New York, NY

bar • destination • experience • outdoors • restaurants

Gemma

Equal parts trendy/inviting/intimate/warm. Perfect for everything from brunches to midnight dinners to blind dates to late afternoon work lunches. Truly a downtown staple anytime, any day. Vibes and trendiness wise, it’s like an Italian version of the Mercer Kitchen but replace Mercer Kitchen’s sleek design with quintessential Italian oversized leather booths, old black and white photos on the walls and candle wax dripping from old wine bottles lining the ceiling. Located at the base of the famous Bowery Hotel; excellent atmosphere with picture-perfect outdoor seating. Celebrities abound. Pro Tip: Gemma’s “back room” is a city-wide favorite for private parties, birthday gatherings, or really any event where you would have big gold balloons.

New York, NY

bar • experience • restaurants

The Mercer Kitchen

Such a hit. A beloved Jean-George restaurant spanning the ground floor and cellar floor of The Mercer Hotel. Celebrities abound but in a low key way- paps sit silently on the Mercer side street waiting to catch someone going into the hotel or shopping. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, mid afternoon, dinner, or late night. The chicken sandwich on the lunch menu is one of my favorites in the city. ATMOSPHERE and LOCATION! Great for dates or for showing a business colleague that you know a cool place to go at 3:45pm on a Tuesday for a place to talk business in a loungey setting bover bites and drinks.

New York, NY

bar • experience • restaurants

Saxon + Parole

Going here makes you feel like you have your life together because the crowd is always made up of trendy, successful looking New Yorkers who all actually seem happy. The interior is warm and inviting. Friends laugh over cocktails and share a bunch of seasonal dishes including a truffled mouse with toasted bread and at that moment in time, everything is perfect. Their version of the Impossible Burger is the absolute best version in the entire city. Rumor has it they have CBD cocktails now which is super awesome and cool of them. The food is really amazing and their executive chef comes through season after season with hit after hit.

New York, NY

cafe • restaurants

Ruby's Cafe

The perfect place to go if you’re in the mood for a burger but your friend is in the mood for a vegan green bowl. This place has been my bff and I’s go to place whenever we can’t agree on what kind of mood we’re in. The staff is all actually Australian (Australian cafe) which for some reason makes it more fun. They have Impossible Burgers!!

New York, NY

bar • experience • restaurants

BONDST

Oh my god BONDST. The food is really truly so good. The place is split up into the upstairs restaurant and downstairs lounge. The lounge always has awesome music playing (for the record that’s early 2000s hip hop/rnb) and is an awesome place to go with friends or on a date where you actually want to have fun. If you want a romantic (or just quieter) meal, go upstairs where you can actually hear your company talk, and the chairs are real chairs with backs versus the low stools they have downstairs. A really, really fun place. Lots of hot people. Lots of designer everything. Literally everything tastes incredible.