NYC Neighborhood Guide: Lower East Side

The Lower East Side is quite the eclectic neighborhood. From award-winning restaurants to iconic bars to cozy coffee shops, the Lower East Side has it all. There’s also so much history in the area, from the stories of immigrants at the Tenement Museum to Jewish cuisine at Katz’s Deli and Russ & Daughters.

Restaurants | Coffee Shops | Things to Do | Bagel Shops | Bakeries/Desserts | Bars

Restaurants

375 Chicken and Fries
A fast-food concept on Ludlow Street, 375 Chicken and Fries is a quick (and affordable) meal. The menu features fried chicken sandwiches — like the sweet chili and BBQ ranch — chicken tenders, and chicken and waffles. My personal favorites are the chick’n pops, which are pieces of popcorn chicken covered in a range of toppings from buffalo sauce and Sriracha mayo to a grape jelly glaze and peanut sauce.
124 Ludlow St.

Birria-Landia
Birria-Landia is hands-down the best meal I’ve ever eaten on the side of the road. A taco truck on the corner of Bowery and Houston, they serve vegan tacos, tostadas, mulitas, and, of course, birria consommé. The tacos are extremely flavorful and juicy even without the consommé, or you can add a side of the broth in a medium or large. There obviously isn’t any seating, but they do have shelves on the side of the truck where you can put your food down to eat while you stand, making it a great pit-stop for a bite on-the-go. The truck is cash-only but you don’t need to have a ton in your wallet, as everything is between $3.50 and $6.

Dudley’s
An Australian restaurant on the corner of Orchard and Broome, Dudley’s is a hit for weekend warriors. They don’t take brunch reservations, so you will most likely have to wait. I miraculously got a table for two at 12:45 p.m. on a Sunday, so it helps if you have a smaller party and go a little later than the brunch rush. The menu is a smorgasbord of “brekkie,” as the Aussies call it, pastas, burgers, salads, and bowls. If you want to dine at Dudley’s without playing the waiting game, they take reservations during the week.
85 Orchard St.

Katz’s Deli
Established in 1888, Katz’s is an iconic deli in the Lower East Side. If you’re walking around the area, you’ll know you’re getting close when you see a line wrapping around the block. While it’s somewhat of a tourist trap, it’s not overrated and the food really is good. The crowd at Katz’s can be overwhelming so here’s what you do: Once you finally walk through the door, get on one of the lines for the deli counter. It looks more like a mosh pit than a number of lines, but you’ll eventually make your way to the counter. Order your food — pastrami, corned beef, Matzah ball soup, all the fixings — and then try to find an empty table while trying not to drop the tray of massive sandwiches. It’s not for the weak, but it’s well worth it.
205 E Houston St.

Oh K-Dog
If you’ve never tried a Korean rice dog, add Oh K-Dog to your list of places to visit in the Lower East Side. They deep fry hot dogs and add toppings like potatoes or sweet potates, and sugar or cinnamon sugar. Then you choose from a variety of sauces, such as garlic sauce, sweet chili, honey mustard, and Gochu hot sauce; they’re like corn dogs, but so much better. If hot dogs aren’t your thing, they also sell egg toasts with ham and cheese; bacon, egg, and cheese; avocado; and more.
159 Ludlow St.

Pig and Khao
Pig and Khao has been serving Southeast Asian cuisine on Clinton Street since 2012. They’re open for dinner seven nights a week and also serve brunch on weekends. The green papaya salad is a light and zesty appetizer, and the khao soi — made with red curry, coconut milk, chicken, egg noodles, pickled mustard greens, and red onion — is the ultimate comfort food on a cold winter night or gloomy rainy day. For brunch, I highly recommend getting your caffeine fix via their Vietnamese iced coffee.
68 Clinton St.

Saigon Social
Owned by Chef Helen Nguyen, Saigon Social serves Vietnamese comfort food with a twist. With appetizers like chicken and cabbage dumplings, turmeric rice crepes, and lemongrass ribs, it’s hard to choose just one. Entree options include crispy fish (where you’re served an entire deboned fish), garlic noodles, and eggplant curry. If Bun Bo is the noodle soup of the day, it’s a no brainer.
172 Orchard St.

Scarr’s Pizza
If you’re on Orchard Street and there’s a line wrapped around the block, there’s a good chance it’s for Scarr’s Pizza. My recommendation: If you have the time (and the patience), get in line. They offer all the classics like cheese, pepperoni, grandma, and Sicilian, as well as some unique slices like the hotboi, topped with pepperoni, jalapeños, and hot honey. The sauce is amazing and the crust is the perfect ratio of crispy to doughy.
35 Orchard St.

Sunday to Sunday
Open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Sunday to Sunday is ideal for any occasion from weekend brunch to a weekday work spot. For brunch they have an even mix of breakfast items, like French toast and shakshuka, and lunch options, like pasta carbonara and a vegan BLAT. I can personally vouch for the breakfast burrito (called “not a wrapper” on the menu), with scrambled eggs, black beans, green peppers, hashbrowns, and cheese, and hot sauce on the side.
88 Orchard St.

Coffee Shops

Beloved Cafe & Restaurant
Beloved Cafe just opened in the Lower East Side in 2021. Their menu is completely vegetarian and everything is made from scratch in-house. At Beloved Cafe, the early bird gets the doughnut: get there between 8:30 and 9 a.m. for hot sourdough doughnuts fresh out of the oven. For the coffee, all of their syrups are made in-house and vegan and include flavors like vanilla bean, rose, and coconut caramel.
198 Allen St.

Black Cat LES
This cafe calls itself “your public living room,” and it really feels like that. With furniture like couches and upholstered chairs, it’s definitely a place where you can curl up with a coffee and a book. While most coffee shops close by late afternoon, Black Cat is open until 10 p.m. every night and has events like open-mic nights and comedy shows.
172 Rivington St.

Caffe Vita
The Lower East Side is packed with small but great coffee shops and Caffe Vita is one of them. When I say small, I’m not exaggerating: There’s no seating inside or out, but it’s a great spot for coffee to-go. The LES shop is their flagship NYC location, which opened in 2012, but since then the Seattle-based company has opened another outpost in Brooklyn.
124 Ludlow St.

Froth New York
With neon purple lights, Froth looks more like a club than a coffee shop. But they do in fact serve coffee and breakfast. They offer three types of breakfast tacos: The B.E.C. with bacon, egg, and cheese (duh); the classic (vegetarian) with egg, potato, and cheddar cheese; and the chorizo (vegan) with Impossible chorizo, refried beans, onions, and bell peppers. I actually wasn’t crazy about the B.E.C. and will definitely try the classic next time, but the chorizo was really good.
90 Rivington St.

Ludlow Coffee Supply
Ludlow Coffee Supply is a cute and cozy coffee shop on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side. They offer all the classic coffee concoctions AND Vietnamese iced coffee. They also have a location in Brooklyn. The Manhattan location is open until 11 p.m. every night and they now serve beer and wine.
176 Ludlow St.

Things To Do

Essex Market
Whether you’re looking for a sit-down meal, a quick bite, coffee, dessert, drinks, groceries, or even clothing or a vinyl record, Essex Market is your one-stop shop. Vendors include Café D’Avignon, L.E.S. Ice Cream Factory, New Star Fish Market, Unregular Pizza, and so much more. The lower level is called The Market Line, where you can find The Pickle Guys, Café Grumpy, several restaurants, and a clothing boutique.
88 Essex St.

Ludlow Flea Market
Open Wednesday-Sunday, Ludlow Flea Market sells a wide range of vintage items from clothing to jewelry to footwear. They have a rotating list of vendors, so the inventory is always different.
159 Ludlow St.

Paint N Pour
If you feel like all you do is go out to restaurants and bars with your friends, this is your sign to book a Paint N Pour class. For $60, you get two hours of open bar and a painting lesson; it’s basically arts-and-crafts for adults. And when they say that no artistic skills are required, they really mean it. (And then you can go out to restaurants and bars after to keep the party going.)
53 Delancey St.

Sesh Comedy
The stand-up scene in the city is superb, and the shows at Sesh Comedy are no exception. The club is the definition of “no-frills:” The space is less of a club and more like a room with rows of folding chairs facing the stage. As there isn’t a bar, the drink policy is BYOB, so be sure to stop by a liquor store on the way for a case of beer or seltzers.
140 Eldridge St.

Sweet Pickle Books
Only in New York can you find a store that sells both pickles and books. Sweet Pickle Books has used books in every genre, as well as dill spears, bread and butter, and spicy pickles. Jars range from $9.50-$12.95, but on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, you can donate a few books in exchange for free pickles. They sometimes even have a cart outside full of free books.
47 Orchard St.

Tenement Museum
The Tenement Museum allows visitors to get a firsthand look at life as an immigrant in New York City between the 1860s and 1980s. Their two historic buildings showcase recreated homes, and tell the stories of the families who lived there. In addition to the tenement apartment tours, the museum also offers walking tours of the Lower East Side.
103 Orchard St.

Bagel Shops

Davidovich Bakery
If you’re in the East Village/Lower East Side, you’re sure to come across one of their locations. They don’t serve regular bacon, but their turkey bacon is a good substitution for a BEC. They also have baked goods, salads, and sandwiches.
195 Bleecker St. | 79 Clinton St. | 88 Essex St. (inside Essex Market)

Russ & Daughters
Open since 1914, Russ & Daughters is a New York City institution. They do deli-style ordering where you take a number and wait for them to call it. Even when it’s super crowded, it’s pretty quiet inside because everyone is listening for their number. On the opposite side of the deli is their bakery where you can get sweets like assorted chocolates, black and white cookies, and babka bread. There’s even a line at 1:30 p.m. on weekends, which definitely isn’t as long as it would be during the breakfast rush, but this is another spot where you want to get there early to avoid waiting.
179 E Houston St.

Bakeries/Dessert Shops

BonBon
Entering BonBon on Allen Street is like revisiting your childhood. The Swedish Candy Store is lined wall-to-wall with bins of candies like sour watermelon, jelly hearts, Swedish fish, and chocolate-covered gummy bears. The entire experience is so nostalgic. Grab a bag and a scooper and go crazy.
130 Allen St.

Gooey on the Inside
There’s a huge debate over who has the best cookie in New York City, and Gooey on the Inside is a strong contender. The menu includes the birthday cake, with white chocolate chunks and rainbow sprinkles, dark chocolate caramel s’mores, and the bueno bueno, made with a hazelnut cream filling, milk and white chocolate, and pieces of Kinder Bueno. The staff heats them up for you in the shop, but they’ll still be soft on the inside even if you take them home and wait a while. All cookies are $7, but they do a “cookie happy hour” on Tuesday-Friday from 4-6 p.m., where the price is knocked down to $4.
163 Chrystie St.

Urban Dessert Lab
A Black and female-owned ice cream shop, Urban Dessert Lab is a completely customizable experience. First you pick a sweet creme, chocolate, or twist base, then choose a sauce like peanut butter, strawberry, or mint chocolate, and then add toppings like waffle cone pieces, cookie crumble, salted pecan, and more. They also have a menu of hand-selected fusions, and the chocolate peanut butter pretzel is my latest hyperfixation. Everything is plant-based and the ice cream is made with oat milk, making for a much lighter sweet treat.
95 Orchard St.

Bars

Chloe 81
Chloe 81 is an upscale lounge on Ludlow Street. I’ve only been there for a private event, so I can’t speak for its typical crowd, but it is a great venue to rent out. They have two floors and you can rent out one or both for holiday parties, wedding receptions, fashion shoots, etc. P.S. their drinks are very strong — don’t say I didn’t warn you.
81 Ludlow St.

Hair of the Dog
Look. I know this place gets a bad rap. The demographic here definitely skews younger, but I remember having so much fun here when I was freshly 21 so I’m not here to judge. Plus, it was the place where I discovered my love for pickle back shots, so it has sentimental value for me. If you’re young enough to live in Murray Hill, knock yourself out.
168 Orchard St.

Loreley Beer Garden
Known for seasonal events and decor, Loreley Beer Garden transforms into a spooky scene serving ciders out of pumpkin kegs in the fall, a heated winter wonderland for the holidays, a cozy lodge in the winter, a floral festival in the spring, and a beach club in the summer. You’ll definitely need a reservation year-round. The downstairs is also available to rent free-of-charge for private events that comes with a separate bar with bartenders, DJ booth, and bathrooms.
7 Rivington St.

Mr. Purple
Remember when everyone and their mother was posting pictures at a rooftop bar in the summer of 2017? That was Mr. Purple. It’s a popular hangout, so plan for having to wait in line, but the views really are phenomenal.
180 Orchard St.

Pretty Ricky’s
On the corner of Ludlow and Rivington, Pretty Ricky’s is in the center of the Lower East Side action. There’s plenty of seating both at the bar and at high tops where a server will come to you. The wine, draft beer, and cocktail options are all extensive. For me, it was a toss up between an espresso martini and the “air quotes,” made with tequila, rosé, San Pellegrino and sparkling wine. Our server recommended the espresso martini and she didn’t let me down. I haven’t had their food, but they do offer bar snacks like wings, fried pickles, and smashburgers.
101 Rivington St.

Tops Hops Beer Shop
On the first floor of Essex Market, Tops Hops Beer Shop offers a variety of craft beers, as well as wine and small bites. Their kegs change regularly, but I’ll always opt for whichever IPA is on tap. They also have Tops Hops Half Pint Tap Truck, a beer truck available to rent for private events in Westchester and Fairfield counties, the Hamptons, and the North Fork.
88 Essex St.