Columbus Circle subwaySHoodTip
Dive bar · Columbus Circle subway
Siberia
Midtown is full of expensive traps; descend the subway stairs for a beer and a place with a pulse.
Read the HoodTip →A HoodTip guide by Dave
Anthony Bourdain’s New York
The restaurants, bars and stubborn old New York institutions that earned Bourdain’s affection.
Guide by DaveJuly 2026 · 12 verified placesMidtown & Hell’s KitchenUptownDowntown ManhattanThe outer boroughsGood places,
properly filed.
properly filed.
Why this exists
A useful file of the New York places that still tell a story.
Anthony Bourdain needs no introduction. He was the voice that shaped an entire genre of food and travel media—and made the rest of us want to be a little more curious about the world.\n\nHe was complicated and troubled, but he had a singular knack for telling a good story, and he loved a good drink and a good meal. Here are some of his New York haunts: not every place he ever filmed, but the ones that feel most like him and remain useful today.\n\nSiberia is the gem. Midtown can be overwhelming and packed with bad tourist traps; Bourdain’s beloved underground bar somehow came back from the dead. Start there, then keep going.
This is an unofficial guide by Dave, compiled from Anthony Bourdain’s public appearances and published work. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthony Bourdain. See Anthony Bourdain’s public work →
Midtown & Hell’s Kitchen
A legendary underground bar, a red vinyl dive and the steakhouse that still feels like old New York.
Hell’s KitchenRHoodTip
Dive bar · Hell’s Kitchen
Rudy’s Bar & Grill
Red vinyl booths, cold beer, a pig out front and a hot dog with every drink. Rudy’s knows exactly what it is.
Read the HoodTip →Herald SquareKHoodTip
Steakhouse · Herald Square
Keens Steakhouse
A proper old New York room with clay pipes overhead. Go for the mutton chop and let the room be part of the point.
Read the HoodTip →Uptown
The breakfast, sandwich and neighborhood institutions he returned to when New York felt like home.
Upper West SideBHoodTip
Jewish appetizing · Upper West Side
Barney Greengrass
Skip the elaborate brunch order and let the smoked fish do the work.
Read the HoodTip →Upper East SidePHoodTip
Kosher deli · Upper East Side
Pastrami Queen
Warm pastrami with the right balance of fat and lean makes this one of the most useful lunches in the guide.
Read the HoodTip →Upper East SidePHoodTip
Hot dog counter · Upper East Side
Papaya King
Two snappy grilled dogs and an aggressively tropical drink: fast, cheap and unmistakably New York.
Read the HoodTip →Downtown Manhattan
Pastrami, burgers and Chinatown classics—places that survived by remaining themselves.
Lower East SideKHoodTip
Jewish deli · Lower East Side
Katz’s Delicatessen
Keep the ticket, tip the cutter and order the pastrami on rye. Famous can still be correct.
Read the HoodTip →West VillageCHoodTip
Bar burger · West Village
Corner Bistro
A robust, honest, greasy bar burger and a beer. That remains the whole argument for going.
Read the HoodTip →ChinatownHHoodTip
Cantonese · Chinatown
Hop Kee
Down a short flight of stairs on Mott Street, this late-night Cantonese institution rewards a table that orders family-style.
Read the HoodTip →The outer boroughs
The useful reminder that Bourdain’s New York did not end at the Manhattan shoreline.
Riverdale, BronxLHoodTip
Jewish deli · Riverdale, Bronx
Liebman’s Deli
A neighborhood deli without the downtown theater. The pastrami and chopped liver make the trip north worthwhile.
Read the HoodTip →Woodhaven, QueensNHoodTip
Historic tavern · Woodhaven, Queens
Neir’s Tavern
Come for a beer, the room and the history of one of New York’s great neighborhood survivors.
Read the HoodTip →Sheepshead Bay, BrooklynRHoodTip
Italian seafood · Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
Randazzo’s Clam Bar
Huge portions of red-sauce seafood beside Sheepshead Bay. Build the afternoon around the lobster fra diavolo.
Read the HoodTip →