11 showing · 197 on the list
2nd Ave Deli
The famous kosher deli of the old East Village, transplanted to E 33rd St and still run by the Lebewohl family. Not on Second Avenue anymore; still the real thing.
Order: Pastrami on rye plus the free gribenes they set down; if you're committed, the chicken soup with a kreplach-and-matzo-ball combo.
verified open Aug 2026 (official site + Yelp updated Aug 2026); daily 11am-8pm, kosher — no dairy with your meat
162 E 33rd St (between Lexington & Third Ave) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
Budapest Cafe
The last Hungarian kitchen in what used to be Little Hungary — opened by Andre of Andre's Hungarian Bakery in 2004 and renamed, still doing goulash, crepes, and strudel to folk music on Second Avenue.
Order: Chicken paprikash with nokedli, then a cherry strudel to go — the strudels are the direct line back to Andre's bakery.
verified open 2026 (official site budapestcafenyc.com + Yelp updated May 2026); Mon-Fri 9am-9pm
1631 Second Ave (between E 84th & 85th St) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
Dhaba
Punjabi truck-stop cooking done loud and unapologetically spicy — the Curry Hill pick when you want gravy-heavy North Indian instead of dosas.
Order: Butter chicken and the dal makhani with garlic naan; the weekday lunch buffet is the value play.
verified open 2026 (official site + Yelp updated Jun 2026); open late, lunch buffet weekdays
108 Lexington Ave (between E 27th & 28th St) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
Heidelberg Restaurant
One of the last true German restaurants of old Yorkville, on Second Avenue since 1939 — dirndls, steins, and a menu largely unchanged since 1963. This is the neighborhood the way it was when 86th Street was Sauerkraut Boulevard.
Order: The sauerbraten with red cabbage and spaetzle, plus a two-liter boot of Spaten if you brought friends.
verified open Aug 2026 (official site + Yelp updated Jul 2026); open daily from 11am
1648 Second Ave (between E 85th & 86th St) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
J.G. Melon
Corner pub at 74th and Third since 1972, green-checked tablecloths and one of the city's canonical burgers. Still run the way it was fifty years ago.
Order: Cheeseburger with the cottage fries, a Bloody Mary if it's daytime. It arrives on a flimsy paper plate; that is part of the deal.
verified open 2026 (2026 press coverage + active Instagram); CASH ONLY, expect a wait at prime times
1291 Third Ave (at E 74th St) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
Lexington Candy Shop
A 1925 luncheonette, third-generation family-run, with the original soda fountain still pulling seltzer from the tap. Not cheap for a counter lunch, but nothing else in Manhattan looks or works like this.
Order: Cheeseburger, fries, and a vanilla malted mixed on the 1940s Hamilton Beach machines — or a fresh-squeezed orangeade at the counter.
verified open Aug 2026 (official site + Yelp updated Jul 2026); closes 5:45pm weekdays — it's a daytime move
1226 Lexington Ave (at E 83rd St) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
Molly's Shebeen
Sawdust on the floor, a working fireplace, and arguably the best-poured Guinness in Manhattan. A real Irish pub kitchen in Gramercy, not a theme bar.
Order: The shepherd's pie — it's the house dish — with a properly settled pint of Guinness; the burger is a sleeper too.
verified open 2026 (official site; details verified Jun 2026); kitchen to midnight, bar to 4am
287 Third Ave (between E 22nd & 23rd St) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
Pastrami Queen
Kosher deli lineage going back to 1956 in Queens, now the Upper East Side's pastrami counter of record. Tiny room, most people take it to the park.
Order: Pastrami on rye with mustard, nothing else on it — get it hand-cut and eat it within the hour.
verified open 2026 (official site locations page + Yelp updated Jul 2026); daily 10am-9pm
1125 Lexington Ave (between E 78th & 79th St) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
Pete's Tavern
Open since 1864 — the oldest continuously operating bar-restaurant in the city, where O. Henry supposedly wrote The Gift of the Magi in a booth. The rosewood bar alone is worth the visit.
Order: The 1864 burger and a pint of Pete's house ale at the original bar; sit in the front booths where the history is.
verified open 2026 (official site + Yelp updated Jul 2026); daily 12pm-2am
129 E 18th St (at Irving Pl) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
San Matteo Pizzeria e Cucina
Salerno-born crew doing real Neapolitan pies and panuozzi — sandwiches on blistered pizza dough — that made uptown pizza worth arguing about. Reopened in a renovated UES space in late 2024.
Order: The panuozzo with mozzarella di bufala and prosciutto — it's the thing nobody else in the neighborhood makes.
verified open Aug 2026 (Yelp updated Jul 2026 + OpenTable active); dinner-focused weekdays, opens 4pm Mon-Thu
1559 Second Ave (at E 81st St) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07
Sarge's Delicatessen & Diner
Murray Hill's deli since 1964, founded by a retired NYPD sergeant, survived a three-alarm fire and came back. The neighborhood's late-ish pastrami and matzo ball safety net.
Order: The hot open pastrami or 'The Monster' if you're splitting it; matzo ball soup regardless of weather.
verified open 2026 (official site + Yelp updated Jul 2026); daily 10am-10pm
548 Third Ave (between E 36th & 37th St) · map
added 2026-08-07 · verified 2026-08-07