The Biased Guide

A BIASED, NON-COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
TO RESTAURANTS ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN
(i.e the places we actually eat)


General Resources
NYC Subway Map
Zagat's Restaurant Survey (40,000 Lawyers on Expense accounts, can't be wrong)
Columbia Campus Map (pdf)


Prices (not including drinks):  ¢=less than $10,  $=between $10 and $20,  $$=between $20 and $30,  etc.
Columbia Area Lunch/Dinner
Upper West Side Dinner
Top Restaurants on Upper West Side
Columbia Area Cafes and Bakeries
Other sources of information

Local Restaurants for lunch and dinner
Name
Type/Cost
Address
Notes
118th Street and Above on Amsterdam
Max Soha Italian/$ (¢-lunch) 1274 Amsterdam at 123rd Recommended for lunch and dinner (might be closed for summer)
Max Cafe Italian/¢-$ 1262 Amsterdam Ave btw 122nd & 123rd Recommended. Drinks & Appetizers, lounge setting.
Kitchenette Home cookin'/$ 1272 Amsterdam btw 122nd and 123rd Recommended for breakfast, lunch
Sezz' Medi Italian_Pizza/¢ Amsterdam at 122nd Brick oven pizza.
Panino Sportivo
Italian Panini/¢ Amsterdam at 121st
Italian sandwiches and espresso...best during world cup time.
Cafe Fresh
Coffee/Sandwiches/¢ Amsterdam at 121st
Recommended. A real bona-fide coffee shop.  Say no to Starbucks
JTS dining hall
Kosher/¢ Broadway at 122nd
Breakfast and lunch only (closes at 2pm) Open all summer
Che Bella Pizza Pizza/¢ 1209 Amsterdam at 120th Okay Pizza
Subs Concious Sandwich/¢ 1213 Amsterdam Ave at 120th Recommended for carry-out lunch (big subs and steak sandwiches), sit on the steps
Amsterdam Cafe American+Beer/$ Amsterdam at 119th Okay food and the closest beer to Applied Math. Outdoor seating.
Radio Perfecto American+Beer/$ Amsterdam at 118th Indistinguishable from Amsterdam Cafe but somewhat cheaper. Recommended for outdoor imbibing.
116th to 110th Street (mainly on Broadway)
Ollie's Chinese/¢ 2957 Broadway at 116th st Fast, cheap and usually pretty good (but might also be closed)
Hewitt Dining Hall
Kosher/Vegan/¢ 116th and Claremont,  enter on b'way
Kosher dining hall in Barnard (breakfast, lunch and dinner available) closed for the summer
Tom's Kitchen
Sandwiches/salads/
baked goods
In the basement of Avery Hall
Recommended: Best lunch on campus + surrounded by groovy architecture types.
B-school cafeteria
Sandwich/lunch/¢ Right next to the meeting in Uris
Not terribly exciting but close!
Amir's Falafel Lebanese/¢ 2885 Broadway btw 113th and 114th Not as good as Jerusalem but closer.
The West End Bar Food/¢ 2911 Broadway at 113th Student spot. Burgers etc., Groovier when Allen Ginsberg was here
The Mill Korean/¢
2895 Broadway btw 113th & 112th Recommended for lunch and dinner
Nacho's Kitchen Mexican/$ 2893 Broadway btw 112th and 113th Mexican (but not good mexican).  Sit outside.
Le Monde French bistrodiner/$ 2885 Broadway btw 113th & 112th Good food. pretentious staff, Possible to eat outside. Great place for drinks (belgian beer)
Cafe Pertutti Italian/¢-$ 2888 Broadway btw 113th and 112th Excellent deserts. Sit outside for drinks.
Deluxe
Diner/$ Broadway at 113th pseudo-diner but Sit outside.
Tom's Diner/¢ Broadway at 112th st. The real greasy thing...Recognize the sign from Seinfeld?
Symposium Greek/$ 544 113th St btw broadway and amsterdam Sit in the garden out back.
The Heights Bar/¢ 2867 Broadway btw 112th and 111th Food is so-so but rooftop bar is fun
Famiglia
Pizza/¢ Broadway at 111th ehhh...
Koronet
Pizza/¢ Broadway btw 111th and 110th $2.50 slices bigger than your head. "Cheap and nasty", "genius", "dangerous"
Tomo
Japanese/$
Broadway btw 11th and 110th
Perfectly passable sushi in the neighborhood.
Below 110th street (but worth the walk)
Rack and Soul
Southern/Barbecue/$
2818 Broadway (109th St.)
New Rib place in the neighborhood...so good and so bad for you...
La Rosita
Spanish/Dominican/¢ Broadway btw 108th & 109th
Rice and Beans and more...excellent breakfast option
Taqueria y Fonda Mexican/¢ 968 Amsterdam Ave btw 107th & 108th Recommended for lunch and dinner (el cheapo, authentic Taqueria..fave of grad students)
Jerusalem Falafel Palestinian/¢ Broadway at 103rd on west side Recommended for lunch & dinner (but zero decor). Open late.

Longer walking distance/short subway dinner restaurants
Name
Type Address
Notes
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
Barbecue
646 W. 131st St.
(12th Ave.)
Recommended. Imported from Syracuse, serious barbecue and beer place with manhattan investment bikers. Near the fairway.
Spoonbread Too
Southern SoulFood/$
366 W. 110th St. at Columbus Ave.
Recommended.
A
French Caribbean/$
East side of Columbus Ave between 107th & 108th?
Worth the walk.  East village in Morninside Heights. Bring your own wine. 
Acqua
Mediteranean/$
Amsterdam btw 94th and 95th
Seafood.
Gennaro
Italian/$$
Amsterdam btw 92nd and 93rd
Recommended.  Top rated Italian (watch for the bait-and-switch specials)
Alouette
French bistro/$$
2588 Broadway at 97th Recommended.
Metisse
French & N. African/$$
239 105th St at Broadway
Haven't been in a while. The food used to be good but the facade looks like McDonalds
Saigon Grill
Vietnamese/¢ 620 Amsterdam btw 90th and 91st
Recommended.  Excellent but gets crowded.
Yuki Sushi
Japanese/$$
656 Amsterdam at 92nd st
Recommended. Top rated Sushi above 90th
Darna Kosher/Morrocan/$$ 600 Columbus at 89th st
Recommended. 
Monsoon
Vietnamese/$-$$
435 Amsterdam btw 80th and 81st
Recommended.
Haru
Japanese/$$
433 Amsterdam btw 80th and 81st
Recommended. Sit outside.
Sipan
Peruvian/$$
720 Amsterdam btw 94th and 95th

Rain
Pan-Asian/$$
100 W. 82nd St. near Amsterdam.
Upmarket Pan-Asian...
Celeste
Italian/$
502 Amsterdam at 84th


Top Restaurants of the Upper West Side
Ouest
Continental/$$$+
Broadway at 84th Street, 212-580-8700

'Cesca
Italian/$$$+
164 W. 75th St near Broadway, 212-787-6300

Nice Matin
Provencal/$$$+
201 W. 79th St. at Amsterdam, 212-873-6423

Picholine
Continental/$$$+
35 W. 64th St. 212-724-8585

Cafe Luxembourg
French (Belgian?)/$$
200 W. 70th St. near Broadway, 212-873-7411
Great brunch.

Local cafe's and bakeries
Name
Type
Address
Notes
The Hungarian Pastry Shop
cafe
1030 Amsterdam and 111th
Student spot, pastries not so great
Silver Moon
bakery
2740 Broadway at 105th
Best bread, pastries in neighborhood.  Recommended.
Oren's Roast
cafe
2882 Broadway btw 113th and 112th
Coffee
Absolute Bagels
bagels
2788 Broadway btw 107th and 108th
columbia bagels just closed (end of an era, really) this is the next best thing.
Nussbaum & Wu
cafe
2897 Broadway at 113th
breakfast, lunch, pastries, sit outside.
Starbucks Coffee
coffee shop
Just about everywhere
the McDonalds of coffee...But the de-facto Public toilets of NYC

For more information, restaurants outside the Upper West Side, etc.
New York Magazine Restaurant Guide ($25 and under guide)
Zagat's (although you have to be a paying member to use this now)
New York Times Dining & Wine Section