Welcome back and happy Tuesday! Today I am bringing to you guys my Weekend in New York City travel guide. This city is filled with so many fun amazing places to visit and I managed to scout some amazing places within a weekend visit. I am going to break this post into three sections to make it easier to follow. It will be food, drinks, and places to visit. Alright everyone, let's dive in.
We'll start with food because of course, that's literally the first thing we jumped into after stepping off the plane.
Our hotel was located right near the Flat Iron District which is such a pretty area with the famous Flat Iron building. The hotel we stayed at was the Cambria Hotel
We happened to stumble upon an adorable brunch spot a block from this building called Maman Nomad. We were greeted by a beautiful floral entrance that stepped into the cutest little café. I'm not sure if there was a spring theme that was going on all around the city, but you will realize so many places we visited on the trip were decked out in the prettiest floral sceneries. It made our trip even that much better with the beautiful views and elegant set ups everywhere we looked.
Maman Nomad entrance
We sat at a community table and ordered some coffees while browsing the menu. My sister and I ended up ordering a pistachio croissant and a salmon hash bowl to split. The food was so good! It was such a great first stop in the city. I mean, look at those pistachio shavings all around the croissant.
This place also has the cutest aesthetic. Floral walls surrounds the shop with beautiful espresso machines and glass fridges. I could visit everyday.
Right across the street you can find Madison Square Park where we spent a little time and stumbled into the cutest Shake Shack you will ever see. If anyone else out there is a fan of the movie "Something Borrowed," this is the exact Shake Shack they always filmed at!
My sister and I adore that movie so it was super cool to run into that. It would be a great place to grab a quick bite and enjoy outside. I also feel like Shake Shack is just a NY staple. I don't know why, but it's always something I associate with New York.
Another adorable brunch spot is the Butcher's Daughter. They have multiple locations in the city, but we visited the one on Hudson street right near the Chelsea Market.
This place as well had such an adorable aesthetic and had some amazing oat milk cold brew. They have fresh pressed juices, coffee, and some amazing vegan food. I did not realize this place was completely vegan when looking it up, and coming from a meat lover, the food was still amazing. We tried some vegan sausage, an egg salsa skillet, and toast. It was super tasty! I would definitely eat here not only for the food, but also the atmosphere.
On to some dinner spots. Our first night we had been running around everywhere and decided to go for more of a casual dinner. We ended up at The Three Monkeys. This place is a sports bar that was located in Midtown where we were adventuring that day. It by no means is anything special or fancy, but honestly at that point, that's exactly what we wanted. We got some wings and this amazing peppercorn burger topped with a fried onion on a toasted bun. This place is also super reasonable given that the city is quite pricy. It was the perfect quick meal to keep us going after a long day.
This next place I booked reservations about 3 weeks in advance because it can book up quickly. It is located on the Lower East side and we went here before taking on Dumbo. The place is called Sel Rrose, and I fell in love with this little place. They are known for their seafood and oysters, and amazing craft cocktails.
This place is a tiny little spot marked by its bright pink door. We went inside a little before our reservations and ordered some drinks while waiting.
The bar was so adorable and they made one of the tastiest drinks I think I have ever tried. Like, look at that perfect pink concoction. Once seated, we ordered and I knew before even arriving I was trying one of their lobster rolls. I highly suggest that and their truffle fries. Both were outstanding and the fries come with this god send dipping sauce that I could probably drink because it was so dang good.
Just look at those beauts. I am craving this meal as I type. Whenever I am back in New York, I will be revisiting.
Okay now that we covered our food stops, on to bars/places to visit. I am going to combine these two because some of these destinations are also great spots to stop for a drink.
I am going to start with Eataly. I believe there are two locations in NYC, but I went to the one in the Flat Iron district. Aside from the fact that I adore Eataly's,(I always visit the one in Chicago when I am in town) this specific one has a destination located on the rooftop called Serra by Birreria. This rooftop changes seasonally and like I said, we ran into all the beautiful floral arrangements for spring in the city. This place was gorgeous.
We were the first to enter the rooftop (like how exciting, that never happens) and it was like walking into a dream. You can also dine up here, but you literally have to make reservations weeks in advance. We only went for a drink and we didn't have to make any kind of reservation. We sipped on some wine and also tried their featured drink of an Aperol Spritzer, which was so fresh on that hot spring day.
Let's just say I was shopping around downstairs afterwards looking for some Aperol because it tasted so good. If you are unaware of what Eataly is, it is a giant Italian haven where you can shop and buy goods or eat at their inner shops filled with gelato, pasta, nutella desserts, pizza, wine, you name it. My family and I love this place and to see the one in New York was so awesome.
The next places are the PHD rooftops. There are two locations; one in Midtown and one in Times Square. We visited both and to be honest, it was on accident. We meant to only do the Times square one but when you accidentally click the wrong gps locations, you might find yourself visiting both as well. This fluke ended up turning out pretty cool though, because they both offer such different views so it was fun to experience both.
The first one we went to was in Midtown. You have to walk down an alleyway tunnel with a triple X entrance (yes it sounds sketch, but there will be a bouncer waiting to check your ID).
We walked in to see what would probably be an amazing night club, but we were more interested in the balcony views and some casual drinks.
Let me tell you, the balcony views were worth the confusion and set backs getting to this place.
It had such an amazing rooftop view of the city.
The other PHD rooftop fit the floral city theme. This was the one I originally was trying to go to until the gps fiasco. This one offered a better interior aesthetic, but I would say the city views from Midtown were much better.
They have multiple levels in this PHD. The first is an inside nightclub, which I visited many years ago while visiting a friend (hi Taylor), but it then leads to another level where you will find this floral wall that leads in the room seen below. It then goes up one floor higher for another little patio. This PHD had more places to sit and roam. You can also buy their famous 10 pound orange blossom moscow mule at this location. They are seriously INSANE.
On our second day, we had decided to explore Washington Square Park to see the famous Arch after brunch. The park is so pretty and you could easily spend a few hours just sitting watching street artists and people watch.
After the park we decided to hit another rooftop bar to cool down since it was so hot out. We ended up at the Refinery rooftop that had some amazing frozé and views.
We also decided to grab some apps which were so so tasty. If you plan on dining here make reservations as it can be a long wait. We put our name in to casual dine when we arrived and just grabbed some frozé and enjoyed the rooftop while waiting to eat.
The next place that I would say is a definite must visit in the Chelsea Market. This place is a giant indoor market with so many stores filled with goods native to New York. They have so many places to eat and drink and just explore. You can spend hours in this place. I've gone here the last two visits I have made to New York and I love it each time.
Below is just one of the cool stores your can stumble into at the market. This one was filled was spices upon spices.
After leaving the Market, you can walk a block away to the most beautiful Starbucks ever. You can spot the giant Starbucks Reserve doors from far away which drew me in immediately. Some of you may know I am an AVID Starbucks junkie. I had never been to a reserve before this one and all I can say is I have not lived until I went to this one. If you are unaware of what a Starbucks Reserve is, they are giant hybrid Starbucks with drinks you could never get at a regular Starbucks as well with a giant cafe and a bar.
I tried their hazelnut bianco, which was a hazelnut infused milk and espresso. It was so good I can't even begin to explain. My mom had tried their whiskey barrel aged cold brew which was insanely smooth and so interesting! The other cool part is all there drinks come in those fun reusable cups!
We also ventured to the Rockefeller Plaza where we planned on going to the sky deck for the amazing views the building has to offer. Unfortunately, it was really cloudy and about to storm so we didn't feel it was worth the money for an over casted view of the city. Instead, we went to the Rainbow Room which is the bar located on the 65th floor of the Rockefeller. You can also dine up here, but we chose to just grab drinks before dinner and still take in some awesome views.
the rainbow room
The last type of "destination" place we went to is DUMBO. This is an area that you cross the Brooklyn Bridge and see amazing views of the city. If you have time, I highly suggest you walk the bridge. It is a minor hike, but it is a cool experience. During this visit, we just drove over the bridge because it was getting late. My other suggestion is to go at sunset or when the sun has set so you can see the entire city lit up and believe me, it is worth it to make the trek out there.
After visiting all of the main viewing points of DUMBO, we ventured over to a bar called Gran Electrica for a quick drink before heading back to the hotel (shout out to Taylor for showing me this place a few years back). I love this bar for their spicy citrus margaritas and calm aesthetic.
The last place I wanted to mention was the Nomad. This is a giant library themed bar. They actually have multiple rooms with bars but to sit in the library, you need to have reservations (big surprise) or get there early. I saw great reviews about this place and it lived up to the hype. We grabbed a drink in their elephant bar which as well has an amazing aesthetic (honestly can you even have a business in New York if it doesn't) and phenomenal drinks.
drinks from the Nomad
If you made it to this point, all the applause to you. I know this got lengthy; however as always, I want to be as in depth as possible doing travel guides for you all so you get the most from it. I hope you enjoyed this mini guide to NYC. There is truly so much to do in this city, but these were the highlights of my experience. Until next time..
xo H
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