Best fancy romantic restaurants
The city's best splurgeworthy spots for a date, anniversary or holiday.
Tue Jan 29 2013
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
- Price band: 3/4
- Critics choice
Chef Dan Barber’s upstate branch of his Manhattan eatery is a locavore's mecca—anyone who professes an interest in where their food comes from needs to make a pilgrimage there at least once. Situated on an expansive working farm, the restaurant features produce and meats that come directly from the
- 630 Bedford Rd
Corton
- Price band: 3/4
- Critics choice
Veteran restaurateur Drew Nieporent’s white-on-white sanctuary focuses all attention on chef Paul Liebrandt’s finely wrought food. Sweet bay scallops anchor a visual masterpiece, featuring wisps of radish, marcona almonds and sea urchin. Order the sweetbreads and a server arrives to show off the
- 239 West Broadway, (between Walker and White Sts)
Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
Strictly speaking, the mash-up of restaurant and retail food shop makes sense. You pop in to browse, and you stick around for a meal. But in New York, the combination has been an awkward fit. At spots like Jeffrey’s Grocery and Market Table, the shopping components, squeezed in tight near the door,
- 53 Great Jones St, (between Bowery and Lafayette St), 10012
Kyo Ya
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
The city’s most ambitious Japanese speakeasy is marked only by an open sign, but in-the-know eaters still find their way inside. The food, presented on beautiful handmade plates, is gorgeous: Maitake mushrooms are fried in the lightest tempura batter and delivered on a polished stone bed. Sushi (we
- 94 E 7th St, (between First Ave and Ave A)
La Grenouille
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
New York’s haute French dinosaurs (including Lutece, La Cote Basque and La Caravelle ) have basically gone extinct over the past few years. La Grenouille, which opened in 1962, is the last survivor, a window to when stuffy waiters and chateaubriand were considered the highest form of dining. It
- 3 E 52nd St, (between Fifth and Madison Aves), 10022
Marea
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
Michael White, who built a national reputation at Fiamma in New York and Las Vegas, only to see his fledgling empire squashed overnight in a partnership meltdown, returned stronger than he left. The chef strives to continue the comeback that began at Convivio and Alto with the new seafoodcentric
- 240 Central Park South, (between Seventh Ave and Broadway)
Mas (farmhouse)
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
This fashionable spot with clean lines, chocolate tones and a warm golden glow arrived in the Village with an instant scene, courtesy of chef Galen Zamarra (formerly of Bouley Bakery). But look past flashy diners for the real excitement: a menu that focuses on seasonal and organic ingredients. A
- 39 Downing St, (between Bedford and Varick Sts), 10017
Peasant
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
The dining room at Peasant, one of downtown’s most celebrated Italian restaurants, is equal parts rustic and urban chic. Cement floors and metal chairs give the place an unfinished edge, while the gaping brick-oven and lengthy wooden bar provide the telltale old-world notes. Dishes that emerge from
- 194 Elizabeth St, (between Prince and Spring Sts), 10012
Raoul’s
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
Keith McNally has been trying for years to replicate what Raoul’s has been doing since 1975—serving first-rate French fare in an authentic bistro setting. Raoul’s timeworn look is the real deal: Authentic antique furnishings, pressed-tin ceilings and walls, black-and-white leather booths, and
- 180 Prince St, (between Sullivan and Thompson Sts), 10012
Sushi Azabu
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
This stealthy sushi shrine—tucked away in the basement of Greenwich Grill—attracts solo diners who happily hobnob with the talkative chefs while popping exceptional nigiri morsels into their mouths. You can order à la carte, but the $58 prix fixe is a generous bargain: First-rate sashimi and
- 428 Greenwich St, (between Laightand Vestry Sts)
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