Everywhere You’ll Want to Eat Around New York’s Herald Square

The original Café China, from the same team behind Birds of a Feather in Williamsburg, first opened in Murray Hill in 2011 before shuttering to launch this new and massive Herald Square location. Spread across three floors, this bigger-and-better outpost serves a lot of the same Szechuan and Cantonese dishes that are consistently a hit with tourists, locals, and office workers in the area. Think: mapo tofu, braised beef soup, and juicy pork dumplings drenched in chile oil.

The latest from the Jungsik team, SEA, which stands for Southeast Asia, is an homage to chef Jungsik Yim’s favorite dishes from his travels to the region. The colorful, bi-level space on 30th Street is a convivial destination for familiar fare bursting with flavor. The raw seafood platter, for instance, is kicked up by adding fish sauce in the cocktail sauce. Or in the drinks menu, the Dirty Cha Yen is an old fashioned transformed with ingredients typically found in Thai iced tea.

Japan-based chain Tonchin landed in Herald Square in 2017 with a colorful venue serving some of the best tonkotsu ramen in the city (no wonder it’s not always easy to snag a last-minute dinner reservation). Lunchtime walk-ins, however, are a lot easier: For $27, you can pair a noodle dish with a hearty side (a bun, salad, or a rice bowl) in a special combo available until 2:30 p.m. on weekdays. And if you have room, the Mount Fuji-sized kakigoris are worth the splurge.

From Bobby Papachryssanthou and Steven Dura of Goldie’s Tavern, this otherworldly, astrology-inspired bar opened in Herald Square in May 2024 with drinks designed to reflect the zodiac. The Grounded, for instance, is full of mushroom flavors and tea to speak to a Taurus’ earthy personality. Food-wise, they’ve recently launched an omakase but a tightly edited selection of hand rolls and fancy snacks like oysters are available, too.

Founded in 1885, you won’t find a more classic chophouse than Keens on 36th Street. Inside, red leather sofas, deer taxidermy, and framed photos of famous guests set a throwback setting for meals of perfectly cooked meat. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the restaurant’s collection of 90,000 clay pipes — these are relics from a time when a steakhouse dinner was best finished by smoking a pipe.

The little sister to Leah Cohen’s beloved Pig & Khao, Piggyback celebrates Southeast Asian flavors through surprising recipes. There’s a beet salad marinated in kimchi, the dandan noodles are intensified with mushrooms, and the Malaysian fried chicken platter comes with pandesal, a fluffy white bread roll from the Philippines.

Inspired by standing sushi bars in Tokyo, this walk-in-only wants to get you in, get you fed, and get you out in 30 minutes. Located on the second floor of a nondescript walk-up, Sendo, led by chef Kevin Ngo of Sushi Nakazawa and Masa, sources a lot of their high-quality ingredients from Japan, including fine rice from Hokkaido. And the menu is pretty affordable, too: The priciest set, which includes 10 pieces of nigiri, two handrolls, and a kaisendon (a rice bowl with raw seafood), is $48. And most of the sake starts at $10 and hovers around $15.

Walk-ins only.

On the top end of Herald Square on 38th Street, the New York location of a national chain of modern Australian restaurants has been an especially big hit for groups looking to have a dinner or brunch party. During the day, pair specialty coffee and mimosas with the requisite avocado toast or a kimchi-spiked egg scramble. All day long, tuck into kangaroo skewers and Thai-spiced sausage rolls for a sample of the culinary hits from the land Down Under.

One of the only true fine-dining bookings you’ll find in the area, award-winning Ai Fiori (inside the Langham Hotel) is a fantastic special-occasion choice, especially if you’re looking for an elegant white-tablecloth experience. (Still a rarity around these parts!) Executive chef Lauren DeSteno’s take on Riviera dining, which essentially marries the best of coastal Italian and French cuisines, delivers delicately prepared crowd-pleasers, like red snapper baked in a parchment paper and spaghetti with blue crab and calabrian chile.

If you’re the type to eschew major coffee chains in favor of indie cafes, you’ll be right at home at any of the three area locations of this local outfit. As far as drinks are concerned, Culture Espresso has got all the classics covered, from foam-crowned cappuccinos and earthy matchas to peach-flavored Arnold Palmers in the summer. But Culture has developed something of a following for its award-winning chocolate chip cookies, which will often explain the midday crowds. But any of the sweet treats (the limited-edition birthday cake cookies, for instance) are worth picking up, too.

Walk-ins only.

Laurent Tourondel, of BLT fame, opened this Sixth Avenue-facing Italian restaurant on the ground floor of Eventi Hotel about a decade ago, and it remains one of the area’s most popular happy hour spots, especially in the summer when crowds are a daily fixture in its outdoor seating. Yes, crisp wines and spritzes are a must, but so are the sage-and-salsiccia pizza and indulgent desserts, from a moist hazelnut cake paired with stracciatella gelato to a classic tiramisu.

Fans of Uyghur food, which hails from northwestern China, are only too glad to make a pilgrimage to the quiet corner of West 37th Street that Tengri Tagh Uyghur Cuisine has occupied since opening in 2021. Those not familiar with the cuisine should start with the “big chicken tray,” a spicy stew with braised potatoes. But you can’t miss the chewy hand-pulled noodles, which show up in a number of dishes; most of which are stir-fried with vegetables and protein.

Walk-ins only.

There are a number of stalwart Irish bars to be found in and around Madison Square Garden, but this one is a standout. Formerly known as Alligator Pear and now known as Tara Mór, it’s located steps away from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station and features a massive space accommodating up to 500 guests. Enjoy dishes like the grilled alligator sausage, which is a surprise twist in an otherwise firmly New American menu. There’s also lobster rolls and lamb chops alongside fettuccine alfredo and pork belly skewers with a gochujang aioli dipping sauce. Do look for beloved Irish treats like Tayto crisps and Lucozade soda, too.

Occupying the bottom level of a former Garment District factory, this lively speakeasy delivers a Moulin Rouge fantasy via low-lit fringe lamps and velvet upholstery. And like the famous Parisian spectacle, there are live performances here, too, via a piano and talented singers. The food menu leans dependable: fried calamari, deviled eggs, and a handful of pizza. Cocktails include menu sections dedicated toward highballs, tiki-style drinks, bubbles, and more.