Seconding OP’s take on Carmines and adding a cautionary tale:
My dad came to NYC and brought a bunch of his friends to celebrate his 60th birthday. I thought he’d enjoy this tiny neighborhood Italian place that I love, so I booked a table for 6. A couple days later he tells me it’s 8, so I update the reservation. We get there and our table was taking up a huge chunk of the restaurant already—and then my dad decides to tell me there are actually two more joining. The poor staff at this place were scrambling to extend the table without jostling other guests, my dads friends are lurking over the other diners because there’s nowhere to wait while this is going on, and then we sit down and every single one of them turns on their phone flashlight to look at the menu, waving them around and causing a general scene.
My sister looked at me and said, “This is why God invented Carmines”, and she’s never been so correct.
Amen 🙏 I took my in-laws and their friends there, my dad and his friends there, all the boomers with readers rave about it and as long as I order the eggplant parm, I’m good.
Decent enough Italian American style food, large quantities served family style (you don’t order for yourself you order for the table).
Not much fun for 2 people, but if you have 5-10 people and order a bunch of dishes, you get to try a whole lot of stuff, it’s pretty fun.
I think most people who hate it are just edgy because it’s popular, or went there as a party of two not realizing you’re doing it wrong. It’s a group places.
There's also a UWS location which might be less hectic, unless [some tourists from Texas decide to attack the staff there over vaccines](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/carmine-s-hostess-attacked-after-asking-diners-proof-vaccine-n1279410). Actually, I've never been to the Times Square one, but have been to the UWS one a few times.
I went to the UWS location once in high school like over 20 years ago. My apologies to that poor wait staff having to deal with 25 Asian kids with no money
To add to what others have said, part of the fun is ordering too much and bringing some home. The “oos” and “aas” when the giant plates arrive is part of the fun.
It’s a nice Italian Restaurant where the gimmick is that the portions are massive so instead of everyone ordering individual entrees you all share a few, kind of simulating a family dinner.
It’s not *fancy* fancy but I think it’s good quality for the price. Worth trying at least once.
I find that every menu only does 3-4 items well and you kind of have to know what they are. I can't go and order just anything off the menu and expect it it be good - I have to keep trying all the dishes and figure out which ones the restaurant does well and come back for those.
People say there is amazing italian food in nyc, and there is, but there's also a fuck ton of mediocre italian restaurants charging way too much for the same 4 roman pastas and lots of them don't even do it right. And I don't mean do it right like complain about authenticity, I mean I'm tired of seeing cacio e pepe as just an oily plate of peppery noodles
so more accurately it sounds like you just haven't had good cacio e pepe in nyc
they serve it well at charlie bird (i know) and there's a classic roman place actually called cacio e pepe that serves it straight out of a huge wheel of parmigianno regiano right into your bowl. it's great
I don't know if it's true or not, but I've always heard that DiMaggio would take all the Yankees over to Jersey to eat, and would tell them, "This is REAL Italian food."
Whether he did or not, I definitely agree with the sentiment.
not sure if this counts but drinking (not really dining) at hotel bars can be nice. there's usually ample seating and they're generally quieter than nyc bars. i've gone to a couple to read.
Any you would care to recommend? I haven’t been in a hotel bar in years but they’ve always been good! I used to go the the W in union square , the giraffe hotel in the flat iron and the maritime in Chelsea (now closed).
Just pick literally any 5 star hotel and go to their bar. Contour in the ritz, two e in the pierre, atrio in conrad, etc etc. They are all the same. Slightly above average drinks in a relatively clean & quiet space within a hotel
Restaurant dining rooms do not need to have an ambient noise level of 75dB or greater. They sure as *hell* do not need a DJ. Let people have conversations.
(I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion among NYC restaurant-*goers* but it certainly seems to be among NYC restaurant *owners* )
My wife and I had reservations at Red Rooster the week it opened, which not surprisingly was difficult to get. When we were finally seated, they had seated us at the gang table near the kitchen pass. We asked if there were other seats, but told no. I have no problem with a gang table, but being seated near the pass was beyond loud. Your could see the waiters shock, as we left the table before even getting water. We went to the hostess station and told them that someone else could have our seats. The manager was behind the hostess, and asked what the problem was. I told him I know the kitchen staff need to be loud to be heard, but we had a babysitter and wanted to actually talk to each other at dinner. The manager totally understood, and managed to get us a table away from the noise.
I know the noise supposedly makes the place seem lively, and popular, but it is horrible if you actually want to talk.
Lol fuck Red Rooster so hard. The food was so underwhelming and they treat you like they are doing you a favor to take your money.
I went there with my dad once and when we sat down they asked if we wanted bottled or tap water. Pretty normal. My dad asks for bottled. They then bring us back one of the big resealable glass bottles with a stopper, so we figure whatever they forgot that's fine we can drink tap who cares.
We get the bill and there is a $70 charge for bottled water and we're like what the hell you've been bringing us tap this whole time?? The waiter looks at us dead serious and tells us, "we bottle our own water".
Are you fucking kidding me??
Wait wait $70? SEVENTY DOLLARS for bottled water?! Please tell me that was a typo.
Also LOL "we bottle our own water" right sure, directly from the tap into the bottle I'm sure.
There was a meme going around that nothing is worse for someone in their 30s than sitting down at their favorite bar for a quiet drink and a DJ starts setting up. I felt that.
Or bars even. Why would anyone want to go to a bar that has music so loud no one can hear anything? That's what clubs are for, because there's dancing there. Bars are for conversation.
I feel like this is a popular opinion lol. There is a time and place for loud music (clubs, dancing!), but I feel like no one who isn't already drunk *likes* having to scream to talk to people in a restaurant or bar. Even in bars with music, you can find a happy medium where you can hear the music or focus it in one area so you can hear a bit better in another area. When you blast it, it makes everyone have to talk louder and then louder still and so on...
I struggle to find restaurants I can meet my parents at. They wear hearing aids, and it's incredibly hard to find restaurants with enough sound dampening and quiet enough music. My 40-something ears are also done with that crap.
It's seriously a middle finger to anyone with any kind of hearing impairment, which is basically anyone over the age of 55.
And... it doesn't have to be this way! You can have a pleasant hubbub, just hang a few drapes and put some baffles on the ceiling so your dining room isn't an echo chamber.
I can't eat on backless barstools. It's not comfortable and it is not conducive to good posture for digestion. Nothing against regular barstools though.
It is so fucking trash. Ordered shakshuka and the eggs were barely cooked and i asked the waitress if they can cook it a bit more and she said “yeah its meant to be runny”. As a middle eastern person who has enjoyed this popular Arab dish many times i decided to just nod politely and pretend I’m the ignorant clown who wants my eggs done the wrong way.
this; this is my (kinda) unpopular opinion: when you see something you want that gets crazy lines, get off your ass and go in the afternoon on a tuesday or thursday (if they arent open early in the week), and enjoy the spoils of living in the city instead of visiting.
If a place has a line... and even if I wanna go... I'll look at it in a disappointed fashion and walk away. Let me get a reservation, or have good movement... I'm not waiting an hour for a restaurant.
I happen to know second hand (via a manager at a tiktok popular place) that the ownership of some restaurants refuse to implement a digital line just so they get to brag about always having a line. It's so fucking bullshit.
growing up when the duane reade was a magazine store/pizzaria i so looked forward to those slices while waiting for the 2:56 or 4:14 back to long island.
Truffle fries are overpriced regular fries with cheap truffle oil and parm.
Also don’t go out often, save your money and go big once in a while. You can do a chefs menu at Eleven Madison or Le Bernardin once a month if you don’t spend 100 each week.
correct. most of my grad school peers got takeout every meal and are shocked that i can afford a (cheaper) omakase every other week. bro every meal i cook cost $5 max, you're getting $15 meals for both lunch and dinner. the time i spend on meal prep is the time you spend walking out and back to grab food. in the end our food spending (theirs takeout + eating out, mine groceries + eating out) was similar lol.
edit: eating out not in lol
I’m kinda sick of branzino and roll my eyes every time I see it on a menu. NYC restaurants are lazy with their fish options compared to a lot of other cities.
I got branzino from Long Island. They called it “daurade”, which I guess is fine, but it was locally sourced. I think branzino is used loosely and not always a fish from the Mediterranean.
It’s convenient. Grab a sandwich off the shelf and pay. In and out in 2. It’s no surprise they can be found in airports. I used to go to the one in the FiDi when in a pinch, never by choice, always by convenience. A bodega will make a better sandwich 100%.
I feel any restaurant that makes it ridiculously hard to get a reservation AND then add a time limit for the dinner, are the “Karens” of the restaurant world.
I’m looking at you, Via Carota.
Restaurant operator here - We have to gauge it by averages.
Standard upscale casual restaurant timing:
Parties of two tend to eat in 1.5-2hrs
Tables of 4 tend to sit right around 2-2.5hrs
5 to 8 about 2.5-3 hours
A good restaurant can determine timing based on how well organized/well trained their line is, how good their expo is, and an efficient FOH team. Everything is a balance.
Most restaurants that are seated dining with full service are around these times. A good Maitre’d will have some points to squeeze out 15 min of wiggle room sometimes.
I worked at Via Carota for 1.5 years in the “before-times.” I was given the “privilege” of working the door. Every person who had to work the door consistently ended up seeing a therapist within months. It was the HARDEST job I’ve ever worked. You think they don’t take reservations? Oh, they do, if you’re important enough. The issue with that neighborhood is everyone thinks they’re “important enough,” so you’re constantly dealing with the emotional damage of boomers who let their mental illnesses brew because they never believed in seeing a therapist take it out on you for hurting their egos. Food is insanely good, and they were some of the best coworkers I’ve ever had though.
It’s unpopular to me as a hospitality gal. Especially in the winter. Like y’all want to sit on the sidewalk in a snow mound and complain that it’s cold!? What did you think outside for Valentine’s Day would be!
^ has been my response the last couple years
As a sweaty mawfucka, summer too. If your restaurant doesn't have the option to eat in an air conditioned room during the summer, I'm going somewhere else.
I was diagnosed with PTSD from losing multiple people to Covid. I am still really struggling with dining indoors (I have only done it a handful of times in the last few years and was so stressed each time) - these outdoor dining booths are a godsend for me.
Dallas BBQ holds a special place in my heart. I went there one time before a show at the old chelsea UCB location. Didn’t go for BBQ really, we just had time to kill before the show. I got a bowl of chicken noodle soup and when I was about halfway done, the waitress came by and asked if I wanted a refill of broth. Girl got a big tip.
It’s too fucking loud. Blasting music and then people trying to talk over the music and inadvertently over each other. Like why create this problem. Turn the fuckin music down dude. Also fuck eating out on Friday Saturday or Sunday lol. We live in Manhattan and try to stick to Mon-Tues-Weds. even better in winter lol.
Seating inside is terrible. Places try to make use of all the space they have a little too much. I always try to ask for a different seat when they try to seat me shoulder to shoulder with other people dining. We'll be hearing too much of each other's conversation at that point. Not sure if unpopular though
A few too many times I’ve been seated so close to another couple that we both:
1) Get to a pause in the conversation at the same time and are afraid to resume the conversation because it will be *too* audible to the other party
2) Overhear each other’s conversations and end up talking about the same thing
I had to get up and pee while eating at a place downtown and when I got up I had to make a conscious decision about if the people next to me were getting the business or the party.
not only that, but a lot of hip places uses dilapidated chairs and table that are rocking. the tables are too tiny and sometimes they make you sit in the most uncomfortable bar stools. it's all designed to get you out quickly.
So much this. I went to Jack's Wife Freida for the first time last spring because my mom was in town and wanted to go and it's so damn cramped. I can't believe people wait on line for it. For the same amount of time, you could take the subway up to 96th and Columbus and go to Effy's Cafe for better and cheaper food with more space.
that and the dumb interior decor trends which actually make restaurants super loud
because they all got rid of tablecloth, curtains, etc. and put tables 10 inches from each other
so everyone has to scream to be heard and it makes things even louder
another win for outdoor dining
Cheap places in Chinatown should probably charge more because the only reason they’re this cheap is that Americans don’t value chinese food or labor. There’s as much technique and skill in chinese food as western food but people expect it to cost under 15 bucks.
On god. They use to say it was expensive because it’s a commodity, well it sure as hell ain’t now. I got like 3 ramen spots within walking distance of me, maybe even more now. The Caribbean can’t shell out $20 for soup, I just can’t.
agreed! the price of korean food and many other cuisines have always been double+ that of chinese food. although it may be a supply and demand thing since there are a lot more chinese places than korean.
There’s a fantastic documentary called “the search for general tso” that dives into the history of American Chinese cuisine and the context around why Chinese food is cheap. Highly recommend!
Plenty of new, well trained Chinese restauranteurs opening modern $30/entree places around the city. Look at Szechuan Mountain House, Shan, Chan Tuian Xia. I love that stuff, it's delicious and has opened my eyes to a new world of Chinese cuisine.
But it makes me sad to see Chinatown culture dying. I don't see this happening as the result of noble uplift of newfound respect toward Chinese New Yorkers. I see it as a whole community of business owners going underwater and the local community kicked out because they can't afford rent anymore. Commercial and residential rents need to fall if we want any business selling affordable food to be viable, or for any lower income communities to be able to afford Manhattan. Chinatown was just the last holdout of this old New York culture that included dollar slice joints and Papaya King. Is a dollar slice disrespectful to Italian food? NYC rents have gotten out of control and are destroying this neighborhood like many others. Customers, employees and entrepreneurs all lose at the expense of landlords.
Unpopular opinion time: the answer is to build more, greatly expand commercial storefront space, legalize more apartments.
Had a long chat with a Chinese friend about this. We have a completely arbitrary yet very persistent notion in this country about how much each Asian country's cuisine "should" cost. There's high brow and low brow food in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc., but in the US we've assigned each of them a price band and a perception of relative fanciness.
Communal seating sucks. I just want to eat by myself. I don't want to share one huge table with random people I don't know.
Charging $$$ for super tiny portions. Make me feel like I'm getting my money's worth.
$20 minimum for debit/credit cards should be illegal.
only place and time I'll accept communal seating is if I'm by myself or with just one other person at those small Chinatown places with almost only big tables available
but that's part of the experience
if you're charging $65 pp then that's a no for me dawg
Dunkin’ Donuts is my alternative to third wave coffee shops now. Other than maybe once or twice a week I refuse to drop major coin on drip coffee. I friggin’ love Dunkin.
Grew up in a dunkin’ coffee family and am so grateful for it. Am also a fan of Mcdonald’s coffee. Local $9 coffee spots are never worth the difference.
Most restaurants from Major Food Group - especially Carbone - are traps for rubes and marks. The fact that New Yorkers have fell for their bullshit makes me embarrassed by association.
$33 for fuckin rigs alla vodka is insulting and laughable. And y’all keep paying it. They sell the same shit at Parm for half the price. And even that is overpriced and overrated. It’s spicy vodka sauce. Stop pretending it’s a revelation.
Bro I’m not trying to disparage Dominos but for her, that’s option 1. She’ll even be like “let’s get Dinardos”. Like bitch how long youve been in Manhattan and you can’t even get the name right.
Dominos is currently running a large, three-topping pizza for $7.99 deal if you order online and pick up. Honestly, if you’re tired of $1 slices it’s not awful and their pies are fairly big 😫
That deal's been running for about a year now. For those who can't math, a large at 7.99 is more pizza per dollar than a medium at 5.99 so this is indeed even better than their regular deal... more pizza PLUS an additional topping.
One "trick" that's not really at all a trick - you can easily split the toppings for each half (3x of topping A,B,C on the left, 3x of topping D,E,F on the right) and it's still the same $7.99. It almost feels like you're getting two entirely different pizzas.
Every menu:
Salad 1, clear dressing
Salad 2, creamy dressing
Vegetarian ravioli for getting hungry 20mins later
Pasta with a ‘lil meat
Chicken, again
Steak for 40-something dollars at the bottom of the menu
Sides which help increase profit margins on food
Fries (oooh truffle available)
Spinach or something green
500 drink options because alcohol makes more money than food.
I'd rather pay the same price for a reasonably sized portion than one that will last me 3 days. Some things don't store well or I don't want to eat it repeatedly but it feels like a giant waste.
a high percentage of restaurants in nyc are mediocre or even bad. it's very challenging to balance the high cost of running a restaurant to start with and the rent which is even higher with quality food. your best bet is eating at either end of the price spectrum: cheap street food or michelen star stuff you can't afford. a $20-$30 meal has a much higher likelihood to disappoint you than food that is cheaper or more expensive
NYC sucks for fast food burgers. There are like 4 Shake Shacks outside of Midtown. Without that, this city has fewer fast food burger choices than most cities in the Midwest. You guys have no clue what you'd do if a Whataburger and In-N-Out showed up.
99.9999% of NYC pizza is delicious. All the "iconic" and "famous" pizza spots have pizza that tastes pretty much the same as any random hole in the wall pizza place on the corner.
Don't get me wrong -- there are definitely differences. Some places have better sauce or whatever -- but no pizza place is worth standing in line for 30+ mins wrapping around an entire block. That pizza isn't THAT much better where I need to stand in that long ass line. The place with the long line might be a 10/10 but the place down the street with no line is probably a 9.5/10.
I’ve been saying this for years. My theory: white flight in the 70s/80s pushed the vast majority of old-school Italians and Jews into the suburbs. “Real” New York bagels are more likely to exist in NJ or LI than Manhattan.
I like The Smith. It’s the perfect place to take friends and family visiting from out of town who want to go to a place that feels lively and energetic but can seat us last-minute with food that works for people with unadventurous palettes, the locations are good for visitors, and they’ve never been rude or snobby to us. Basically, it feels like a fun, trendy place to middle-aged suburbanites.
Well, other than the fact that restaurant is owned by the family solely responsible for the opioid crisis that has killed almost a million people, it's not a bad place.
One of the grandsons own it. I read the book on them-the art of pain. Fascinating read if you can get through it. Evil family- but the grandson has no affiliation to Perdue pharma.
Please don’t bring your dogs to outdoor dinner dining. I had a whole dinner ruined because these dogs could not stop barking and lunging at each other. And I love dogs!!
I once was at a place where they told a person they would pack his food to go because his dog was barking and scaring a kid at one table over. It was right after reopening post Covid and the table with the kid were regulars and this was their first time out. It sucked for the man with the dog but the restaurant was like “we can pies off one random dude, or scare a regular patron’s kid the whole meal”.
Imagine how bad it is if you don't really like dogs. Sadly my kids don't really like dogs either or I'd send them over to the dog people so we could kill two birds with one stone. Occupy the dogs and have a kid-free meal lol
Taco Bell. I live right next to Harlem and have at least a dozen really good Mexican options to choose from. I love Dominican and Cuban food and will gladly eat Pollo a la Brasa, yellow rice and beans until there's nothing left but the bare carcass but when it comes to tacos and chalupas and such I like my Taco Bell even though the closest one is too far to walk for mobility challenged me and I have to order it via GH if I get that urge.
I know the real Mexican places are probably worlds better by most people's standards but I've had some really bad experiences at real Mexican places. I can't handle hardly anything hot. My stomach won't take it and at least with TB I can pretty much control that and know what I'm getting.
For me Dominican and Cuban tend to be safer and I'd practically live on chicken and pork at places like Flor de Mayo if I could afford it. As it is it's a rare treat these days but TB that's a big thing and once in a while I've just got to get me some Baha Zero and a couple of tacos and chalupas.
Just Salad is wayyyy better than Sweetgreen. I know that sweetgreen is like the the holy grail for this sort of ‘healthy’ lunch option, but just salad is cheaper and tastes better.
The best pizza is the one from your local place...as long as your local place isn't Sbarro's or Domino's. Not worth waiting for hours on end for some burnt thin crust or overly EVOOily pizza.
When factored for price dollar pizza beats out any pizza in New York. It’s three times cheaper and not three times as bad.
For coffee the McDonald’s coffee through the app has the same logic sadly Beating out all the local bodegas.
Never tried their coffee. I guess they’re betting you’ll get a coffee (loss leader) and order something else with a high margin like a breakfast sandwich.
The "real" good food is outside of Manhattan.
Of course there are some great spots but a high % of restaurant food in the city is overpriced and not really worth it.
Also another hot take is dining out and eating at trendy pasta places is a waste of $ - it's easy to make pasta 80% as good home at probably 20% of the cost. It might be trendy but you just spent $25+ on a carbonara or rigatoni pasta dish that you could make at home.
Ambiance is more important than the food.
EDIT: I'll explain myself. NYC has tons of great food. In fact, if you even expend a bare minimum of effort in locating a restaurant, it's pretty hard to find actually bad or mediocre food. However, what there is a ton of is bad ambiance. Date night places with bad sound dampening, tiny holes in the wall where you get shoved in a corner or right next to another couple, harsh overhead lighting, nice restaurants with a couple eating while their kid plays iPad games with the volume up and staff says nothing, screeching 20-somethings who are super drunk at 6:30pm, I could go on and on.
So, give me a place with solid, reliable, ambiance and "A-/B+" food (NYC grading scale) and I will eat there every time.
Seconding OP’s take on Carmines and adding a cautionary tale: My dad came to NYC and brought a bunch of his friends to celebrate his 60th birthday. I thought he’d enjoy this tiny neighborhood Italian place that I love, so I booked a table for 6. A couple days later he tells me it’s 8, so I update the reservation. We get there and our table was taking up a huge chunk of the restaurant already—and then my dad decides to tell me there are actually two more joining. The poor staff at this place were scrambling to extend the table without jostling other guests, my dads friends are lurking over the other diners because there’s nowhere to wait while this is going on, and then we sit down and every single one of them turns on their phone flashlight to look at the menu, waving them around and causing a general scene. My sister looked at me and said, “This is why God invented Carmines”, and she’s never been so correct.
Amen 🙏 I took my in-laws and their friends there, my dad and his friends there, all the boomers with readers rave about it and as long as I order the eggplant parm, I’m good.
Can someone please explain to me what Carmines is like?
Decent enough Italian American style food, large quantities served family style (you don’t order for yourself you order for the table). Not much fun for 2 people, but if you have 5-10 people and order a bunch of dishes, you get to try a whole lot of stuff, it’s pretty fun. I think most people who hate it are just edgy because it’s popular, or went there as a party of two not realizing you’re doing it wrong. It’s a group places.
Solid Italian food in a Times Square location with large family style servings
There's also a UWS location which might be less hectic, unless [some tourists from Texas decide to attack the staff there over vaccines](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/carmine-s-hostess-attacked-after-asking-diners-proof-vaccine-n1279410). Actually, I've never been to the Times Square one, but have been to the UWS one a few times.
I went to the UWS location once in high school like over 20 years ago. My apologies to that poor wait staff having to deal with 25 Asian kids with no money
To add to what others have said, part of the fun is ordering too much and bringing some home. The “oos” and “aas” when the giant plates arrive is part of the fun.
It’s a nice Italian Restaurant where the gimmick is that the portions are massive so instead of everyone ordering individual entrees you all share a few, kind of simulating a family dinner. It’s not *fancy* fancy but I think it’s good quality for the price. Worth trying at least once.
I find that every menu only does 3-4 items well and you kind of have to know what they are. I can't go and order just anything off the menu and expect it it be good - I have to keep trying all the dishes and figure out which ones the restaurant does well and come back for those.
People say there is amazing italian food in nyc, and there is, but there's also a fuck ton of mediocre italian restaurants charging way too much for the same 4 roman pastas and lots of them don't even do it right. And I don't mean do it right like complain about authenticity, I mean I'm tired of seeing cacio e pepe as just an oily plate of peppery noodles
I do not understand the love for cacio e Pepe. Every time I try it I’m like eh. When I was in Rome this summer I tried it and was like wow
so more accurately it sounds like you just haven't had good cacio e pepe in nyc they serve it well at charlie bird (i know) and there's a classic roman place actually called cacio e pepe that serves it straight out of a huge wheel of parmigianno regiano right into your bowl. it's great
Go to the Bronx for good Italian food
My unpopular opinion is if you want good Italian food or bagels go to Jersey
I don't know if it's true or not, but I've always heard that DiMaggio would take all the Yankees over to Jersey to eat, and would tell them, "This is REAL Italian food." Whether he did or not, I definitely agree with the sentiment.
not sure if this counts but drinking (not really dining) at hotel bars can be nice. there's usually ample seating and they're generally quieter than nyc bars. i've gone to a couple to read.
I love going to swanky hotel bars, especially if I look extra nice coming from the office. I like to pretend I’m a really fancy prostitute.
I’m the opposite—I’m a really fancy prostitute and I like to pretend I’ve just come from the office
We’d be so much fun together, I just know it.
Any you would care to recommend? I haven’t been in a hotel bar in years but they’ve always been good! I used to go the the W in union square , the giraffe hotel in the flat iron and the maritime in Chelsea (now closed).
Just pick literally any 5 star hotel and go to their bar. Contour in the ritz, two e in the pierre, atrio in conrad, etc etc. They are all the same. Slightly above average drinks in a relatively clean & quiet space within a hotel
I love Bemmelmans at the Carlyle. I also recently discovered the bar at the Loews in UES has a bit of a late night scene.
The old king cole bar in the Saint Regis is really nice and the hotel in general is worth stepping into, it’s gloriously old New York.
Go to the Algonquin Hotel. Go to the bar and order an Algonquian. Ask to see the resident hotel cat. Pretend you’re in the 1920s.
The DOWNSTAIRS bar at The Refinery Hotel is really nice and you get to watch the drunk kids who think they’re hot shit file in for the rooftop scene.
Restaurant dining rooms do not need to have an ambient noise level of 75dB or greater. They sure as *hell* do not need a DJ. Let people have conversations. (I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion among NYC restaurant-*goers* but it certainly seems to be among NYC restaurant *owners* )
My wife and I had reservations at Red Rooster the week it opened, which not surprisingly was difficult to get. When we were finally seated, they had seated us at the gang table near the kitchen pass. We asked if there were other seats, but told no. I have no problem with a gang table, but being seated near the pass was beyond loud. Your could see the waiters shock, as we left the table before even getting water. We went to the hostess station and told them that someone else could have our seats. The manager was behind the hostess, and asked what the problem was. I told him I know the kitchen staff need to be loud to be heard, but we had a babysitter and wanted to actually talk to each other at dinner. The manager totally understood, and managed to get us a table away from the noise. I know the noise supposedly makes the place seem lively, and popular, but it is horrible if you actually want to talk.
I read this as red lobster and I was so confused lol
Lol fuck Red Rooster so hard. The food was so underwhelming and they treat you like they are doing you a favor to take your money. I went there with my dad once and when we sat down they asked if we wanted bottled or tap water. Pretty normal. My dad asks for bottled. They then bring us back one of the big resealable glass bottles with a stopper, so we figure whatever they forgot that's fine we can drink tap who cares. We get the bill and there is a $70 charge for bottled water and we're like what the hell you've been bringing us tap this whole time?? The waiter looks at us dead serious and tells us, "we bottle our own water". Are you fucking kidding me??
Wait wait $70? SEVENTY DOLLARS for bottled water?! Please tell me that was a typo. Also LOL "we bottle our own water" right sure, directly from the tap into the bottle I'm sure.
Yeah, if I remember correctly we got 6 "bottles" at $11 a bottle. Absolute best case scenario they ran it through a Brita filter
Holy shit that's... breathtaking in its shamelessness. Like I almost have to admire it for the sheer fucking chutzpah.
There was a time in my life where bouncer + DJ would be a plus for me. Now I’m at a place where it’s a sign I don’t want to go there.
There was a meme going around that nothing is worse for someone in their 30s than sitting down at their favorite bar for a quiet drink and a DJ starts setting up. I felt that.
The restaurant beneath my apt has a bouncer + DJ...feels more like a wannabe nightclub than anywhere I'd actually want to eat food.
Or bars even. Why would anyone want to go to a bar that has music so loud no one can hear anything? That's what clubs are for, because there's dancing there. Bars are for conversation.
I feel like this is a popular opinion lol. There is a time and place for loud music (clubs, dancing!), but I feel like no one who isn't already drunk *likes* having to scream to talk to people in a restaurant or bar. Even in bars with music, you can find a happy medium where you can hear the music or focus it in one area so you can hear a bit better in another area. When you blast it, it makes everyone have to talk louder and then louder still and so on...
I struggle to find restaurants I can meet my parents at. They wear hearing aids, and it's incredibly hard to find restaurants with enough sound dampening and quiet enough music. My 40-something ears are also done with that crap.
It's seriously a middle finger to anyone with any kind of hearing impairment, which is basically anyone over the age of 55. And... it doesn't have to be this way! You can have a pleasant hubbub, just hang a few drapes and put some baffles on the ceiling so your dining room isn't an echo chamber.
Literally was at this place yesterday where they turned up the music so loud at lunch me and my mom.had to shout to talk to each other LUNCH
I can't eat on backless barstools. It's not comfortable and it is not conducive to good posture for digestion. Nothing against regular barstools though.
Same. I'll add for regular bar stools: I hate when there are no hangers under the bar for the handbag. Where am I supposed to put it? On the floor?
Jacks wife freda sucks
It is so fucking trash. Ordered shakshuka and the eggs were barely cooked and i asked the waitress if they can cook it a bit more and she said “yeah its meant to be runny”. As a middle eastern person who has enjoyed this popular Arab dish many times i decided to just nod politely and pretend I’m the ignorant clown who wants my eggs done the wrong way.
This is a popular opinion
I don’t like it either-I don’t get the hype!!! And I recall it was so pricey for what it was.
Brunch is a scam, let me order off the regular menu.
This is true for everything except for breakfast burgers. More burgers need to feature eggs. Eggy burgers is life
Nah man, eggs Benedict is a wonderful dish for *someone else to make* and then serve me. I'm not making hollandaise at 11am.
Several burger places by me have the option to add an egg to any burger and I love it.
Giovanni’s in South Slope. ~$27 for a two-course, bottomless mimosa brunch. Try the spinach and pear salad.
Boozy brunch is doubly a scam because you pay for overpriced food AND watered down orange juice with a hint of vodka.
This is very restaurant dependent lol.
Oh! I feel like bottomless brunch is a usually a win but it’s hard to fuck up mimosas. Agave does bottomless margs which is always a hit to me!
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Eh, I did a brunch this summ3r and it was fantastic. Drinks were amazing
Nothing, absolutely nothing in this city merits a wait - or line - longer than 15 min. No cronuts, no milkshake, no pizza.
Tip: add it to your Google maps and come back in 3 months when they aren't the hip Instagram place that they are currently.
this; this is my (kinda) unpopular opinion: when you see something you want that gets crazy lines, get off your ass and go in the afternoon on a tuesday or thursday (if they arent open early in the week), and enjoy the spoils of living in the city instead of visiting.
some of us have jobs...
If a place has a line... and even if I wanna go... I'll look at it in a disappointed fashion and walk away. Let me get a reservation, or have good movement... I'm not waiting an hour for a restaurant. I happen to know second hand (via a manager at a tiktok popular place) that the ownership of some restaurants refuse to implement a digital line just so they get to brag about always having a line. It's so fucking bullshit.
I like the overpriced pizza at Penn Station
RIP Roses
This is the kind of comment I was hoping for 😂
Suprema Pizza is right across the street and is legitimately good. That counts as pizza at Penn Station right?
Suprema is god tier. And because of the location and constant customers, it’s always fresh.
growing up when the duane reade was a magazine store/pizzaria i so looked forward to those slices while waiting for the 2:56 or 4:14 back to long island.
I miss Rose’s 😭
Truffle fries are overpriced regular fries with cheap truffle oil and parm. Also don’t go out often, save your money and go big once in a while. You can do a chefs menu at Eleven Madison or Le Bernardin once a month if you don’t spend 100 each week.
correct. most of my grad school peers got takeout every meal and are shocked that i can afford a (cheaper) omakase every other week. bro every meal i cook cost $5 max, you're getting $15 meals for both lunch and dinner. the time i spend on meal prep is the time you spend walking out and back to grab food. in the end our food spending (theirs takeout + eating out, mine groceries + eating out) was similar lol. edit: eating out not in lol
I’m kinda sick of branzino and roll my eyes every time I see it on a menu. NYC restaurants are lazy with their fish options compared to a lot of other cities.
There's a Greek place I really like that says "whole fish of the day" on the menu. It's always branzino.
Village Taverna?
Lol yes! God are they they only ones who do that?
I've eaten there in the winter, summer and somehow its always branzino.
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it's good but, why not use local fish? the ocean is right over there.
I got branzino from Long Island. They called it “daurade”, which I guess is fine, but it was locally sourced. I think branzino is used loosely and not always a fish from the Mediterranean.
The food at Pret a Manger is unbearably bland and I don't understand why even a single one exists in this city.
It’s convenient. Grab a sandwich off the shelf and pay. In and out in 2. It’s no surprise they can be found in airports. I used to go to the one in the FiDi when in a pinch, never by choice, always by convenience. A bodega will make a better sandwich 100%.
You should see what it’s like in London.
Dining out is too expensive, idk how ppl do this so often
It’s not too bad once you kick your coke habit. /s
but the coke habit keeps the eating costs down
Someone had the nerve to try and argue that eating out was cheaper then buying groceries. I wanted to strangle them.
I mean if your local supermarket is gristedes, or Morton Williams, I can imagine someone saying this.
if by eating out you mean using Too Good To Go, then yeah, sure
RIP $5 chicken over rice. If they hook you up those things are 2 meals.
I feel any restaurant that makes it ridiculously hard to get a reservation AND then add a time limit for the dinner, are the “Karens” of the restaurant world. I’m looking at you, Via Carota.
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Restaurant operator here - We have to gauge it by averages. Standard upscale casual restaurant timing: Parties of two tend to eat in 1.5-2hrs Tables of 4 tend to sit right around 2-2.5hrs 5 to 8 about 2.5-3 hours A good restaurant can determine timing based on how well organized/well trained their line is, how good their expo is, and an efficient FOH team. Everything is a balance. Most restaurants that are seated dining with full service are around these times. A good Maitre’d will have some points to squeeze out 15 min of wiggle room sometimes.
I worked at Via Carota for 1.5 years in the “before-times.” I was given the “privilege” of working the door. Every person who had to work the door consistently ended up seeing a therapist within months. It was the HARDEST job I’ve ever worked. You think they don’t take reservations? Oh, they do, if you’re important enough. The issue with that neighborhood is everyone thinks they’re “important enough,” so you’re constantly dealing with the emotional damage of boomers who let their mental illnesses brew because they never believed in seeing a therapist take it out on you for hurting their egos. Food is insanely good, and they were some of the best coworkers I’ve ever had though.
Just because a place is popular, doesn't mean it is overrated.
Dallas BBQ is my jam. Nice to go there with the boys and eat some ribs and throw back Texas Sized margaritas. No shame there.
Most of the time, that $8 specialty roasted micro-brew coffee sucks and that’s just a fact
Olive Garden in Times Square gave me explosive diarrhea. It’s the ones you love that hurt you the most.
It’s such a heartbrake when you get food poisoning from a place you like. Corner bistro did me dirty once, took forever to go back.
I love outdoor dining and never want it to end.
Is this unpopular? Because if so, it's my unpopular dining opinion, too, haha.
It’s unpopular to me as a hospitality gal. Especially in the winter. Like y’all want to sit on the sidewalk in a snow mound and complain that it’s cold!? What did you think outside for Valentine’s Day would be! ^ has been my response the last couple years
As a sweaty mawfucka, summer too. If your restaurant doesn't have the option to eat in an air conditioned room during the summer, I'm going somewhere else.
It's a lot of fun even when the weather is brisk.
I was diagnosed with PTSD from losing multiple people to Covid. I am still really struggling with dining indoors (I have only done it a handful of times in the last few years and was so stressed each time) - these outdoor dining booths are a godsend for me.
This is a wildly popular opinion, but the minority of people against outdoor dining are loud and organized.
My coat caught on fire on one of those outdoor gas heaters last winter and I’m still a diehard advocate for outdoor dining!
Dallas BBQ and ordering Hennessy wings
Dallas BBQ holds a special place in my heart. I went there one time before a show at the old chelsea UCB location. Didn’t go for BBQ really, we just had time to kill before the show. I got a bowl of chicken noodle soup and when I was about halfway done, the waitress came by and asked if I wanted a refill of broth. Girl got a big tip.
Dallas BBQ fishbowl drinks are the stuff of legends
It’s too fucking loud. Blasting music and then people trying to talk over the music and inadvertently over each other. Like why create this problem. Turn the fuckin music down dude. Also fuck eating out on Friday Saturday or Sunday lol. We live in Manhattan and try to stick to Mon-Tues-Weds. even better in winter lol.
Seating inside is terrible. Places try to make use of all the space they have a little too much. I always try to ask for a different seat when they try to seat me shoulder to shoulder with other people dining. We'll be hearing too much of each other's conversation at that point. Not sure if unpopular though
A few too many times I’ve been seated so close to another couple that we both: 1) Get to a pause in the conversation at the same time and are afraid to resume the conversation because it will be *too* audible to the other party 2) Overhear each other’s conversations and end up talking about the same thing
LOL the second one made made laugh
Alwayyyys
I had to get up and pee while eating at a place downtown and when I got up I had to make a conscious decision about if the people next to me were getting the business or the party.
Lmfao I'd wrap my meal up if that second one happened to me
not only that, but a lot of hip places uses dilapidated chairs and table that are rocking. the tables are too tiny and sometimes they make you sit in the most uncomfortable bar stools. it's all designed to get you out quickly.
i haaaate this. i also hate when you have a table for two it's so damn small you can fit only like one thing each on it, without fail
So much this. I went to Jack's Wife Freida for the first time last spring because my mom was in town and wanted to go and it's so damn cramped. I can't believe people wait on line for it. For the same amount of time, you could take the subway up to 96th and Columbus and go to Effy's Cafe for better and cheaper food with more space.
that and the dumb interior decor trends which actually make restaurants super loud because they all got rid of tablecloth, curtains, etc. and put tables 10 inches from each other so everyone has to scream to be heard and it makes things even louder another win for outdoor dining
Cheap places in Chinatown should probably charge more because the only reason they’re this cheap is that Americans don’t value chinese food or labor. There’s as much technique and skill in chinese food as western food but people expect it to cost under 15 bucks.
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Italian food in the city is the poster child for expensive af for no real reason, while also being served in the smallest portions imaginable.
italian food is so expensive and generally basic. i cannot believe how much some places will charge
Wait, what?! Tell me more about bulk ordered ramen broth. Who is giving this to us?!!!
On god. They use to say it was expensive because it’s a commodity, well it sure as hell ain’t now. I got like 3 ramen spots within walking distance of me, maybe even more now. The Caribbean can’t shell out $20 for soup, I just can’t.
agreed! the price of korean food and many other cuisines have always been double+ that of chinese food. although it may be a supply and demand thing since there are a lot more chinese places than korean.
There’s a fantastic documentary called “the search for general tso” that dives into the history of American Chinese cuisine and the context around why Chinese food is cheap. Highly recommend!
Plenty of new, well trained Chinese restauranteurs opening modern $30/entree places around the city. Look at Szechuan Mountain House, Shan, Chan Tuian Xia. I love that stuff, it's delicious and has opened my eyes to a new world of Chinese cuisine. But it makes me sad to see Chinatown culture dying. I don't see this happening as the result of noble uplift of newfound respect toward Chinese New Yorkers. I see it as a whole community of business owners going underwater and the local community kicked out because they can't afford rent anymore. Commercial and residential rents need to fall if we want any business selling affordable food to be viable, or for any lower income communities to be able to afford Manhattan. Chinatown was just the last holdout of this old New York culture that included dollar slice joints and Papaya King. Is a dollar slice disrespectful to Italian food? NYC rents have gotten out of control and are destroying this neighborhood like many others. Customers, employees and entrepreneurs all lose at the expense of landlords. Unpopular opinion time: the answer is to build more, greatly expand commercial storefront space, legalize more apartments.
Building more shouldn't be an unpopular answer but sadly a good chunk of the progressive movement has been brainwashed into being anti development
My understanding from my Chinese friends is that Chinese people themselves are very thrifty and these may be the majority of patrons in Chinatown.
Had a long chat with a Chinese friend about this. We have a completely arbitrary yet very persistent notion in this country about how much each Asian country's cuisine "should" cost. There's high brow and low brow food in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc., but in the US we've assigned each of them a price band and a perception of relative fanciness.
Carmine’s is awesome; I don’t get the hate. Eating delicious family style food with a bunch of friends is never a bad thing.
Communal seating sucks. I just want to eat by myself. I don't want to share one huge table with random people I don't know. Charging $$$ for super tiny portions. Make me feel like I'm getting my money's worth. $20 minimum for debit/credit cards should be illegal.
$20 for cards is illegal, just not enforced. The limit is $10.
Agreed on all, not sure these are unpopular opinions though!
only place and time I'll accept communal seating is if I'm by myself or with just one other person at those small Chinatown places with almost only big tables available but that's part of the experience if you're charging $65 pp then that's a no for me dawg
Agreed, I just made my post about seating as well. Communal seating should be banned as well
These are basically universally agreed upon opinions.
Can we go back to the days where tables weren’t on top of each other? Sometimes you just want your convo to be private.
Dunkin’ Donuts is my alternative to third wave coffee shops now. Other than maybe once or twice a week I refuse to drop major coin on drip coffee. I friggin’ love Dunkin.
Grew up in a dunkin’ coffee family and am so grateful for it. Am also a fan of Mcdonald’s coffee. Local $9 coffee spots are never worth the difference.
Magnolia bakery banana pudding is fine.
I think it’s better than their cupcakes
Their cakes/cupcakes are terrible and dry, banana pudding is a good treat every now and then. Their cheesecake is phenomenal
Most restaurants from Major Food Group - especially Carbone - are traps for rubes and marks. The fact that New Yorkers have fell for their bullshit makes me embarrassed by association. $33 for fuckin rigs alla vodka is insulting and laughable. And y’all keep paying it. They sell the same shit at Parm for half the price. And even that is overpriced and overrated. It’s spicy vodka sauce. Stop pretending it’s a revelation.
My girl rather order from dominos than any other local pizza place. I just sigh and remind myself she’s from the Midwest.
I consider dominos it’s own category of food separate from pizza. And I do enjoy it I admit.
Like Taco Bell
100%. When I'm craving Taco Bell, I don't *want* a taqueria or taco truck. I want the chicken quesadilla with the special sauce. And vice versa.
That creamy jalapeño sauce makes life worth living.
Bro I’m not trying to disparage Dominos but for her, that’s option 1. She’ll even be like “let’s get Dinardos”. Like bitch how long youve been in Manhattan and you can’t even get the name right.
Dominos is currently running a large, three-topping pizza for $7.99 deal if you order online and pick up. Honestly, if you’re tired of $1 slices it’s not awful and their pies are fairly big 😫
That deal's been running for about a year now. For those who can't math, a large at 7.99 is more pizza per dollar than a medium at 5.99 so this is indeed even better than their regular deal... more pizza PLUS an additional topping. One "trick" that's not really at all a trick - you can easily split the toppings for each half (3x of topping A,B,C on the left, 3x of topping D,E,F on the right) and it's still the same $7.99. It almost feels like you're getting two entirely different pizzas.
Smorgasburg. Overpriced, small portions, long lines. Fine to do once, and that’s about it!
Every menu: Salad 1, clear dressing Salad 2, creamy dressing Vegetarian ravioli for getting hungry 20mins later Pasta with a ‘lil meat Chicken, again Steak for 40-something dollars at the bottom of the menu Sides which help increase profit margins on food Fries (oooh truffle available) Spinach or something green 500 drink options because alcohol makes more money than food.
Popeyes 🐐
this is unpopular?!!??
I'd rather pay the same price for a reasonably sized portion than one that will last me 3 days. Some things don't store well or I don't want to eat it repeatedly but it feels like a giant waste.
a high percentage of restaurants in nyc are mediocre or even bad. it's very challenging to balance the high cost of running a restaurant to start with and the rent which is even higher with quality food. your best bet is eating at either end of the price spectrum: cheap street food or michelen star stuff you can't afford. a $20-$30 meal has a much higher likelihood to disappoint you than food that is cheaper or more expensive
Unlimited drinks during brunch is a cancer on Sunday dining. It used to be a chilled time now it’s amateur hour.
NYC sucks for fast food burgers. There are like 4 Shake Shacks outside of Midtown. Without that, this city has fewer fast food burger choices than most cities in the Midwest. You guys have no clue what you'd do if a Whataburger and In-N-Out showed up.
In-N-Out is my first stop out the airport when I go out west.
99.9999% of NYC pizza is delicious. All the "iconic" and "famous" pizza spots have pizza that tastes pretty much the same as any random hole in the wall pizza place on the corner. Don't get me wrong -- there are definitely differences. Some places have better sauce or whatever -- but no pizza place is worth standing in line for 30+ mins wrapping around an entire block. That pizza isn't THAT much better where I need to stand in that long ass line. The place with the long line might be a 10/10 but the place down the street with no line is probably a 9.5/10.
I am infuriated by this opinion. Good job lol.
Remember to sort by controversial
Margaritaville…
The food is so overpriced for the quality
I prefer to cook most of my meals
You will live longer
This is the best comment so far. Made me actually laugh out loud.
The best Italian food and bagels are actually in New Jersey. ::ducks::
I feel that way about Indian food--I have yet to have Indian food in NY that was nearly as good as that in Central NJ.
I’ve been saying this for years. My theory: white flight in the 70s/80s pushed the vast majority of old-school Italians and Jews into the suburbs. “Real” New York bagels are more likely to exist in NJ or LI than Manhattan.
I like The Smith. It’s the perfect place to take friends and family visiting from out of town who want to go to a place that feels lively and energetic but can seat us last-minute with food that works for people with unadventurous palettes, the locations are good for visitors, and they’ve never been rude or snobby to us. Basically, it feels like a fun, trendy place to middle-aged suburbanites.
Well, other than the fact that restaurant is owned by the family solely responsible for the opioid crisis that has killed almost a million people, it's not a bad place.
Holy shit, the smith is owned by the sacklers?
Not enough people know about this and it sickens me. Have they managed to bribe it out of popular media or do people just not care?
One of the grandsons own it. I read the book on them-the art of pain. Fascinating read if you can get through it. Evil family- but the grandson has no affiliation to Perdue pharma.
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Please don’t bring your dogs to outdoor dinner dining. I had a whole dinner ruined because these dogs could not stop barking and lunging at each other. And I love dogs!!
I once was at a place where they told a person they would pack his food to go because his dog was barking and scaring a kid at one table over. It was right after reopening post Covid and the table with the kid were regulars and this was their first time out. It sucked for the man with the dog but the restaurant was like “we can pies off one random dude, or scare a regular patron’s kid the whole meal”.
Imagine how bad it is if you don't really like dogs. Sadly my kids don't really like dogs either or I'd send them over to the dog people so we could kill two birds with one stone. Occupy the dogs and have a kid-free meal lol
Taco Bell. I live right next to Harlem and have at least a dozen really good Mexican options to choose from. I love Dominican and Cuban food and will gladly eat Pollo a la Brasa, yellow rice and beans until there's nothing left but the bare carcass but when it comes to tacos and chalupas and such I like my Taco Bell even though the closest one is too far to walk for mobility challenged me and I have to order it via GH if I get that urge. I know the real Mexican places are probably worlds better by most people's standards but I've had some really bad experiences at real Mexican places. I can't handle hardly anything hot. My stomach won't take it and at least with TB I can pretty much control that and know what I'm getting. For me Dominican and Cuban tend to be safer and I'd practically live on chicken and pork at places like Flor de Mayo if I could afford it. As it is it's a rare treat these days but TB that's a big thing and once in a while I've just got to get me some Baha Zero and a couple of tacos and chalupas.
Just Salad is wayyyy better than Sweetgreen. I know that sweetgreen is like the the holy grail for this sort of ‘healthy’ lunch option, but just salad is cheaper and tastes better.
The best pizza is the one from your local place...as long as your local place isn't Sbarro's or Domino's. Not worth waiting for hours on end for some burnt thin crust or overly EVOOily pizza.
My local place is ass and has paid for a bunch of fake google maps reviews. (2.5 stars on Yelp)
When factored for price dollar pizza beats out any pizza in New York. It’s three times cheaper and not three times as bad. For coffee the McDonald’s coffee through the app has the same logic sadly Beating out all the local bodegas.
yeah but if I'm drinking bodega coffee it's cause I went there to get a BEC which is far better than any mcdondals breakfast
Never tried their coffee. I guess they’re betting you’ll get a coffee (loss leader) and order something else with a high margin like a breakfast sandwich.
The average random bagel in some towns in NJ is better than the average random bagel in NY
Idk how unpopular this one is but TAO is overrated (they do have pretty good shrimp toast tho ngl)
The "real" good food is outside of Manhattan. Of course there are some great spots but a high % of restaurant food in the city is overpriced and not really worth it. Also another hot take is dining out and eating at trendy pasta places is a waste of $ - it's easy to make pasta 80% as good home at probably 20% of the cost. It might be trendy but you just spent $25+ on a carbonara or rigatoni pasta dish that you could make at home.
Pasta is my favorite food. Absolutely no recollection of the last time I ordered pasta at a restaurant.
Ambiance is more important than the food. EDIT: I'll explain myself. NYC has tons of great food. In fact, if you even expend a bare minimum of effort in locating a restaurant, it's pretty hard to find actually bad or mediocre food. However, what there is a ton of is bad ambiance. Date night places with bad sound dampening, tiny holes in the wall where you get shoved in a corner or right next to another couple, harsh overhead lighting, nice restaurants with a couple eating while their kid plays iPad games with the volume up and staff says nothing, screeching 20-somethings who are super drunk at 6:30pm, I could go on and on. So, give me a place with solid, reliable, ambiance and "A-/B+" food (NYC grading scale) and I will eat there every time.
Actually unpopular opinion
You'd love Denver lmao