‹ The story: We love eating at the bar

A day in Midtown, Manhattan · USA

A day in Midtown, eaten at the bar

A Midtown day where every meal is at a bar or a counter: the art first, the oyster counter under Grand Central for lunch, the market next door, then dinner at the long marble bar at The Modern and a nightcap where the Bloody Mary was born.

All on foot4 stops to eat and drinkMarket: Grand Central MarketGo: Any day; MoMA opens at 10:30am.
Plan your own tripWalk it in Google Maps

The star is The Bar Room at The Modern, the place from the story. The dotted line is the walk, in order. On foot, about 3 km. The E or M to 5th Ave/53rd St, or the 4, 5, 6 or 7 to Grand Central.

10:30amMorning
The Museum of Modern Art1A photo like it
A walk

The Museum of Modern Art

53rd Street

Do: The fifth floor first, before it fills up.

The Bar Room is next door, so the art and dinner are one block apart.

Timed tickets; members and early slots are quietest.

Directions

Photo like it: RobThinks, CC BY-SA 4.0.

🚶 16 min walk
12:30pmMidday
Grand Central Oyster Bar2A photo like it

Grand Central Oyster Bar

Grand Central Terminal

Get: Sit at the lunch counter and order the oyster pan roast. Watch them make it.

The counter under the tiled vaults has fed New Yorkers since 1913.

Closed Sundays; the counter is walk-in.

🚶 1 min walk
2pmAfternoon
Grand Central Market3A photo like it
The market

Grand Central Market

Grand Central Terminal

Get: Cheese and bread for later, or a snack for the walk.

A food hall in the passage along Lexington Avenue, right off the concourse.

Opens early on weekdays; shorter hours on Sundays.

Photo like it: jammmick, CC BY 2.0.

🚶 16 min walk
5:30pmEvening
The Bar Room at The Modern★
★ From the story

The Bar Room at The Modern

53rd Street

Get: Oysters, the tarte flambée, and whatever the bartender says is good tonight.

One of our favorite things to do in any city, and The Bar Room at The Modern is the case for it.

9 W 53rd St, New York, next to MoMA (no museum ticket needed). Lunch daily 11:30am to 3pm, dinner 5 to 9:30pm. Bar seats are walk-in; tables book 28 days ahead.

Photo: The Modern.

🚶 4 min walk
8:30pmLate
King Cole Bar5A photo like it
A drink

King Cole Bar

The St. Regis

Get: A Red Snapper, the hotel's name for the Bloody Mary.

The Bloody Mary as New York knows it was first poured here, under the Maxfield Parrish mural.

Dressy; seats go first, the bar stands.

Photo like it: Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Going to New York?

Plan your own trip

Chef puts this whole day in your Trips, every stop in order with The Bar Room at The Modern at 5:30pm, then fills the rest of your days around what you love. Send it to whoever's coming. Free, no password.

Where to stay in New YorkBack to the storyGoing somewhere else? Chef plans it

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Places, hours and what to order checked on November 4, 2026. Hours change: check before you go. Walk times are straight-line estimates. Photos marked "a photo like it" are of the food, not the place, until we have the place's own. Nobody paid to be here. Something wrong? hello@chefamazing.com.

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