Best Restaurants for People Watching in Murray Hill

Jst a fantastic evening. We had not been in so long. You easily fall into trap of thinking such places are indeed tourist traps. But this is the real deal: lovely decor, excellent food (and sizable portions), and attentive staff. And post dinner some wonderful jazz in the bar area. Cannot think of a better way to spend an anniversary in our own city!

Tao is such a beautiful lively restaurant and my go to for taking people from out of town. Last night they had a great price fixed dinner that was a good deal. We each got it and it was enough to share and bring food home. We had a great time --the drinks were great, and the energy was fantastic. Lots of good photo ops by the Buddha! I will be back again of course. Our waiter was helpful too with suggestions.

I go to Joe Allen’s all the time. My favorite Broadway haunt. But they sat our table of 4 next to the waiters station and it was uncomfortably bustling and noisy.

We had a wonderful group dinner at The Smith, it was ideal for us with a child and they were very mindful of a dietary restriction in the group which made us all feel at ease. Service was 10/10 and portions are huge!

Burger was delicious. Crab cake is full of fresh crab, but could use a little more of the sauce. The slaw served with it is very good too. However, I think the crab cake the boathouse used to have was better. Appreciated the complimentary plate of veggies to start. Offering some bread would be nice too.