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Welcome to Ask Eater, a column from Eater New York where the site’s editors, reporters, and critics answer specific or baffling restaurant requests from readers and friends. A new question and answer will run every Thursday. Have a question for us? Submit your question in this form.
Hi Eater,
I screwed up. I was going to take my fiancée to a Broadway show, but it costs thousands of dollars. Do you have a recommendation for the best place to go to have a decent meal with live music, preferably jazz? We live on the Lower East Side and would prefer not to go too far away from there. We don’t go out much, so I want it to be a special date night, couple-y experience.
Thanks,
(Still Trying to Be) A Doting Fiancé
Hi Doting,
Broadway is predictable and definitely not romantic, so it’s really better it turned out like this, anyway. Speaking of anyway: Anyway Cafe is the answer to your problems. This East Village Russian charmer is a total under-the-radar gem that has low-key live music every night of the week.
You and your fiancée will feel like you discovered something special together when you walk into this dimly candlelit space, where infused vodka flows freely. You asked for decent food, which is what Anyway Cafe delivers, with its old-school menu of pelmeni, stroganoff, gravlax, and more.
Get a little tipsy together, listen to the sexy beats, and I just bet you’ll be happy with where the night leads you.
— Stef