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This is a boutique hotel in every sense of the phrase; every detail has been poured over, from the silky, pleated walls in the corridor to the hidden Portrait Bar, just for hotel guests.  It’s full of surprises; you could round a corner to find a floral, velvet sofa and a well-stocked bookcase as a reading nook, or discover a colorful parlor filled with palms and garden furniture, available for private hire. It’s a bit like a cabinet of curiosities, but on a much larger scale—here’s my brand-new review of The Fifth Avenue Hotel.  Why should I stay at The Fifth Avenue Hotel? First up, because it’s absolutely gorgeous. Its home is found within a 19th-century mansion and Swedish-born star designer Martin Brudnizki created the design scheme, which is inspired by owner Alex Ohebshalom’s travels as well as romanticized figures of French history, like the poet Baudelaire. The vibe is all richly toned colors, exquisite materials, and romantic details, so you’ll want to get your camera out. It also genuinely feels five-star—there are special touches like tablets in rooms that control all elements of lighting, heat, sound, and television, as well as a 24/7 butler service. What are the rooms like at The Fifth Avenue Hotel? There’s a mixture of rooms (queens, kings, and corners), suites (studio, one-bedroom, terrace), and signature suites such as the penthouse, which are beautifully designed, offering features such as smart TVs, designer bath products, and even luxury car service. You...

Alma has the kind of restaurant story we love to hear. It started all the way back in 2002 when three partners purchased a vacant lot in Red Hook and built the tri-story restaurant from the ground up (the same team moseyed down the waterfront to build Brooklyn Crab a decade later, which also sits three stories off the ground). But in 2024, Roberto Lopez and Emilio Sanchez took over the operation, sprucing up the floors and decor across all three levels. To ensure the integrity of Alma remained intact, chef Francisco Lopez, who'd been there for 20 years, stayed put in the kitchen to continue cooking Pueblan cuisine, the food of his Mexican hometown. A true family affair, his wife, Margarita, brings her Oaxacan roots to the table, focusing on salsas and moles that she makes from scratch, while their daughters, Daisy and Daphne, tend to the front of house.  The cuisine is more homey than groundbreaking: bowls filled to the brim with guacamole, flautas as crunchy and crisp as can be and tortillas made in-house and served warm every time. The red snapper is a sleeper hit with a punchy, warm tomatillo-and-saffron sauce, while the short rib enchiladas did the job, spilling out with shreds of meat and plenty of cheese, covered in a luscious mole. Billed for two (though there's plenty to feed three people), the parillada platter features several proteins—some a bit overcooked—including grilled steak, shrimp, chicken and chorizo, plus triangles of gooey fried cheese, mango salsas...

elNico Rooftop might be one of the more understated rooftops in Williamsburg. It sort of hides in plain sight inside The Penny Hotel Williamsburg, which perhaps makes sense, since graduate students at Bard College also call his hybrid hotel home. It sits 11 stories up, its interior looking a little like a gallery loft where your eccentric friend just moved in, as marble pillars and white floors stand in the background of velvet green couches, colorful rugs and a sculpture that looks like a cloud of colorful confetti thrown above the bar in glee. But the roof is where you'll find most of the clientele, whether it's at the open-air lounge in the summer or the all-season covered terrace, nicknamed the greenhouse, both touting amazing shots of Brooklyn and the skyline in the distance. It makes a great landing spot for visitors and locals who remember it exists, whether you climb up for a daytime brunch of birria benedicts and chilaquiles or wind down with plates of tacos and chicken mole by dusk. But coming here for a drink and a chill by the DJ stand is just as good, particularly if that tipple is the excellent tomatillo Gibson. 

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.

The rooftop restaurant inside Equinox’s very first hotel is just as you’d envision a restaurant from a luxury-gym brand to be: health-conscious, sleek and upmarket, catering to a see-and-be-seen crowd that may or may not have just worked out.  The vibe: Electric Lemon mimics the monochromatic stylings of the luxury gym down below: much of it grey, much of it grand and mostly sparsely decorated except for curved metal accents, a fireplace and wavy reflective art pieces. The real draw is the sprawling, 8,000-square-foot terrace, offering excellent views of the river and a stockyard of subway cars lying in wait down below. Don't be surprised if a flock of gussied-up influencers magically appear at the golden hour to snap a few pics. But you can't really hate on them, as you'll likely be right alongside them, taking shots of your own. The food: Two words: clean eating. What that phrase actually translates to here is food that feels healthy enough, but is bordering on boring. Mindfully nosh on tightly packed summer rolls plump with an assortment of rainbow petals, "new-fashioned" deviled crab (that needs more helpings of its creamy ginger dressing and a vehicle to eat it with) and a juicy piece of chicken served over a bed of spring veggies.  You can get a bit naughty with a wonderful lemon spaghetti featuring pops of bottarga and a generous sprinkle of fresh lemon zest and Parmesan. The cheeseburger ($32) is sufficiently indulgent but exorbitantly priced at $46, once you add...

We curated every last detail at the Time Out Market: the food, the cultural experiences, the drinks, the space—everything including the breathtaking view, which is the perfect backdrop for the “best in New York City” experience. At The Rooftop at Time Out Market you can discover impressive bites from culinary rockstars while relaxing on sea foam seats on the outdoor terrace. Post up for acts selected by our team, complementing the entertainment of the breathtaking, sweeping views of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline, perfectly framed by the grand windows. Signature Cocktails ($14) New York SourAmador Double Barrel Whiskey, Lemon, Simple, Aquafaba and Reserve Port Hibiscus ChillCasamigos Reposado, Combier Orange, Lime and Hibiscus Syrup Sangria SpritzBertoux Brandy, Mulling Spice, Red Wine Blend and Club Soda Smokin' Cherry MuleAgave De Cortes Mezcal, Black Cherry, Amaro, Lemon and Ginger Beer SouthsiderSpring 44 Vodka, Aloe, Mint and Cucumber My Kind of Old FashionedHigh West Double Rye, Bertoux Brandy, Maple and Bitters Coconut CarouselOwney's Rum, Dark Rum, Orange, Pineapple, Coconut and Nutmeg Strawberry BelliniGrey Goose Vodka, Strawberry, Basil and ProseccoBeer Selection ($8) Brooklyn Brewery, Bronx Brewery, Stella Artois ($9), Modelo Especial ($9), Asahi Brewery, Estrella Damm, Mikkeller Brewery ($12), Five Boroughs Brewery Wine List SparklingLambrusco, Otello Ceci, Emilia, Italy ($12, $54)Mumm Napa, Blanc De Blancs, Napa, CA ($13, $56)Bedell Sparkling...

Bark is the product of a remarkable journey: Pitmaster Ruben Santana began smoking meats during the pandemic, and a pop-up couldn’t keep pace with demand for his Dominican-inflected Texas barbecue for long. After a stint at Time Out Market, he's opened his first brick-and-mortar: a huge, spiffy new hall in Bushwick, already swarmed with curious diners. And that makes sense because–and I don’t say this lightly–Bark is quite possibly the best barbecue in New York City. The place is big, with two levels of communal tables, a mix of high and low-tops. The room is, like many other barbecue joints, soaring with an almost industrial scale. The place has an easy-to-understand, convenient layout. And there seems to be a high ratio of staff to guests, so cordial, helpful guidance or assistance is never far. The place hums with efficiency.There’s a bar, but they don’t serve liquor–only beer and wine and some soju cocktails. The selections aren’t expansive, but that’s not why you’re here, and they get the job done just fine. I would never make a claim that New York’s barbecue compares to Texas’ for the same reason that a Texan’s claims about bagels would fall on deaf ears. But Mr. Santana obviates comparison with a deft move: blending Texas barbecue with Dominican gastronomy. The two, it turns out, have a beautiful affinity. Rice and beans soak up sauce wonderfully, and maduros (plantains) offer a similar starchy sweet element as cornbread. As far as typical sides go, they’re...

Beyond the iconic, show-stopping displays—the grizzly bear in the Hall of North American Mammals, the 94-feet long blue whale, the prehistoric Barosaurus skeleton rearing up as if to scare the adjacent Allosaurus skeleton—is an expertly curated, 150-year-old museum that fills visitors of all ages with a curiosity about the universe. Whether you’re interested in the world below our feet or the cultures of faraway lands or the stars light-years beyond our reach, your visit is bound to teach you a few things you never knew. With four floors filled to the brim with artifacts, you could spend a whole day just looking at the taxidermied animals that hail from North America, Asia, Africa, rain forests and the ocean. Or, conversely, spend a day like an anthropologist and study indigenous Americans, Asian cultures, African peoples, Pacific tribes, and, before these rich cultures existed, the evolutionary origins of humans and our near (now extinct) cousins, like neanderthals. Also don't miss the new wing called the Gilder Center, which houses a butterfly vivarium, an insectarium and a 360-degree immersive experience, in an architectural masterpiece.

  Located on the 18th floor of the hotel, the "jewel box" space by Med Abrous and Marc Rose, who are food and beverage partners of the hotel and co-founders of the hospitality group Call Mom, opens up to incredible views of the boroughs, the bridges and the East River, which shine like stars at night. Designed by James Beard Award-winning design firm Parts and Labor Design, Panorama Room is visually dramatic. Its palatial vibes are set by luxurious velvet vintage-inspired tubular lounge sofas, chrome and marble touches, mosaic tile columns and its giant, tubular acrylic chandeliers that hover above the massively long bar. It's not only luxe but it's somehow simultaneously futuristic and retro. The space is filled with art from artists like Julia Chiang, Spencer Lewis, Alake Shilling, JPW3, Chris Martin, Brian Belott and Ida Eklbad, selected by Venus Over Manhattan partner Anna Furney and designer/creative director Darren Romanelli (aka Dr. Romanelli or DRx). Artist Sophie Parker and her botanical studio, Wife NYC, will also make custom arrangements and sculptural artwork for the lounge. There's even a custom-designed DJ booth made in Normandy by Hervet Manufacturier and Cédric Hervet, the long-time creative director for Daft Punk. The vibe: This is a swank place with a lot of cultivated ambiance, so there’s a cocktail attire dress code for entry i.e. no sweatpants, cargo shorts, or slides. The food: Mostly raw preparations of seafood, so it’s not the kind of place you...