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In a town like New York, what’s considered “old school” is relative, but the one constant is that an old-school restaurant never goes out of style. Whether you’re a native New Yorker or a recent transplant, or maybe even just visiting, there is a distinctly New York old-school style, or form of nostalgia, we all can relate to. Being in a place that embodies that is what makes New York so special, regardless of whether it’s been around longer than you’ve been alive or is a new spot that echoes the classics.
So, with that in mind, we’ve rounded up the best of the best of nostalgic New York, both from the old school and the new old school, right this way.
Newly added: Café Carmellini, Delmonico’s, The Dining Room at Chateau Royale, Monkey Bar, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Raoul’s, Temple Bar, and Veselka East Village.
Monkey Bar Midtown East
Rub shoulders with the spirits of Frank Sinatra and Isadora Duncan, both of whom were known to visit this spot that first opened in 1936. It’s one of a few restaurants in our city that’s become synonymous with the very fabric of dining and drinking, due in large part to the bar’s fabulous namesake monkey murals, and now, because the team behind Au Cheval – NYC is in the kitchen. Try to get a booth and absolutely don’t skip the prime rib or the shrimp cocktail.
Pebble Bar Midtown
Housed within several floors of an historic Rockefeller Center townhouse, this is the epitome of a new old-school joint that manages to be effortlessly cool. Pebble Bar took the place of famed bar haunt Hurley’s, which opened in 1892 and closed in 2000. We’ll let you do that math. P.S. The cilantro-mezcal popcorn and Mugshot Root Beer cocktail do not disappoint.
Keens Steakhouse Herald Square
With huge mutton chops, creamed spinach, and shrimp cocktail, Keens has been an original since the incredibly early aughts of 1885. Famously gentlemen-only until the early 1900s, Keens is known for the enormous collection of pipes that adorn its ceiling, some of which date back to the beginning and belonged to people like Herbert Hoover and Babe Ruth. This isn’t a restaurant that gets by on reputation alone, though. The food here has outlasted the test of time, and is most certainly worth every indulgence.
White Horse Tavern Greenwich Village
Photo courtesy of White Horse Tavern
The second longest continually run bar in the city is still one of the city’s best for food, drinks, and vibes. Partake in a giant pretzel, fried pickles, and a blue cheese-topped burger and daydream about the possibility that you may be sitting in a seat once occupied by writers Jack Kerouac or Dylan Thomas.
Read on for a closer look at White Horse Tavern’s life-size portrait of Dylan Thomas.
Photo courtesy of White Horse Tavern
Pete’s Tavern Union Square
Once you’re done visiting the second longest continually operating bar in New York City, you may as well make your way over to the longest continually operating bar in New York City. After all, there’s nowhere to go but up. We like Pete’s for the bar menu. Pro tip: Grab a seat at the bar and order the veal meatballs, beer-battered onion rings, and maybe a burger, and you’ve got yourself a night made for the history books. Do know that reservations are in (extra) high demand during the holiday season, when the bar dresses up in lights and garlands.
Café Carmellini NoMad
While Cafe Carmellini may be relatively new to the city’s dining scene (they opened in 2024), the name behind it certainly isn’t. Andrew Carmellini is the practiced, exceptional chef and restaurateur behind other New York classics like Bar Primi, Locanda Verde Tribeca, and Lafayette, and this is his namesake, an ode to New York’s fine dining institutions. The word cafe doesn’t even begin to touch on the classic, gilded glamour of the dining room, housed in the Fifth Avenue Hotel, complete with chandeliers and trees dotted throughout. It’s well worth the splurge, and we recommend going all out with the duck-duck-duck ravioli, chicken “gran sasso,” and sticky toffee pudding.
The Nines NoHo
Although opened relatively recently, The Nines nails the retro-chic piano bar vibe of days past. Go here to listen to live music, perhaps after eating dinner at its downstairs neighbor ACME. This is classic for a new crowd that’s also cooler, hipper, and more expensively dressed. Prepare accordingly.
Pro tip: Here are some pointers on how to get into The Nines.
Nom Wah Tea Parlor Chinatown
Nom Wah has something for everyone. With its prime location on Doyers Street in Chinatown, its status as the oldest continually operating dim sum restaurant in the city (they first opened in 1920), and the rarity of being kept in the family the whole time, it’s a New York institution in the truest sense of the word. The dining room itself makes you feel like you’re on a movie set, with its red vinyl booths, Art Deco–style tables, antique fans, and cash register. Do know that the dumplings and rice rolls here are always exquisite, and don’t overlook the turnip cake with XO sauce.
El Quijote Chelsea
El Quijote is a bona fide New York institution that’s been open for nearly 100 years inside the iconic Hotel Chelsea. Throughout its long history, it’s been a place that New Yorkers have flocked to for its one-of-a-kind scene, especially at the bar. From 2018 to 2022, the restaurant was closed, but it finally reopened in 2022 and we couldn’t be happier. The restaurant is smaller than it once was, and today, it’s run by the same team behind Sunday in Brooklyn and partner Charles Seich, but El Quijote retains its classic aura of cool with, dare we say it, even better cocktails and dishes than it once had.
Read on to learn more about El Quijote’s recent transformation.
Delmonico’s Financial District
Photo courtesy of Delmonico’s
With the title of oldest restaurant in New York City — they originally opened in 1837 — Delmonico’s reopened its doors with appropriate fanfare in 2023. An astonishing number of dishes we now consider classics were invented here, including the Chicken à la King (listed here as Chicken à la Keene), Lobster Newberg, and the wedge salad. The wine cellar is a sight to behold. Come here to feast.
Photo courtesy of Delmonico’s
Sylvia’s Restaurant Harlem
Want the best? Go right to the castle. Sylvia’s, named for Sylvia Woods, the “Queen of Soul Food,” has been in business since 1962, serving up some of Harlem’s most delicious fried chicken, cornbread, smothered pork chops, and fried catfish (a tall order in a neighborhood with some of the world’s best). The food is exceptional but even better is the experience of dining inside the restaurant, either at the counter or in the main dining room, surrounded by photos of the many famous celebrities and luminaries who have loved dining at Sylvia’s. So go with a group, and order everything on the menu.
Read on for a look at how Sylvia’s has been there for its community all these years.
Chateau Royale Greenwich Village
There are few cuisines so tied to New York as French bistro fare. From the early days of Le Cirque to the modern charm of Le Veau D’or, it’s as New York as apple pie is American. Arguably, the West Village’s Libertine was one of the leaders of the recent renaissance of the style, and the team’s latest venture, Chateau Royale, takes it over the top. Housed on the upper level of a former carriage house, the dining room’s white tablecloths and checkered floor are the perfect complement to rich escargots bourguignon and decadent lobster thermidor. Downstairs at the dimly lit bar room, they serve fanciful takes on everything from classic hot dogs and burgers to steak frites and club sandwiches.
Victor’s Cafe Midtown West
Victor’s is what we envision when we try to imagine what it may have been like to party in Cuba (or even Miami) in the late ’90s. The music is always pumping, the food is great, and the cocktails (we like the Havana Spice) are always flowing.
Temple Bar Noho
Temple Bar has only gotten better with age, as many of the best things do. Open in some form since 1989 — with a four-year hiatus in there somewhere — it has served cool kids cocktails, like a house Gibson Martini and Penicillin, throughout its tenure. Now under the ownership of a team whose purview also includes The Lambs Club, Attaboy, and Passerine, it’s no wonder Temple Bar has easily resumed its status as a see-and-be-seen locale. Do know that the grilled cheese and chocolate chip cookies are never a bad idea, either.
Raoul’s Soho
That highly covetable au poivre burger may just be one of the city’s most sought after dishes, especially given that they only serve a limited quantity at the bar each night, and on the weekends for brunch. But there’s so much more to love about Raoul’s, from the steak (also au poivre) and classic ice-cold martini, to their iconic, sexy dining room and faithful cast of regulars. Now open for half a century, it’s no wonder many consider this to be New York’s O.G. French bistro.
Veselka (East Village) East Village
While we may never get over the loss of Veselka’s open-24-hours status post-pandemic, it remains one of the most beloved spots in the city and a classic in every sense of the word. Pierogi, borscht, and schnitzel here are absolute musts, as you let the clanging from the kitchen and snippets of spoken Ukrainian wash over you. If you went to college nearby, we can almost guarantee you ended more nights than you’d like to admit right here at a table. Not that we’re speaking from personal experience, or anything.
