SilverSpoon On Honeymoon: New York Restaurant and Bar Round Up

And a cocktail of course!

The atmosphere at The Standard is fabulously buzzy and I love the quirky style of Andre Balazs’ hotel, such as an upside down sign for the front of the hotel, a fun photo booth in the basement and a loo with a view! After lunch we had to check out Le Bain, The Standard Rooftop bar.

Le Bain was very cool, with a DJ playing ‘banging tunes’, the decked packed out with people (though not too overcrowded) and most importantly sweeping views of the city. I’d say the bar is a absolute must-do if you’re spending summer in the city.

While we’re on the subject of rooftop bars, I wanted to give another shout out to the bar at our hotel, The Plunge Bar and Lounge at The Gansevoort. The bar has similar sweeping views to the Standard but also has the benefit of a roof top pool (anyone can visit the bar but the pool is for hotel residents only). If you’re a member of Soho House, or if you know a member, you can also find a pool and bar on the rooftop there. I loved the bar which had a much more laid back vibe than the previous two I mentioned. Mr S and I relaxed on the red stripy loungers with our cocktails and listened to chilled out tunes rather than banging beats! We even saw several members of the Made in Chelsea cast which was very random so far away from London! Unfortunately no photos are allowed at Soho House in order to preserve the privacy of all those celebs!

Mr S and I are big fans of the Vegas branch of this Asian bistro and we were keen to try the New York restaurant. The venue is a vast multi-leveled space with an upstairs bar and downstairs cavernous restaurant. Oooh and Carrie met her jazz musician, Ray at the Tao in Midtown.

The decor is completely Asian inspired and the dining room is dominated by the Quan Yin Buddha, a 24-handed statue sitting on top of a koi pond.

Mr Silver and I both loved the very lively and buzzy atmosphere! Though be warned this is not a place to take your parents, the atmosphere is more like a night club than a restaurant. The menu mixes dim sum, sushi, yakitori skewers as well and a huge selection of Asian meat and fish dishes. Basically a menu of all my favourite things!

We shared a few of our usual favourites:

Chinese short ribs and mixed sashimi,

Yellow tail sashimi with yuzu and shishito peppers,

Sea bass skewers and spicy tuna rolls,

And chocolate fondant cake to finish us off.

Asian food really is my favourite cuisine and Tao knows how to do it incredibly well. When the meal is done you can stay late and enjoy the nightclub-like atmosphere of the venue. If you can’t get table at Tao, I also love Buddakan which is located near to Tao and has a very similar style of decor, menu and clubby atmosphere. Buddakan is also where Carrie and Big had their rehearsal dinner in Sex and The City movie so it’s worth seeing just for the that!

Rather conveniently situated opposite our hotel in the Meatpacking District was American Seafood restaurant, Catch NYC. The restaurant immediately intrigued me as the chef, Hung Huynh won Top Chef series three (one of my favourite programs!) and has gone on to open Catch and two other restaurants.

There was a great buzz around the dining room with it’s open kitchen and bar area.

Exposed brickwork gives the interior a raw and urban feel to it.

In terms of food it was probably my favourite of all of our dining choices as I loved the way the chef has developed a menu of fabulous fresh seafood that combine Asian flavours with more classic American dishes.

We sampled pretzel bread at several different restaurants but it was at it’s best at Catch. Deliciously hot and fresh from the oven.

Hellfire tuna rolls were as good as they looked!! I generally think you can’t go wrong with a spicy tuna roll!

Crispy shrimp.

Crunchy tuna rice cakes were literally the best thing ever. I tried to persuade Mr S we should order more but we do have to try not to to be too greedy…

And oven roast dorade. After a totally delicious fishy feast you can pop up to the roof terrace for a cocktail or two…the perfect way to end the evening.

When I go away I do try not to go to restaurants that I can go to London but there are places I love so much I can’t resist trying the International version. Mr Silver and I adore Sushi Samba and so when we passed the West Village branch we couldn’t help popping in for lunch. The other Sushi Samba in Gramercy Park, NYC is the first ever branch of the popular collection of restaurants and it is also the setting for an episode of Sex and The City where Samantha threw her drink at ex-boyfriend, Rich and uttered the immortal words ‘Dirty Martini, Dirty Bastard’ Love it!!! Can you tell I’m a big Sex and the City fan? I actually did the tour of the city last time I was here.

The open kitchen is central to the dining area and fresh citrus zingy colours abound giving the restaurant a light and bright feel. Food-wise we know that we’ll love it.

We shared lobster tacos, sea bass skewers, chicken wings and mixed sashimi.

Though we were there for lunch the waitress told me that the restaurant gets very lively for dinner and also had a buzzy club-like atmosphere.

And finally…

Here I am out The Magnolia Bakery where Carrie from Sex and the City once ummm…ate a cupcake…Yes I am that big of a fan that we made a pilgrimage to the cupcake shop.

So there you have it. All the restaurants Mr S and I visited during our time in New York, there were so many I wanted to try that it was hard to choose. I will definitely be coming back soon so please do let me know if you have any recommendations of places to go.