A lot of the best restaurants in Manhattan are closed on Saturday for lunch – or for the whole weekend.
In NJ we are forced into the “bridge and tunnel” category and weekends are SO much easier. I’d love to have lunch at le Bernardin but no go on weekends. (And the supper prices are astronomical!) With some research I have learned that Café Boulud and Jean-Georges are open for Saturday lunch. With this group I can probably get an answer – what sort of restaurants in “that” category stoop to serving lunch on the weekend??
The list of no lunch on Saturday is really surprisingly long. Some not a surprise (Daniel) some a little surprising (Molyvos).
My wife and I have a reservation for tomorrow at Café Boulud. I’ve been there several times and really enjoy it, and I have one of Daniel Boulud’s cookbooks. db Bistro Moderne I don’t enjoy quite as much FWIW.
Frank,
This is your place.
They have a brunch starting at 11:30 but have the duck lunch. You will thank me. http://momofuku.com/new-york/ssam-bar/brunch/
This is definitely one of the best restaurants in Manhattan.
I consider this high level food even though the atmosphere is more casual than Daniel’s places.
Jean-Georges is open for lunch Saturday and Sunday. Although you mentioned it, it sounds like you are skipping it. We were just in NYC and went for lunch and it was fantastic and, I thought, fairly priced as well. Great food and service.
It’s not a surprise for me that there’s plenty of restaurants that do not serve Saturday lunch in Manhattan. These higher-end restaurants still cater primarily to locals, as well as business expense folks for lunch.
Yes, there are the occasional tourists who go to these places, but patrons are still mostly locals and corporate lunch crowds. Come weekends, locals sleep in much later here and, of course, business lunches are almost non-existent.
If one were to try for a lunch table at popular establishments that chose to remain open on weekends, I’d bet that it’s not as hard to get reservations during Saturdays/Sundays lunch for those restaurants.
Having said all that, there are other good (imho), but much more casual places than previously mentioned, that will be open for lunch on Saturdays here in NYC. As mentioned, Momofuku Ssam is open, and off the top of my mind, I’ll add:
Casa Mono for excellent Spanish-inspired dishes Babbo for good regional Italian; or its sister, much more casual Roman trattoria: Lupa Maialino for pasta and the famous suckling pig Minetta Tavern for good French-inspired bistro dishes The Nomad for American fare.
We really enjoyed Café Boulud today – of course it’s true that it’s a different batch of people. On weekdays you see famous actors, politicians, and other important people there. Today kind of a lot of younger people, and a lot of Asians. But the food was at their usual level. At any rate it’s a very comfortable and friendly place, they do make you feel really welcome.
I’m not “skipping” Jean-Georges or any of the other suggestions here, I can only have one lunch per day. I’m just filing them away for future reference and I really appreciate the suggestions, it looks like there is a lot to explore. I’m looking forward to that. Thanks for the advice!! And keep it coming, if there are other good ideas…
A lot of great recommendations here like Momofuku, Marea, The Modern, and JG. Molyvos is also open Saturday for brunch with a pretty typical menu. I dine there often.
Although it has been mentioned here by a couple of other posters, the more polished and more formal The Modern Dining Room is NOT open for lunch on Saturdays, a requested by Frank.
The more casual Bar Room at the Modern is open for lunch on weekends. Although we’ve eaten here many times and perused the benefit of free corkage on certain days, this restaurant has not impressed during the last couple of lunch visits. I’d opt for the more formal Dining Room for truly good food experience.
It’s the weekend lunch meals that I’m referring to as having slipped. I think my observation had more to do with the hordes of tourists that fills-up the Bar Room during the weekends. In both occasions that we were there, it was very, very busy and the place was packed full with every age, including noisy infants in strollers to older adults.
The one time I ordered our wines by the glass, it took midway through our intended course pairing when the wines arrived. The other time when I byob’d 3 bottles, they took our bottles from our table to the counter, within our sight, where they keep napkins/stems/water/silver ware and it took forever for somebody to open and serve our intended pairings. I was patiently halfway through my entrée when they served the red Bordeaux that I had indicated earlier they pair with our entrée.
As for the food, preparations appear rushed with noted ingredients missing from the served foods. Plus, a few of our favorite dishes - the Tarte l’Oignon was served quite cold and the Duck breast dish and a Beef preparation were more overdone than we expected.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the service and dish quality are improved during weekdays, when full complement of executive chefs and sommelier are normally around.
I looked at the the menu for Marea. Wow!! I was aware of the restaurant but I really didn’t know what the food was like there. That’s a must try. I can see why people think of it when they think of le Bernardin. And lunch looks like a steal.
If you haven’t been before you should try the Fusilli with Octopus and Bone Marrow. Close as they come to having a signature dish. Surprisingly for a seafood centric restaurant their meat and poultry is always fantastic as well (I still hope for the guinea hen making a reappearance). Their soups are always great, excellent octopus, scallops are delicious though I find the portion a bit small if you’re hungry.
While it isn’t on the lunch menu if you’re a sea urchin fan you can ask if they can do an order of Ricci for you as an additional app. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they say no, but I always ask when I’m there for lunch. If you’re in the mood for dessert I recommend the exceptional gelati and sorbetti. I find the other desserts, like the cocktails, sound great but are a bit of a let down.
Yes. And last fall it was an excellent experience. Jean-George is also wonderful. Le Bernadine may be my favorite lunch but they don’t do Saturday lunches.
I’m just filing them away for future reference and I really appreciate the suggestions, it looks like there is a lot to explore. I’m looking forward to that. Thanks for the advice!! And keep it coming, if there are other good ideas…