Restaurants recommendations near Times Square
I'm going to be in NYC with my daughter next week for a school conference. There are already some planned tourist things: the One World Center observatory, South Street Seaport, the Roosevelt Tram ride, and a Broadway show.
There is a pretty full schedule of scheduled activities. The primary degree of freedom is that almost every meal, breakfast lunch and dinner, is "on your own".
We're staying right in Times Square, so the expectation seems to be that everything you could want for food is within walking distance of the hotel. I plan to find a grocery store and get some fruit and snacks to keep in the hotel so we don't have to go out for every meal if she's exhausted.
Keep in mind also, it will be myself, my 4th grader, and whatever of her 4-6th grade friends we pick up, so we're not looking for bars or haute cuisine. If there's something "special" or uniquely new york, I can probably sell it as a new experience, but it needs to be in their overton window.
She's a pretty good eater but prefers familiar food. She's a fan of American staples like pizza, dogs, and burgers. She does well with Italian and Mexican, but rarely likes Thai, Indian, or Chinese.
Her best friend is vegetarian, so at least some vegetarian- friendly options would be good.
We won't have a ton of time for other touristy stuff, but I'm open to recommendations for something simple and short we could do in the evenings. In this thread people mentioned riding the ferry, so if that's a thing we can easily do from there, maybe grabbing some street hot dogs and sitting on the ferry would be a good option?
So, Tilderistas what Times Square recommendations (or anti recommendations) do you have?
The large restaurants in and around the area you are staying would be fine for a kid that goes for the foods you’ve listed above. They definitely don’t reflect the state of NY cuisine but in a pinch it doesn’t matter.
More practically though, you will also find that anywhere with office buildings generally has eat-in type places near it that have everything from coffee, sandwiches and soups to salads and even pastas and pizza.
The simpler forms of the type of place I mentioned above are the deli and the bodega. The difference between the two is that the former is less likely to have a sandwich press and the later is more likely to have a resident cat sleeping among the bread or potato chip bags.
You will quickly start to recognize the difference between the array of non-restaurant food places and find a few that have the type of stuff and atmosphere that you prefer. Please be sure to have many different deli sandwiches, toasted bagels with different types of cream cheese, a bacon egg and cheese on a roll, and one of those square carrot cakes with frosting on top next to the cash register for the kid.
Times Square is a place most New Yorkers and commuters pass through rather than go to and stay in. Most of your time there will be spent negotiating heavy foot traffic and various delivery vehicles whilst inhaling blasts of secondhand weed smoke. If someone tries to get your attention always completely ignore them and keep moving at a steady pace. Be prepared for disgusting public bathrooms. Make sure you visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History but not both on the same day. Hudson Yards, the Highline, and the new Whitney museum are also great places frequented by tourists and locals alike.
Enjoy your trip!
I stand by what I said in the linked thread:
This isn't to say that they are outright bad, they are just going to be way more expensive than is reasonable, or the food will not be great. Set your expectations around the fact that you will be looking to eat in the most touristy area of the city. I guess I can maybe recommend Ichiran and Angelina Paris (but that isn't really Times Square) given your restrictions. As mentioned elsewhere, New Yorkers don't really go to Times Square. Another thing; don't be afraid of the food trucks - if one looks particularly sketchy don't go, but most tend to be quite good!
And a quick plug - some friends just opened up a coffee shop that is very much worth going to in SoHo, so if you happen to be around, give Deploy Coffee a try!
I’ve seen tourists in a large groups show up to NYC expecting to walk into any restaurant and find seating. Anything more than 2 people really starts to limit things.
I do think this is one of the reasons we are "on our own" for meals - to keep the group size small.
This is why I have both a spreadsheet, that tracks whether they offer reservations, and a map view so we can bail on things for something else close.
A spread sheet is a really good way to start. I had a friend come recently short notice and it took me about an hour to find something within walking distance to them, then they dropped the surprise that they were brining their kids and all those plans went out the window.
I didn’t like Time Square. That being said, there is a Jollibee on (and another one near) Time Square that sounds like a fit for kids.
It’s the McDonalds of the Philippines, with chick’njoy being their staple: Fried chicken with rice (or spaghetti, or fries). If anything, their peach mango pie is worth it to just hop by and get as a snack.
To give you some concrete suggestions, here are a few places I like to go when I go into the city for a show. I am vegetarian, so any of these should also be fine for her friend.
Boqueria- very nice Spain Spanish food. It's pretty accessable I think, but not super cheap.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/f5vUVZZvCFembWHB9
Queen of Sheba- Ethiopian, which can be hard to find elsewhere depending on where you are from. It might be a good place to expand their pallet and has great vegetarian options.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Zff2uFgguy9Z7w8r9
Kashkaval Gardens- Greek and fondue. We usually do fondue there. It's delicious and good, not super fancy.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/6VWLT7kjHuCRr8Ym6
Jajaja Mexican- very good Mexican food that happens to be vegan. I think one of the uniquely New York things is incredibly good vegan restaurants. The first time we went there we didn't even realize it was a vegan place, and were already planning on going back.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ABf7LouajEH7xeUS9
Becco- Italian, more touristy and accessible. They do endless pasta if yall are in the mood for that.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HthSj8Gre1nwKgbX9
If you want more touristy recommendations, Junior's and Carmines are a good choice. Junior's cheesecake is very good, quintessential ny style. And Carmines is a family style Italian place with huge portions, so it fun with a bigger group.
Also for Broadway, if you don't have a specific show in mind, you may want to try using TKTS for discount tickets. If you go up to Lincoln center in the morning, that location opens earlier and does not get as much of a line.
Seconding Becco. I grew up on Long Island and frequently went to the city for Broadway shows. My mom and I would go to Becco usually beforehand. They have a $25 bottle of wine list that we'd pick from and split, and depending on the daily pastas, we'd do the endless pasta. I took my husband here when we went back for a family visit and he loved it.
The other restaurants sound excellent too, would love to try them next time we're back in town.
Honestly every time im in Manhattan I just go to a random cheap-looking crowded pizza place that's not a chain (i.e. not Sbarro) and it's always amazing. Just make sure to warn your kids about how tomato sauce retains heat because they WILL burn themselves.
For not-pizza, BCD Tofu House has really really really good korean food. It's somewhat of a chain but it has very few locations in the USA so it's worth going to if you're in Manhattan imo. I used to go to the one in LA weekly (or more often) when I lived there and I always make a point to go there if I'm in NYC
Try los tacos no 1, there should be a location near times square. They have great tacos. I remember their line being long but fast.
Also I like Joju which is a banh mi vietnamese sandwich place. It might be a little over your daughter comfort zone, but unique enough to try.
Also, there should be some good bagel places near you that you can grab some bagel sandwiches. I'm on the boat that you don't toast a good bagel, only bad ones.
Oh you should take your daughters to kinokuniya nyc, which is a large japanese store by bryant park (2 to 3 avenues away from times square).
Stay away from Eli's and some of the local chains by The Metropolitan Museum. Their food is disgusting and and a waste of money.
There's the staten island ferry, but also the nyc ferry. I would actually take the East River ferry and head either down to dumbo or williamsburg for a nice trip. My favorite falafel place is in williamsburg called oasis, which is super affordable and vegan friendly.
https://www.ferry.nyc/routes-and-schedules/east-river/
Hudson's Bagels at 691 9th Ave is pretty close to Times Square, and one of the better bagel places I found in that area.
Thanks, I needed some bagel places on the list.
Awesome, thank you. I am going to look at the ferry and see if I can sort doing that out.
I love Tacos No 1, every time I'm in NYC for work I make a point to pass by there and get one of each of their delicious tacos. Definitely second this suggestion!
I’ll add Havana Central to your list.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HGf2uZ4ao3j3UdQTA
It’s surprisingly good Cuban food if you’d like to give it a try. You’ll find better in Hoboken or Miami, but it’s one of my go-tos if I have to be near Times Square and want a sit-down restaurant.
My partner and I went to Boqueria a month or two ago (after having done a whirlwind road trip around Spain earlier in the year) and found it excellent if a little expensive.
As usual, Tildes comes through in spades. Thank you all. It's probably not the ideal NYC experience, but maybe it will set the stage fortunate return when she's a bit older for a visit with bigger scope.
I’ve never actually been to New York, so I don’t have any specific recommendations.
But in general, the Michelin guide is actually really good. I used to ignore it; I assumed it was mostly just super expensive restaurants. They probably were good, but not worth the money. But take a look anyway. Specifically, look for restaurants that don’t have any Michelin stars. Once you start looking at places with one star, it gets quite expensive. 2+ stars is even worse. But places with no stars tend to be just normal restaurants with normal prices that are quite good. The guide has prompted me to go to places I otherwise wasn’t considering, and I have yet to be disappointed by a Michelin guide restaurant.
I quite enjoyed Ellen’s Stardust diner, it’s an (expensive as they go) diner, but the gimmick is that the waitstaff are all aspiring broadway actors who take turns singing. I think in our 45 minute meal they sang maybe ~8 songs. It was pretty fun.
Ellen's Stardust diner is still solid diner food and perfectly located if you're looking to stay near Times Square and Broadway in particular, despite being more expensive. It's fun, and if I remember correctly, their shakes are excellent.
If on Time Square, I would recommend these given your schedule and family requirements;
stardust diner on 51st and broadway; my kids loved the singing etc., i hate it but whatever, make sure to make rsvts.
junior's Restaurant & Bakery - W45th between 7th and 8th ave; typical american diner but at least the cheesecakes are good
carmine's - Time Square W44th and 7th Ave; italian, much better than olive garden!
apart from that, there are plenty of pizza restaurants that are pretty good so you have plenty of options, i don't have one particular recommendation, mexican, it's mostly box restaurants, they are ok - not great but ok, and a lot of them exist within this area of NY.
Havana Central Times Square - W46th between 6th and 7th ave; cuban food - pretty good - its been already recommended
for Thai, Indian, or Chinese, I don't recall any of the top of my head in this area of NY, maybe others may have better options.
For singing restaurants, Gayle's Broadway Rose at Friedman's is also great, and can do everything gluten free if that's something you need.
I have no recommendations, but this thread reminded me of an old food critics review in NYT for Senor Frogs in Times Square.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/30/dining/senor-frogs-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1U4.oUTa.cEJWAcDkrd43&smid=url-share
That is .... A rich experience to be sure. Amazing
Margon is right there, a famous hole in the wall Cuban spot. Rudys gives you a free hot dog with each beer.
But for more wide reaching recs, the Beli app is probably your best bet to find good stuff super close. It's a way more foodie version of yelp that seems less annoying in my experience.
I am frankly baffled to find that no one's recommended All'Antico Vinaio on 8th Ave yet. It's just sandwiches, which should make it thoroughly accessible to the average American kid, but it's the best goddamn sandwiches ever, authentically Florentine in as many ways as they can figure out.
The sandwich I got there 2 days after I got the same one in Florence was night and day different not in a good way. 🫣
Hoping I was just there on an off day.
Sandwiches sound perfect. Hard to turn down a recommendation like that.
Also, sandwich alignment chart.
I visited times square in 2016 and made a joke about how I traveled to NYC to eat at Olive Garden, because there is one right there. I'm not recommending it per se, but a lot of people in this thread don't seem to understand that you have kids along.
Haha, I saw that too. Hard for me to imagine who would be eating there in Times Square, I don't even eat at Olive Garden at home.
I found a couple other Italian places, so at least we can get something more local if we want Italian, and NY style pizza is my double fallback plan when all else fails.
I told my daughter I was looking for places, and she said, "I bet a lot of people will go there and eat something they could eat at home, instead of something special. " So she might be feeling adventurous.
Honestly, those restaurants are partially ads, which is to say that the chain restaurants in times square will be better than any of their other locations in existence...
It's actually a pretty good Olive Garden though, I ate there too and enjoyed.
So how'd the trip go?
You the up eating anywhere good?
Thanks for asking / reminding me to follow up. We had s great trip! Montessori Model UN was amazing, but that is another post.
We were staying in the Marriott Marquis that is literally in Times Square. Other than some further out stuff on the tour bus, we stuck to walking distance things. The kids weren't interested in anything too exotic food wise.
Here are my quick reviews:
We saw Almost Happy Endings, a musical about two robots falling in love. I'm no connoisseur of musicals, but it was enjoyable, and the effects were amazing.
There's John's Pizzeria in an old church a few blocks away. It's not as good as John's on Bleeker but it's still phenomenal pizza by most standards.
Awesome! I think pizza is going to be a good repeat option, and it's very nice to have a good local option.
Chez Josephine is near Times Square and has an old-school NYC vibe.