Soho has a reputation — perhaps unjustified — of having a rarified collection of expensive-but-mediocre restaurants that cater to shoppers who frequent its boutiques and art galleries. A little digging reveals a lot more restaurants of widely varying prices packed into Soho than many New Yorkers might imagine. Though the borders of the neighborhood are fuzzy, for the purposes of this map it extends between Lafayette Street and Sixth Avenue on the east and west, and Houston and Canal streets on the north and south.
Before it was the art, shopping, and loft-apartment district it is today, the neighborhood was largely industrial and commercial, filled with the cast-iron architecture of the city’s Victorian era. By the 1960s and ’70s, it had become rundown, and the stage was set for artists to move in and establish studios in its distinctive buildings. Galleries and boutiques followed, and finally big-box stores along Broadway, attracting droves of shoppers. Now few artist’s lofts remain, but there are dozens upon dozens of restaurants, many of them excellent, and some surprisingly inexpensive.
Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.
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