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Octopus with xo pork and brown butter foam at Tuome

20 Excellent Restaurants and Bars to Try in Alphabet City

A Serbian feast, affordable omakase, myriad Mexican spots, and more

by Alexandra Ilyashov Jan 30, 2019, 9:32am EST

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Octopus with xo pork and brown butter foam at Tuome

| Daniel Krieger

by Alexandra Ilyashov Jan 30, 2019, 9:32am EST

There’s excellent variety of food to be found in Alphabet City, the area of the East Village between Houston and 14th streets amid the alphabetically named avenues. All ranges of cuisine types, price points, and ambiance abound, from truly special sandwiches or sophisticated cocktails to a memorable omakase experience or a boisterous German beer hall. Ahead, 18 solid picks for eating and drinking in this far-east neighborhood.

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Zaragoza

Zaragoza is a minuscule storefront on Avenue A that looks like a nondescript bodega from the outside, but there’s much more than soda, candy, and standard-issue bacon egg and cheeses on offer here. Order some excellent Mexican fare at the counter, like potato flautas, potato and chorizo enchiladas, goat tacos, and chiles rellenos packed with cheese. Wedge into the pint-sized back dining room for an affordable, satisfying feast. Don’t miss the quality cooking ingredients available to take home, like tortillas sold by the pound and various Mexican herbs.

Open in Google Maps

215 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Potato and chorizo enchiladas

Also featured in:

Mona's

For a genuinely no-pretense, frills-free bar, look no further than Mona’s. The Avenue B stalwart has been kicking it far longer than most local watering holes, and continues to lure in an eclectic crowd with weekly live jazz and bluegrass music alongside a pool table and jukebox.

Open in Google Maps

224 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Also featured in:

Pouring Ribbons

Perched on the second floor of an unassuming space on Avenue B, Pouring Ribbons serves up some of the city’s most interesting cocktails without the snobbish, fussy attitude usually involved with craft mixology. Cheekily named options rotate often and are themed to topics such as reality TV. The topnotch creations — ranked on ascale from refreshing to spiritous and comforting to adventurous — are served in remarkably varied glassware and trimmed with elaborate, often unexpected garnishes. Snacks allow for grazing, but drinks are the priority here.

Open in Google Maps

225 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Pouring Ribbons

Also featured in:

22 Bars for Every Vibe in the East Village

Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co.

The sandwich-focused spinoff of Ducks Eatery, Harry & Ida’s is a thoroughly modern riff on the traditional Jewish delicatessen, named for the grandparents of sibling owners Will and Julie Horowitz. It’s intended to channel the aesthetic of a Catskills country store, and the menu is short but strong. The hot pastrami is the dish to get, but the smoked eel and bluefish sandwiches are great options, too.

189 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Harry & Ida’s

Also featured in:

Lucy's

This true dive has an actual Lucy, now 77-years-old and there nightly, except for the two weeks she closes each year for a break. The place has been around for decades, with Ludwika “Lucy” Mickevicius as owner since 1997. PBR and other domestic beers are available daily from 7 p.m. until 4 a.m. alongside two pool tables at this place that remains untouched by trends and changing times. Cash only.

Open in Google Maps

5105, 135 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Two green pool tables inside a bar.

Also featured in:

Kura

Kura, tucked away discreetly on the eastern end of St. Mark’s Place, is one of the finest East Village sushi dens for shelling out on a superb, straightforward omakase experience. Sushi chef Norihiro Ishizuka slices generous portions of ultra-fresh fish, available as a 10-piece sushi plus hand roll omakase option, or, for additional cooked dishes added into the mix, try the kappo version.

130 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003

kura sushi

Also featured in:

Empellon Al Pastor

Chef Alex Stupak casual Alphabet City spot opened in 2014 and has been serving up affordable tacos and other bar snacks at a fun, margarita-focused bar ever since. The namesake al pastor taco is an obvious order, but also try playful versions like one filled with cheeseburger, as well as chicken nuggets and a breakfast burrito served all night. The weekday happy hour is the cheapest way to enjoy Stupak’s cooking, complete with $3 tacos, $4 beers, and $8 margaritas from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays.

Open in Google Maps

132 St Marks Pl, New York, NY, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Diners sit at tables with moody lighting

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Royale

The exemplary bar burger is the thing to get at Royale. Since three childhood friends set up shop in 2006, the mellow Avenue C bar has been slinging its juicy, unfussy burger, topped with raw onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and optional American cheese, priced at less than $10. The spacious patio space is another draw, making this a reliable pick for a lowkey birthday or group gathering where beer and burgers are the goal.

Open in Google Maps

157 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Royale

Mace

Cocktail lovers can find expertly made drinks with experimental ingredients running from pink peppercorn to banana peel at Mace. The low-key drink destination comes from a team who ran acclaimed spots like Experimental Cocktail Clyb and Boilermaker. Try the eponymous “mace” cocktail, made with Aperol, aquavit, beet juice, orange acid, a Thai coconut cordial, and mace mist.

Open in Google Maps

649 E 9th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Mace

Also featured in:

Somtum Der

Expect spicy, satisfying Northeastern Thai fare at Somtum Der, which serves piquant larb, flavorful noodle dishes, and myriad options to delight carnivores, such as sausage and dried meat. But definitely don’t miss the menu’s many variations of san’s refreshing, tart papaya salad, with versions featuring ingredients such as mackerel and salted egg. Nothing on the menu tops $16.

85 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Papaya salad at Somtum Der

Also featured in:

Loverboy

This low-key bar from the team behind Mother’s Ruin is an ideal stop for dates, friends catching up, or birthday parties. It’s a stylish space but not at all pretentious, and cocktails are a few steps above average mixed drinks, like the cheekily named “no pants dance” (tequila, lime, agave, chipotle, pineapple). Food runs from an eggplant parmesan sandwich to fried brussels sprouts.

5240, 127 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Loverboy

Also featured in:

20 NYC Bars with Legitimately Good Food

Sunny & Annie's Deli

Far from the standard bodega its exterior and nondescript name suggest, Sunny & Annie’s Deli is filled with a quirky, extensive selection of sandwiches and wraps. There’s the “2009 Obama,” a wrap filled with lemon grilled chicken, grilled pepper, egg, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, fried carrot, onion, balsamic vinegar, and fresh rosemary, while the “pho real” reinterprets the Vietnamese soup in sandwich form. As any bodega should, it has a respectable BEC, and is open 24 hours.

Open in Google Maps

94 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sunny & Annie (@sunny_annies) on Mar 22, 2018 at 5:09pm PDT

Also featured in:

Kafana

Dig into a Serbian feast at Kafana, which has been serving up the Balkan country’s cuisine on Avenue C for over a decade. Highlights include cevapi, Serbia’s national dish of skinless grilled sausages containing beef, lamb, and pork, as well as smoked, thinly sliced pork neck. Less carnivorous diners can enjoy savory phyllo pies, filled with spinach or feta and lepinja sa kajmakom, traditional Serbian flatbread with a creamy cheese spread. Cash only.

Open in Google Maps

116 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Kafana

Zum Schneider NYC

It’s usually a party at at this Bavarian-German biergarten and restaurant, where it always feels like Oktoberfest, especially when the scene’s lively in the sidewalk seating area. Opened in 2000, Zum Schneider helped usher in a new wave of German restaurants in NYC. It serves up almost cartoonishly large steins of beer and the hearty fare best suited for soaking up said booze, like generous platters of schnitzel, and multiple types of sausage. For relatively harder-to-find-in-NYC German fare, consider the schupfnudeln: pan-fried noodles with sauerkraut.

Open in Google Maps

107 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Zum Schneider

Also featured in:

Where to Dine with a Group in the East Village

Tuome

Eleven Madison Park-trained chef Thomas Chen turns out fanciful, laborious creations, often with Asian influences, at his Alphabet City spot Tuome. But his food isn’t fancy simply for the sake of it — it’s also delicious, like the blue cheese miso with cauliflower and grapes, or dashi butter in a snow crab, noodle, and squash dish.

536 E 5th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Tuome

Also featured in:

Mayanoki

This omakase spot focuses on sourcing sustainable fish, priced more gently ($95 per person) than most options in its category. It was opened in Alphabet City in 2017 by co-owners Josh Arak, David Torchiano, and TJ Provenzano after five years as a pop-up in Brooklyn. Chef and partner Jeff Miller, an alum of Texas’ Uchi restaurants, crafts edomae-style sushi with local ingredients.

Open in Google Maps

620 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by mayanoki (@mayanoki) on Dec 27, 2018 at 10:54am PST

Also featured in:

16 East Village Restaurants Perfect for Date Night

Minca

One of the city’s tastiest bowls of ramen can be found at Minca, a ramen shop that predates the likes of Ippudo in the rife-with-ramen East Village and Alphabet City neighborhoods. A highlight is the Tokyo tsukemen spicy miso iteration: the thick broth is served separate from wavy noodles, roast pork, corn, scallions, and more add-ins, for dipping, dunking, and mixing the various components together as desired.

536 E 5th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Minca

Also featured in:

Edi & the Wolf

Austrian fare is the attraction at Edi & the Wolf on Avenue C. The cozy, low-key restaurant, which opened in 2010, is named after its executive chefs, Eduard “Edi” Frauneder and Wolfgang “the Wolf” Ban. Tuck into Austrian classics like spaetzle andwiener schnitzel, as well as some more modern dishes like a burger with gruyere, grilled onion, lettuce, and sweet pepper aioli. The warm space features reclaimed barn wood and a thick, 40-foot-long rope salvaged from a church that’s slung from the ceiling.

102 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Edi & the Wolf

Also featured in:

Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter

Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter is the place to sate Southern comfort food cravings such as fried chicken, biscuits, mac and cheese, and collard greens. The fast food-style fried chicken is the main draw, served on patterned white and pink plates for added charm. While the Southern spot’s West Village outpost didn’t last, there’s another location further north, in Midtown’s Urbanspace at 570 Lex.

Open in Google Maps

94 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Fried chicken with collard greens and a biscuit on a pink flowered plate

Also featured in:

14 Decadent Mac and Cheese Dishes in NYC

Fonda

Mexico City native and chef Roberto Santibanez runs three well-loved outposts of Fonda, in Park Slope and Chelsea in addition to the East Village. The trifecta of locations serve as solid neighborhood favorites that are strong enough to seek out even if there isn’t a location right nearby, with a range dishes such as tacos, salads, skillet-based fajita-style entrees, and enchiladas swathed in rich Oaxacan mole.

Open in Google Maps

40 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Fonda

Also featured in:

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Zaragoza

215 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Zaragoza is a minuscule storefront on Avenue A that looks like a nondescript bodega from the outside, but there’s much more than soda, candy, and standard-issue bacon egg and cheeses on offer here. Order some excellent Mexican fare at the counter, like potato flautas, potato and chorizo enchiladas, goat tacos, and chiles rellenos packed with cheese. Wedge into the pint-sized back dining room for an affordable, satisfying feast. Don’t miss the quality cooking ingredients available to take home, like tortillas sold by the pound and various Mexican herbs.

Open in Google Maps

215 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Potato and chorizo enchiladas

Mona's

224 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

For a genuinely no-pretense, frills-free bar, look no further than Mona’s. The Avenue B stalwart has been kicking it far longer than most local watering holes, and continues to lure in an eclectic crowd with weekly live jazz and bluegrass music alongside a pool table and jukebox.

Open in Google Maps

224 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Pouring Ribbons

225 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Perched on the second floor of an unassuming space on Avenue B, Pouring Ribbons serves up some of the city’s most interesting cocktails without the snobbish, fussy attitude usually involved with craft mixology. Cheekily named options rotate often and are themed to topics such as reality TV. The topnotch creations — ranked on ascale from refreshing to spiritous and comforting to adventurous — are served in remarkably varied glassware and trimmed with elaborate, often unexpected garnishes. Snacks allow for grazing, but drinks are the priority here.

Open in Google Maps

225 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Pouring Ribbons

Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co.

189 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

The sandwich-focused spinoff of Ducks Eatery, Harry & Ida’s is a thoroughly modern riff on the traditional Jewish delicatessen, named for the grandparents of sibling owners Will and Julie Horowitz. It’s intended to channel the aesthetic of a Catskills country store, and the menu is short but strong. The hot pastrami is the dish to get, but the smoked eel and bluefish sandwiches are great options, too.

189 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Harry & Ida’s

Lucy's

5105, 135 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

This true dive has an actual Lucy, now 77-years-old and there nightly, except for the two weeks she closes each year for a break. The place has been around for decades, with Ludwika “Lucy” Mickevicius as owner since 1997. PBR and other domestic beers are available daily from 7 p.m. until 4 a.m. alongside two pool tables at this place that remains untouched by trends and changing times. Cash only.

Open in Google Maps

5105, 135 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Two green pool tables inside a bar.

Kura

130 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003

Kura, tucked away discreetly on the eastern end of St. Mark’s Place, is one of the finest East Village sushi dens for shelling out on a superb, straightforward omakase experience. Sushi chef Norihiro Ishizuka slices generous portions of ultra-fresh fish, available as a 10-piece sushi plus hand roll omakase option, or, for additional cooked dishes added into the mix, try the kappo version.

130 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003

kura sushi

Empellon Al Pastor

132 St Marks Pl, New York, NY, New York, NY 10009

Chef Alex Stupak casual Alphabet City spot opened in 2014 and has been serving up affordable tacos and other bar snacks at a fun, margarita-focused bar ever since. The namesake al pastor taco is an obvious order, but also try playful versions like one filled with cheeseburger, as well as chicken nuggets and a breakfast burrito served all night. The weekday happy hour is the cheapest way to enjoy Stupak’s cooking, complete with $3 tacos, $4 beers, and $8 margaritas from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays.

Open in Google Maps

132 St Marks Pl, New York, NY, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Diners sit at tables with moody lighting

Royale

157 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

The exemplary bar burger is the thing to get at Royale. Since three childhood friends set up shop in 2006, the mellow Avenue C bar has been slinging its juicy, unfussy burger, topped with raw onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and optional American cheese, priced at less than $10. The spacious patio space is another draw, making this a reliable pick for a lowkey birthday or group gathering where beer and burgers are the goal.

Open in Google Maps

157 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Royale

Mace

649 E 9th St, New York, NY 10009

Cocktail lovers can find expertly made drinks with experimental ingredients running from pink peppercorn to banana peel at Mace. The low-key drink destination comes from a team who ran acclaimed spots like Experimental Cocktail Clyb and Boilermaker. Try the eponymous “mace” cocktail, made with Aperol, aquavit, beet juice, orange acid, a Thai coconut cordial, and mace mist.

Open in Google Maps

649 E 9th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Mace

Somtum Der

85 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Expect spicy, satisfying Northeastern Thai fare at Somtum Der, which serves piquant larb, flavorful noodle dishes, and myriad options to delight carnivores, such as sausage and dried meat. But definitely don’t miss the menu’s many variations of san’s refreshing, tart papaya salad, with versions featuring ingredients such as mackerel and salted egg. Nothing on the menu tops $16.

85 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Papaya salad at Somtum Der

Loverboy

5240, 127 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

This low-key bar from the team behind Mother’s Ruin is an ideal stop for dates, friends catching up, or birthday parties. It’s a stylish space but not at all pretentious, and cocktails are a few steps above average mixed drinks, like the cheekily named “no pants dance” (tequila, lime, agave, chipotle, pineapple). Food runs from an eggplant parmesan sandwich to fried brussels sprouts.

5240, 127 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Loverboy

Sunny & Annie's Deli

94 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Far from the standard bodega its exterior and nondescript name suggest, Sunny & Annie’s Deli is filled with a quirky, extensive selection of sandwiches and wraps. There’s the “2009 Obama,” a wrap filled with lemon grilled chicken, grilled pepper, egg, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, fried carrot, onion, balsamic vinegar, and fresh rosemary, while the “pho real” reinterprets the Vietnamese soup in sandwich form. As any bodega should, it has a respectable BEC, and is open 24 hours.

Open in Google Maps

94 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sunny & Annie (@sunny_annies) on Mar 22, 2018 at 5:09pm PDT

Kafana

116 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Dig into a Serbian feast at Kafana, which has been serving up the Balkan country’s cuisine on Avenue C for over a decade. Highlights include cevapi, Serbia’s national dish of skinless grilled sausages containing beef, lamb, and pork, as well as smoked, thinly sliced pork neck. Less carnivorous diners can enjoy savory phyllo pies, filled with spinach or feta and lepinja sa kajmakom, traditional Serbian flatbread with a creamy cheese spread. Cash only.

Open in Google Maps

116 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Kafana

Zum Schneider NYC

107 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

It’s usually a party at at this Bavarian-German biergarten and restaurant, where it always feels like Oktoberfest, especially when the scene’s lively in the sidewalk seating area. Opened in 2000, Zum Schneider helped usher in a new wave of German restaurants in NYC. It serves up almost cartoonishly large steins of beer and the hearty fare best suited for soaking up said booze, like generous platters of schnitzel, and multiple types of sausage. For relatively harder-to-find-in-NYC German fare, consider the schupfnudeln: pan-fried noodles with sauerkraut.

Open in Google Maps

107 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Zum Schneider

Tuome

536 E 5th St, New York, NY 10009

Eleven Madison Park-trained chef Thomas Chen turns out fanciful, laborious creations, often with Asian influences, at his Alphabet City spot Tuome. But his food isn’t fancy simply for the sake of it — it’s also delicious, like the blue cheese miso with cauliflower and grapes, or dashi butter in a snow crab, noodle, and squash dish.

536 E 5th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Tuome

Related Maps

Mayanoki

620 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

This omakase spot focuses on sourcing sustainable fish, priced more gently ($95 per person) than most options in its category. It was opened in Alphabet City in 2017 by co-owners Josh Arak, David Torchiano, and TJ Provenzano after five years as a pop-up in Brooklyn. Chef and partner Jeff Miller, an alum of Texas’ Uchi restaurants, crafts edomae-style sushi with local ingredients.

Open in Google Maps

620 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by mayanoki (@mayanoki) on Dec 27, 2018 at 10:54am PST

Minca

536 E 5th St, New York, NY 10009

One of the city’s tastiest bowls of ramen can be found at Minca, a ramen shop that predates the likes of Ippudo in the rife-with-ramen East Village and Alphabet City neighborhoods. A highlight is the Tokyo tsukemen spicy miso iteration: the thick broth is served separate from wavy noodles, roast pork, corn, scallions, and more add-ins, for dipping, dunking, and mixing the various components together as desired.

536 E 5th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Minca

Edi & the Wolf

102 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Austrian fare is the attraction at Edi & the Wolf on Avenue C. The cozy, low-key restaurant, which opened in 2010, is named after its executive chefs, Eduard “Edi” Frauneder and Wolfgang “the Wolf” Ban. Tuck into Austrian classics like spaetzle andwiener schnitzel, as well as some more modern dishes like a burger with gruyere, grilled onion, lettuce, and sweet pepper aioli. The warm space features reclaimed barn wood and a thick, 40-foot-long rope salvaged from a church that’s slung from the ceiling.

102 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Edi & the Wolf

Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter

94 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter is the place to sate Southern comfort food cravings such as fried chicken, biscuits, mac and cheese, and collard greens. The fast food-style fried chicken is the main draw, served on patterned white and pink plates for added charm. While the Southern spot’s West Village outpost didn’t last, there’s another location further north, in Midtown’s Urbanspace at 570 Lex.

Open in Google Maps

94 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Fried chicken with collard greens and a biscuit on a pink flowered plate

Fonda

40 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Mexico City native and chef Roberto Santibanez runs three well-loved outposts of Fonda, in Park Slope and Chelsea in addition to the East Village. The trifecta of locations serve as solid neighborhood favorites that are strong enough to seek out even if there isn’t a location right nearby, with a range dishes such as tacos, salads, skillet-based fajita-style entrees, and enchiladas swathed in rich Oaxacan mole.

Open in Google Maps

40 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website