The best restaurants near Lincoln Center

Focusing on coastal seafood (the restaurant’s name means “tide” in Italian), this Central Park stunner is a temple to all creatures of the sea. Pasta fanatics will not want to leave without sampling Chef Michael White’s famed fusilli with octopus and bone marrow.

Housed in a sleek freestanding building designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Lincoln’s architectural ambition is matched only by its refined cuisine. Now helmed by Chef Shea Gallante, diners can expect hearty Italian restaurant preparations with an emphasis on farm-to-table sourcing.

This romantic space, outfitted with walnut-wood columns, showcases the former tenant’s beautiful and historic oil murals. Chef Vito Gnazzo executes a Southern Italian menu that includes dishes such as buffalo ricotta gnocchi and traditional Sicilian couscous with shellfish ragout.

Superchef Daniel Boulud combines the foods of Spain, Italy and many more at his most international restaurant. But the restaurant’s cooking also plays to his strengths: It’s polished, elegant and still fundamentally French. Don’t miss the pre-theater, three-course prix-fixe; a relative bargain at $63.

The first of a chainlet that has since expanded to Miami and LA, this bustling Columbus Circle spot boasts a truly astounding number of fish varieties. Options are divided by Atlantic or Pacific Ocean habitats, so bring along friends and eat your way across the globe. Did we mention they bottle their own sake in-house?

Boasting dreamy views of Central Park, this Time Warner Center steakhouse is a carnivore’s paradise. Chef Michael Lomonaco stacks his menu with six different cuts of prime dry-aged beef, as well as the incomparably tender, true Japanese 100 percent Wagyu New York strip steak.

This David Rockwell–designed Mexican restaurant has vivid terrazzo steps, a two-story blue-tile water wall and backlit pressed roses that brighten the first-floor bar. The guacamole, an excellent bar snack, is deservedly famous, but don’t miss out on the equally addictive enchiladas suizas made with roasted chicken and creamy
tomatillo sauce.

This Lincoln Square spin-off offers the same menu of American brasserie fare as the East Village original. Take a seat at the zinc bar and choose from dishes like the Brooklyn-style fried calamari or a thick burger topped with American cheese and bacon.

With a menu as sophisticated as its crowd, this upscale seafood restaurant specializes in teetering shellfish towers (with the sizes named Ballet, Opera and Symphony, naturally) and innovative sushi rolls. The weekday dinner prix fixe is music to theater-goers’ ears. Pun intended.