WestHouse Guide to NYC Restaurant Week in Midtown
The list of restaurants participating in NYC Restaurant Week 2016 is up, and a slew of Midtown’s best spots are on it. From July 25 until August 19, enjoy a 3-course lunch and dinner for $29 and $42, respectively. Here’s a selection of our favorite Midtown restaurants on the list this year.
21 Club
One of the most famous Prohibition-era speakeasies from the ’30s, the Bar Room restaurant at 21 Club has served the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Luciano Pavarotti and George Clooney in its 80-year history. From chilled seafood to signature grills, the famous à la carte menu has something for everybody. This Restaurant Week, start with the soup du jour, and don’t miss the grilled flat iron steak.
21 Club: 21 W. 52nd St., 212-582-7200
China Grill
Located on the ground floor of the CBS headquarters, China Grill has been the go-to spot for power lunches and dinners in an opulent setting since its opening in 1987. And while the restaurant scene has changed greatly, China Grill is still a stalwart supporter of the Asian fusion concept. Its Peking duck salad, serving it in tangerine orange dressing has stood the test of time—and restaurant critics.
China Grill: 60 W. 53rd St., 212-333-7788
Russian Tea Room
Founded by former members of the Russian Imperial Ballet in 1927, the Russian Tea Room has played host to high-brow actors, writers and politicians for nearly a century. (Madonna worked the coat check before becoming an international celebrity.) Sample Russian favorites on the Restaurant Week menu, from goat cheese and wild mushroom blinchik—a Russian take on the crêpe—to vareniki, a daily selection of Russian-style pierogi.
Russian Tea Room: 150 W. 57th St., 212-581-7100
Brasserie Ruhlmann
Dine al fresco surrounded by public art, or sit inside an art-deco dining room with mahogany wood and red velvet chairs at this Paris-inspired brasserie. Chef Laurent Tourondel of BLT Steak fame created a sophisticated French menu this Restaurant Week, featuring grilled hanger steak and the classic moules marinières with white wine and shallots.
Brasserie Ruhlmann: 45 Rockefeller Plz., 212-974-2020
Esca
Esca brings southern Italian dishes to Midtown Manhattan with the star power of chef Mario Batali. The Restaurant Week menu includes a selection of fresh crudo—local bluefish with pickled jalapeno, bluefin tuna loin with olive oil from Sicily and shrimp with house made lemon oil—and, for dessert, cannoli with fresh ricotta.
Esca: 402 W. 43rd St., 212-564-7572