By Carol Tannenhauser
NYC Restaurant Week starts next Monday, July 19th, and will run through August 22nd.
Restaurant Week is a twice-yearly, prix-fixe program, in which participating eateries offer special menus at lower prices for lunch and/or dinner (and sometimes brunch), encouraging diners to try places that might normally be out of their price range or comfort zone.
[This reporter first tried Maison Pickle last Restaurant Week, and it’s become a favorite.]
More than 500 restaurants throughout the five boroughs are participating in Restaurant Week this summer. Restaurants may opt in for any number of the full five weeks. (Always check the NYC Restaurant Week website to ensure the offer is active at your desired restaurant at the time you want to dine.)
Reservations are now being taken. Both indoor and outdoor dining are available, unlike in 2020 and the winter of 2021, when Restaurant Week was entirely “to go,” because of the pandemic. Given the success of the to-go program though, many places will continue to offer their Restaurant Week menus for takeout, delivery or both, in addition to on-site dining. Saturdays are excluded, and some restaurants also exclude Sundays. Drinks, tips and taxes aren’t included in the price.
The summer 2021 program offers three pricing options — $21, $39, $125. “Diners can choose from a selection of lunches, brunches, and dinners available for $21 (inclusive of one entrée and at least one side), or $39 (inclusive of one entrée and at least one side), dependent on individual restaurant price points,” nycgo, the city’s official tourism website explains. “And new for this iteration, some restaurants may offer the Signature Dining Experience featuring three or more courses and exclusive enhancements for $125, in addition to, or in lieu of, a $21 or $39 offering.”
To see the full list of restaurants participating in Restaurant Week, Summer 2021, click here. You can then search by location if you want to zero in on the Upper West Side, or dine in a different neighborhood or, even, borough. According to the site, there are 30 restaurants representing the home turf, so you better get started! Again, the link is here. There are also money-back and airline mile deals for Mastercard users.
How is restaurant week from July 19- August 22? That seems like more than a week.
Also tried Maison Pickle for the first time last Restaurant Week. Felt like they were the only spot among the many we did to go for RW that actually still gave their very best. It was delicious. Had no idea how much we were missing out!
$125??? Restaurant Week is supposed to be a bargain! What the frick?
$21 menu is garbage. Restaurants tell me they are forcing $39 lunch to make up for C19 losses. Dinner price is crazy.
Not all restaurants have their RW menus posted yet. The UWS ones that have $21 lunches are like their regular prices or certainly higher than the lunch price. The RW menus used to be two courses, now many just have a main and a side. Are we suddenly paying extra for some veggies that would have been included anyway?
$125 tasting menus are an interesting idea but a place like Celeste doesn’t seem like the place that I’d want to spend that much.