NYCGuide

20 Great Restaurants You Can Actually Get Into

Where to get dinner when you forgot to plan ahead.
20 Great Restaurants You Can Actually Get Into image

photo credit: Teddy Wolff

Maybe you just realized you have a dinner coming up that you were supposed to plan several weeks ago. Or maybe you lied and told someone that you’re highly skilled at getting into really good restaurants last-minute, and now you have to prove it. You can either leave the state and change your name - or you can use this guide. It has a bunch of spots with excellent food, none of which are as busy as they should be. Pick one, and it’ll seem like you put much more thought into this dinner than you actually did.

The Spots

photo credit: Teddy Wolff

Taiwanese

East Village

$$$$Perfect For:BirthdaysCasual Weeknight Dinner
Earn 3x points with your sapphire card

When 886 first opened, it was pretty impossible to get a table here. But New Yorkers have short attention spans, and nowadays you can get a reservation pretty easily - which means you could be eating some very good Taiwanese food here any night of the week (except Monday, when it’s closed). The space is small, so it isn’t great for groups, but just bring one other person who wants to eat some lettuce cups and a fried chicken sandwich in the East Village.


Frankies 457 will be busy when you go. That’s almost a guarantee. But the thing is, they don’t take reservations, so you have as good a chance of getting a table here as anyone else. Which means that if you decide last-minute that you want to eat some excellent cavatelli with housemade sausage, you should stop by. The food isn’t too expensive, and this is the rare sort of restaurant where you could bring either your grandparents or a date. Plus, there’s now a second dining room that does take reservations a few doors down (attached to Franks Wine Bar).


Llama Inn is slightly paradoxical. It’s always busy, but it’s never impossible to get into. As long as you book a few days in advance or don’t mind waiting 30 minutes or so, you can always eat here (even on a weekend), and the modern Peruvian menu has some of the best food you’ll find in Williamsburg. Factor in the dining room with its high ceilings, big windows, and potted plants, and you have a spot worthy of your next birthday dinner.


Despite the fact that the L train is about as reliable as a candle in some light rain, Marlow & Sons makes for a compelling reason to move to Williamsburg. In the daytime, this is a cafe where you can sit and eat a bowl of granola, and at night it turns into a dimly-lit restaurant with great, unfussy versions of brick chicken and pâté. It’s some of the best food you’ll find in Brooklyn, and you won’t have to buy a stake in the place to get a table.


Il Buco Alimentari is the more casual sister restaurant to Il Buco. It’s only a few doors down, but it’s easier to get into, and you can eat a top-notch plate of pasta here. It still gets busy (even on weekdays), but the good news is, there generally always seem to be reservations available. Bring a date when you want to make it seem like you’re not a planning procrastinator, and order the cacio e pepe.


Amaranto serves some exceptional Mexican food, and it should get more attention for doing so. Fortunately for you, this little neighborhood spot in Bushwick doesn’t get too crazy, and it’s easy to stop in when you don’t have a reservation anywhere. Get the pork chop or chicken enchiladas, and start with a couple of tacos.


When was the last time you were at Al Di La? If your answer was “never” or “a few years ago, I think,” you should change that - and you won’t need that much advance planning to do so. This Park Slope restaurant is still one of our all-time favorites, in large part because of the amazing tagliatelle al ragu, and it’s walk-in only. Bring your family, a friend you haven’t seen in a while, or a date who appreciates pasta and chandeliers. If there’s a wait, hang out at Blueprint until your table is ready.


If you find yourself looking for a last-minute spot near the south side of Prospect Park, head to Krupa Grocery. It’s an excellent neighborhood restaurant with a nice bar and outdoor seating, and there usually isn’t too long of a wait. If you stop by for brunch, get the breakfast gnocchi and the ricotta pancakes, and if you come for dinner, get the dinner gnocchi or the lamb burger.


Thai Villa is just above Union Square, and it’s pretty inconspicuous from the outside. But once you get inside, you’ll find a two-story dining room with big booths and giant golden light fixtures. There’s also a huge menu of reasonably-priced Thai food that happens to be delicious. Get the chicken wrapped in pandan leaves, and at least one order of tapioca dumplings.


The entire neighborhood of Koreatown is only about the size of a high school football stadium in Texas - but it’s full of great restaurants. Consequently, some of them get overlooked. Osamil, for example, is a great-looking spot with a marble bar up front and a brick-walled dining room in the back, and it serves everything from a burger to a bowl of bibimbap with uni and tobiko. Whatever else you order, be sure to get a kimchi pancake, and try a cocktail or two.


When you can make a same-day reservation on a Saturday somewhere, it usually isn’t the best sign. But we’ve done this at Clay, and Clay is a legitimately great restaurant. It’s an upscale spot in Harlem that isn’t too formal, with a menu of things like pork belly, confit duck leg, and a short rib bucatini worth a long subway ride. Bring a date, and stop by Wednesday through Saturday, so you can eat in the downstairs dining room.


Chase Sapphire Card Ad

Suggested Reading

The Cool List: 17 Restaurants That Aren’t “Hot” But Are Definitely Still Cool image

The Cool List: 17 Restaurants That Aren’t “Hot” But Are Definitely Still Cool

Restaurants tend to get blown up for six months, until everyone decides to move on. Let’s not allow that to happen. Here are 17 spots to revisit.

The Best NYC Restaurants For Date Night image

Where to eat with someone who likes you back.

The Hit List: New NYC Restaurants To Try Right Now image

We checked out these new restaurants—and loved them.

Infatuation Logo

Company

2024 © The Infatuation Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FIND PLACES ON OUR APP

Get it on Google PlayDownload on the App Store