There’s rarely a white-tablecloth meal in New York that doesn’t hit the spot — whether it’s Le Bernardin, Raoul’s, or the like. But not every night calls for starched linens, and sometimes the best meal is the casual one. So if you’re not above a hand roll, a bar pie, or a lobster roll eaten under a pile of fries, these are the spots for you.
Restaurant: Mary’s Fish Camp
Location: West Village, 626 Hudson Street
Start with the comeback. When real estate pushed Mary’s Fish Camp out of its longtime Charles Street location in 2024, the West Village lost one of its great unfussy seafood rooms. After more than two years of searching, chef-owner Mary Redding found a new home a few blocks away at Hudson and Jane — and the regulars followed. The potted plants came too. So did the lobster roll, a heaping, mayo-dressed pile of hand-picked meat on a toasted bun, buried under matchstick fries. It’s market-priced and worth it. Redding says it barely makes her money because she cooks and shells every lobster herself. If you’re feeling off-script, the clam roll with celery remoulade and the spicy Florida lobster gazpacho are the insider orders.
Restaurant: Keepers
Location: West Village, 34 8th Avenue
From the team behind Dandelion, Zero Bond, and the White Horse Tavern refresh, Keepers is a ’70s-inspired pizza tavern named for the barkeepers and tavern keepers of old New York. It was meant as an after-shift hang for the industry, but it welcomes the rest of us too. The pies are thin, crisp, Jersey-style bar pizza with toppings right to the edge. Start with the Vodka Chicky Parm, pooled with stracciatella, or the Shore Thing, topped with crab. Then work your way through a dozen Negroni variations. It’s walk-in only, loud, warm, and there’s vinyl on the speakers, so plan accordingly.
Restaurant: El Camarón Peludo
Location: West Village, 20 Cornelia Street
Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar gave New York some of its best tacos at Taqueria Ramirez, then followed with Carnitas Ramirez. Now they’ve turned their attention to shrimp. El Camarón Peludo, “the hairy shrimp,” is a Mexican seafood and wine bar that takes its namesake seriously without taking itself too seriously. There are embroidered shrimp on the lace curtains and a shrimp-shaped lantern over the raw bar. Fittingly, it sits a door down from the old Pearl Oyster Bar, the restaurant Mary Redding started out at, so seafood is officially back on Cornelia Street. Order the michelada oysters, salt rim and all, the aguachile negro, and the charred camarones zarandeados, then pour a glass of something Basque and bubbly. A handful of tables in the back takes reservations, but the lively walk-in bar is where you want to be.
Bistro: Saint Denis
Location: Greenwich Village, LaGuardia Place at West Houston Street
The newest spot from Golden Age Hospitality (the team behind The Nines, Elvis and Le Dive), Saint Denis is a corner wine bar that looks like it’s been pouring since the Jazz Age. It’s their tribute to the barrooms of New York’s classic French bistros. A 17-foot Art Deco back bar, salvaged from a vintage dealer, anchors the room. Behind it, Sarah Morrisey (Frenchette, Le Veau d’Or) is stirring martinis and pouring a list that runs from natural producers to Old World classics. The French food menu comes from Marjorie Meek-Bradley, formerly of Pastis. It’s walk-in only, so grab a stool and a martini and let the snacks keep coming.
Restaurant: Nori Shinn
Location: East Village, 210 1st Avenue
The hand roll offshoot of the team behind Thirteen Water and Shinn East, Nori Shinn is built around one idea: a hand roll is best the second it’s made. Chefs in bucket hats roll to order at a central sushi bar, and each one lands in front of you as it’s ready, so the nori still shatters. The five-roll set runs under $40, and there’s no tipping. It’s walk-in only, so if there’s a line, take a seat on the bench out front. It moves.
Restaurant: Uovo
Location: NoMad, 13 West 28th Street
The LA pasta obsession from the KazuNori and Sugarfish people has landed in NoMad. The gimmick is also the point: Uovo‘s pasta is hand-rolled daily by sfogline in its own Bologna kitchen and flown in overnight. The menu sticks to the classics, including carbonara, amatriciana, and cacio e pepe tossed in a wheel of pecorino. The tiny tortellini in pecorino cream is the one to order. Prix fixe options start at $47, but a bowl and a glass of Italian red at the counter make an ideal solo dinner. It’s walk-in only, candlelit, and gratuity is built into the prices.
Bakery: Richaud Petite Bakery
Location: West Village, 41 Perry Street
For the most elegant quick fix on this list, there’s the jambon beurre: good ham, better butter, a crackly baguette, and nothing else. Richaud is run by a Paris-raised baker who makes the kind of sandwich New York has somehow always been short on. Grab one to go and eat it on a stoop on Perry Street.
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FAQs
Q: Do I need reservations for any of these spots?
A: Mostly no. Keepers, Nori Shinn, Uovo, and Saint Denis are all walk-in only. El Camarón Peludo keeps its bar for walk-ins and books a few tables in back. Mary’s Fish Camp takes reservations and is worth booking, especially on weekends.
Q: Where is the best lobster roll in NYC?
A: Mary’s Fish Camp, now at 626 Hudson Street. Every roll is made from lobster cooked and picked in-house.
Q: Which spot is best for a solo lunch?
A: Nori Shinn. The pacing is built for one, it’s under $40, and there’s no tipping.
