Having lost a number of our favorite place in the last few years, and with the dumbing-down of so many menus, we needed to find some other options. I discovered some of these using the Seated app, which is a great way to save money while exploring new options. Here are the ones we liked and have been returning to:
Portale - Pricey but excellent
Rosa Mexicano - Big and loud but the food is very good
Sotto 13 - Wonderful pastas, pizzas and main courses
Laut, and Laut Singapura - Malaysian/Singaporean
Le Coucou - Fancy French, perfect for a special occasion
Osteria 106 - Wonderful Italian in Manhattan Valley
Baazi - Formerly Awadh, food has gotten really good, our favorite Indian restaurant
Piccolo Angolo - Old-school New York Italian, huge portions of delicious food, nice wine list
Scampi - Modern take on Italian, with a selection of crudos, pastas, and main courses
Thanks for writing about these here! Glad to know about Baazi; I was a fan of Awadh early, but then it went down hill. Indian Table is my current favorite Indian spot, but it’s a hike for me from the UWS. Went to Portale when it first opened, and it has remained just very, very good, plus everyone in my family adores it. Just something for everyone, and the vibe is also great. Noisy, yes, but full of life, IMO. I will check out your blog.
The only unfortunate thing about Portale is that the menu doesn’t change, and they rarely have daily specials. We’ve had every dish more than once, so it’s not something we can frequent as much as we used to.
Agree…when they first opened (pre-pandemic) the menu was always changing. Now, it just does so seasonally, and it seems they even cheat a bit on that so there are not even four rotations. It is always packed, though, so perhaps they are fine sitting on their laurels.
