At the start of this century, it was commonplace to say there were no good restaurants on the Upper West Side. It was wrong then and is even more wrong now, as new places open up. A cluster of Chinese restaurants have popped up on the northernmost edge of the neighborhood, new kosher and halal places are surging, and pizzerias offer arcane styles rarely seen in the city. Meanwhile, Mexican restaurants with affordable and more upscale menus dot the landscape, along with Vietnamese, Indian, Turkish, and Chilean places — supplementing the area’s favorite pubs, bistros, and Italian restaurants.
True, the pandemic closed down nearly half of this map at one point, but just as old-guard institutions like Shun Lee West and Old John’s Luncheonette shuttered (the last returned in revamped form last June), new classics like Bánh Vietnamese Shop House, Pastrami Queen, and Charles Pan Fried Chicken appeared. Culinarily speaking, the Upper West Side, which extends from Columbus Circle to 110th Street west of Central Park, is always renewing itself.
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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