NYC Lunch Spots: 18 Upscale Restaurants Worth The Splurge
Breakfast and dinner get all the attention when dining out, but where is the love for lunch? It seems like more and more people are willing to skip lunch because they're too busy or feel like a big lunch in the afternoon will slow them down for the rest of the day. We at Tasting Table are here to tell you that our favorite meal is midday. And not just any old lunch; we're talking about an incredible, life-altering lunch, occasionally with a hefty price tag to match.
New York City is stacked with fine dining establishments, and while the focus is almost always on dinner, we fully believe lunch is the unsung hero. Many of these incredible restaurants offer most, if not all, of their dinner options on the lunch menu, or they have a prix fix menu at lunch that offers you more delicious dishes that you can go back to the office and daydream about for the rest of your work day. Based on customer reviews, prices, and ratings from the Michelin Guide and The New York Times, we've put together a comprehensive list of some of the best splurge-worthy lunches in New York City. Make it an afternoon outing next time you want to go out for a fabulous meal. All we are saying is give lunch a chance.
Pastis
Pastis is one of those restaurants that embodies New York City and all of its eclectic, global cuisine. Run by Stephen Starr, one of New York's most successful restaurateurs, Pastis brings the French bistros of Paris right to the Meatpacking District with a chic, high-energy vibe and a menu to match.
Lunch is available Monday through Friday from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm, and highlights include a $74 Lobster Frites sliced with savory garlic-herb butter and the half-roasted chicken, complete with perfectly crackly skin and a luxurious pommes puree. The real star of the lunch menu, however, is the Steak Frites, reminiscent of one of Paris's best bistro meals. Served with a side of crisp french fries, you can go for the much-adored hanger steak ($39) served with maitre d'hotel butter or truly splurge on the filet ($63) served with sauce au poivre.
(212) 929-4844
52 Gansevoort Street, New York 10014
The Gallery
What's classier than treating yourself to a splurge lunch? A splurge lunch at a restaurant that also doubles as an art gallery. At The Gallery, run by two-Michelin-starred Chef Hiroki Odo, you can peruse some fine rotating art exhibits before or after lunch. However, you're here for lunch, and two-Michelin-starred Chef Hiroki Odo has outdone himself with a tasting menu that is well worth the $95 price tag.
Stop in Tuesday through Sunday between 11:45 am and 2:30 pm for the tasting, which features a seasonal starter, three pieces of seasonal kushi-age (panko fried skewers) selection, a Wagyu shabu shabu, and a four-piece chef's selection of nigiri sushi and roll. The menu also includes a selection of signature cocktails, so if your splurge-worthy lunch includes indulging in a cocktail or two, a seasonal highball or The Gallery spritz may be just what you're looking for.
(646) 870-0383
17 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011
Avra Estiatorio
One thing we love about the prix fix menu at Avra Estiatorio is the amount of food with an incredibly reasonable price tag. And since there are three Avra locations around Manhattan, no matter where you may happen to be, if the desire for a luxurious Greek lunch presents itself, you may be closer to satisfying your craving than you think.
For $36.50, the real splurge here is in the options, including a starter, a main course, and a dessert. Starter highlights include a Greek salad, grilled calamari, and an assortment of Mediterranean dips and spreads served with grilled pita, among several other delicacies. Avra is known for its rotating selection of fresh seafood options, so we recommend going with the fish of the day, the grilled branzino, or the lobster pasta. The lobster is a supplement of $24, but since this is a splurge lunch, we say go forth and treat yourself.
(212) 430-8888
Multiple locations in NYC
Porter House Bar and Grill
A splurgy weekday lunch is about the food, to be sure, but it's also about the vibe. Porter House is one of those New York steakhouses that doesn't come off as stuffy or pretentious, but they easily could, considering their steaks are some of the best in the city. Plus, the view of Central Park from their Columbus Circle location makes this one of those quintessential New York City meal experiences not to miss out on.
The Park View prix fix lunch at Porter House is one of our favorite steakhouse lunches in Manhattan: You can choose from the $45 two-course option or the $55 three-course option. If you're going for the splurge, we recommend the three-course option, which includes main course highlights like a Faroe Islands salmon and a steak frites. No three-course meal is complete without a dessert, so don't forget to indulge in a slice of New York cheesecake or the chocolate torte to round out a charming lunch.
(212) 823-9500
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Libertine
There's something romantic and downright fanciful about eating a luxurious French meal in the middle of the day, and we love that we don't have to fly to Paris to experience it (although that certainly would be nice) — we can just hop over to the West Village instead. A popular neighborhood bistro on the corner of Greenwich Street and Christopher Street, Libertine is the ideal weekend lunch, with their $48 two-course prix fix served Friday through Sunday from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm.
Libertine's team gets their culinary inspiration from cuisine du marché, the greenmarket-guided cooking found along the French countryside, and it shows, especially during lunchtime. Menu highlights include oeufs mayo with trout roe and chives, gnocchi parisienne with maitake mushrooms, and tartare de boeuf with egg yolk and crispy shallots. Libertine also has an all-natural French wine list and a cocktail menu made with small-batch French spirits, and since it's the weekend, we recommend supplementing lunch with a boozy treat.
684 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10014
Gramercy Tavern
Opened in 1994 by restaurateur Danny Meyer of Shake Shack fame, Gramercy Tavern is a New York City landmark for fine dining. Located just north of Union Square, Gramercy Tavern is the perfect place to treat yourself to a fancy lunch, whether you work in the neighborhood or are simply riding high on your ample forage from the Union Square Greenmarket and need to reward yourself. The $95 Greenmarket Lunch in the Dining Room is an excellent choice, giving you seasonal options for all four courses in a spacious, elegant setting and an optional $65 wine pairing if you're inclined.
Suppose you'd prefer to choose your lunch adventure instead. In that case, an a la carte menu is available in the Dining Room and the Tavern, with highlights such as a seafood platter, beef tartare, roasted sirloin, and a chocolate cream pie to seal the splurge. Lunch is served daily from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm in the Dining Room and served all day in the Tavern.
(212) 477-0777
42 E 20th Street, New York NY 10003
Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa
Nozawa is a household name for anyone considering sushi one of their four major food groups. When he opened Sugarfish, an off-shoot of his now-closed flagship restaurant Sushi Nozawa in Los Angeles, it was an homage to Nozawa's fresh, authentically prepared sushi for sushi lovers and those looking to get educated on the cuisine.
Undoubtedly, you should come to Sugarfish to experience any of the sushi on offer. The best way to do so is by indulging in one of the "Trust Me" lunch menus, available daily until 3:30 pm at all five of their New York City locations, each made up of several different sushi and sashimi offerings varying in size and price. Our favorite menu, however, is the top-tier $72 "Don't Think. Just Eat. Trust Me", which is most similar to what Nozawa used to serve his regulars at Sushi Nozawa. Lunch typically includes a sashimi course, seven orders of nigiri, and two hand rolls. We recommend following Nozawa's advice not to think and just trust him.
Multiple locations: Flatiron, Midtown East, Midtown West, Soho, Williamsburg
Ai Fiori
Eating dinner at Ai Fiori any night of the week, for any occasion, is always an elegant experience. Still, something about the white tablecloths and large windows overlooking midtown Manhattan makes eating lunch here seem like even more of a splurge than any other time of day. Ai Fiori has two lunch options for those looking to class it up with their French-meets-Italian cuisine: A three-course $80 prix fix, with the option to add a $65 sommelier pairing.
We recommend starting with the Vellutata, a lobster soup topped with black truffle. For the main course, choose from pasta or risotto — the spaghetti topped with blue crab, bottarga, and Calabrian chili is a memorable experience — or one of the other delectable main course options, such as pan-seared halibut, pan-roasted cornish hen, or the Fiori burger. The three-course option also includes a choice of dessert, which you don't want to miss; the affogato is the perfect ending to your feast.
(212) 613-8660
400 5th Avenue, Floor 2, New York, NY 10018
La Grande Boucherie
The high ceilings, elegant chandeliers, and antique furniture inside La Grande Boucherie set quite the scene. Since we love a French meal any time of day, treating yourself to lunch here is a real treat. There's no prix fix option, but that shouldn't stop you from going to town on the a la carte menu. Kick things off with something fresh and raw from the raw bar, complete with oysters, clams, lobster, and caviar, or go with a plate of garlic-slicked escargots.
The steak frites, grilled Australian ribeye and grilled beef tenderloin are all memorable lunch dishes, but for something both delicious and oh-so French, we love the Croque Madame. Like its sibling, the Croque Monsieur, the ham and gruyere sandwich is topped with a perfectly runny sunny-side-up egg and a bright, zingy salad on the side. And, since it's a splurge lunch, we recommend going all in on the cheese portion of your day by finishing your meal with the $12 Fromage plate with six different kinds of French cheeses. It should be noted that there are multiple restaurants under the Boucherie group, including Boucherie West Village and Union Square, and Petite Boucherie on Christopher Street, which do offer prix fix options. However, these other restaurants don't have the grand scale of the La Grande Boucherie location.
(212) 510-7714
145 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Manhatta
Manhattan's financial district may not seem like a worthy dining destination, but that's only to the untrained eye and the untraveled stomach. Manhatta is one of the shiny Danny Meyer gems living among the high rises and stock market bells around the corner on Wall Street, and when it comes to its lunch, it's an absolute bull. During the week, you can order from the a la carte lunch menu from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, which seems like the perfect time to sneak out from the office and treat yourself to an over-the-top feast.
Highlights of this sky-high lunch include oysters with green tomato and horseradish granite, beef tartare, a dry-aged burger, and an American Wagyu bavette steak with cabbage and a charcuterie sauce. Sweet selections include a chocolate sabayon tart, a Key Lime cheesecake, and a selection of American cheeses to end your meal on an extra decadent note.
(212) 230-5788
28 Liberty Street, 60th Floor, New York NY 10005
Le Bernardin
There are hundreds of restaurants in New York City, but when it comes to upscale, fine dining in every sense of the word, Le Bernardin is it. With Chef Eric Ripert at the helm, Le Bernardin has won three Michelin stars and has consistently earned four stars from The New York Times after six different reviews. The dining room's three-course $127 prix fix menu gives you four categories: almost raw, barely touched, lightly cooked, and upon request.
Le Bernardin is a seafood-lovers paradise. Our highlights are the tuna, which is thinly-pounded Yellowfin tuna with foie gras; the warm lobster carpaccio in Thai curry-lemongrass bouillon; and the crispy black bass. The upon request section has a few non-seafood options: a filet mignon, a guinea hen, and a wild mushroom and black truffle pasta. If you want to go above and beyond at lunch, you can order the whole red snapper baked in a salt crust for two, but you'll need to call 24 hours in advance and pay an additional $25 per person.
(212) 554-1515
155 West 51st Street, New York NY 10019
Hearth
The splurge lunch isn't all about the price tag. Sometimes, the splurge is in the amount of food that comes to the table. At Hearth, lunch is more like a late-lunch, early-dinner situation and is only available Wednesday through Friday at 2:00 pm, but if you can make the time work, the meal is more than worth it.
We recommend inviting a few of your favorite friends to partake in the "Let Us Cook For You" prix fix option, including four courses, served family style, for $85 per person and an optional $65 wine pairing. The chef decides all offerings based on his discoveries at the Union Square Greenmarket that day, meaning that no two menus are alike on any given day or at any table. Hearth's food is always fresh and deeply comforting, like a warm hug, so if an afternoon comfort meal is really what you're after, this is what you want.
(646) 602-1300
403 East 12th Street, New York NY 10009
Torrisi Bar & Restaurant
Major Food Group and the team behind it — Rich Torrisi, Jeff Zalaznick, and Mario Carbone — are industry leaders in fine Italian dining in New York City, starting with Torrisi Italian Specialties and now with Torrisi Bar & Restaurant, inspired by the traditions of Little Italy, Chinatown, and the Jewish delis of New York. Dinner here is a splurge, to be sure, and a reservation can be hard to come by, but to get nearly the same experience with perhaps more table availability, we recommend going earlier in the day and having an indulgent lunch.
Lunch is available Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, and while they do take walk-ins, we recommend making a reservation. If you're lucky enough to land that table, the oysters and octopus nha trang are a great way to kick things off, followed by a plate of the raviolini with prawns and saffron or the cavatelli with Jamaican beef ragu — an ode to the Jamaican patties served in pizza shops around New York City. The real splurge dish is the Dover sole francese, which is big enough for two to share, so be sure to bring a friend or a very healthy appetite.
(212) 254-3000
275 Mulberry Street, New York NY 10012
Gabriel Kreuther
If you've never seen a picture of the food at Gabriel Kreuther or seen it in person, it can be described in one word: stunning. Described as "elegant yet approachable" on their website, the cuisine at Gabriel Kreuther is inspired by Kreuther's Alsatian routes, with reclaimed wood beams, platinum-colored crystal storks on the ceiling, and cream-colored banquettes for a warm and sophisticated dining experience.
Lunch here is guaranteed to set you up for a divine afternoon; you can opt for the a la carte menu or a chef's tasting menu, but we recommend the $120 four-course prix fix, which starts with caviar and savory kougelhopf, an Alsatian yeast cake. From there, you can choose an appetizer, main course, and dessert from an impressive list of options. To go full-splurge, we recommend the two-week aged duck breast, or you can add on a $45 supplement for the grilled Australian A7 Wagyu strip steak. Finish things off on a top-tier sweet note with a plate of perfectly prepared petits fours.
(212) 257-5826
41 W 42nd Street, New York NY 10036
Tempura Matsui
Eating good tempura can be enjoyable, but eating great tempura can be life-changing. The tempura at Tempura Matsui, a love letter to the thin batter that coats each ingredient in "The Matsui Way," is masterful. Mr. Matsui, the grand chef, has perfected the art of tempura and more than earned his Michelin status, focusing on high-quality ingredients and attention to detail, and if there's any place where lunch can have you daydreaming about your meal for days on end, this the place.
The $160 set menu at Tempura Matsui comes with appetizers, a seasonal selection of tempura seafood and vegetables, shokuji — a bowl of steamed rice and house-cured pickles — with the option to add on Ikura salmon roe for an additional cost, and dessert. You can sit at a table, but we recommend sitting at the counter, if possible, to view the preparation up close. The ingredients change seasonally, but you're guaranteed an unbelievable lunch experience any time of year.
(212) 986-8885
222 East 39th Street, New York NY 10016
Aquavit
Aquavit is one of those restaurants that should have a permanent plaque in the Michelin Guide and The New York Times restaurant section; their two Michelin stars and three Times stars have more than earned them fine dining status. Offering seasonal Nordic cuisine with nods to tradition as well as new techniques, Aquavit is a place to see and be seen. And that's not just for dinner — the lunch offering at Aquavit is not to be missed.
Lunch comes as a $75 two-course or an $85 three-course option — but for the best possible experience, go for the three-course. The herring sampler appetizer is quintessential Nordic cuisine and is not to be skipped over if you're into smoked fish, as well as the salmon with trout roe. Main course highlights include the Swedish meatballs and the kroppkakor, a traditional Swedish potato dumpling filled with mushrooms and coated in brown butter. Going the three-course route guarantees a dessert; don't miss out on the chocolate roulade or the princess cake for an extra $5.
(212) 307-7311
65 East 55th Street, New York NY 10022
The Russian Tea Room
The Russian Tea Room is a cultural institution in New York City — founded in 1927 by members of the Russian Imperial Ballet for members of the intellectual elite. It still has that same air of sophistication and beauty today, but it's also where anyone can go to make a meal feel celebratory, including lunch.
Since nothing feels quite as splurgy or fanciful as vodka and caviar, it seems only fitting to enjoy such an experience at such a time-honored location. The $185 vodka and caviar tasting at lunch includes 10 grams of three different types of caviar and a flight of vodkas to accompany each bite, as well as warm buckwheat blinis and traditional accompaniments such as sour cream, chopped eggs, red onion, and parsley. To add more luxury (and caviar) to your meal, we recommend ordering The Cavitini, a dry martini served with 10 grams of caviar and olives.
(212) 581-7100
150 West 57th Street, New York NY 10019
RH Rooftop Restaurant
Nothing quite says classy like a meal and a stroll through a 90,000-square-foot furniture design gallery in the Meatpacking District. The RH Rooftop Restaurant, complete with skylights, fountains, trees, and beautiful chandeliers, will make you want to re-decorate your entire home on a whim. However, before you go off and pick out your next furniture combo, take a minute for a meal that may be just as beautiful to look at as the gallery itself.
Start with a few shared items from the "for the table" section, like the prosciutto and cheese board or the creamy burrata with roasted peppers and sourdough, but to lean into the splurge, go straight for the entrees. Highlights include the ribeye sandwich, truffle grilled cheese, and lobster roll, which should all be accompanied by a side of truffle fries and charred broccolini. Don't skip over the wine menu either; the list includes some of the best wines across the United States and Europe to accompany your beautiful meal.
(212) 217-2210
9 Ninth Avenue, 6th Floor, New York NY 10014