New York City is the city that never sleeps and the city that never stops eating with a restaurant on every corner and hopefully a few affordable options along the way. New York is known for being something of a money pit. How is the simple tourist to know what’s a good but affordable dining option for brunch, dinner, or an afternoon snack? Enter: TABLE Magazine’s list of six locally-recommended spots that won’t break the bank but still provide an upscale and cool experience. These affordable New York restaurants run the gamut from relaxed breakfast to late-night cocktails with snacks, and run the world from Thai to Israeli to French to Californian food. If you fancy a drink, also check out our guide to New York’s cocktail bars. Read on, brave tourist!
Affordable Restaurants in NYC That Still Keep it Chic, According to Locals
Dim Sum Go Go
5 E Broadway
This restaurant is unassuming from the outside, but those who know their dim sum know that Chinatown’s Dim Sum Go Go is one of the best. Serving sweet, syrupy pork buns, crispy shrimp balls and gingery snow pea leaf dumplings, the restaurant is a favorite of locals and visitors alike. It has an extensive menu and is always buzzing, with dim sum service offered daily until 9pm.
Sappe
240 W 14th St
Sappe’s bright yellow facade gives way to a dramatically lit interior. This spot serves maximalist cocktails with vivid Thai street food. Expect a table laden with roasted skewers of all sorts: chicken skin, beef liver, and pork intestines. For mains, don’t miss the Laab Ped Udon, a duck salad with a spicy dressing of shallots, lime juice, cilantro and crunchy rice powder. Or, if noodles seem more in your comfort zone, the Cha Mama Koong features wavy, ramen-style egg noodles tossed with shrimp and fingerroot.
Mamoun’s Falafel
119 Macdougal Street
These days, Mamoun’s Falafel has a number of locations up and down the East Coast. But the original Greenwich Village location is the oldest falafel restaurant in New York City, and has seen enduring success for good reason. The menu is exactly what you’d expect from a standard Middle Eastern joint: crispy falafel smothered in white sauce, perfectly spiced lamb shawarma or chicken kebob sandwiches, and as much hummus, tabbouleh and baba ghanoush as you could ever eat. Mamoun’s superpower is that it makes every one of those standard dishes perfectly delicious at an affordable price.
Loring Place
21 W 8th St
A block away from Washington Square Park, this upscale, California-style affordable New York restaurant is casually impressive and perfect for almost any occasion. It boasts a tastefully decorated mid-century interior and seasonal, vegetable-heavy concoctions, though the whole wheat pizza is a year-round staple. Currently on the menu is a roasted black bass with summer beans, peach-tomato sauce and almonds. Or, try the simple but delectable heirloom tomato salad. Actually, try everything. You can’t go wrong.
Balaboosta
611 Hudson St
Balaboosta is a place where Persian and Yemeni influences pair with Israeli cooking to create a sun-drenched, Mediterranean masterpiece. The hummus comes half crushed, with a mortar and pestle for you to do the final mixing. The whipped feta is tangy, and the salmon is crusted in quinoa and eggplant purée. Inside, Balaboosta is edgily industrial-chic; perfect for a late lunch or casual dinner, the flavors will transport you oceans away.
Cafe Gitane
242 Mott St
This French cafe is open from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm, and will give you anything off the menu during those hours. The place looks like it hasn’t been repainted since 2010, but that is all part of the charm. Cafe Gitane claims to have been the first place to serve avocado toast, but with a menu full of classic French and Moroccan-influenced breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner food, you needn’t stick to the familiar. Try the cold fish tagine, spiked with jalapeño and paprika. Or, for the more breakfast-oriented, dip crusty baguette into warm, runny egg yolks baked in tomato sauce and topped with fresh basil. Either way, take your time while you eat: the cluster of outdoor tables under a striped awning means you can pretend you’re in Paris and people-watch away.
Story by Mitra Nourbakhsh / Photo courtesy of Balaboosta
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