I have explored this city as a tourist and been fortunate enough to call this city home at one time. I now live in Miami, however I visit NYC often because I miss it so much. This year, I decided to visit for my birthday and make it a food and cocktail driven trip — I ate at some of my favorite spots, but also some new restaurants in the city. If you are planning to visit NYC and are a foodie, like myself, I have put together this blog post to share where I stayed, where I ate and what I did during my 4 nights in NYC.
If you’re looking for a more information, check out my previous posts on what to do in the city , the ultimate food guide or how to spend the holidays in NYC!
Where I Stayed
We decided to stay at The Langham on 5th Avenue during our trip to NYC as it was centrally located to the majority of the things we wanted to see and do. Our stay at The Langham was incredible! It was our first time staying at any Langham property and we will definitely stay at others in the future. The service was top notch and the staff was friendly and beyond helpful with anything we needed during our stay. Highly recommend staying here if you have the opportunity.
I highly suggest that you research and decide exactly what you want to see/do during your visit beforehand. Based on the neighborhoods of the places, you can then plan where to stay and plan accordingly. This will allow you to make the most of your time in the city. On the other hand, you can also plan nothing and just show up, but I wouldn’t recommend that in NYC, especially if you’re trying to visit popular attractions or restaurants.
You will most likely be using a combination of transportation including walking, Uber and the subway. I will say sometimes the subway is the fastest route, depending on traffic, so this is something to take into consideration when trying to get from point A to point B. If you’re not trying to ride with the rats, Uber or a NYC Taxi Cab will most likely be your main form of transportation, but beware it will be expensive!
Day 1
Our flight into JFK landed around 9 am, so we decided to take an Uber straight to our hotel to drop off our luggage and then head out for our first meal at Apollo Bagels! We visited the West 35th location, which was a 10 minute walk from our hotel. Best bagel!!! Don’t miss out on this spot! They aren’t like your traditional bagel filled with eggs, bacon and cheese, but they are just as amazing! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside!
Next stop, we walked around the Flat Iron District, captured some photos, visited Eataly, one of my favorite spots in the city! Love their rooftop bar, Amalfi! Great spot for happy hour, just to pop in and browse the shopping area or have lunch or dinner.
For lunch, we headed to Din Tai Fung in Midtown! We took the subway, which took about 20 minutes. The food here is incredible! I know it’s in the Time Square area, but it really is SO good! We ordered several spicy dishes, from cucumber salad, to ramen, to dumplings! All sooooo fire! No pun intended! They make everything fresh, which if you sit in the main dining area, you can watch them making all the food through their open kitchen.
After lunch, we headed back to our hotel, which was about a 20 minute walk. Love walking in the city after meals because it helps with digestion and to make room to eat more! Ha! We were able to relax a bit, shower and freshen up for a few hours before heading down to SOHO in an Uber! Our intention was to try to get into The Corner Store, a very popular restaurant I have been dying to try in NYC! Reservations are practically impossible, but if you’re able to get there before they open and be the first in line to put your name on a waitlist in case there are any cancellations, you may have a shot at getting in! We arrived and were the 3rd in line! We put our name down on the waitlist, however no cancellations were made that night! We did however get to try some hot apple cider while we waiting in line, which was delicious and very kind of them to offer to guests waiting in line.
While we waited to hear if there were any cancellations, we had a drink at Dante’s NYC, which was about a 5 minute walk from The Corner Store. Highly recommend for a cocktail, I can’t comment on the food as we did not eat there, but I have heard the food is fantastic as well!
I had a back up reservation for dinner already planned in the chance we did not get into The Corner Store and that was at Sip & Guzzle in the West Village, which was a 5 minute walk from Dante’s! Sip (downstairs) is ideal if you want an elevated, bespoke cocktail experience, while Guzzle (upstairs) is better for a lively, casual, pub-style hangout with classic drinks and bar snacks. We dined downstairs at Sip at the bar!
The ambiance, service and food were amazing! We had the Addictive Cabbage, Electric Chicken and Royale with Cheese. All delicious in their own way, but I will say the Addictive Cabbage was my favorite! It’s served ice cold and has the name Addictive Cabbage for a reason! I could have eaten 14 of those! If you’re able to dine here, I would suggest ordering a burger! They are suppose to be amazing and they only serve several a day, so you probably have to make a reservation at their earliest time to get one.
After dinner, we went to a bar in the area for a few more drinks and had to stop at L’industrie Pizzeria, a very popular pizza shop, to take a few slices back to our room for a late night snack. We tried their Pesto Hello, Fig and Bacon and Pepperoni Slices. My favorite was the Fig and Bacon, however I really wasn’t impressed with their pizza, maybe it’s because it wasn’t made fresh and reheated late at night? I may have to give it another shot next time during the day when it’s fresher.
Day 2
We started our day by visiting a Colombian coffee shop called Devocion in Flat Iron, which was about a 20 minute walk. We chose this location because it was on route to our breakfast and lunch spot. The coffee was strong and flavorful!
After coffee, we headed to our first food spot of the day, which was Los Tacos off Lafayette for breakfast! Yes, breakfast because why not?! This is a must if you love authentic Mexican street tacos! Super chill spot where you walk in and order and eat at a table standing up! We ordered carne asada and pollo asado tacos, which were both SO flavorful and delicious! I could have eaten more than two, but I wanted to save room for our lunch reservation.
After tacos, we decided to walk a bit and take photos along our way in the Flat Iron District, before making our way to CoQoDaq!
CoQoDaq is a new fried chicken concept that celebrates Korea’s tradition of pairing fried chicken & bubbles, and bringing it to the table my favorite sparkling sip – Champagne. They offer the largest Champagne list in America, as well as a selection of wine, beer, and cocktails. Highly recommend dining here! Everything was SO GOOD! The champagne was impeccable and recommended by the sommelier! Great place to go with girlfriends or for brunch. If you are gluten free, they offer gluten free fried chicken too!
After lunch, we took the subway to Dumbo, Brooklyn to stroll around the Timeout Market and see the views of the Manhattan skyline. This area is really beautiful and there are lots of places to eat, shop and stroll around. There is even a carousel ride for the little ones in this area.
We headed back to our hotel after exploring the Dumbo area and had some down time before dinner, which was at La Pecora Bianca in Bryant Park, just was a 5 minute walk from our hotel. The restaurant is beautiful and the food was so delicious! We had the crispy provolone for a starter and the Garganelli pasta as our main dish! After such a carby dinner, we were in a food coma and walked back to our hotel to get some rest for our third day of adventure in the city.
Day 3
Today our first stop was at Ess-a-Bagel in Midtown, which was about a 20 minute walk. If you’re looking for a traditional New York Bagel with any type of schemer and topping this is your place. They pretty much can make any bagel you desire. I would say expect to wait in line at least 30 minutes unless you order online beforehand for pick up. There aren’t many tables inside, so you may have to stand and eat or take your bagel to go. We were lucky enough to get a table as a couple was leaving after we paid. It was worth the wait, however I preferred Apollo Bagel.
Following lunch we hopped on the subway and headed downtown to the Little Italy and Chinatown area to walk around and explore. We were lucky enough to experience some snow on this day. It started snowing heavily in the afternoon, so we grabbed lunch at one of my favorite pizza spots in NYC, Rubirosa!
After lunch it was still snowing so we headed back in an Uber to our hotel to chill before dinner in the evening at Monkey Bar in Midtown East. Monkey bar is a sister restaurant of The Corner Store and came highly recommended. We did not have reservations and had to wait in the bar area for 1.5 hours. The bar seats are first come first serve so if you see them open up, I suggest you grab a chair. We tried, however it was really busy the night we went and people were really aggressive with grabbing seats by standing behind people dining. We just waited in a corner having drinks in the meantime, since we had put our name down for a table in the bar area. You must have a reservation to dine in the main dining room, but you can eat in the bar area without a reservation and adding your name to their waitlist in person.
I highly suggest ordering the Monkey bread with truffle butter! OMG it melts in your mouth and is unbelievable! It will set you back $35, but I promise it’s worth it! The burger was phenomenal and so were the mushrooms with crispy onions! My husband ordered the prime rib and said it was excellent! We wanted to try dessert but they were HUGE, but looked amazing. We will have to go back next time just for a dessert and the monkey bread!
Day 4
Our final day in the city! Our flight left around 3 pm, so we didn’t have a full day, however set out for coffee at Watchhouse on 5th Ave in Midtown East. Since we were near Grand Central Station, we stopped by for a few photos and headed back to our hotel to take an Uber to JFK Airport!
Phew! What an amazing 4 days in New York City! I’m still full writing this post after all the food we ate! I hope this guide will help you in planning your trip to NYC. Keep in mind that this city has so much to offer and see. You won’t be able to do it all in one trip so pick the places that are most important to you. Once you’ve been to NYC, it won’t be long before you’re back!
SHOP MY NYC LOOKS
If you enjoyed this post, please comment below or share on social media!
PIN IT!
