NYC Restaurant Week Jan./Feb. 2017

Make reservations now for NYC Restaurant Week 2017, when nearly 400 top NYC restaurants serve specially priced three-course meals $29 at lunch and $42 at dinner.

This is your chance to splurge on a gourmet meal in such top-rated locally owned restaurants as Blue Smoke, CraftBar, David Burke Kitchen and the classic and timeless Il Mulino, which participated in NYC Restaurant Week in January 2016.

Of course, as always, beverages, taxes and tip are additional.

NYC Restaurant Week is really three weeks, Jan. 23rd to Feb. 10th.

• See the NYCOTC Cheap Eats page for deals from local restaurants and national chains.
• Read the best kid-friendly restaurants in the USA
• Get half-price tickets for Broadway shows during Broadway Week 2017

Make reservations through Open Table directly with participating restaurants, where you can search by location, type of food, or whether you prefer lunch or dinner.

My recommendation is lunch.  Not because it’s $13 cheaper, but because dinners usually sell out first and you are likely to have more choice at lunch.

Here’s another NY insider deal — if you have an American Express card (and don’t most of us) – register your card with Amex for this special event, and get $5 back on each $35+ spent at a participating Restaurant Week dining spot.

NYC Restaurant Week started more than 20 years ago as a way of beefing up business in the slow, dog days of summer, and has turned into a major culinary event copied by cities across the USA and around the world, from Albuquerque to Warsaw.

Top tips for making the most of NYC Restaurant Week:

• Many restaurants do not participate during the weekends, so don’t expect a Saturday night prime time table.
• If your restaurant of choice is in the Theater District, don’t book a table in the peak pre-theater hour
• Review the menu in advance, since Restaurant Week menu choices are more limited than the full menu. If you have eating restrictions, you may be limited even more.
• Reservations early in the week are easier to get than later in the week.
• Reservations for lunch are easier to get than reservations for dinner.
• Be sure to mention Restaurant Week when you make a reservation, and when you arrive at the restaurant.
• When you are seated, if you are not offered the Restaurant Week menu, ask for it.
• Tip the wait staff based on the regular price of the meal, not the discounted Restaurant Week price, especially if you’ve had good service.