Three Restaurants To Help You Get Over The Closing of NYC's Tavern On The Green

December 22, 2009 at 1:03 PM | by JetSetCD | Comments (0)

After some time of struggling financially, running into drama with club promoters, and serving tourists overpriced food, Central Park's iconic Tavern on the Green restaurant is closing for good. It will inevitably reopen at some point in the future under new management, and probably with a different name and definitely with new interiors since they're auctioning everything off, but we could care less. Why? Because New York City is a town overflowing with excellent restaurants, a good lot of them miles above Tavern on the Green in quality and food and yet priced lower.

Don't let Kelly Ripa's sadness over Tavern's closure fool you; her family also treasures Serendipity 3, a tourist trap of a restaurant that pushes "frozen hot chocolate," which is essentially just a chocolate shake in a bowl; not to mention that the place has been closed in the past by the Health Department for rodent infestation.

We're kind of happy to see Tavern go, since it's closing means tourists will discover other restaurants and support those, and we've got three in particular to recommend.

Three restaurants to help you get over Tavern on the Green's closing:

The only thing we might miss: hamburger cupcakes

1. Central Park Boathouse
A no-brainer, really. If you've got to have the Central Park location and a tourist-friendly, dressy atmosphere, then it's go to be the Boathouse. Instead of just the terrace at Tavern on the Green, the Boathouse gives you a view over the Boat Basin, which is a magical frozen pond in winter and a bustling site in the summer. We recommend dropping for a 3-course lunch during Restaurant Week, like we did earlier this year—here are some pictures to demonstrate. The next Restaurant Week is coming soon; here is the info. East 72nd Street and Park Drive North.

2. Cloister Cafe
Taking it downtown to the East Village, we'd pop into the French restaurant, Cloister Cafe, for the romantic garden atmosphere. We walk past it all the time and always did a double-take when a glimpse of their foliage-ceilinged garden would reveal itself. Finally we just gave up and ate there. Definitely a spring/summer/fall option because outdoors is best; go to Boathouse above in winter. 238 East 9th Street.

3. Asiate
If Tavern on the Green's closure has you crying and whimpering in a corner and you just don't know what to do with yourself, let alone where to go for dinner, then it isn't too far off to just head to the Mandarin Oriental's Central Park-side restaurant Asiate. This is another place we've loved for Restaurant Week, and it's the most expensive normally of our recommendations, but with good reason. It's located on the 35th floor of the hotel, right up against the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the park and Midtown. Check out The sweet table we had, and we weren't even ordering from the regularly-priced menu! This is also a great place to head for coffee or a cocktail, since the Lobby Lounge next door boasts all the views and comfort without the formal dining. 80 Columbus Circle, 35th Floor.

Related Stories:
· As Tavern on the Green Goes Black, New Owner Still Uncommitted [Gothamist]
· Tavern on the Green [Wiki]
· Food Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Clare & Dave; Rachel from Cupcakes Take The Cake]

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