10 Oldest Restaurants in New York
by Editorial Staff
The history of New York is unthinkable without a story about the culinary traditions of the city and its ancient restaurants. We have selected 10 of the best, discovered in the 18th – 19th centuries.
Contents
Fraunces Tavern (1762)
According to city historians, this is the oldest operating restaurant in New York. True, there are still disputes about the year of construction of the building in which it is located. This brick house appeared either in 1719, or in 1722 and was subsequently rebuilt several times, so some skeptics question its authenticity.
However, it is known that before Samuel Francaise opened a tavern called “Sign of Queen Charlotte”, this building was the location of a dance school and a trading company office.
In 1775, during the battles with the British, General John Lamb fired a cannon at the restaurant, making an impressive hole in the wall. However, just a year later, the British again captured this strategically important point of public catering and began to use it as a soldiers’ canteen. On November 25, 1783, when the invaders were expelled from the city, General George Clinton threw a large banquet here, to which George Washington was invited.
In subsequent years, the Fraunces Tavern housed government offices and a boarding house. In 1883, the patriotic union “Sons of the American Revolution” was founded here. In addition to being directly hit by a cannonball, this ancient house has survived three devastating fires and even an explosion in a restaurant in 1975 by a Puerto Rican paramilitary group.
Now, above the restaurant, on the second floor, there is a museum, which has carefully collected evidence of the rich history of this unusual house. Aside from tales of a glorious past, you can enjoy the excellent breakfast that Fraunces Tavern is famous for, as well as a fine selection of beer and whiskey.
Address: 54 Pearl St, New York, NY 10004, United States
Ear Inn (1817)
Tourists strolling among Soho boutiques do not wander here. This small, cozy cafe is tucked away at the very end of Spring Street, not far from the Hudson waterfront.
The building, which houses the Ear Bar, was built in 1770 in honor of James Brown, an African American soldier who fought on the side of George Washington and was famous for numerous feats of arms. His image, according to some historians, has even been immortalized in the painting “George Washington Crossing the Delaware River.”
In those days, the Hudson shore had not yet built up the embankment, the water splashed literally a few feet from the house named after the soldier James Brown, and the first place where the sailors went ashore was the hotel now known as the Ear Inn. The Soho district was not yet as glamorous as it is now, the customs here were completely different, and the port hotel earned good money not only on providing table and shelter but also on a number of additional services, which shy chroniclers prefer to keep silent about.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a bar and a restaurant were opened on the first floor of the hotel, but with the adoption of Prohibition, the institution had to be temporarily redesigned into a kind of cafeteria. After the elimination of anti-alcohol restrictions at the Ear Inn, everything returned to its place.
Now it is a small cozy place with amazingly tasty food prepared according to old recipes exclusively from farm products, delicious beer, and an impressive range of spirits.
Address: 326 Spring St, New York, NY 10013, United States
Neir’s Tavern (1829)
This tavern in Woodhaven, Queens was originally called “The Blue Pump” and was notoriously infamous with fans from the nearby Union Course. They drank cheap rum, made noise, and behaved in a completely inappropriate manner. Soon, this haven of violent fans changed its name to “The Old Abbey”, but this, alas, did not change the state of affairs.
The reputation of the establishment improved only in 1898 when Louis Nair bought the tavern. The Union Course Tavern – as the new name sounded – now has a bowling alley, a ballroom, and private rooms. Cheap rum was no longer served here.
In 2009, renovations were made here again and the tavern was named after its previous owner.
Although Neir’s has not retained the same name recognition as it did a century ago, it has acquired a new identity in film and television. It was used in the 2011 action movie and was featured in Goodfellas. It is also a favorite of a few stars: W.C. Fields was known to love the tavern, and this was obviously the site of Mae West’s first show.
Address: 87-48 78th St, Woodhaven, NY 11421, United States
Delmonico’s (1837)
The first luxury restaurant in America was opened by the Delmonico brothers on Beaver Street in Manhattan’s financial district. The bet on gourmets who can afford a sumptuous meal paid off almost immediately. Delmonico’s boasted not only luxurious private rooms and the largest wine cellar in the city but also such exclusive dishes as Baked Alaska salmon, Lobster Newburg, chicken a la Keene, and eggs Benedict. No, this is not a typo: the world-famous recipe for cooking eggs, invented, by the way, to treat a hangover, is attributed to two chefs of elite restaurants in New York at once – Charles Ranhofer from Delmonico’s and Oscar Chicky from Waldorf.
The hallmark of this old gourmet restaurant is Delmonico’s steak, also known as Black and Red. This medium-rare rib-eye steak is so named because, according to Puritan tradition, it is served unpeeled. The recipe for this dish is considered by many chefs to be one of the most difficult. This work of culinary art has nothing to do with Stendhal’s famous novel Red and Black, first published seven years before the opening of Delmonico’s, in 1830.
Address: 56 Beaver St, New York, NY 10004, United States
Killmeyer’s Old Bavaria Inn (1855)
Old Bavaria, the oldest restaurant on Staten Island, is located directly opposite Manhattan on Arthur Kill Road. Nobody knows exactly what year this house was built. According to local writer Patricia Salmon, part of the building was built in 1845 and before the tavern, there were residential apartments and a shop. A decade later, the house was bought by Balthazar Kreischer, a local brick tycoon who resold it a couple of years later to Nicholas Killmeyer, whose family had owned the building for nearly a century.
After World War II, the Killmeier Hotel was acquired by Ken Tirado, who set out to return the old house not only to its former name but also to its original appearance. Ken approached the matter in detail and even specifically for this made a trip to Munich. Thanks to his efforts, the Killmeyer’s Old Bavaria Inn hotel and restaurant can boast not only German-style interiors, but also classic Viennese schnitzels, goulash, and, of course, generous portions of the freshest beer.
Address: 4254 Arthur Kill Rd, Staten Island, NY 10309, United States
Pete’s Tavern (1864)
While all the restaurants described above have changed their names and redesigned at one time or another in their long history, Pete’s Tavern has not stopped operating since its opening, so it can be safely called the oldest operating tavern in New York.
There are no special culinary delights on the menu, but the food is delicious here. Pete’s Tavern became famous for others: it was one of the favorite places of the writer O’Henry, who lived nearby in 1903-1907 and often spent time here. In the tavern, he had his favorite table, at which he wrote the famous story “Gifts of the Magi”. Another regular at Pete’s Tavern, Ludwig Bemelmans, wrote the famous children’s book, Madeleine, here.
However, even if you do not belong to the literary circle, still drop by old man Pete. A unique atmosphere, a hearty lunch or dinner, and a glass or two passed at the bar, if they do not awaken your talent for writing, they certainly will not disappoint.
Address: 129 E 18th St, New York, NY 10003, United States
Old Homestead Steakhouse (1868)
One of the oldest steakhouses in New York, Old Homestead Steakhouse, like Pete’s Tavern, boasts that it has been operating continuously since its opening. After the end of the Civil War, chophouse-style establishments became popular, and the Tidewater Trading Post – that was the original name of this famous restaurant – was on the wave of fashion of those times, and literally: it was almost on the very banks of the Hudson, which took place in the middle of the 19th century. in the middle of the modern Chelsea district. For the last seventy years, the restaurant has been owned by the Sherri family. The founder of this venerable dynasty of restaurateurs, Harry Sherry, began his career at the Tidewater Trading Post as a humble dishwasher. After becoming rich, he bought a restaurant and made it one of the best steakhouses in town.
In the 90s of the 20th century, Old Homestead Steakhouse became famous for being the first restaurant in the United States to import the famous Wagyu beef from Japan’s Kobe province, which has a unique, sophisticated taste and is highly valued by steak lovers around the world. The price can really make your wallet shudder: The Wagyu burger at Old Homestead Steakhouse costs $ 81.
Address: 56 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011, United States
Whitehorse Tavern (1880)
Whitehorse Tavern, as listed on its website, is the second oldest tavern in New York. For 139 years of her life, she has seen a lot. At first, it was an unnamed place where the Irish people from the surrounding houses liked to spend their time.
Everything changed in the 30s of the last century, when “The Horse” – as it was affectionately called by the regulars – became the heart of the countercultural hangout in New York. At various times, the tavern’s regulars included Bob Dylan, Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary, writers James Baldwin, Norman Mailer, William Styron, Allen Ginsburg, and many others. From here, drunken Jack Kerouac was repeatedly (and often unsuccessfully) thrown into the insole, as evidenced by the graffiti in the “GO HOME JACK” toilet room, carefully preserved for posterity. Above the favorite place of Dylan Thomas, who spent the last hours of his life here in 1953, hangs his portrait. And finally, the cult newspaper The Village Voice also began with conversations at the Whitehorse bar.
In 1969, the tavern was recognized as an object of historical heritage, which later repeatedly saved the institution from alterations and restructuring that threatened it.
In May of this year, the famous “Horse” changed its owner. The new owner made the renovation, carefully leaving in place all the artifacts of a bygone era, allowing visitors to plunge into the rebellious atmosphere of New York in the middle of the last century.
Address: 567 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014, United States
P. J. Clarke’s (1884)
This homemade burger bar is not one of the oldest dining establishments in New York, but from a historical point of view, it certainly deserves to be included in the top ten historical bars in the Big Apple.
Nat King Cole called this place the Cadillac of Burger. It was here that Buddy Holly proposed to his future wife five hours after they met.
Frank Sinatra, Jackie O, Peter O’Toole, and Elizabeth Taylor loved to have a drink or two here. On the back of this restaurant’s napkin, Johnny Mercer wrote his famous ballad, One for My Baby. Charles Jackson wrote his “Lost Weekend” here at dinner, and the Hollywood film based on this work quite accurately copies the interiors of this famous bar.
P. J. Clarke’s started in 1884 as a pub focused on Irish immigrants. In the harsh days of Prohibition, scotch and gin were secretly poured here. Most likely, it is for this reason that the bar won the hearts of famous writers and musicians of that time.
In 1967, P. J. Clarke’s was sold to Lavezzos, on a 99-year lease, so you still have a little time to sample the famous burgers. Historically speaking, 2066 is not such a distant future.
Address: 915 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10022, United States
Katz’s Delicatessen (1888)
Anyone who has been to Manhattan’s Lower East Side has probably heard something about this famous diner. They make the best pastrami sandwiches in town. But even if you have never been to New York, this name is probably familiar to you from the films When Harry Met Sally, Donnie Brasco, Charmed, Across the Universe, and a number of others.
The history of Katz’s Delicatessen begins in 1888, when the Icelandic Brothers diner merged with the Katz family, after which the name changed to Iceland and Katz, and then simply to Katz’s. This Jewish diner sits in a bustling location on Ludlow Street next to the National Theater. During World War II, Katz’s Delicatessen launched an advertising campaign called “Send your boyfriend’s salami to the army,” the effect of which exceeded all expectations. And the first film role that made Katz’s Delicatessen famous was an episode in Frank Sinatra’s “The Cherry Street Contract.” Since then, the diner has become a model for New York’s Jewish delicacies and synonymous with quality sandwiches.
Address: 205 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002, United States
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