Although Midtown is technically the centre of Manhattan, the overlapping neighbourhoods of Gramercy, Flatiron, and Union Square are more central – and more interesting. You have lovely small parks, iconic architecture (i.e., the Flatiron Building), great boutique and chain shopping, and some of the city’s best cafés and restaurants. On one stretch of 20th Street alone you have Gramercy Tavern, Rezdôra, new Indian spot Passerine, and the original NYC location of Sugarfish. Keep reading to discover our favourite restaurants in this peaceful part of town.
42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003
Gramercy Tavern
Restaurateur Danny Meyer and his Union Square Hospitality Group are behind some of the best restaurants in NYC. And whilst Meyer consistently opens new spots, Gramercy Tavern, which turned 30 this year, continues to be a classic – and has the Michelin stars and James Beard Foundation Awards to prove it. It was a pioneer in rustic, farm-to-table elegance, and Executive Chef Michael Anthony continues to evolve his seasonal menus to keep showcasing local produce.
Rezdôra
New York City is overflowing with Italian restaurants, and many are very good. But when Rezdôra opened in 2019, it was an instant hit and hasn’t slowed down since. Chef Stefano Secchi (who previously worked at Massimo Bottura’s legendary Osteria Francescana) has crafted a menu based on the cuisine of the Emilia Romagna region, which translates into ingredients like prosciutto and black truffles alongside intensely rich ragus. There’s even a pasta tasting menu, which is pretty much irresistible to anyone who loves carbs.
27 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003
17 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011
Oiji Mi/bōm
Korean cuisine is booming right now – especially so in the fine dining sector. Like this pair of Michelin-starred restaurants located one inside the other. Oiji Mi is a beautiful dining room behind a showpiece bar, with menu highlights like a bo ssam with heritage pork belly, oysters on the half shell, and spicy mustard mignonette; chilli lobster ramyun; and black bass and manila clams in a seafood broth. Bōm is in the back, offering a progressive, 11-course tasting menu at a counter with grill inserts for live cooking.
ABC Kitchen
An instant classic when it first opened in 2010, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s temple to farm-fresh produce consistently draws celebs, locals, and tourists. Whilst the menu changes seasonally, there are several standbys worth ordering: the roast carrot and avocado salad, the peekytoe crab toast, and the yellowfin tuna tartare. And for dessert, be sure to save room for the showstopping caramel popcorn sundae. If you’re vegan (or just a real vegetable lover) venture one block over to the original location of abcV.
35 E 18th St, New York, NY 10003
36 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003 | Credit: Todd Coleman
Passerine
This just-opened Indian spot has pedigree. Its chef, Chetan Shetty, previously cooked at Indian Accent in New York and New Delhi, and led the kitchen at Rania in Washington DC, which earned a star in 2023. At Passerine, he relies on his mother’s spice blends, which she grinds at home and ships over from India. These blends colour Union Square Greenmarket ingredients to create dishes like the dry-aged Kolhapuri lamb tartare, beef Nihari, and a channa masala panisse with tomato tukku. Cocktails and the 300-plus wine list are equally inspired.
Hawksmoor
If you’re a British import coming to NYC as a steakhouse, you can’t be lacklustre. And, located inside the United Charities Building’s beautifully restored Assembly Hall, UK stalwart Hawksmoor doesn’t disappoint. It’s become a staple of the city’s upscale dining scene since opening three years ago; any homesick Brits looking for a classic Sunday roast can find it here every week, and it’s also one of the only places in the city to get a more-than-decent sticky toffee pudding.
109 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
12 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010 | Credit: COQODAQ
COQODAQ
This David Rockwell-designed sister restaurant to Cote is stunning – and packed to the gills every night with diners ordering the bucket list. What is the bucket list? Why, it’s a giant bucket of classic Korean fried chicken, a second bucket of a fried chicken of your choice (soy and garlic or gochujang glaze), and several sides. The wine list focuses on Champagne and claims to be the largest Champagne list in North America, so don’t be shy about asking the helpful sommeliers some fizz-related assistance.
Grandma’s Home 外婆家
These neighbourhoods have never had much to offer in the way of authentic Chinese food, but that changed at the beginning of 2024 when this Chinese chain – which has more than 200 locations in China – opened its first US outpost in Flatiron. Showcasing the homestyle cooking of Hangzhou with a modern twist, the menu includes hearty dishes like clay pot chicken with green tea, soy-glazed crispy fish, soup dumplings, and braised pork belly buns. Complement the food with a seasonal tea cocktail, served inside a large pot for two or more people to share.
56 W 22nd St, New York, NY 10010 | Credit: Teddy Wolff
47 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003
Shuko
A cosy sushi counter just off Union Square, Shuko is by chefs Nick Kim and Jimmy Lau, who met at Masa in 2005, worked together at the now-closed Neta, and opened Shuko as their own project in 2015. Behind the unmarked black door is a slim room with 20 seats, a hip-hop soundtrack, and one menu option: a 21-course, $270 sushi omakase. The menu changes seasonally and depends on what fish is available from Japan and elsewhere, but may include ingredients like toro, striped amberjack, Santa Barbara uni, and scallop.
Union Square Café
Founded in 1985, Union Square Café in many ways epitomises the Union Square dining scene. The first restaurant by Danny Meyer, it was serving fine dining focused on seasonality and locality well before it was trendy, always using the Union Square Greenmarket as its guiding beacon. It has won five James Beard Foundation Awards and remains as much a power lunch spot as a date night go-to – even after it was forced to move a few blocks away in 2016 when faced with a major rent hike after nearly 30 years.
101 E 19th St, New York, NY 10003 | Space: Peter Garritano
16 W 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
COTE Korean Steakhouse
This Michelin-starred restaurant breaks the mould of what a steakhouse can be, whilst at the same time serving some of the best meat in the country. Order the butcher’s feast for four different cuts of beef, an egg soufflé, and a wide selection of banchan and stews. Each table has a smokeless grill inset where your meat will be expertly cooked, and you can pair your meal with wines from the excellent list by sommelier and partner Victoria James. Make sure to duck downstairs to cocktail bar Undercote before or after your meal.
Lysée
When pastry chef Eunji Lee, formerly of two-Michelin-starred Jungsik, decided to open her own dessert shop, she didn’t go with a simple bakery. Instead, she debuted Lysée, an upscale dessert boutique with an elaborate sweet tasting menu, dine-in à la carte, and a to-go counter that displays her treats as if they were luxury purses. Each pastry is a work of art, including the V.I.C. (Very Important Chocolate Cake) and the Instagram-famous Corn, a corn mousse cake in the shape of a corn on the cob.
44 E 21st St, New York, NY 10010
35 E 21st St, New York, NY 10010
Cosme
It’s been 10 years since Mexican chef Enrique Olvera opened Cosme, his first US restaurant on 21st Street, and it helped bring upscale Mexican to the city. The dining room is grand, and many tables are filled with tequila and mezcal margaritas and dishes like tataki al pastor, carrot tlayuda, house mole, and the big-enough-for-four duck carnitas. Plus, no dessert order is complete without its famous cornhusk meringue.
