Every Impossibly Buzzy Restaurant Has An Easier-To-Get-Into Alternative

Try Morandi. Persuading people to order shrimp Parmesan during a heat wave requires some serious clout, but for anyone who can’t seem to crack the Resy code, there’s Morandi. It’s does “classic Italian restaurant” well without being one of those red-sauce joints where there are only ever four people inside. Morandi, on the other hand, always has a crowd that’s typically seated on the street for prime people-watching. Get the house-made tagliatelle with bolognese.

Go to Ernesto's. If you don’t want to sit at 10 p.m. (although that would be a particularly Basque thing to do), Ernesto’s is on East Broadway, just far enough removed from Dimes Square to avoid the masses but close enough that it feels in-the-know. Get the sliced Iberico (ham), salted cod, and, obviously, the Basque cheesecake. It’s a fun vibe at night, but the big windows also make me think it would be a great lunch spot.

Hop on the train downtown to Tusk Bar. One of the things that makes Polo Bar cool is that it’s an oasis in midtown; Tusk Bar, inside the Evelyn Hotel in Flatiron, is still in a more populated area and looks just as swanky. If you ask me, the drinks are much better, too, and objectively at a better price. Order a few of the “oyster minis,” tiny martinis served with a bivalve resting on the coupe.

Lafayette is a short walk way. Lafayette’s dining room is bigger than Raf’s but has enough levels, alcoves, and corners that there are still plenty of intimate tables. The wine list has a lot to love, too, and the cuisine makes it really accessible. I always come early and end up getting something from the bakery in the front of the restaurant while waiting for the rest of my group to show up.

Hop in a cab to Boucherie. I want my bistro reservations to be a little loud from the moment I walk in the door, and the only other restaurant with a room built to capture the sound of many simultaneous conversations happening over steak-frites and niçoise salads is Boucherie’s West Village location. I went with a group of friends when we had just too big of a party to eat at Balthazar, and we had a great time having to lean in towards one another to talk or tell stories.

Follow the party to Sauced. Wine and wine bars can often feel exclusionary and pretentious, but Sauced isn’t like that at all. They’ve got a whole dance floor, too, where DJs play. It’s like a wine bar transformed into a club.

Go downstairs to K’Far. Sure, you won’t have the panoramic view from the Hoxton’s roof, but you will still be able to enjoy chef Michael Solomonov’s cooking, just in a cafe-style setting (which is also beautiful with a very cool bar).

Maybe you should have just gone to Mamo in the first place. It’s a few blocks south and has the same exclusive feel — but without the hoops to jump through. Get a table upstairs, and it’ll feel just as private as Carbone. You may even see a celebrity who had the same idea to choose a quieter Italian place.

Set your course to Altro Paradiso. Torrisi has been a hard reservation since it opened in 2023, but instead of liquidating your kid’s college fund to pay for it, take a 10-minute walk down Spring Street. The dining room at Altro is just as beautiful (not to mention brighter, in a good way).

Try Cafe Cluny. The Waverly Inn has been a hot spot for the city’s well-off creative set for almost 20 years, but Cafe Cluny just around the corner has a similarly elevated vibe. As smartly dressed people sip martinis outside, inside, servers in Breton-striped shirts usher around three-egg omelets, which are so good here that guests regularly order them well into dinner service.