From classic faves to newer spots, the best restaurants near Rockefeller Center mean midtown eating is better than ever
For years, Rockefeller Center has split the difference between tourist destination and inevitable hub for area office workers. New Yorkers would either visit when family or friends were in town to see the eponymous Christmas tree, Top of the Rock or the Rockettes, or just to pick up a salad destined for desk dining. More recently, however, its been a perennial fixture on food-trend forecasts. Whether or not Rockefeller Center does or does not bloom into the esteemed eating and drinking destination it’s been pitched remains to be seen. These classic and new spots are worth checking out until then.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best restaurants in NYC
The current crown jewel of glittering Rockefeller Center brings the team behind NYC favorite Frenchette a few dozen blocks uptown. The Time Out four-star spot is pretty and spacious with a lengthy menu, including nice chicken liver mousse and escargots, terrific pasta, and marvelous bison and duck.
What to order: Rigatoni with confit swordfish and capers, or agnolotti with burrata and black truffles
Aesthetics are key two blocks north of RC at The Modern, where tables overlook MoMA’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden. Its pre-fixe menus are also carefully curated; as inspired and delicious as the setting and price tag demands: the six-course and 10-course tasting menu options are a confirmed splurge at $175 and $275 per person, respectively.
What to order: If you don't want to make it rain, opt for the Modern’s Bar Room menu instead—most mains are in the $30-$40 range and they take walk-ins and reservations for lunch and dinner
Whether you're a tired ice skater in search of sustanance, or a beleaguered newsperson on election night, Ace's has the eats you seek, conveniently located rinkside at Rock Center. Sink your fangs into Italian sub sandwiches or pillowy, Detroit-style rectangles—adorned with items like pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage or burrata—or narrow it down to thin, grandma-style pies.
What to order: The Pepper Trio pizza, loaded with pickled jalapenos, green bell pepper, sweetie drop cherry peppers, and chili honey drizzle. (Just don't forget the Pepcid!)
Fashioned after Italian cafes, Lodi features a case full of pastries you can take to go and a smattering of seats where you can linger over beautiful baked goods, a selection of cured meat and cheese, antipasti like marinated mussels and larger plates like chicken Milanese and a dry-aged ribeye.
What to order: A snacky feast of smoked-mozzarella arancini, house-made ricotta and anchovies dressed with peppers and butter
A stone’s throw from Rock Center proper, this midtown classic has been serving sushi and sashimi for more than 45 years just east of Fifth Avenue. It’s worth the tiny detour for its lunch sets priced from $30, and the dinner menu’s popular $57 Box of Dreams, which is beautifully presented in nine compartments of a lacquered box.
What to order: The Box of Fantasies, which enhances the Box of Dreams with fancy stuff like shaved truffles, sturgeon caviar, sea urchin and more for $79
Prized for its rice bowls, FieldTrip has two NYC locations: in Harlem, and right here at Rockefeller Center. Try varieties like the crispy fish with cilantro-lime rice and cornmeal-crusted cod, fried chicken with Carolina Gold vegetable fried rice, and chickpea curry with eggplant and Texan brown rice.
What to order: Herb-marinated shrimp with coconut grits, wok veggies, curry sauce, fresno chilis and toasted coconut
Looking every bit the chain that it is (though, with five locations, smaller than you’d expect), Bill’s Bar and Burger was a big deal with it opened its Rock Center address back in 2010. Its sprawling space is warmly kitschy and Bill’s can be friend to tourist and weary guide, both, for a low-stakes bite.
What to order: A burger, duh—specifically the Fat Cat, topped with caramelized onion, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle and special sauce on a toasted English muffin
The owners of Atomix and Atoboy reach back in time to traditional Korean recipes at this rinkside Rockefeller Center restaurant. (Look for the elevator marked with the NARO signage from the street level.) Menu items include beef galbi jjim (braised short ribs), mushroom japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) and namul bibimbap (mixed rice with vegetables).
What to order: Korean fried chicken dressed with kimchi powder and truffle aioli
Black Feed has been one of NYC’s best bagel makers since the relatively recent year of 2014, and its Rockefeller Center location opened five years later. The morning-to-afternoon shop has bagel flavors like multigrain everything, poppy and rye, plus egg-and-cheese breakfast options, lunchier sandwiches and pizza bagels.
What to order: Pastrami, egg and cheese on a warm, wood-fired bagel
City Winery’s outdoor “wine garden” is open year-round, and it has fun, festive heated domes in view of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree after Thanksgiving. Domes comfortably fit two to eight guests and require a $250 minimum spend to reserve for 90 minutes, so grab a few friends and divide up the price over cheese and charcuterie platters, hot drinks and, of course, wine.
What to order: Marinated olives, roasted nuts and a festive mulled wine spritzer
With his latest restaurant, chef Sungchul Shim has established a pattern of opening a great new place every other year. First was Kochi, in 2019, followed by Mari in 2021, then Don Don in 2023. The latter, his foray into Korean BBQ, is considerably more affordable than its lauded predecessors, with a premium placed on pork.
What to order: The $49 pork tasting is reasonably suited for two, with three cuts of pig (fresh belly, 14-day-aged pork collar and 14-day-aged pork belly), preceded by housemade banchan including peak daikon and onion kimchi.
Midtown-spendy by night (an $80 dover sole and $41 chicken breast ring alarm bells about what M/P might amount to elsewhere), Limani has a lunch prix fixe with a lot to choose from for $39: grilled sallops, salmon, shrimp saganaki, tuna burgers and a kebab version of that pricey chicken are all among the options.
What to order: Sashimi-quality big eye tuna with Swiss chard, skordalia and patzaria
Entry-level expense account destination Del Frisco’s Grille is the little eaglet that hatched from Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse nearby but outside the plaza. This one still boasts hundreds of bottles of wine and a long, mainly meaty menu that includes a tidy selection of steaks.
What to order: A medium rare filet with hearty sides like bacon-tossed Brussels sprouts and truffled macaroni and cheese
Although Oceana actually moved to this location in 2009, it possesses a kind of power lunch, seafood tower, '90s vibe. You can choose from a few literal ones, plus a bunch of sub-sea starters (halibut ceviche, grilled octopus). Squid and lobster also appear in pasta, and fishy mains are joined by land fare.
What to order: Squid ink bucatini with Nantucket Bay scallops, Calabrian chili and trout roe
From Herald Square to Columbus Circle and everywhere in between, these are the best midtown restaurants.
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