New York City Guide

On popular demand, I’ve updated my original NYC Guide, Where To Go in NYC. :)  Also, for the places that I’ve already blogged about, I’ve embedded links so you can easily read more about them (and of course, look at pictures).

If there is a place in NYC that you like, but that I didn’t include in this list, feel free to drop me a comment. I love discovering new places!

Restaurants / Cafes

• Felix – French <–Brunch!
• Essex Restaurant (Lower East Side) – American <–Brunch!
• Bagatelle (Meatpacking) – French <–Brunch!
• Catch (Meatpacking) – Asian Fusion
  
• Essex & Beauty (Lower East Side) – American
• Lavo (Midtown East) – Italian
• Cipriani – Italian
• Tao Downtown – Asian Fusion
• Brasserie Beaumarchais – French
• Manon Restaurant/Bar (Meatpacking) – American
• Abe&Arthurs (Meatpacking) – American
• TheDutch (Soho) – American
• Serafina (Meatpacking) – Italian
• Ken&Cook (Nolita) – American
• Hurricane Club (Flatiron) – Asian Fusion
  
• Lexington Brass (Midtown East) – American
  
• Forcella (Bowery) – Italian 
  
• Stanton Social (Lower East Side) – Tapas
• Arlington Club (Upper East Side) – Steakhouse
• Sd26 (Flatiron) – Italian
• Miss Lily’s (West Houston, Greenwich Village) – Jamaican 
  
• I Tre Merli (West Broadway, Soho) – Italian 
  
• Nespresso (Prince St, Soho) – Coffee and lunch place 
  
• FIKA (Park Avenue South, Flatiron) – Swedish Espresso Bar
  
• Jamaican Truck (48 St & Park ave) – Best Jamaican food! 
  
• Spice Market (Meatpacking) – Asian Fusion
• Sea (Meatpacking & Williamsburg) – Thai (the one in W. is huge)
• Pastis (Meatpacking) – French
• Republic (Union Square) – Asian Fusion
• Negril Village – Jamaican/Caribbean restaurant and Rum Bar
• Song (Park Slope, BK) – Thai
• Room Service (Hell’s Kitchen) – Thai
• Delicatessen (Nolita) – American
• Cafe Habana (Nolita) – Cuban
• Miss Lily’s (South Village) – Caribbean
• La Esquina (Soho) – Mexican
• Habana Outpost (Fort Greene, BK) – Cuban
• TAO (Midtown East) – Asian Fusion
• Asian restaurants at St. Marks (East Village)
• Standard Grill (Meatpacking) – American
• Fun restaurants if you get off the L train at Bedford in Williamsburg
• Buddakan (Meatpacking) – Asian Fusion
• Dos Caminos (Meatpacking) – Mexican

Nightclubs / Bars

• Soaked (Soho) –  Rooftop lounge at Mondrian Hotel
• Harlow (Midtown East) – Classy lounge/bar and restaurant
• Campbell Apartment (Midtown East) – Lounge, corporate crowd
• Tao Downtown (Meatpacking) – Nightclub, with tough door and some model clientele
• Pegu Club (Soho) – Cocktail bar/lounge
• Lil’ Charlie’s (Nolita) – Lounge
• Jimmy (South Village/TriBeCa) – Rooftop bar/pool lounge at The James Hotel
• Catch (Meatpacking) – Lounge above the restaurant  
• RDV (Meatpacking) – Awesome nightclub!  
• La Zarza (East Village) – Hip lounge  
• Bagatelle (Meatpacking) – Go for their weekend brunches
• Provocateur – Lounge & nightclub at the bottom of Gansevoort Hotel
• Upstairs at Kimberly Hotel (Midtown East) – Finance crowd, nice rooftop  
• The Smith (Midtown East) – Finance crowd, fun for happy hour  
• Ava Lounge at Dream Hotel (Midtown West) – Pretty lounge, nice crowd, access to rooftop  
• PS450 (Midtown East) – Nice lounge for HappyHour 
  
• Verlaine (Lower East Side) – Happy Hour
  
• Bar 89 (Soho) – Artsy spacious bar, with the coolest bathroom stalls. They are (temporarily) transparent! 
  
• Saxon + Parole (Bowery) – Great crowd and nice interior. 
  
• Boom Boom Room (Meatpacking) – Beautiful bar/lounge at the top of the Standard Hotel 
  
• Silver Leaf Tavern (Midtown East) – Great for wine & appetizers
• Silver Spurs (West Houston, Greenwich Village) – It’s a diner, but I go there because my friend makes the best frozen margaritas at the bar
  
• Le Bain at Standard Hotel (Meatpacking) – Indoor rooftop w/ Jacuzzi, and outdoor rooftop w/ great view!
• PH-D Rooftop at Dream Downtown Hotel (Meatpacking) – Beautiful venue with models and celebs (Russell Brand, Solange, Ashton, & more) ~ photos posted here.
• The Empire Rooftop (Upper West Side) – Sunset cocktails & sliders
• Gansevoort Meatpacking Rooftop – nightclub atmosphere Saturday nights, yet no cover charge
• Gansevoort Park’s Plunge Rooftop (Flatiron) – similar to the one in Meatpacking
• 230 5th Rooftop (Flatiron) – Nice both day and night, & nightclub during weekends. More relaxed than other rooftops.
• Juliete Supper Club (Chelsea) – Nice venue, and we met Mobwives there (clientele tend to be a bit younger than them though)
• 1Oak (Chelsea) –  Nice w/celebs like Bruno Mars & Chris Brown
• Griffins (Meatpacking) – Nice place w/ lots of Norwegian girls
• Avenue (Chelsea) – Hot spot right now! Beautiful small club.
• Greenhouse (South Village) – Organic vodka…if there is such a thing
• SL or Simyone Lounge (Meatpacking) – You might bump into Bruno Mars & John Legend
• GoldBar (Little Italy) –  Heard its good, but I haven’t been yet
• Affaire (East Village) – No cover charge & chill bouncers when I was there
• Pranna (Flatiron) – Great for Happy Hour and Asian Fusion appetizers + dance-club
• Vynl (Meatpacking) – $4-5 drinks during Happy Hour
• Pranna (Flatiron) – Beautiful, lounge, Happy Hour, nightclub
• Kazuza Hookah Bar (East Village) – Affordable drinks, great hookah & belly-dancing
• Yuka Bar (East Village) – Fun drinks & Latin American food
• The Standard Beer Garden (Meatpacking) – If u like beer
• Bar outside Standard Hotel (Meatpacking) – Cocktails & delicious french fries (ran into Russel Simmons here)
• STK Steakhouse (Meatpacking) – Bar, restaurant, rooftop
• Ajna Bar (Meatpacking) – Buddha bar style
• Gramercy Park Hotel – NY style bar w/fireplace
• LAVO – Late night lounge and restaurant
  
• Small affordable bars in East Village
• Many of the restaurants I’ve listed, also allow for you to just hang out and enjoy drinks at the bar

Shopping

• Soho on Broadway: Urban Outfitters, AllSaints, Guess, Marciano, TopShop, Bebe, Aritzia, Armani Exchange, Forever 21, Sephora, Express, Zara, H&M, Steve Madden, Nine West, Aldo, Intermix, Adidas +++
• Soho between Broadway & West Broadway: Intermix, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Michael Kors, Zadig & Voltaire, Miu Miu, Anna Sui, JLindberg +++ 
  
• 5^th avenue (between Bryant Park & Central Park) – Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s,  Saks Fifth Avenue, Juicy Couture, Apple Store, Hollister Co., Swarovski, Nike Town +++
• Meatpacking – AllSaints, Mochino, Scoop, Intermix, dVF, Sephora, Tory Burch +++
• Williamsburg & Village – second hand / vintage stores
• Herald Square – Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Aldo, Steve Madden, Forever 21, Footlocker, Zara, H&M, Bebe +++
• Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s etc.
• Century 21 –  Outlet
• 5th & 7th avenue in Park Slope, BK – Small shoe & clothing stores
• Union Square - along 14th street, & some stores are up on 5th ave
• The Shops at Columbus Circle, Time Warner Center
• Purchase hair extensions /weave and wigs in Downtown Brooklyn (take F train to Jay-Street). There are stores at Union Square as well, but I’m not sure if it’s more expensive there than in BK.

Other fun things

• Small fun art galleries (and more) on West Broadway, between West Houston and China Town.
  
• Hair salons – I can recommend Wonderland Beauty Parlor in Meatpacking, Chris Chase Salon in Chelsea, and Alibi on Green St, Soho. For Chris Chase, you get a discount if it’s your first time there. Check the website if they still have this deal. John Frieda salon in Meatpacking is absolutely amazing, and it attracts celebrities.
  
• Times Square – Stop by M&M World
• Rockefeller Center
• Top of the Rock – I think Top of the Rock is a nicer experience than Empire State Building
• China Town, Korea Town, Little Italy
• Little Russia (Brooklyn) – Combine it with a trip to Brighton Beach
• Statue of Liberty – See it from the Staten Island Ferry (it’s free)
• High Line & Chelsea Market (Meatpacking)
• Central Park
• Columbus Circle
• Take a stroll outside Lincoln Center, and go watch an IMAX movie at the nearby theater AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13
• Take the Hop-On Hop-Off tour buses (e.g. CitySightsNY)
• Ground Zero
• Take strolls in East & West Village, Financial District, Flatiron, Upper East Side, Meatpacking, and Chelsea.
• Stroll & eat out in Brooklyn: Park Slope w/Prospect Park, Carrol Gardens, Williamsburg, and Fort Green
• Watch a Broadway show
• Radio City Hall – Watch the ‘Christmas Spectacular’ show
• Stroll across Brooklyn Bridge
• Attend Fashion Night Out if you’re in NY during September – and Fashion Week in September and February if you’re able to get it
• Attend the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, if your in NY during Labor Day (September 5th)
• Pamper yourself with mani & pedi – for example at Dashing Diva
• Enjoy a massage at the beautiful Setai spa (Financial District)
• Watch comedy shows (one of my readers recommended Comedy Cellar)

Filed under: Beauty, Brooklyn, Fashion, Guides, My Favorites, New York, Nightlife, Wine & Dine Tagged: 1Oak, 230 Fifth, 230 Fifth Rooftop, 230 Rooftop, 5th avenue, 6 street East Village, Abe & Arthurs, Adidas, Affaire, Ajna Bar, Aldo, Alibi Green Street, Alibi Salon, AllSaints, American Food, Anna Sui, Apple Store, Armani Exchange, Art Galleries West Broadway, Asian Fusion, Ava Lounge, Avenue, Avenue Nightclub, Bar 89, Bebe, Bedford Williamsburg, Boom Boom Room, Brick Lane Curry House, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Bruno Mars, Cafe Habana, Campbell Apartment, Catch, Central Park, Chanel, Chelsea, Chelsea Market, Chris Chase Salon, Cipriani, Columbus Circle, Cuban Food, Delicatessen, Dream Downtown, Dream Downtown Rooftop, Dream Dowtown Hotel, Dream Hotel, dVF, East Village, Empire Hotel, Empire Rooftop, Essex & Beauty, Essex Brunch, Essex Restaurant, Express, Felix, FIKA, FIKA Park Avenue, Flatiron, Forcella, Forcella Bowery, Forever 21, Fort Greene, Gansevoort, Gansevoort Hotel, Gansevoort Rooftop, Gold Bar, Greenhouse, Griffins, Ground Zero, Guess, H&M, Habana Outpost, Harlow, Herald Square, High Line, Hollister, Hookah, Hurricane Club, I Tre Merli, Indian Food, Intermix, J Lindberg, Japanese Food, Jarl Haugedal, Jetsetter, Jimmy, Jimmy James Hotel, John Frieda salon, John Legend, Juicy Couture, Juliete, Juliete Supper Club, Kazuza, Kazuza Hookah Lounge, Ken & Cook, Kimberly Hotel Rooftop, Kiss and Fly, Lavo, Le Bain, Lexington, Lexington Brass, Little Italy, Louis Vuitton, Macys, Manhattan, Manon, Marc Jacobs, Marciano, Meatpacking, Meatpacking District, Michael Kors, Miss Lily's, Miu Miu, Mochino, Negril, Negril Village, Nespresso, New York, New York Rooftops, New York Shopping, New York Travel, New York Where To Go, Nike Town, Nine West, Nolita, NYC, NYC-JC Guest Suits, Park Slope, Pastis, Pier 17, Pranna, PS450, Radio City Hall, RdV, Red Lobster, Republic, Rockefeller Center, Rooftop, Russell Brand, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sapphire Lounge, Saxon + Parole, Saxon and Parole, Scoop, Sea, Seafood, Sephora, Serafina, Silver Leaf Tavern, Silver Spurs, Simyone Lounge, SL, SL Nightclub, Soho, Sohotel, Song, Southstreet Seaport, Spice Market, St Marks, Standard Beer Garden, Standard Grill, Standard Hotel, Standard Hotel Bar, Statue of Liberty, Steve Madden, STK, STK Steakhouse, Swarovski, TAO, Tao Downtown Nightclub, Ten, Thai food, The Diner, The Dutch, The James Hotel, The Smith, Tiffanys, Time Warner, Times Square, Top of The Rock, Topshop, Tory Burch, Tourist New York, Union Square, UNO, Upper West Side, Urban Outfitters, Verlaine, Victoria's Secret, Vynl, West Broadway, Wine & Dine, Yuka Bar, Zadig & Voltaire, Zara