✦ Casual Dining · Midtown

Best Casual Dining Restaurants in Midtown

5 ranked casual dining restaurants in Midtown, New York City — with ratings, must-try dishes and live availability.

5 picks

These are the 5 best Midtown restaurants for a casual meal, ranked. Coletta is the pick if you want the surest thing — 4.8 stars across 3,980 reviews. Most of this list stays under $40 a head. If you only order one thing, make it the pepperoni pizza at Coletta. 3 of the 5 take online reservations, and the live availability badge on each card shows what is actually open tonight.

Midtown dining splits cleanly between expense-account rooms and the lunch counters that feed the people who work there — both are worth knowing.

Coletta

Vegan  ·  Midtown  ·  $

★★★★½ 4.8

Vegan in Midtown — 4.8 on Resy across 3,980 diner reviews

Must-try: Pepperoni pizza, Tagliatelle al ragù, Tiramisu

📍 365 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016

OKDONGSIK

Korean  ·  Midtown  ·  $$

★★★★½ 4.7

Korean in Midtown — 4.7 on Resy across 4,145 diner reviews

Must-try: Dweji gomtang, Kimchi mandoo

📍 13 East 30th St, New York, NY 10016

Xi'an Famous Foods

Chinese · Xi'an Noodles  ·  Midtown  ·  $

★★★★½ 4.6

The essential hand-ripped noodle shop from Xi'an — the spicy cumin lamb face noodles are one of NYC's great cheap eats

Must-try: Spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles, Liang pi cold skin noodles, Lamb burger (rou jia mo)

📍 24 W 45th St, New York, NY 10036

Ess-a-Bagel

Bakery · Jewish Deli · Bagels  ·  Midtown  ·  $

★★★★☆ 4.3

Enormous hand-rolled bagels and a scoop of scallion cream cheese that could feed a household

Must-try: Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, Nova and cream cheese, Baked salmon salad

📍 831 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10022

Grand Central Oyster Bar

Seafood · Raw Bar  ·  Midtown  ·  $$$

★★★★☆ 4.1

Vaulted Guastavino tile beneath the terminal since 1913 — a raw bar counter and an oyster list that runs long

Must-try: A dozen oysters off the daily list, New England clam chowder, Oyster pan roast

📍 89 E 42nd St, Lower Level, New York, NY 10017

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best casual dining restaurant in Midtown?

Coletta — 4.8 stars across 3,980 reviews, the highest on this list. Vegan in Midtown — 4.8 on Resy across 3,980 diner reviews.

Do these restaurants take reservations?

3 of the 5 book online — Coletta, OKDONGSIK and Grand Central Oyster Bar. The rest are walk-in or phone-only. Each card here shows live availability for tonight where the restaurant publishes it.

What should I order?

The pepperoni pizza at Coletta, the dweji gomtang at OKDONGSIK and the spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles at Xi'an Famous Foods. Those are the dishes regulars point to first.

How were these picked?

Ratings and review volume decide the order, but the list itself is drawn from restaurants people actually post about — 5 of the 5 here have a TikTok attached to their card. Every entry is checked as open before it ships.