Cafeteria

119 7th Avenue (at 17th Street)
New York, NY 10014

Opens 24/7, this restaurant is a true institution in Chelsea. With its sleek and contemporary design, its modern and tasty fare, and its crowd of hip and beautiful people, Cafeteria is a defining place for urban gay dining. The dishes are not cheap, but that’s the price to pay to enjoy the classy setting and the chance to have dinner a few tables away from Amanda Lepore or Junior Vasquez. Its terrace on the sidewalk of 7th avenue is definitely a hotspot in Chelsea, and a place to see and be seen.

You should make reservations if you plan to have dinner during the weekend, or be prepared to wait well over a half hour before getting sitted. At any rate, you could still sip on some Martinis at the bar and check out the buzzing crowd in the mean time.

It is also a great place to have brunch, thanks to a varied menu and generous portions.

The menu is typical of “modern comfort food”, i.e. a choice of salads, sandwiches and other dishes traditionally served in regular diners, but whose recipe and presentation has been improved to make them worthy of a restaurant catering to the hip and the gorgeous. The “macaroni and cheese” of cafeteria have a solid reputation in Manhattan, and the meat dishes are not bad either.