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On a random summer night, a bouncer perched outside Bar Snack called out to me and other passersby on the street, luring us with the promise of great drinks, great food and "the best bathroom in the East Village." Reader: I am here to tell you—he was right. But if a disco-fresh bathroom isn't enough to tempt you in, the convivial nature and solid list of tasty cocktails (and snacks!) found at Bar Snack certainly will.  The vibe: After surveying the East Village and its many, many (expensive) cocktail bars, bartender Iain Griffiths and Brooklyn-based bar owner Oliver Cleary decided they wanted to create something—and so they did, serving "dressed-up classics for dressed-down people." The inside gives off '70s lounge—think wood paneling and a dark, walnut-wood bar lined with glittery orange bar stools. Snagging a seat during the nighttime hours can prove difficult as this bar certainly attracts a crowd, making standing room your best bet. But even the daytime can bring a rowdy good time, as rock and throwback hits (hello Spice Girls!) blare through the speakers. The food: Snack is in the name, isn't it? And snacks, they do so well. Fried cheese curds are tossed in pickle dust and hot dogs get a little fancy with onion jam and a hot pickle. But the snack of all snacks is the Spice Bag ($18). Leaning on Griffith's Irish roots, the bag comes to the table in a white paper bag labeled "Spice Bag" fashioned in the style of the Spice Girls logo. As much as you'll want to save it,...

Nine Orchard occupies the iconic Jarmulowsky Bank, a deeply historic building restored using its original 1912 blueprints. The Neo-Renaissance architecture has been brought back to life with care: vaulted ceilings, pink Tennessee marble floors and Botticino marble walls create a backdrop for bold artworks and patterned banquettes.  It’s a hotel that works just as well for coffee, dinner or drinks as it does for an overnight stay. It’s also a magnet for celebrities and tastemakers—on my way out, I clocked model Lucky Blue Smith and his social-media-star wife Nara Smith gliding in to check in—proof, if any were needed, that Nine Orchard is one heck of a swish place to stay.  Why should you stay at Nine Orchard? Let me count the reasons. Firstly, the location is spot on: just off the beaten path in the Lower East Side, with an indie edge and some of the city’s best boutiques on the doorstep. The design is genuinely swoon-worthy, and the dining options deliver, with the ground-floor Swan Room calling for a cocktail once evening rolls around.  What are the rooms like at Nine Orchard?  There are 113 rooms across six categories, starting with classic and studio spaces with queen or king-size beds. At the top end, there are two-bedroom suites ideal for families, plus a rooftop terrace suite and the aptly named Supreme View Suite, with skyline vistas.  While the public spaces lean into opulent maximalism, the bedrooms feel calm and relaxed, drawing on mid-century modern influences....

Adda Indian Canteen was something of a revelation when it debuted in 2018; its refusal to compromise when it came to the bold side of the cuisine laid the groundwork for chef Chintan Pandya’s and Roni Mazumdar’s brand of cooking, and certainly influenced the name of their restaurant group: Unapologetic Foods. And yet, the original that kicked off a slew of award-winning restaurants (Dhamaka and Semma) came to a close earlier this May. But before we had time to write a eulogy, the closure came with a caveat: they would be back sooner than later. And they made good on that promise this April, moving operations to a larger space in the East Village. Alive yet again with a refreshed sense of self, Adda is continuing its long-standing ethos of presenting the cuisine in “its full, honest form.” Backdropped by graffiti-covered newspapers and magazines on the walls—which should look familiar, as the wallpaper was lifted from the old restaurant—Adda’s top hits return, including kebabs, soft housemade paneer and the combo of a silky egg custard and steamed goat brain in the bheja masala. But Adda’s evolution continues with lamb cooked every which way, with excellently seasoned minced meat pressed between layers of flatbread and skewered (Roti Aur Boti), and shreddy hunks bubbling in cast irons made even more unctuous with dollops of lamb butter. Chutneys? You can dip them and drink them in the same dinner, as tart tamarind, smoky mango mezcal and earthy onion brine martinis come...

Delmonico’s has had several twists and turns in its 196 years as a hospitality enterprise. Expansion and retraction. Ownership changes and licensing agreements. Fires. Financial battles. And status grabs as the nation’s first fine dining destination, its largest, and as the originator of such august entrées as eggs Benedict.  It has occupied the distinguished tip of a triangle block downtown in one form or another for most of the time since 1837. Its last gap was during the pandemic. Then, another zag last winter, when news of its impending return was announced, then retracted, then proclaimed once more, with new owners and some cosmetic alterations attached. Delmonico’s reopened, replete with a ribbon cutting and a visit from the mayor, in September.  Like centuries, I suppose, 20 minutes can seem subjective, depending on how you spend them. I recently spent what ended up being 20 minutes waiting for my Delmonico’s reservation acquiring knowledge.  First, I learned that the delay had no estimated end because “a couple of tables” were “finishing up.” Second, I learned that I could beat it to the separate bar to wait for an undetermined period, but there might not be space because it was “pretty crowded.” Third, I learned that if you while away on the pretty blue settee near the entrance, instead, you will be walled off by a dense line of vacation-wear or business casual-clad people clamoring to retrieve their items from coat check. And finally, I eventually learned that 20...

Heat is a heck of a thing. It can be gauged a few ways. The Scoville scale is a generally accepted measurement that more or less assigns alarms to chili peppers. Bell peppers are at the bottom and Carolina Reapers are at the top, with tabasco around the slightly-high middle.  Individual interpretations of heat are more subjective. You might be joined at dinner by somebody for whom nothing’s hot and somebody for whom everything is. And restaurant staff is trying to manage both of their expectations. It might all complicate sharing to a degree, but who thinks what is too spicy can also be a conversation accelerant.  My preference is on the high side, so rarely does the promise of piquancy seem to deliver on its stated claims. But I’ve met my match at Kru. Kru’s “modern interpretation of hundred year-old Thai recipes” first appeared in our fall restaurant preview last year. The married co-owners of Fish Cheeks, chef Ohm Suansilphong and pastry chef Kiki Supap opened this independent venture a few days later in September. In November, the nicely lit, handsome space lined with illustrations of Thai herbs and spices was listed among Esquire’s best new restaurants in America. In the last few weeks, it was introduced to the Michelin Guide and named a James Beard Award semifinalist in the best new restaurant category. And it has earned a position on my personal list of places that actually test the limits of my heat tolerance, even with some puzzling gaps.  A staff member details...

This Madison Avenue institution began as the private library of financier J. Pierpont Morgan and is his artistic gift to the city. Building on the collection Morgan amassed in his lifetime, the museum houses first-rate works on paper, including drawings by Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Picasso; three Gutenberg Bibles; a copy of Frankenstein annotated by Mary Shelley; manuscripts by Dickens, Poe, Twain, Steinbeck and Wilde; sheet music handwritten by Beethoven and Mozart; and an original edition of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol that’s displayed every yuletide. Also keep an eye out for rotating special exhibitions.  In 2006, a massive renovation and expansion orchestrated by Renzo Piano brought more natural light into the building and doubled the available exhibition space. A theater, Gilder Lehrman Hall, regularly hosts recitals and concerts.

I admit—I never had the chance to experience John McDonald's MercBar, which was described as a "proper bar" in SoHo and ran for an impressive 21 years. Since its closure, McDonald had stayed plenty busy with his other ventures at Mercer Street Hospitality, including Lure Fishbar, Cha Cha Tang and Bowery Meat Company. But it seems his itch to get back behind the bar was too strong as McDonald opened Bar Mercer in January 2025.  While the name plays on the long-gone bar, the vibe is entirely new, with McDonald describing it as "an inversion of its spiritual predecessor both in name and concept." While the intention is to look lived in, the sleek red shine of the walls is a dead giveaway, made even more elevated with black and white photography on the walls and cloth-backed chairs that display watercolors of flowers and peacocks. But luckily, chef Preston Clark (of Lure Fishbar) menu of comforts help to usher that feeling of familarity forward. Here, chef Clark cooks the food he likes to eat, and in turn, we like it too, with branzino bar sliders and beer-battered fish alongside a meaty Berkshire Pork Chop. Brunch follows through with more hits, like Housemade Pigs in a Blanket with a horseradish mustard that will make your head sing and Hangover Pasta with a silky sauce and a yolky egg that is guaranteed to cure. The chalkboard near the front displays weekly specials, so try to catch the bone-in, ribe-eye Cowgirl Steak or the off-menu burger if you can. 

Some things get better with age. The Empire State Building—now approaching its 100th birthday—is definitely one of them.  The Empire State Building became an icon when it opened in 1931 as the world's tallest building. Though the landmark may have lost its No. 1 height status, it's remained a beloved destination with incredible views of the city. Thanks to recent updates, it's not just about the views anymore. The building now spotlights art, architecture, and history; plus, it offers a slew of cool events and excellent dining options.  Tourists tend to make the Empire State Building their first stop upon arriving in New York City, and they're onto something—it's worth a visit, no matter if you're a lifelong New Yorker or just passing through town. Here's everything you need to know to make the most of your trip to this essential gem of the Manhattan skyline. RECOMMENDED: 101 best things do in NYC Why is the Empire State Building so famous? This building was a Very Big Deal since day one. It was the world’s first building to soar higher than 100 stories, and it was completed in a record-breaking 1 year and 45 days thanks to seven million man-hours of hard work. The 102-story skyscraper opened to plenty of fanfare. On May 1, 1931, President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C., officially opening the building and turning on the Empire State Building’s lights for the first time. The building quickly became a tourist hotspot, even more so when it became the...

We really like eating around the city, and we're guessing you do, too. So lucky for all of us, we've packed all our favorite restaurants under one roof at the Time Out Market New York. The DUMBO location in Empire Stores has fried chicken from Jacob’s Pickles, pizza from Fornino, delicious bagels from Ess-a-bagel and more amazing eateries—all cherry-picked by us. Chow down over two floors with views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline.  RECOMMENDED: The best things do in NYC

If you thought getting a table at Per Se was tough, try getting into Rao’s. On second thought, don’t. Rao’s (pronounced “RAY-ohs”) is really a private club without the dues. To eat here, you’ll need a personal invite from one of the heavy hitters who “owns” a table. These CEOs, actors, politicians, news personalities and neighborhood old-timers established a long-standing arrangement with the late, legendary owner Frankie “No” Pellegrino, and that's what ensures a seat at one of the ten tables at the Italian-American icon. In fact, reading this review is probably the closest you’ll get to Rao’s.