Our Top Picks for NYC Restaurant Week, Winter 2019

Restaurant Week takes place twice a year, and the winter 2019 edition is upon us! It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year, when hundreds of restaurants across New York City offer specially priced prix-fixe menus. From January 21 to February 8, you can dine at some of the city’s best restaurants, with two-course lunches for $26 per person and three-course dinners for $42.

Here are some of our favorites among the participating restaurants. Make those reservations soon!

Claudette
Greenwich Village

Claudette is a Provençal restaurant that draws inspiration from Chef Ari Bokovza’s Tunisian grandmother. Local produce, quality seafood, and North African aromatics make up the menu here. Enjoy a warm and hearty meal during Restaurant Week, with options that include muhammara, smoked eggplant and garlic soup, vegetable tagine, a lamb kefta gyro, and Moroccan lemon tart.

BLACKBARN
NoMad

As the name suggests, BLACKBARN serves local artisanal food in a modern barn setting. The environment may be rustic and casual, but the menu and wine list are refined and world-class. Highlights of the Restaurant Week offerings include sheep ricotta gnocchi, big eye tuna tartare, and chili dusted swordfish.

Maiella
Long Island City

An elegant waterfront restaurant in Long Island City, Maiella serves authentic Italian dishes with a modern flare. Enjoy the pretty setting while you feast on burrata, handmade ricotta and spinach ravioli, and chestnut panna cotta.

Fish Cheeks
NoHo

Fish Cheeks is a seafood-centered Thai restaurant that prides itself on authentic dishes served family-style in a vibrant, playful space. During Restaurant Week you can expect items like grilled fish cakes, crispy pork belly, Manila clams, and vegan curry.

Barano
Williamsburg

Head to South Williamsburg to try Barano, a wood-fired seasonal Italian restaurant that makes its own pastas and mozzarella. You’ll be presented with options like cavatelli with house-made lamb sausage, octopus with mint pesto, a heritage pork tomahawk, and dark chocolate almond tart.

Edi & the Wolf
East Village

If you’ve never tried rustic Austrian cuisine, Edi & the Wolf would be the place to do it. The warm, inviting atmosphere is meant to inspire Gemütlichkeit, “a sense of conviviality and cozy intimacy that comes from the temporary surrender of everyday responsibilities.” If the space doesn’t do it, the potato leek soup and wiener schnitzel with potato salad and lingonberry jam sure will.

Hanjan
Flatiron District

Hanjan was inspired by the joomak, a Korean tavern offering travelers food, drink, and a place to rest. In that spirit, you’ll find Korean fare reminiscent of street market food – elevated for the New York palate, of course. Try the gochugaru-cured cod roe, braised beef short rib, and black sesame ice cream.

Baar Baar
East Village

Translating to “again and again,” Baar Baar reimagines Indian food in a way that will challenge your perception of the subcontinent. The East Village establishment will serve innovative dishes like avocado papdi chat, duck shammi kebab, and tandoori mushroom during Restaurant Week.

Buttermilk Channel
Carroll Gardens

Buttermilk Channel is the name of the mile-long strait between Brooklyn and Governors Island. When the area was no more than farmland, dairy farmers would cross the strait by boat to sell their milk in Manhattan. If you have lunch at the restaurant named in the channel’s honor, try the buttermilk ricotta for your first course. And whether you’re there for lunch or dinner, the buttermilk fried chicken is an easy winner.

Café Boulud
Upper East Side

Café Boulud is the creation of French chef Daniel Boulud, one of New York’s culinary greats. The Michelin-starred institution blends French tradition with American sensibility through its cuisine. Try the pâté de campagne and beef bourguignon.

Zuma
Midtown East

A forward-thinking Japanese restaurant, Zuma claims its cuisine is authentic but not traditional. Taste for yourself when you try the seared tuna with chili daikon or salmon teriyaki.

The Cecil Steakhouse
Harlem

For an incredible meal in an upbeat and unpretentious environment, make a reservation at The Cecil. The Harlem steakhouse is adjacent to a revival of Minton’s Playhouse, which was a noted jazz club that hosted many of the genre’s greats.

La Lotería
West Village

Chef Julieta Ballesteros presents a spin on Mexican cuisine with La Lotería in the West Village. During Restaurant Week you can make brunch, lunch, or dinner reservations, with a selection including chipotle pulled chicken empanadas, pork belly tacos, and churros with chocolate and dulce de leche.

January 2019, for the Halstead Real Estate Blog