The best restaurants near Radio City Music Hall

New York dining mores have experienced a seismic paradigm shift in the past decade, toppling Old World restaurant titans and making conquering heroes of chefs that champion accessible food served in casual environments. But Le Bernardin—the city’s original temple of haute French seafood—survived the shake-up unscathed. Siblings Gilbert and Maguy Le Coze brought their Parisian eatery to Gotham in 1986, and the restaurant has maintained its reputation in the decades since. Le Bernardin is still a formal place, with white tablecloths, decorous service and a jackets-required policy in the main dining room. But a recent overhaul modernized the room with leather banquettes and a 24-foot mural of a tempestuous sea by Brooklyn artist Ran Ortner.

The big-box room, situated on the ground floor of the Grace Building, is too comfortably cream-toned for cool, fixed with timber barn beams and folky stork wallprints evocative of the Alsatian farm country where Gabriel Kreuther—the man, not the restaurant—hails. But Kreuther isn’t concerned with cool, nor should he be. Fresh off an acclaimed decade at Danny Meyer’s MoMA restaurant, the Modern, the veteran chef joins the grand pantheon of name-bearing flagships—the Daniels, the Jean-Georges—with cooking that’s as personal as it is precise.

If the prix fixe is a chef’s CliffsNotes, the tasting menu is their magnum opus—lengthier and denser, painstakingly edited, with many an all-nighter spent carving out both structure and statement. Sure, they can be self-indulgent, glacially slow, sometimes damn-near masochistic in their nonstop cortege of plates. But boy, what a way to eat when the chef’s got something to say—and Bryce Shuman has plenty. The Eleven Madison Park vet discarded the à la carte offerings at Betony, the ambitious midtowner that garnered him a Michelin star, and recharged the fine-dining room with a four-course prix fixe and a 10-course chef’s tasting menu. But despite the luxe reworking, Shuman thankfully hasn’t lost his sense of fun.

The historic lounge atop 30 Rock serves breathtaking skyline views alongside old-world-meets-modern American fare from its perch 65 stories high. Upgrade your weekend with a decadent Sunday brunch, complete with dishes like a lobster Béarnaise eggs Benedict with hackle back caviar, carrot-cake pancakes with vanilla bourbon syrup and duck hash with orange sherry-vinegar gastric. Reservations are accepted up to six weeks in advance.

Beyond the requisite chicken tikka masala (one of the best we’ve had), dishes delight at every turn at this stunning spin-off of the Flatiron District's Tamarind: A lamb appetizer (nizami keema) combines tender grilled strips with soft minced meat and pillowy naan, while Punjabi mutton, actually made with goat, falls off the bone in a rich, vibrant curry. But the most consistent pleasures come out of the twin tandoor ovens, visible from the main dining room: superlative lamb chops that are tangy, spicy and tender, and moist sea bass slathered with thick yogurt and a subtle blend of roasted spices that enriches the flaky fish without overwhelming its delicate flavor.

Good looks aren’t everything, but they’re serious business here, where tables overlook the MoMA’s sculpture garden and diners carve their meat with Porsche steak knives. The pre-fixe menus are as carefully curated as any museum show, from a vibrant opening bite of asparagus tart to a bright green pistachio macaroon petit-four. While servers attend to every detail, the kitchen sends out a menu that's as inspired as it is tasty. Get an early reservation so you can look out at the garden while the sun’s still out.

This spot from classically trained chef Hooni Kim was born of his frustration at not being able to find real, authentic Korean food. The restaurant's name refers to a small container for ingredients like the doenjang(fermented bean paste), gochujang (spicy fermented bean paste) and ganjang (soy sauce) that Kim has shipped to his restaurants directly from Korea four times a year, and it’s what gives the food here a unique depth of flavor. Crispy tofu teases three textures out of the bean curd: a crunchy exterior, a pudding-like mantle and a mochi-like interior, while the bossamemploys pork belly cooked in Korean aromatics (soy, garlic, ginger and onion) punched up with dehydrated radish kimchi.

Del Frisco’s Grille in Rockefeller Center is the more affordable offshoot of the national chain’s famed steakhouse, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, located just across Sixth Avenue. Situated on the edge of the plaza with a large, patio-style outdoor seating area, it serves as a secluded hideaway from hordes of milling tourists in a neighborhood populated primarily by Irish dives and bank-busting fine dining spots. Here, you’ll find all the hallmarks of a chain restaurant, albeit an upscale version. Leave the finger foods behind and opt for the stuff that calls for cutlery, like an eight-ounce filet mignon.

This buzzy, underground izakaya defies its dowdy location in the heart of Times Square with authentic Japanese flavors that would scare the fanny pack off most tourists. Bring a group, order a few $12 pitchers of Sapporo, and keep the small plates coming: Japanese cucumbers are served with mayonnaise and sweet, funky miso for dipping. Okonomiyaki—a squid-and-cabbage pancake—is topped with a flurry of bonito flakes, while kara-age hunks of fried chicken) are crispy nuggets buried under mild grated daikon and ponzu sauce.

You’ll find an impressive collection of fish packed into the ice bar at this stylish Hellenic haunt. Fruits of the sea include all manner of Mediterranean species (sargo, pageot and loup de mer), along with a range of tentacled delights. The preparation is classic Greek—all creatures are grilled, with olive oil, herbs, lemon and capers. Warning: Since it’s priced by the pound, a prize catch can lead to a hefty bill.

Just down the street from its red-blooded sibling, Quality Meats, this cavernous second-story perch warms concrete ceilings with butcher accents à la AvroKO. Lamps resembling meat hooks and framed butcher’s paper hang over a crowd, eager to drown the midtown workday in red sauce and wine. The kitchen's penchant for tableside cooking adds a carnival element to this big-box trattoria, with affable servers making wisecracks over flaming lobster Diavolo.

Kitsch and chichi mingle at this tiny, hidden spot in the posh Parker Meridien. It’s a perfectly re-created burger emporium circa 1972, down to the “wood” paneling, vinyl booths and iconic ingredients, such as Heinz ketchup and Arnold’s buns. The burgers are picture-perfect, too—juicy and flavorful with the perfect degree of char. Get “the works,” with tomato, lettuce, pickle, mayo and red onion. The fries are only fair, but milk shakes are thick and good.

Often imitated but never replicated, Halal Guys have become a critical component of any midtown bar night. If you happen to find yourself stumbling to the train after a long session at Jimmy’s Corner, their chicken over rice (with plenty of white and hot sauces) and gyros are well worth the detour—the blend of booze-absorbing starch and perfectly seasoned poultry makes for the perfect nightcap.