Guidebook for New York

Lisa
Guidebook for New York

Food Scene

Upscale American cuisine & brunch in a polished, modern dining room with a lounge & piano bar.
125 locals recommend
The Cecil Steakhouse
210 West 118th Street
125 locals recommend
Upscale American cuisine & brunch in a polished, modern dining room with a lounge & piano bar.
Fanciest food and drink in the neighborhood, downtown feel. Owned by the famous Marcus Samuelsson.
1044 locals recommend
Red Rooster
310 Lenox Ave
1044 locals recommend
Fanciest food and drink in the neighborhood, downtown feel. Owned by the famous Marcus Samuelsson.
Definitely in my top 5restaurants in the neighborhood, excellent food, wine, and ambiance.
169 locals recommend
VINATERÍA
2211 Frederick Douglass Blvd
169 locals recommend
Definitely in my top 5restaurants in the neighborhood, excellent food, wine, and ambiance.
"Really cozy place the Italian owners and staff are super friendly."
63 locals recommend
Sottocasa Pizzeria
227 Malcolm X Blvd
63 locals recommend
"Really cozy place the Italian owners and staff are super friendly."
Good Italian food
253 locals recommend
Lido Harlem Restaurant
2168 Frederick Douglass Blvd
253 locals recommend
Good Italian food
Corner tavern/beer garden with extensive food & drink menus in a spacious indoor/outdoor setting.
428 locals recommend
Harlem Tavern
2153 Frederick Douglass Blvd
428 locals recommend
Corner tavern/beer garden with extensive food & drink menus in a spacious indoor/outdoor setting.
Probably the closest place in the neighborhood to a place with a "downtown" feel - great ambiance, high energy, excellent food.
166 locals recommend
Barawine Harlem
200 Malcolm X Blvd
166 locals recommend
Probably the closest place in the neighborhood to a place with a "downtown" feel - great ambiance, high energy, excellent food.
Stylish, relaxed Italian neighborhood cafe, known for its desserts.
86 locals recommend
SETTEPANI
196 Malcolm X Blvd
86 locals recommend
Stylish, relaxed Italian neighborhood cafe, known for its desserts.
BEST almond and chocolate croissants in the city, absolutely cannot miss this.
85 locals recommend
Les Ambassades
2200 Frederick Douglass Blvd
85 locals recommend
BEST almond and chocolate croissants in the city, absolutely cannot miss this.
Harlem landmark serving generous helpings of Southern comfort food since 1962.
405 locals recommend
Sylvia's Restaurant
328 Malcolm X Blvd
405 locals recommend
Harlem landmark serving generous helpings of Southern comfort food since 1962.
Casual spot for burgers, shakes & more in a modern, dinerlike setting with retro Harlem photos.
212 locals recommend
Harlem Shake
100 W 124th St
212 locals recommend
Casual spot for burgers, shakes & more in a modern, dinerlike setting with retro Harlem photos.
Intimate eatery featuring upscale Mexican cuisine & agave-focused, craft cocktails in a chic venue.
31 locals recommend
La Diagonal Agaveria
185 St Nicholas Ave
31 locals recommend
Intimate eatery featuring upscale Mexican cuisine & agave-focused, craft cocktails in a chic venue.
Great little cafe for breakfast or lunch...good atmosphere, good food, and lots of baked goods and coffee.
163 locals recommend
Il Cafe Latte 1
189 Malcolm X Blvd
163 locals recommend
Great little cafe for breakfast or lunch...good atmosphere, good food, and lots of baked goods and coffee.
Wonderful Place to grab a bite to eat and a drink - Great addition to the neighbourhood
19 locals recommend
Archer & Goat
187 Malcolm X Blvd
19 locals recommend
Wonderful Place to grab a bite to eat and a drink - Great addition to the neighbourhood
Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew.
993 locals recommend
Shake Shack
Madison Avenue
993 locals recommend
Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew.
Famous for fried chicken and waffles - sounds crazy but actually amazing! good any time morning or night
241 locals recommend
Amy Ruth's
113 W 116th St
241 locals recommend
Famous for fried chicken and waffles - sounds crazy but actually amazing! good any time morning or night
Just a short walk along Saint Nicholas Avenue by Central Park is the small restaurant that offers some soul food staples, sans meat. Chef Brenda Beener started the restaurant with her son to create purportedly healthier alternatives to the foods she grew up on, like a soy “chicken” parmesan sandwich topped with dairy-free mozzarella and marina sauce, barbecue “riblets” made of lotus root and soy, and even a vegan-friendly version of a Harlem chopped cheese burger.
69 locals recommend
Seasoned Vegan
128 St Nicholas Ave
69 locals recommend
Just a short walk along Saint Nicholas Avenue by Central Park is the small restaurant that offers some soul food staples, sans meat. Chef Brenda Beener started the restaurant with her son to create purportedly healthier alternatives to the foods she grew up on, like a soy “chicken” parmesan sandwich topped with dairy-free mozzarella and marina sauce, barbecue “riblets” made of lotus root and soy, and even a vegan-friendly version of a Harlem chopped cheese burger.
JJ Johnson gave rice a stage in Harlem this past summer when he opened FieldTrip, whose menu is centered on bowls made with different strains of the grain. It’s a fast-casual spot that pairs braised beef with Texas brown rice and spicy black beans; salmon with Chinese black rice, pineapple, and piri piri sauce; and crispy barbecue chicken with Carolina gold rice. All the rice is non-enriched, non-bleached, and sourced directly from farmers who mill the grain themselves. Despite the laborious process, bowls are kept under $12.
FIELDTRIP
109 Malcolm X Blvd
JJ Johnson gave rice a stage in Harlem this past summer when he opened FieldTrip, whose menu is centered on bowls made with different strains of the grain. It’s a fast-casual spot that pairs braised beef with Texas brown rice and spicy black beans; salmon with Chinese black rice, pineapple, and piri piri sauce; and crispy barbecue chicken with Carolina gold rice. All the rice is non-enriched, non-bleached, and sourced directly from farmers who mill the grain themselves. Despite the laborious process, bowls are kept under $12.
With over 1,000 pieces of rugelach sold per weekend, Lee Lee’s has been lauded as making the city’s best of the form. The Jewish baked good — buttery, flaky pastry filled with ingredients like chocolate or apricot jam and walnuts — is not a part of owner Alvin “Lee Lee” Smalls’ heritage, but after falling in love with the baked good, he settled on his own recipe that uses sour cream in place of the traditional cream cheese and has people flocking.
14 locals recommend
Safari
55 W 116th St
14 locals recommend
With over 1,000 pieces of rugelach sold per weekend, Lee Lee’s has been lauded as making the city’s best of the form. The Jewish baked good — buttery, flaky pastry filled with ingredients like chocolate or apricot jam and walnuts — is not a part of owner Alvin “Lee Lee” Smalls’ heritage, but after falling in love with the baked good, he settled on his own recipe that uses sour cream in place of the traditional cream cheese and has people flocking.
Chef Melba Wilson practically comes from Harlem royalty; her aunt, Sylvia Woods, is the namesake of the neighborhood’s most iconic soul food restaurant. Melba’s serves American comfort food, and no trip is complete with an order of the chicken and eggnog waffles served with strawberry butter and maple syrup, which Wilson used to defeat Bobby Flay on his TV show Throwdown! in 2008.
138 locals recommend
Melba's
300 W 114th St
138 locals recommend
Chef Melba Wilson practically comes from Harlem royalty; her aunt, Sylvia Woods, is the namesake of the neighborhood’s most iconic soul food restaurant. Melba’s serves American comfort food, and no trip is complete with an order of the chicken and eggnog waffles served with strawberry butter and maple syrup, which Wilson used to defeat Bobby Flay on his TV show Throwdown! in 2008.
What was once a jazz club is now a small, stylish bistro with dishes such as grass-fed steak tartare and short rib ragu. It’s an ambitious neighborhood restaurant, one that takes extra care in sourcing, from its meats to its mainly natural wines.
39 locals recommend
Clay
553 Manhattan Ave
39 locals recommend
What was once a jazz club is now a small, stylish bistro with dishes such as grass-fed steak tartare and short rib ragu. It’s an ambitious neighborhood restaurant, one that takes extra care in sourcing, from its meats to its mainly natural wines.
A wood-burning brick oven is the calling card at this Italian restaurant with Neapolitan-style pizza, whole roasted fish, and pasta. Brick walls, dark wood furniture, warm service, and a full bar make it an ideal date spot in the neighborhood.
105 locals recommend
Babbalucci
331 Malcolm X Blvd
105 locals recommend
A wood-burning brick oven is the calling card at this Italian restaurant with Neapolitan-style pizza, whole roasted fish, and pasta. Brick walls, dark wood furniture, warm service, and a full bar make it an ideal date spot in the neighborhood.
Small Harlem Health Food shop. Multiple vegan/vegetarian options, but also has meat options, hot food (rice/quinoa base), salads, wraps, and fruit smoothies. Excellent, delicious flavour/spices. Overall this is an excellent place, especially for vegan food.
Juke Box Juice & Salads
1943 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd
Small Harlem Health Food shop. Multiple vegan/vegetarian options, but also has meat options, hot food (rice/quinoa base), salads, wraps, and fruit smoothies. Excellent, delicious flavour/spices. Overall this is an excellent place, especially for vegan food.

Entertainment & Activities

32 locals recommend
Lasker Rink
110 Lenox Ave
32 locals recommend
110 locals recommend
West 125th Street
West 125th Street
110 locals recommend
157 locals recommend
AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9
2309 Frederick Douglass Blvd
157 locals recommend

Arts & Culture

893 locals recommend
Apollo Theater
253 W 125th St
893 locals recommend
239 locals recommend
The Studio Museum in Harlem
144 West 125th Street
239 locals recommend
2653 locals recommend
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 5th Ave
2653 locals recommend
2114 locals recommend
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street
2114 locals recommend
1126 locals recommend
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 5th Ave
1126 locals recommend
15 locals recommend
Bethel Gospel Assembly
2-26 E 120th St
15 locals recommend
61 locals recommend
The Hayden Planetarium
200 Central Park West
61 locals recommend
100 locals recommend
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem
58 W 129th St
100 locals recommend

Shopping

44 locals recommend
Gap Factory
264 W 125th St
44 locals recommend
29 locals recommend
Banana Republic Factory Store
261 W 125th St
29 locals recommend
46 locals recommend
Old Navy
300 W 125th St
46 locals recommend
19 locals recommend
MAC Cosmetics
202 W 125th St
19 locals recommend
59 locals recommend
DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse
301 W 125th St
59 locals recommend
83 locals recommend
Bed Bath & Beyond
1932 Broadway
83 locals recommend
137 locals recommend
H&M
150 East 86th Street
137 locals recommend
41 locals recommend
Victoria's Secret
640 5th Ave
41 locals recommend
Bath & Body Works
112118 W 125th St
19 locals recommend
MAC Cosmetics
202 W 125th St
19 locals recommend

Drinks & Nightlife

"Great jazz and quality food from steaks to oysters to pasta."
138 locals recommend
Minton's Playhouse
206 W 118th St
138 locals recommend
"Great jazz and quality food from steaks to oysters to pasta."
Updated soul food & craft cocktails plus live music in the basement of Red Rooster.
117 locals recommend
Ginny's Supper Club
310 Malcolm X Blvd
117 locals recommend
Updated soul food & craft cocktails plus live music in the basement of Red Rooster.
This hip cafe & bar offers Middle Eastern eats such as shawarma & falafel, plus live music.
197 locals recommend
Silvana
300 W 116th St
197 locals recommend
This hip cafe & bar offers Middle Eastern eats such as shawarma & falafel, plus live music.
Cozy bar pouring craft beer, bourbon & original cocktails in a narrow space with a back patio.
84 locals recommend
Mess Hall
2194 Frederick Douglass Blvd
84 locals recommend
Cozy bar pouring craft beer, bourbon & original cocktails in a narrow space with a back patio.
Harlem restaurant/bar with upscale pub menu, craft beers, outdoor seating & special DJ nights.
345 locals recommend
The Corner Social
321 Malcolm X Blvd
345 locals recommend
Harlem restaurant/bar with upscale pub menu, craft beers, outdoor seating & special DJ nights.
Cocktail lounge with a chill vibe presenting creative concoctions in an art-filled atmosphere.
11 locals recommend
Sugar Monk
2292 Frederick Douglass Blvd
11 locals recommend
Cocktail lounge with a chill vibe presenting creative concoctions in an art-filled atmosphere.

Parks & Nature

159 locals recommend
Conservatory Garden
1233 5th Ave
159 locals recommend
116 locals recommend
Friends of Morningside Park
14 Morningside Ave
116 locals recommend
154 locals recommend
Marcus Garvey Park
Mount Morris Park West
154 locals recommend
2323 locals recommend
The High Line Park
2323 locals recommend

Sightseeing

539 locals recommend
Columbia University
116th and Broadway
539 locals recommend
2037 locals recommend
Times Square
2037 locals recommend
616 locals recommend
4 World Trade Center
150 Greenwich St
616 locals recommend