You did it – you got the tickets for the concert, you wrangled a friend (or two, or three!) to come with you and you’ve got a beautiful night of music to look forward to. You’re a planning genius and you did the damn thing. Well done! Now all you have to worry about is how to make the most of the evening by satisfying not just your ears but your taste buds too. But wait – where do you even go? It has to be delicious, sure, but you have to make sure you’re able to eat and jet to the concert venue without missing out on crucial setlist time. Fear not, for we have made a list of restaurants that aren’t just impressive for their convenient locations, but for being the most delicious and coolest food spots one can experience in the food capital of the country.
Yellow Rose
Around the corner from Webster Hall is Yellow Rose, a Tex-Mex haven with house-made flour tortillas. Their incredibly approachable menu makes it a favorite for even your non-foodie friends, and you get to boast that you ate at the cool Austin restaurant in NYC. That being said, reservations are highly recommended, otherwise try and get there for opening time for walk-ins. Yellow Rose takes crowd favorite dishes and bumps them up to an astonishing culinary level, so anything you order will make you do a little dance. However, we think you should definitely try their carne guisada and refried beans and cheese tacos, and any single dessert they have on the menu. You’ll need the sugar to give you energy for the concert.
Veselka
Forever a NYC institution, this Ukrainian soul food restaurant has seen it all – locals, tourists, concert goers, walks of shame, brunch, walks of pride…so on and so forth. They’ve fed many a musician, so don’t be surprised if someone on the lineup is eating there with their band. The beauty of Veselka is that they’re open until midnight, so if you missed out on eating before the concert, or are hungry again (hell yeah), you can swing by and get swiftly seated for some potato pierogi, blintzes and latkes. If you’re really hungry, we recommend their combination plates – a sampling of everything that will fill you up for not that much money!
Thai Diner
Want to flex a little and eat at one of the hardest reservations in the city? Look no further than Thai Diner and be prepared to book a table, especially if you’re going in a bigger group. Hot tip: walk-ins are welcome and you’re likely to get a table at the early-bird time of 5pm, which leaves plenty of time to eat and then mosey over to any one of your LES/Soho concert venues. When your head isn’t on a swivel from people-watching, you can take a look at the menu and spot all-day brunch items as well as dinner. For the breakfast-for-dinner lovers, definitely get the Thai Diner Egg Sandwich, and for those less whimsical, the Khao Soi, Disco Fries and Som Tum are all solid. If you like to play it safe, the wok classics like Pad See Ew and Phat Thai are the best versions of these well-known dishes. Prepare to experience a little kick of heat, and don’t leave without getting their Banana Thai Rum Pudding, and don’t forget to have Apple Pay set up on your phone to make paying for the bill as breezy as possible so you can get to the concert with zero hassle!
MàLá Project
Whether your concert is in Lower Manhattan, Midtown or North Brooklyn, you can hit up this Sichuan dry-pot restaurant with its conveniently placed locations and get your fill of wok-fried ingredients over rice. Perfect for group dining, dry pot dining is similar to hot pot dining – you pick which meats and vegetables you want to eat, but instead of cooking them tableside in hot broth, everything comes readily wok-cooked in a massive bowl, coated in delicious sauce. You can pick your spice level ( ‘Soy Ginger’ which isn’t spicy at all, ‘Little Spicy’ and ‘Spicy’) and take it away. It’s a ‘choose your own adventure’ that accommodates everyone at the table, so for the meat-lovers, their beef tenderloin and chicken thighs are juicy and delicious, but don’t sleep on their pork-filled beef balls. For the seafood fans, the shrimp is plump and their fish cakes are umami bombs. For vegetarians, the lotus root and wood ear mushrooms are textural delights, and with their plentiful vegetable and tofu options, they’re also vegan-friendly! Reserving a table is recommended.
Donburiya
Hell’s Kitchen food options aren’t great – you either get fast food and feel rushed out, or you spend too much money on average food. Donburiya is a third, better thing – a Japanese izakaya tucked away on 55th street, they open at 5.30pm until 2.30am from Thursday to Saturdays. Izakaya food is Japanese pub food – shareable small plates as well as hearty meals to wipe out any and all hunger. Donburiya’s curries all compete for our attention, but the Hamburg Curry is basically Japanese meatloaf doused in a ridiculously rich and decadent sauce. Other pro-moves are the fried chicken karaage, potato croquette, okonomiyaki and yakitori ju. On a winter night you can opt for their ramen, and on a summer evening you can knock back a Japanese beer in their frosted glasses. Pre-show or post-show, no reservations are needed.
Superiority Burger
This cult-favorite restaurant closed their tiny shopfront and opened the sit-down restaurant only recently, and have been graced by famous faces and influencers alike for their excellent vegetarian menu, punk soundtrack, and even better dessert program. Even the most ardent carnivores can’t deny the level of culinary skill that goes into something as simple as their namesake burger, so if you want to impress your vegetarian friends or teach your meat-lover friends a lesson, get here around 5.00pm to guarantee a seat. We recommend the burger, the collard greens sandwich, whatever takes your fancy with the vegetarian small plates, and you simply MUST get a dessert or ice cream/gelato. With flavors like ‘saffron labne’ and ‘tahini banana ripple’, get ready to have your mind blown before the concert.