Midtown Manhattan and NYC's fashionable Upper East Side are home to a multitude of fine-dining restaurants. These are among the most romantic restaurants uptown. All are fairly expensive, but if you want to plan an exceptional meal that's also a romantic interlude in New York City, you can't go wrong selecting any of these restaurants.
Located inside an elegantly converted brownstone uptown on 61st street off of NYC's legendary Fifth Avenue, Aureole’s white linen tablecloths, romantic floral arrangements, and sandstone bas-reliefs set the scene for culinary pleasure. The restaurant's chef-owner Charlie Palmer believes, “People eat with their eyes as well as their mouths, which makes presentation an integral part of the art of cooking.” Veal-stuffed wontons, oak-smoked salmon with velvet blini, and the chef’s signature sea scallop sandwich in potato crust delight all the senses.
The doyenne of Italian restaurateurs, Lidia Bastianich believes that good ingredients are half of good cooking—and she selects the season’s best for Felidia’s Northern Italian menu. Seafood lovers will find many tantalizing choices inside this cozy and romantic NYC converted brownstone on East 58th Street. Every day there’s a different species of whole grilled fish prepared with vegetables as a special. Linguine with clams is also heavenly. Complement restaurant cuisine with a prized older Italian vintage from the vast wine list.
A Japanese restaurant in the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, Inagiku is more casual than traditionally ceremonial restaurants, with a stylish openness and theatricality. Its Shabu-Shabu bar menu serves Japanese finger food, and romantic private tatami rooms are also good for intimate celebrations. In addition to sushi, sashimi, and tempura, chef-invented dishes include napoleons of barbecued eel layered with spinach and shiitake. A multi-course tasting menu is complemented by Champagne, sake, and wines.
Stylish Remi seduces diners with the taste and magic of Venice. Illuminated by sparkling, modern Venetian glass chandeliers, the main dining room features a 120-foot mural of the Canal Grande. Dig into rosemary foccacia while considering the menu of contemporary Italian cuisine that includes creamy risottos and innovative seafood and pasta al dente. A signature cross-cultural dish is Ravioli Marco Polo, stuffed with tuna, topped with ginger, and surrounded by a light tomato sauce.
In his elegant Upper East Side jewel box of a restaurant on 65th Street off of Fifth Avenue, chef-owner Daniel Boulud serves lavish dishes whose tastes he elevates via classic French cooking techniques. Recently a klatsch of European beauties, a Texas magnate and his wife, and across the room a famous editor were among those gathered to savor the chef's haute-Gallic flair. Drawn by his brilliant menu, they anticipated one of New York’s premier dining experiences. Boulud does not disappoint.
You can't eat a view, but the floor-to-ceiling windows in Per Se in the Time Warner Center that overlook Central Park and the loveliest stretch of NYC's uptown greensward certainly are deliciously romantic. Yet even they are outdone by the food, conceived by Thomas Keller. His French Laundry in California is regarded as the best restaurant in America by discriminating critics. And his New York outpost is the closest we can come. Whatever you order, do leave room for his unique dessert, "Coffee and Doughnuts" that won't taste like any you've ever had before.
Two women give elegant San Domenico its fresh attitude. One is Marisa May, daughter of the owner, whose smile welcomes guests. The other is chef Odette Fada, who prepares alta cucina, the refined food of the Italian aristocracy. Among the daily handmade pastas are quills with caviar and chives and hearty spaghetti alla chitarra. But it is the desserts that are truly spectacular: “Il Piano” is a miniature baby grand sculpted of chocolate ganache with a dark-and-white-chocolate keyboard.
Located inside Central Park, Tavern on the Green is one of New York City's best-known romantic restaurants. Although the food has never reached gourmet standards, the setting is so pretty that most customers happily overlook that shortcoming. Especially when couples can take a horsedrawn carriage ride before or after your meal. Tavern accepts real-time online reservations for brunch, lunch, and dinner. In addition, the site allows visitors to tour Tavern's dining rooms, learn about the Central Park landmark's history, see menus and peruse the restaurant's fine wine list.
