Eat your way around the Big Apple with iconic dining destinations from the big and small screens, chosen (and lovingly sampled) by our New York travel expert
This Jewish deli is the spot where one of When Harry Met Sally’s most memorable scenes was shot (yes, that one – pictured above). The restaurant has a sign above the very table it happened that reads, “Where Harry Met Sally… hope you have what she had!”
205 East Houston Street, New York, NY 10002
+1 212 254 2246
In the heart of New York’s Theater District, Sardi’s is known for its regular clientele of Great White Way celebrities, as well as caricatures of its many famous diners lining the walls. In 1995’s The Muppets Take Manhattan, Kermit does the unthinkable and sneaks into the restaurant to replace Liza Minnelli’s portrait with his own. Of course, she just happens to be there…
234 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036
+1 212 221 8440
The bustling beach, amusement park and boardwalk at Brooklyn’s Coney Island have been featured in many films and shows, but it’s the triumphant dawn return by the Warriors gang in the 1979 cult classic of the same name that stands out – walking down the boardwalk in the light of the rising sun. While the gang war means the Warriors aren’t doing much on-screen eating, chances are they’d have hit the equally iconic, late-night Nathan’s Famous for a signature hot dog.
1310 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11224, United States
+1 718-333-2202
The ritzy Plaza Hotel is a tourist attraction in its own right, but it’s immortalised in Home Alone 2. After being left behind by his family (again!) in New York City, Kevin McAllister (McCaulay Culkin) checks into suite 411 with his father’s credit card where he goes wild with the room service dessert menu.
768 5th Avenue at Central Park South, New York, NY 10019
+1 212 759 3000
Hannah Horvath and her crew of self-involved twenty-somethings hang out and work at this café in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on the hit HBO show Girls. The neighbourhood is lovely, and the café is a perfect spot to stop in for a pick-me-up coffee and a bit of people watching.
193 Meserole Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11222
+1 718 349 7623
In the feature film version of Sex and the City, Carrie and Big are finally barreling toward their big wedding day. Their giant pre-wedding dinner is held under the chandeliers at Buddakan, a trendy Chelsea Asian-fusion restaurant. Of course, the wedding is doomed, but don’t let that put you off…
75 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10011
+1 212 989 6699
One of Audrey Hepburn’s most iconic scenes played out in 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Holly Golighty, impeccably dressed in a little black dress and pearls, takes breakfast eye-to-eye with the jewels inside Fifth Avenue’s Tiffany & Co. Put your best dress on and reenact the scene by grabbing a coffee and croissant to-go from nearby Gregorys Coffee.
Tiffany & Co., 727 5th Avenue, NY 10022
+1 212 755 8000
Gregorys Coffee, 551 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022
+1 646 707 0529
If you can move after all that eating, see the rest of town with our guide to 48 hours in New York or top city picks for families (warning: both include food)