16 Best Restaurants in Midtown East, New York City

If you're feeling peckish in this hurried neighborhood, join your fellow customers waiting their turn at this favorite Manhattan café and bagel bakery that has been serving authentic family-style comfort since 1976. There's a good selection of jumbo, kosher bagels onto which toppings are piled high and cream cheeses are generously spread upon, or choose from a variety of salads, sandwiches, and fresh-baked treats available all day. The line moves fairly quickly so be ready to know how you want your bagel or other order.

Set in the heart of Midtown, and located on the second floor of One Vanderbilt, a glassy 93-story skyscraper that dwarfs the nearby Chrysler Building (views of which you can appreciate from the restaurant's massive windows), Le Pavillon is named for a French restaurant in 1940s Manhattan that first defined French cuisine in the United States and is itself redefining fine dining in Midtown Manhattan. Immediately hailed a culinary oasis, world-renowned chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurant is also a soothing oasis, with its understated, neutral interiors, 57-foot ceilings, grand views, and lush forestlike setting complete with 20-foot-tall olive trees. The menu is prix-fixe and focuses on locally sourced vegetables and seafood. The Oysters Vanderbilt is named for the railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who built Grand Central Terminal. À la carte menu items are available in the bar and lounge.

This deco-inspired brasserie is a pretty pastel setting for a business breakfast or postshopping lunch and a flirty and chic destination for dinner. The vibes are lavish and retro; think Miami, Mrs. Maisel, and an ever-so-elegant cruise ship, with curved banquettes, multilevel dining areas, a curved marble bar, globe lights, soft pinks and blues, and altogether lots of visual drama. Once seated, the theatrics continue with an expertly manned martini cart for customizing your cocktail or mocktail and table-side visits for carving prime rib and flambéing Bananas Foster (and subsequent oohing and aahing). 

This Michelin-starred elegant and refined Scandinavian restaurant in the steady hands of Emma Bengtsson has prix-fixe options, including lunch, with a two-, three-, or four-course tasting menu, and a five-course or eight-course chef's tasting dinner menu. An à la carte option is offered within the sumptuous barroom area, best for sampling homemade aquavit, perhaps in a flight or mixed with tonic water. The dishes may seem simple, but even familiar meats, seafood, and seasonal ingredients are gifted with fresh creativity here. The elegant atmosphere features warm woods and modern Scandinavian design.

Chef Laurent Tourondel may no longer be involved with his namesake steak house, but this classy space, decked out in beige with resin-top black tables, still draws crowds. The no-muss, no-fuss menu with a variety of steaks and other options is nonetheless large, and so are the portions of starters such as crab cakes with celery-infused mayonnaise and ruby tuna tartare with avocado and soy-lime dressing. A veal chop crusted with rosemary and Parmesan lends new depth to the meat. Sides and desserts, like a killer peanut-butter chocolate mousse with banana ice cream, are all superior.

At NYC’s first 100% sustainable seafood restaurant, each item is ethically sourced—including wild-caught fish from unendangered stocks and all fish from aquaculture responsibly farmed, all developed under the advisement of the Monterey Bay Aquarium—and seafood lovers can expect both a sustainable and memorable meal. A daily raw bar features a fine selection of East and West Coast oysters. The daily oyster happy hour offers a selection of oysters for $2–$3 from 4 to 6 pm.  Additionally, there are satellite locations on the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side.

This flagship by chef Alex Stupak (wd~50 and Allinea) applies Mexican influences toward an inventive contemporary American menu amid an open kitchen, two-level seating, and a display case adorned with ceramics in unique shapes and sizes. For the table dishes encompass queso fundido (baked cheese) with steak tartare and crab nachos with sea urchin. Taco variations are unexpected but delightful—maitake mushrooms, pastrami, dry aged beef picadillo (ground beef and potatoes simmered in a spicy tomato sauce) and lobster. Their fajitas are also unique, with jumbo tiger prawns or surf and turf, but the dessert selection has gotten much attention. In particular, the "avocado" does resemble the fruit but it's actually a creamy, lime-flavored parfait.

Adjacent to the terminal's "whispering gallery," the Guastavino-tiled Oyster Bar has been a worthy seafood destination since 1913. The daily changing menu, based on what's fresh from the Fulton Fish Market, never fails to amaze. Start with a classic shrimp cocktail or made-to-order stews and pan roasts cooked in steam kettles. Or head to the counter merely for freshly shucked oysters, followed by a hearty bowl of clam chowder, paired with an ice-cold beer. No matter what you order, this landmark delivers on fresh, simply elegant seafood, such their seasonal grilled herring or shipped directly from Maine lobster.

Dining at this sceney, upscale eatery in the sharp, clean-lined Philip Johnson interior of the Seagram Building will transport you to the age of mid-century Mad Men; a reboot of the famous Four Seasons restaurant. But the food is even more thrilling—chefs Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone (Dirty French, Parm, Carbone) took over in 2017 and created an instant classic, one that both updates the American menu and relies on the space's rich history. Pheasant is sprinkled with black truffles; lamb chops have a hint of curry oil; prime rib is carved table-side. Polish off your meal with a flambéed cherries jubilee. Eating here is like taking a bite into sophisticated Big Apple history; those with a craving to splurge should keep this spot on their list.

Named after architect Hugh Stubbins, who designed the Citicorp Center building in which it's housed, this food court boasts 15-plus eateries, bars, and restaurants whose culinary offerings are as diverse as the city itself. Choices can extend to New York--style pizza, breakfast pastries, masala fries, Berlin-style döner kebabs, and Jamaican patties, among others, or later on order a cocktail at The Boardroom, a speakeasy. Sit at a table or along the adjacent staircase, while looking up at a lighting fixture by Parsons School of Design and School of Visual Arts students. 

Melbourne’s coffee culture is on display at this breakfast, brunch, and lunch spot that’s known for its flat whites, avocado toast, and a rotating French toast special—with a recent version having a crème brûlée filling. This busy café’s vast all-day menu also includes many brekkie options (consider the breakfast burrito), salads, sandwiches, and a daily soup. There’s a little cheekiness here, too, as the brand’s mascot—a green expressive cup named Collin—is prominent. 

The east-side institution has been dispensing great burgers and beer since 1884. Despite renovations and several owners over the years, the original location (there are offshoots in Lincoln Square and Battery Park City) maintains the beveled-glass and scuffed-wood look of an old-time saloon, and the veteran bartenders and loyal patrons are as much a part of the decor as the light fixtures. More civilized at lunchtime, the bar area heaves with an after-work mob on weekday evenings. Pull up a stool for superlative bar food, like ahi tuna tacos and the signature burger smothered in creamy béarnaise. Heartier mains include chicken pot pie, baked macaroni and cheese, and short rib beef stew.

Stroll through the nondescript office building lobby and down the stairs to find this popular izakaya, a Japanese tavernlike restaurant that serves up refined Japanese pub grub. The menu has everything from sashimi to fried shrimp fritters to yuzu-and-ginger-laced monkfish liver to Japanese-style fried chicken. Sake lovers of the world unite here to sample rice wine from the 260-long list. 

This elegant Chinese restaurant has been prominent with NYC's fine-dining scene since 1971, and its menu reflects both dishes from China's regions and American Chinese restaurant classics. While the opulent dining room, reflected in red, navy blue, and gold, seems fixed in time, this elegant establishment has made a culinary imprint. Supposedly, the dish orange beef was first made here as well, and indeed, it's worth a sample, but there's so much more. Beijing pan-fried pork dumplings make a good starter, and dry sautéed shredded crispy beef is a house specialty. Beijing duck, served table-side with thin pancakes, is a signature dish here for good reason. 

Brace yourself to spend indulgently at this famed steak house, where the dining rooms are festooned with pricey magnums of wines and have walls lined with pictures and tables draped in white linens. Although tasty, fresh seafood is given more than fair play on the menu—and the extra-thick lamb and veal chops are noteworthy—Sparks is really about dry-aged steak. Classic sides of hash browns, creamed spinach, baked potato, and sautéed mushrooms, are all you need to complete the experience, and maybe a martini. 

Founded in 1999 by a team led by namesake chef Naomichi Yasuda, and now helmed by chef Noriyuki Takahashi (known as Taka), this Michelin-starred restaurant has a sleek bamboo-lined interior that is as elegant as the food; for a truly immersive experience, try to sit at the bar, if you can. You'll find sushi so fresh and delicate it melts in your mouth, as well as fish flown in daily from Japan and around the world. Choose from an à la carte menu or splurge on omakase, as each serving is prepared with careful precision and keeping with tradition. The fine selection of sake, Japanese premium whiskeys, and beer complements the lovely food.