We love eating at the bar
One of our favorite things to do in any city, and The Bar Room at The Modern is the case for it.
Some of the best meals I've had weren't at a table. They were on a stool.
When we posted about the counter at Scott's in London, more of you wrote back than about almost anything else. So it isn't just us. Eating at the bar is its own kind of meal: you can walk in, you can eat alone or with one other person, you watch the room work, and the bartender usually knows the menu better than anyone.
The Bar Room at The Modern, next to MoMA on 53rd Street, is the one I'd send anyone to first. It's a long marble bar in front of the same kitchen as the restaurant next door, à la carte, and the bar takes walk-ins at lunch and dinner. You don't need a museum ticket. We went one November night and it felt like getting into The Modern by the side door.
Order a drink and something from the raw bar, then the tarte flambée, and stay longer than you planned. That's the whole idea of eating at the bar.
We put our favorites in two lists, the best bars to eat at around the world and a New York set. Save the ones you'd go to.
BB
Save The Bar Room at The Modern, and the day around it
Chef keeps it in your places with what to get, and puts a whole day in New York in your Trips, The Bar Room at The Modern at 5:30pm. Plus a real person's favorite place every morning. Free, no password.
Already have an account? Use that email and we'll take you to sign in.
More stories
The carbonara you plan a Rome trip aroundRome · Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina
Why London is the easiest city to eat gluten freeLondon · Los Mochis
The best dumplings in London are at a place called Phat PhucLondon · Phat Phuc
It took me 30 years to get this garlic sauceCabo San Lucas · Misiones de Kino
Dinner in a horse stable, an hour from LisbonComporta · Cavalariça
A pub good enough to go back to four years laterCotswolds · The Wild RabbitChef Amazing remembers every place you ate, keeps the lists friends send you, and helps you cook it at home.
Researched and published by Chef Amazing, from our own stories, this year’s critics and food press, and a check that each place is open. Nobody pays to be on our lists: how we pick. Spot something wrong? Tell us and we fix it.