubhouse. Everything on the menu is fantastic, but when in doubt, order the burger.
The Monkey Bar
The iconic Monkey Bar dates back to Depression-era New York and has had a number of stewards over its 100-year history, including former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter and Sunset Tower’s Jeff Klein. Currently, it s run by the critically acclaimed restaurant group behind Four Charles, who have honored its jazzy old New York soul—and then some. Order the French dip or the ribeye steak frites, along with the monkey bread.
Nobu 57
At this point, there are 56 Nobus across the world, ranging from the Bahamas to Dubai. Yet it’s the one with 57 on its name that is still very much worth going to, with its rock-shrimp tempura with spicy-sweet sauce and miso black cod—two dishes that launched one thousand imitations. Eat it all amid a dining room designed by David Rockwell.
L’Avenue and Le Chalet
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Located on the ninth floor of Saks Fifth Avenue, L’Avenue is the stateside outpost of the famous French eatery. Designed by Philippe Starck, it offers French-Asian fare: think tuna tartare, chicken spring rolls, Dover sole, and spicy lobster pasta. Although that’s just for lunch and dinner—L’Avenue also serves breakfast and has an après-ski-themed lounge, Le Chalet, which has been the site of both Gigi Hadid’s birthday party and several Saturday Night Live after-parties.
Keens Steakhouse
One of the most iconic steakhouses in Manhattan, Keens has been serving enormous mutton chops to New Yorkers since 1885 under a ceiling of 45,000 smoking pipes that once belonged to names like Teddy Roosevelt and Babe Ruth. (Fun fact: Keens has the largest collection of churchwarden pipes in the world.) Obviously, order a steak—and maybe a Caesar salad or a wedge. Try to save room for the banana fosters for dessert.
Pebble Bar
Pebble Bar—whose starry investors include Mark Ronson and Nicholas Braun—is housed in a four-story townhouse among the skyscrapers of Rockefeller Center. Sip a martini amid the madness in interiors by AD100 interior design firm Gachot Studios, who adorned it in a moody Art Deco meets retro 1960s aesthetic. (Think: marble oyster bar, brass table lamps, floral House of Hackney pillows, Eames lounge chairs, and velvet couches.) There’s also a seafood-focused bar snacks menu, which includes everything from lobster rolls to coconut crab ceviche.
Le Bernardin
The true gourmand should splurge for dinner at Le Bernardin, one of New York’s five three-Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City. The focus of Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert’s signature eatery is seafood, from langoustines to bouillabaisse with sea urchin. The prix-fixe three-course menu is $190 per person—and well worth it if you want an exemplary, special occasion meal you’ll never forget.
