The Escape Plan
Here’s the rule. If a restaurant has someone standing outside trying to wave you in, don’t eat there. If it has giant laminated photos of the food on the window, don’t eat there. If it’s on the ground floor of a building between 42nd and 47th on Broadway or Seventh Avenue, there’s about a 90% chance you shouldn’t eat there.
Walk west toward Eighth, Ninth, or Tenth Avenue and you’ll hit Hell’s Kitchen, which is one of the best restaurant neighborhoods in the city. Walk east toward Sixth or Fifth Avenue and you’ll find quieter Midtown spots with actual quality. Walk south 15 minutes and you’re at Koreatown or the Flatiron District.
Make no mistake. The best food near Times Square is not in Times Square.
The list in my order
9 I’d go back to. My verdict on every one, and the ones nearby from my other lists.
Los Tacos No. 1
- Cost$15
- Address229 West 43rd Street
229 West 43rd Street (inside the Times Square location). This is the one restaurant I’ll recommend that’s actually in Times Square. Los Tacos No. 1 makes legitimate, Mexico-City-style tacos on handmade corn tortillas, and they’re $4.75 each.
Order the adobada (marinated pork) or the carne asada. Get the green salsa. Get a horchata. The whole meal will cost you $15 and it’ll be better than anything at the $35 sit-down places surrounding it. The line moves fast. This is the best quick meal in the Times Square area and it’s not particularly close.
Totto Ramen
- Cost$17
- Address366 West 52nd Street
366 West 52nd Street, Midtown West. Totto Ramen is a tiny, no-frills ramen shop with some of the best chicken paitan broth in the city. The signature is the chicken ramen with pork chashu ($17), and it’s rich, deeply flavorful, and exactly what you want before sitting in a theater for three hours.
Fair warning. It’s small. Like, 30-seat small. The line can get long around 6 PM when everyone’s trying to eat before an 8 PM curtain. Go at 5 PM or after 9 PM and you’ll get right in. No reservations. Cash and credit accepted.
Joe's Pizza on Broadway
- Cost$4
- Address1435 Broadway, at 40th Street
1435 Broadway, at 40th Street. Look, Joe’s is a chain now. The original is in the West Village and it’s better. But the Broadway location still makes a legitimately good New York slice for $4, and when you’re in Times Square at 11 PM after a show and you just need pizza, this is the answer.
The plain cheese slice is the move. Thin, foldable, slightly charred on the bottom. Don’t overthink it. It’s pizza. It’s good. You’re in Times Square. This is as good as it’s going to get within a two-block radius.
Marseille
- Cost$45
- Address630 Ninth Avenue, at 44th Street
630 Ninth Avenue, at 44th Street, Hell’s Kitchen. Marseille is a French-Mediterranean restaurant that’s been doing the pre-theater thing right for years. The space is gorgeous. The moules frites ($28) are excellent. The steak frites ($38) is reliable.
They have a pre-theater prix fixe menu for around $45 (three courses) and they’re practiced at getting you fed and out the door in time for an 8 PM show. Make a reservation. This is a proper sit-down dinner in a neighborhood that desperately needs more of them.
Don Antonio
- Cost$22
- Address309 West 50th Street
309 West 50th Street. Don Antonio makes legitimately excellent Neapolitan pizza eight blocks from Times Square. The signature is the montanara, a fried pizza dough topped with smoked buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, and basil. A margherita is about $22.
This is a proper sit-down Italian restaurant with white tablecloths and good wine. It’s the kind of place where you can have a real meal without feeling like you’re at a tourist factory. Reservations recommended, especially on show nights.
Danji
- Cost$100-$120 for two
- Address346 West 52nd Street
346 West 52nd Street. Danji is chef Hooni Kim’s Korean restaurant, and it’s one of the best restaurants in the entire Midtown area. The menu is split into small and large plates. The bulgogi sliders ($16), spicy pork belly ($18), and Korean fried chicken ($17) are all outstanding.
It’s got a Michelin star but the vibe is casual and the prices are reasonable. A full dinner for two with drinks runs about $100 to $120. For Michelin-starred food near Times Square, that’s practically a steal. Reserve ahead.
Szechuan Gourmet
- Cost$16-$22
- Address21 West 39th Street
21 West 39th Street. Finding genuinely good Chinese food in Midtown is harder than it should be, and Szechuan Gourmet is the answer. The dry chili chicken ($18) is fiery and addictive. The mapo tofu ($16) is the real deal, not the Americanized version. The cumin lamb ($22) is outstanding.
It’s a 10-minute walk from Times Square and it’s where Midtown office workers actually eat lunch. That’s always a good sign. The decor is nothing special, but you’re not here for the ambiance. You’re here because the food is legitimately excellent and about half the price of the mediocre Italian place you almost walked into on 44th Street.
Grand Central Food Hall
- Cost$12
- Address89 East 42nd Street
89 East 42nd Street (inside Grand Central Terminal). If you’re willing to walk about 10 minutes east from Times Square, Grand Central’s lower level has a food hall that’s genuinely great. The Grand Central Oyster Bar has been there since 1913 and the pan roast ($12) is legendary. Shake Shack has a location down there. There are solid options for sushi, Indian food, and sandwiches.
Even if you don’t eat here, Grand Central Terminal itself is worth the detour. The main concourse ceiling with the painted constellations is one of the most beautiful rooms in New York. Look up.
Eataly Flatiron
- Cost$18-$28 per plate
- Address200 Fifth Avenue, at 23rd Street
200 Fifth Avenue, at 23rd Street. I know, 15 minutes is a real walk. But if you have the time, Eataly is a massive Italian food hall with multiple restaurants, a wine bar, fresh pasta counters, and a rooftop restaurant. You can grab a $6 slice of Roman-style pizza or sit down for a full pasta dinner ($18 to $28 per plate).
It’s a bit of a trek from Times Square, but it’s near other great food options and the walk down Broadway is pleasant. Consider it if you have time before or after your show.
What to Avoid. Seriously.
I’m not going to name specific restaurants because they come and go, but here are the red flags. Any restaurant in Times Square with a host standing outside aggressively trying to seat you. Any place with a ten-page laminated menu. Anything with “World Famous” in the name. Any chain restaurant you could eat at in your hometown (you did not come to New York to eat at Olive Garden, I refuse to accept that).
Also, skip the themed restaurants. The ones with celebrity names, the ones with gimmicky concepts, the ones where the decor is more important than the food. They charge $25 for a $10 burger and the only thing you get for the markup is a branded napkin.
Spoiler alert. The best meal you’ll have near Times Square will be at a place that most tourists walk right past. That’s by design. The good restaurants in this area don’t need to wave you in. They’re too busy feeding the people who already know.
For more NYC food guides, check out my picks for the best pizza in Brooklyn. Because at some point, you should leave Midtown and eat where New Yorkers actually eat.
