The 15 Best Places To Eat, Drink And Stay In New York City This Winter

Despite the dropping temperatures, there is something undeniably warm and inviting about New York City in winter. It’s obviously a commonly-held feeling as the holiday season is one of the busiest times of year for the Big Apple. With international travelers being welcomed back and the reopening of Times Square on New Year’s, you can expect it to be as boisterous as any time prior to the pandemic. And when it comes to fine-dining and luxury lodging the options are as robust as ever.

Joining the most classic of destinations are a slew of newcomers in the hotel, restaurant and bar space that are already earning serious street cred. Whether you’re a longtime local or a first-time tourist, you’ve got some serious decisions to make. And we’re here to help with your ultimate guide to eating, drinking, and staying your way through a sensational season in The City That Never Sleeps.

Let’s start by ticking off multiple boxes at once…

Hotels With Great Bars And Restaurants

Arlo Nomad (11 E 31st St; Manhattan)

Since opening in 2016, this property has helped reinvent a neighborhood that wasn’t always known for hip nightlife (its rooftop bar is a summertime smash). The rooms here aren’t massive but the views of Midtown are larger than life. And they’re reasonably priced, starting at around $150/night. Best of all, you’ll get to warm yourself up through winter with the spiced mezze and pipping hot laffa bread served daily at Lamalo—a Middle Eastern standout tucked into the back of the hotel’s lobby.

Freehand New York (23 Lexington Avenue; Manhattan)

Anchoring awesome overnights in the Flatiron District is this popular hotel with a storied past. It was once home to the George Washington, which welcomed all manner of creative sorts throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s. In fact, the plans for the original World Trade Center were drafted by architect Minoru Yamasaki in a top floor suite here. After receiving a much-needed facelift and refreshing rebrand as the Freehand, it now features four-star amenities, a top notch club and cocktail bar—The Georgia Room and Broken Shaker, respectively—and the South American-inspired flavors of Cómodo restaurant.

M Social Hotel Times Square (226 W 52nd St; Manhattan)

Are you planning to come to the city to see the ball drop? Don’t subject yourself to endless crowds when you can view it all from on high. M Social offers the experience with style. Its “Full Ball Drop View” room doesn’t come cheap ($796/night) but it is as advertised: a spacious room, with massive king-sized bed, modernized fixtures and an unobstructed portal into the heart of Times Square. Downstairs in the 5th floor lobby, the property’s 5,700-square-foot outdoor terrace adjoins an innovative cocktail lounge called Beasts and Butterflies. It’s a vibrant affair on any night, but you can book a ticket here on New Year’s Eve and enjoy endless drinks and apps until the clock strikes midnight.

The Dominick Hotel (246 Spring St; Manhattan)

The Dominick is among the most sleek and stylish accommodations available in SoHo. The decor is on-point, the views of Downtown and the Hudson River are unparalleled, and the newly reopened BABOR Spa is world class. On top of all that, if you’re staying in a suite here (starting at $874/night) throughout the holidays you can opt to have a fully decorated Christmas tree setup in your room. The hotel also offers a variety of food and drink venues billed as a “gourmand’s getaway.” Vestry is the latest entry, a seasonally-focused eatery under the direction of Michelin star chef, Shaun Hergatt. For something slightly less formal wrap your hands around the Pat la Frieda Blend Short Rib Burger at the aptly-titled Mezzanine. And don’t forget to pair it with one of their artfully rendered classic cocktails.

Holiday Specials

Hutong (731 Lexington Ave; Manhattan)

This stunning dining den dedicated to contemporary Northern Chinese cuisine is home to a famous Peking duck, flamed to perfection, table side (reserve it here). Served with thin pancakes and traditional sauces, it is enough to feed four and inspire Instragram FOMO for countless more. And now there’s yet another can’t-miss experience in this Midtown mainstay. The restaurant just launched Shanghai Nights. Every Friday and Saturday night, its bar will transform into an ethereal lounge space hosting live performances from acclaimed DJs. A specialized menu will showcase small bites such as the Wagyu Beef Millefeuille, and signature cocktails like the Comfortably Numb—vanilla vodka spiced with Thai chili and Sichuan peppercorn.

Carmines (Multiple locations; Manhattan)

Carmines is a full-on feast regardless of what time of year you go. Its family-style portions of fried calamari, Beef Contadina, and chicken parmesan are the stuff of legend. Even the martinis are unapologetically massive here. But if you’re lucky enough to reserve a table on Christmas Eve you can reserve an actual feast. The Feast of the Seven Fishes, to be exact. Here the Italian-American tradition includes the aforementioned “calamad” along with baked clams, shrimp cocktail, pasta with red or white clam sauce, mixed seafood with pasta, shrimp scampi, and salmon oreganata. The only thing you’re going need to add is more people to your dinner table. And a little insider intel: reservations are generally easier at the Uptown location as opposed to its perennially-packed Theatre District counterpart.

Bemelmans Bar (35 E 76th St; Manhattan)

Okay, so there’s no actual holiday special to speak of at this most classic of Upper East Side cocktail parlors. The real treat is just being able to enjoy an ice cold martini here. Bemelmans was closed for over a year during the pandemic, finally reopening on May 11th of this year. Classic cocktail enthusiasts across town have been making up for lost time ever since. The live piano, the murals hand-painted by the eponymous author and illustrator—I’m not even going to try and capture the place’s ineffable charm. You’ll feel it once you walk inside. Just make sure you reserve your space at the bar well ahead of time. And yes, Gen Z is very much welcomed here (as long as they’re over 21, of course).

Party In Style

Special Club (43 MacDougal St; Manhattan)

One floor below Niche Niche, steps south of Houston Street, a portal into another era. In the absence of a souped-up DeLorean, Special Club is probably the closest you’re ever going to come to 1920s Paris. The boisterous basement holds a stage and supper club, where the champagne and caviar is flowing as freely as the classic jazz…or— if you come on a Wednesday—live band karaoke. A nonstop dinner party that lives up to its name and ensures that you’re living your best life.

House Of X (215 Chrystie Street; Manhattan)

Branded as a “multimedia, theatrical, interactive, immersive, multifaceted, sensory-explosive experience,” this is a one-of-a-kind party pop-up you won’t want to miss. It’s hosted at a hotel conceived by the very same visionary who brought the world Studio 54. So it’s no surprise that House Of X is where everybody wants to be and be seen at the moment. After letting loose here until 4AM you might be asking yourself if you just were at a club, an art exhibit, or a carnival. The answer is, “yes.”

The New Kids On The Block

Panorama Room (22 N Loop Rd; Roosevelt Island)

It’s strange to think of Roosevelt Island as a hidden gem. The narrow spit of land is conveniently—and conspicuously—sandwiched between Midtown Manhattan and Long Island City, Queens. You can get here on a gondola, for cripes’ sake. Yet many New Yorkers have yet to take the ride. The Panorama Room is giving them a great reason to fix that. It’s easily among the most elegant bars to open this year, both in terms of design and cocktail execution—thanks to the brilliance of beverage director Estelle Bossy. And that’s before you’ve even had a look outside…It won’t take long for that to happen. Occupying the top floor of the Graduate Hotel, its terrace is home to one of New York’s best sunsets. Soon it will be host to one of the city’s best rooftop brunches (don’t sleep on the caviar nachos). And this New Year’s it promises to be among the top draws in town with an all-inclusive shindig starting at $200 per ticket.

Hawksmoor NYC (109 E 22nd St; Manhattan)

This British expat is the latest jewel in the crown of a rapidly-expanding Flatiron dining scene. It’s also a mecca for meatlovers. And while you might not think that New York has room for another steakhouse, this one boasts a serious point of separation: the generous slabs of beef here are cooked on a Turkish charcoal grill, leaving the protein with a slightly smoky flavor and pleasantly charred exterior. Plus, the sides and the cocktails are as plentiful as they are popular. You really can’t go wrong in this stunning setting—a late 19th Century throwback with massive arched ceilings and space to sit nearly 150.

Saga (70 Pine St 63rd Floor; Manhattan)

Chef James Kent redefined FiDi dining in 2019 when he opened Crown Shy in the lobby of 70 Pine Street. Now he’s taking it to a whole another level—the 63rd floor, to be exact—of that very same skyscraper. The seven-course, $245 tasting experience offered here is destined for multiple Michelin stars in the very near future. You might be waiting well into the future to book a table here, but it’s relatively easy to secure a spot for cocktails one level up at Overstory. Beverage director Harrison Ginsberg is pouring tipples pretty enough to match the view, which is no small task from this vantage point. And speaking of skylines, this is as ideal a setting for a Manhattan as any. His 212 ups the ante on the classic by introducing coca nib, amaro, and black pear.

Gotham (12 E 12th St; Manhattan)

It’s not exactly new. In fact, the Michelin-starred bar and grill has been a Greenwich Village mainstay for nearly 40 years. But it just reopened for the first time in the Covid-era, with limited seating and staff. The food and drink is still as awesome as ever, however. Expertly executed by chef Ron Paprocki and photogenically-plated as always. With it’s minimalist decor and buttoned-down waitstaff this place has its own brand of style on lock, from front-of-house to back.

Aldama (91 S 6th St; Brooklyn)

Alright, Manhattan. I’ve had plenty to say about you. And not for nothing: even in 2021, shockingly few visitors to NYC are willing to make it to the “outer boroughs.” This is, of course, a horrendous mistake. Many of the best meals in the city are making their way out of kitchens in Brooklyn and Queens. If you’ve made it this far down the list, I’m willing to bet you’re adventurous enough to cross a single river (or tidal estuary, as the case may be). And you won’t have to go any farther than that to arrive at Aldama—almost directly underneath the Williamsburg Bridge. High in the running for best gourmet Mexican in the city, there’s very little on this menu that isn’t perfectly executed. Al Pastor tacos and an oversized steak asado for the meatlovers; mole negro and daikon tostada for the vegans. And an exhaustive list of tequila, mezcal, even raicilla and bacanora, for agave enthusiasts of all ilk. Run, don’t walk…It’s a great way to stay warm through a New York winter.