Upper East Side – Dining

The streets of the Upper East Side might not be paved with gold, but they’re definitely lined with restaurants. Comfort food and haute cuisine, sushi and ceviche, pastrami and pasta… you get the idea: The UES is a veritable smorgasbord of eateries.

 

Tokugawa

The Upper East Side was already home to more than 75 sushi restaurants when Tokugawa joined the ranks in June 2023. One thing that sets it apart is its affordable take on omakase: $85 for the chef’s choice of 10 pieces of nigiri and a hand roll. Another is its kosher omakase, which it dubs koshakase. And then there are its signature offerings, such as the tokugawa roll, which combines toro, Wagyu beef, uni, and osetra caviar.

 

Da Adriano

At this 19-seat Italian eatery, you can start your morning with espresso and a spinach frittata, refuel at midday with house-baked focaccia topped with grilled vegetables, then return for a full dinner accompanied by a glass or two of wine. The restaurant, which opened in May 2023, prides itself on its authenticity. This reveals itself via its house-made pasta, entrées such as veal spezzatino and homemade veal-and-beef meatballs, and pastries including the irresistible torta della nonna.

 

Caviar Kaspia

Since its launch in 1927, Paris’s Caviar Kaspia has been a favorite spot for artistic types and socialites to sip the finest vodka and savor the finest fish roe amid quiet glamour. In February 2023, the French institution opened a New York outpost at the Mark Hotel. Designed by the legendary Jacques Grange, the interior is as splendid as you might expect, as is the selection of caviars and related dishes—poached eggs with Baeri caviar, for instance, and baked potato topped with osetra caviar. The menu also includes the likes of lobster bisque, Kamchatka king crab, and salmon tagliolini, for variety’s sake.

 

The Heidelberg

One of the Upper East Side’s oldest restaurants, the Heidelberg dates back to the 1930s. At that time the Yorkville section of the UES was sometimes called Germantown, and the Heidelberg was just one of scores of German restaurants and bars in the area. Nearly a century later, the restaurant retains its bench seating, wooden bar, German beers on tap, and Bavarian menu. Potato pancakes, four types of wurst served with sauerkraut and potato salad, schnitzels, roast duckling with potato dumpling, and a fondue for two that blends Emmenthaler and Gruyère cheeses with Riesling wine and kirsch will satisfy even the heartiest appetites.

 

Daniel

No discussion of the UES’s dining scene would be complete without mentioning the flagship restaurant of Daniel Boulud’s epicurean empire. In the timelessly luxurious main dining room you can opt for a four-course or a seven-course prix fixe menu or a seven-course tasting menu, including a vegetarian option. Dishes incorporate global influences into French classics: the foie gras terrine, for instance, includes beach plums and pickled Japanese knotweed pluots; the Alaskan wild king crab is accompanied by figs, braised daikon, and shiso perilla seeds. In the more relaxed lounge, you can order à la carte as well as from the prix fixe menu. If haute cuisine doesn’t appeal but cocktails do, stop by the Lalique Bar, a sparkling tribute to Art Deco glamour.