13 Great Places to Eat in Downtown Manhattan!

Manhattan Downtown is famous for its financial district and other iconic landmarks. While exploring this area, we came across many great places to eat! Below is a list of our 13 favourite food joints in Downtown Manhattan, arranged in alphabetical order.

1. 12 Chairs Cafe

One of our favourite cafes in New York City is 12 Chairs Cafe! This cozy cafe serves fusion European / Middle Eastern dishes. We loved the casual vibe here, and service was great too. We visited for breakfast and ordered a simple French Toast ($11), made from challah bread (a type of Jewish bread) and served with fresh fruits. We enjoyed the savoury-sweet flavours of cinnamon and egg, punctuated by the warm scent of challah bread. To complete our experience, we poured maple syrup over the french toast, giving it a sweet luscious taste.

12 Chairs Cafe
Address: 56 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10012
Opening Hours: | Sun to Thu: 8am – 11pm | Fri to Sat: 8am – 12am |
Phone: +1 212 254 8640

2. Big Gay Ice Cream

Big Gay Ice Cream is a famous ice cream shop chain in Manhattan. We ordered the Rocky Roadhouse Cone ($5.74), a chocolate ice cream covered with toasted almonds, chocolate chips and soft marshmallows toppings. The highlight for me was the velvety texture of the luscious ice cream and the rich chocolate flavour. The tasty almonds, sweet chocolate chips and soft marshmallows complimented the ice cream perfectly. Currently, all three Big Gay Ice Cream outlets are located in Downtown Manhattan. You can check out the Big Gay Ice Cream locations.

3. Breakroom Burgers & Tacos

Breakroom Burgers & Tacos is a fusion food joint that sells a variety of Mexican-Japanese tacos and burgers. Since we were having a tacos craving that night, we ordered the Taco Platter ($10.95) which consists of Chipotle Chicken, Pork Belly, and Tempura Fish. My favourite was the Tempura Fish Taco, which consists of Tempura Battered Catfish, Slaw, Avocado, Pickled Onions and the “House Sauce”. The varied flavours came together nicely and the overall impression was one of a tangy and refreshing taste. Read our full review of Breakroom Burgers & Tacos.

Breakroom Burgers & Tacos
Address: 83 Baxter St, New York, NY 10013
Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am to 9.30pm
Phone: +1 212 227 2802

4. Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant

Fancy a blueberry pancake anyone? Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant is a famous Manhattan bistro that sells American comfort food such as pancakes, omelettes, waffles, etc. We ordered the world renowned Blueberry Pancakes with Warm Maple Butter ($15), which was hands down one of the best pancakes I had EVER eaten. The soft and fluffy pancakes combined with the sweet alluring taste of blueberries to form a match in heaven that simply tasted phenomenal. After pouring on some maple syrup, it tasted even more heavenly. Read our full review of Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant.

Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant
Address: 4 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002
Opening Hours: | Sun: 9am – 5pm | Mon to Fri: 8am – 11pm, closed 4pm – 5.30pm | Sat: 9am – 11pm, closed 4pm – 5.30pm |
Phone: +1 646 602 6263

5. Dominisque Bakery

Dominisque Bakery is a renowned high-end pastry shop in Manhattan. It is known for being the inventor of Cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid pastry. It is helmed by Dominique Ansel, a famous pastry chef who has been featured in many publications such as Vanity Fair, Time magazine, Business Insider, etc. Read our full review of Dominisque Bakery.

Dominique Ansel Bakery
Address: 189 Spring St, New York, NY 10012
Opening Hours: | Mon to Thur: 8am to 7pm | Fri to Sat: 8am to 8pm | Sun: 9am to 7pm |
Phone: +1 212 219 2773

6. The Doughnut Project

The Doughnut Project is a doughnut shop located along Morton Street. There is another branch near Central Park too. The shop is famous for its scrumptious doughnuts. Since we were feeling a little tired, we decided to buy the coffee doughnut: The All Nighter. The crisp doughnut had great bite and we simply loved the fragrance of the coffee-flavoured cream and coffee crumbles.

The Doughnut Project
Address: 10 Morton St, New York, NY 10014
Opening Hours: | Mon to Fri: 8am to 6pm | Weekends: 9am to 6pm |
Phone: +1 212 691 5000

7. Eataly NYC Downtown

Eataly NYC Downtown is an Italian marketplace where you will find a variety of Italian food stalls, restaurants, bakery, retail shops, and more. There is another branch at Flatiron as well.

Eataly NYC Downtown
Address: 4 World Trade Center, 101 Liberty Street, Floor 3, New York, NY 10007
Opening Hours: | Daily 7am – 11pm |

8. Ed’s Lobster Bar

We had dinner one night at Ed’s Lobster Bar, a nice restaurant featuring a raw bar (oysters, shrimp cocktails, etc) and other New England style seafood dishes. We ordered the signature Lobster Roll ($30), which was served with a generous amount of chips and a bunch of bitter greens. The lobster meat was tender and juicy, but the toasted bun was a little cold. Overall, it was still quite a pleasant meal.

Address: 222 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012
Opening Hours: | Mon to Thur: 12pm – 11pm | Fri: 12pm – 12am | Sat: 11am – 12am | Sun: 12pm – 9pm |

9. Gong Cha

Downtown Manhattan is home to the bustling Chinatown, therefore it was no surprise that we would find Gong Cha bubble tea here (a favourite drink of Chinese). Still, we were quite excited to check out the bubble tea. We had the medium Oolong Tea with Pearl ($4.25). Compare to Gong Cha in Singapore, it wasn’t really as tasty. But it was quite a special experience to drink bubble tea in New York City.

Gong Cha (Chinatown)
Address: 1 Catherine St, New York, NY 10038
Opening Hours: | Daily 10.30am to 9.30pm |
Phone: +1 212 343 7019

Gong Cha (Chinatown)
Address: 72 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013
Opening Hours: | Daily 10.30am to 9.30pm |
Phone: +1 646 726 4940

10. Lure Fish Bar

Lure Fish Bar is an upscale fusion restaurant featuring a raw bar, seafood dishes, burgers, sushi, and sushi rolls. The restaurant has a yacht-like interior that exudes a very classy vibe. We ordered the signature Lobster Tempura Roll ($21). The highlight of this sumptuous sushi roll was the lobster meat, which was succulent and had a light refreshing taste. It was complimented perfectly by the tangy tobiko (flying fish roe), spicy mayo, and fresh avocado.

Address: 142 Mercer St, New York, NY 10012
Opening Hours: | Mon: 11.30am – 10pm | Tues to Sat: 11.30am – 11pm | Sun: 11.30am – 10pm |
Phone: +1 212 431 7676

11. Mary’s Fish Camp

Mary’s Fish Camp is one of our favourite restaurants in Manhattan. The bistro features a raw bar and a variety of New England style seafood dishes. We indulged in the Lobster Roll ($37), which was served with lots of chips and a few pieces of bitter greens. The lobster meat was covered with luscious mayonnaise which gave it a rich creamy flavour. It went nicely with the warm and buttery toasted bun. We enjoyed the meal but found it to be quite expensive.

Address: 64 Charles Street New York, NY 10014
Opening Hours: | Mon to Sat: 12pm – 11pm | Sun 12pm – 4pm |
Phone: +1 646 486 2185

12. Momofuku Milk Bar

Momofuku Milk Bar is famous for its cereal-flavour treats like cookies, cakes, soft serve, milkshakes, etc. I had the Cereal Milk Soft Serve ($5.50) with Cornflake Crunch ($1) toppings. The velvety soft serve had a really sweet flavour along with the unmistakable aroma of cereal. The crunchy cornflakes served as perfect toppings. You can check out this link to see the location of Momofuku Milk Bar outlets in downtown Manhattan.

13. Two Hands Cafe

Two Hands Cafe is one of our favourite cafes in New York! This cheery cafe is known for its healthy Western food and awesome coffee. It is located in the enclave of Little Italy. I ordered the signature Avo Toast ($7), which consists of mashed avocado spread on toast, and seasoned with condiments like sea salt, black pepper, chili flakes and olive oil.  I liked the sweet tangy flavour of the avocado, which went nicely with the soft bread. The condiments added flavour, and I especially liked the black pepper and chili flakes. You can check out my full review of Two Hands Cafe.

Address: 164 Mott St New York, NY 10013
Opening Hours: Daily 8am to 5pm

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate New York Travel Guide for First Timers. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?