New York Gay Restaurant

[TucsonRick]

Hi All

 

My husband and I will be spending a couple of days in New York prior to sailing on Regal Princess. Can anyone recommend a good gay restaurant to us? We would love to have cocktails at Stonewall Inn and a nice dinner before going to see Kinky Boots! What could be more GAY than that??

 

Thanks!

Rick

[thespeck]

Rick,

Just walk north on 9th Avenue from 42nd St to 57th St. The world is your culinary oyster and it's gay, gay,gay

[msmoger]

Hi All

 

My husband and I will be spending a couple of days in New York prior to sailing on Regal Princess. Can anyone recommend a good gay restaurant to us? We would love to have cocktails at Stonewall Inn and a nice dinner before going to see Kinky Boots! What could be more GAY than that??

 

Thanks!

Rick

 

Rick, you're not in Tucson anymore. :D Just find a good restaurant. It will be plenty gay. ;)

[Cruisegoer]

There is a restaurant where the servers are Drag Queens on the Upper East Side called Lips, http://www.lipsnyc.com/

[wripro]

You don't want to have dinner in the upper East side right before the theater. it would take an hour to get from one part of town to another. My suggestion is a place called Joe Allen's right in the theater district. It's filled with theater people, which defacto, includes many gays. Plus it's fun and ver reasonable.

[tv24]

Rick,

Just walk north on 9th Avenue from 42nd St to 57th St. The world is your culinary oyster and it's gay, gay,gay

 

Very good advice, and close to your theater. Otherwise, check out the web site for Chez Josephine on West 42nd.

[Richpontone]

Stonewall is great but it is a bit dark in the inside. Definitely go, but you might want to try Marie's Crisis nearby. They have a piano bar, and sometimes a good piano player who sings Broadway tunes. A bit small, so go there before 6 pm as it gets crowded. I think the bar and the piano opens at 5 pm. I believe Thomas Paine, from the American Revolution died upstairs there. No, he was not gay.

As for gay restaurants, I can't help you. Whatever you try, remember to Yelp their reviews first. Sometimes, service and food may not be up to what you expect. And with NYC restaurants you will pay serious coin.

[MarkBearSF]

Second the recommendation for Joe Allen. A Broadway hangout right around the corner from the Hirshfield Theatre. Also home to the famous "flop wall" - a collection of posters from notorious Broadway flops.

 

Basic menu. Good burgers and lobster roll. We're eating there before Hamilton in September.

 

Note - they only accept reservations 1 week in advance.

 

Also - if you want to do old-school Broadway, stop for a drink at the upstairs bar at Sardi's on 44th. (Home of the famous caricatures) The upstairs bar is a collection of show folks and fans with some of the best bartenders in town (including Joe who's been there for over 50 years). Don't worry about the restaurant maitre d' or line - just go up the stairs directly to your right. (Definitely not a gay bar, but a Broadway establishment)

Edited July 16, 2015 by MarkBearSF

[Rotterdam]

If you are downtown in the West Village within a block of Stonewall there is The Monster(PIano Bar/dance club) on Grove Street, Julius is on 10th St( a local old time bar), Marie Crisis is also on Grove Street West of 7th Ave. There is a French Bistro on the corner of Bleecker & Grove Streets called AOC. There are 2 indoor areas and a garden to eat in if its nice. You can then stroll down Christopher Street to Hudson & catch a cab to the theatre. 46th st is loaded w/ piano bars & its fun after theatre......

 

Enjoy!

[RickinNYC]

For all that is holy, don't bother with Lips! It was fun years and years ago, but was soon discovered by bachelorette parties. It's now the defacto must-do for tourists these days.

[Vivere LaDolceVita]

There is a restaurant where the servers are Drag Queens on the Upper East Side called Lips, http://www.lipsnyc.com/

 

It's a fun show but the food is God-awful.

[Vivere LaDolceVita]

Rick, you're not in Tucson anymore. :D Just find a good restaurant. It will be plenty gay. ;)

 

Wise advice. Go for the food and service; there will be plenty of queens around. I live in the heart of the theater district (HK) and some of my favorites are:

 

Maria Pia on 51st b/w 8/9 Aves. -- Italian

Viv - 9th Ave b/w 48/49 -- Thai

Becco - 46th b/w 8/9 -- Italian

Pio Pio - 10th Ave. b/w 44/45 -- Peruvian

Medi - 9th Ave b/w 52/53 -- Mediterranean

[Rotterdam]

For all that is holy, don't bother with Lips! It was fun years and years ago, but was soon discovered by bachelorette parties. It's now the defacto must-do for tourists these days.

 

For some reason Lips, The Town House Bar & the 2 bath Houses are owned by the same people & the service is lousy and food pretty awful. Its true a bout the bachelorette parties at Lips. The fun is now over on Ninth Avenue. The owners of LIps also own a couple of motels in Ft Lauderdale that are known for their pool parties..all pretty awful!

[Richpontone]

As another OP suggested Becco for a very good midtown restaurant, I want to second that.

For dinner, they have a $23.95 unlimited special of three pastas and a $29 wine bottle special. In addition, this place is owned by Lidia from that PBS Italian cooking show. "Lidia's Table".

These prices are a serious bargain for midtown Manhattan restaurants, and while you will not be served nor entertained by drag queens, you will definitely enjoy the experience. You can't do better for these prices or quality.

They have their own website for additional information,

Just make advanced reservations. The restaurant is a two or three block walk to your Broadway musical or play.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Richpontone

[TucsonRick]

There is a restaurant where the servers are Drag Queens on the Upper East Side called Lips, http://www.lipsnyc.com/

 

They have a piano bar, and sometimes a good piano player who sings Broadway tunes.

I barely tolerate drag queens and abhor gay bars with pianists singing show tunes.

[TucsonRick]

Rick, you're not in Tucson anymore. :D Just find a good restaurant. It will be plenty gay. ;)

 

Rick,

Just walk north on 9th Avenue from 42nd St to 57th St. The world is your culinary oyster and it's gay, gay,gay

I get the impression that some responders think that living in Tucson, I am deprived of gayness. Having lived in San Francisco for 35 years before retiring to Tucson, I have had plenty of gayness. What I am looking for is a restaurant that has good food and some good looking men. My “What could be more gay than that?” question was a way of making fun of my myself and my agenda. Edited July 24, 2015 by TucsonRick

[TucsonRick]

You don't want to have dinner in the upper East side right before the theater. it would take an hour to get from one part of town to another. My suggestion is a place called Joe Allen's right in the theater district. It's filled with theater people, which defacto, includes many gays. Plus it's fun and ver reasonable.

I once had a boyfriend who was the biggest exaggerator / liar in the world. He claimed that he worked at Joe Allen and James Kirkwood came in, fell in love with him and gave him a part in A Chorus Line. This guy could not sing or dance!

[TucsonRick]

Thanks to those of you who have recommended a specific restaurant.

The responses I’ve gotten are very interesting. Please keep them coming!

 

Rick

 

P.S. Sorry about the multiple posts but apparently one can only quote two posts in one reply. I tried to get all my comments in one reply but wasn't allowed. If someone know how to do this, please let me know.

[Richpontone]

I barely tolerate drag queens and abhor gay bars with pianists singing show tunes.

 

are quite good. I am not a fan of campy singers of Broadway tunes but it was quite inspirational when fifty gay men got up and participated in singing "I am what I am". It was unscripted but the emotions were above words or sarcasm.

Better than a Broadway musical. And much, much more meaningful.

If I died at that moment, I could not have died more meaningful.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Richpontone

[my crow's nest]

Hello Rick,

When we have a pre-show dinner we try to choose a restaurant that is close to the theatre. "Kinky Boots" is at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on 45th St @ 8th Avenue. May I suggest the Blue Fin located on 7th Ave @ 47th St? ( http://www.bluefinnyc.com ) It's part of a chain including the Atlantic Grill and the Ocean Grill and Blue Water Grill. Attractive space, good food and servers who will get you to the theatre on time. It gets a diverse clientele and sometimes you can even see a celeb. Check out the menu which as the name indicates, is mostly seafood. If you book, request a table upstairs overlooking the staircase which is great for people watching. And it's a five minute walk to your theatre. We've also enjoyed Ca Va, Todd English's located 44th St @ 8th Ave. I don't recall when you will be here, but it's Restaurant Week which is a great bargain. Whatever you decide, enjoy the dinner and show and have a wonderful cruise,

Best regards, Joe

[Richpontone]

It is inspirational when the whole theater audience gets up and sings.

Don't rush out of the theater, you will miss this beautiful, beautiful moment.

It will make your night.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Richpontone

[Turtles06]

 

P.S. Sorry about the multiple posts but apparently one can only quote two posts in one reply. I tried to get all my comments in one reply but wasn't allowed. If someone know how to do this, please let me know.

 

Assuming the multi-quote icon won't let you quote more than 2 posts (I thought it would), then add more quotes by copying and pasting the text you want to quote and typing the HTML codes for quoting before and after that text; you can see those codes when you have a message box open for typing and you have a quote in it. I can't put the codes here in the correct order to show you because CC will not realize that's all I am doing and it will not print them. So I will reverse them: you end the quote with:

and you start the quote with:

 

Just reverse those bracketed codes and put the quoted text between them, and you've created your own quote function! :)