Fig & Olive

A neighborhood go-to for great wine and delicious food. Subtly located on the Upper East Side on Lexington Ave. (btw. 61st & 62nd), Fig & Olive is a great place to grab a drink and appetizers. Good for a quiet night with a friend or a good date night.There are two other locations though, one on 5th Avenue and 52nd Street and the third location is in the Meatpacking District- 13th St. btw. 9th Ave and Washington St.
Siting down for dinner you are greeted by three different extra virgin olive oils from three different regions. Some Fig & Olive signature dishes include Couscous with Figs and Greek Yogurt. I personally love their cheese plates (naturally!) and their Manchego, Fig Spread and Almond Crostini, the Mushroom and Truffle Soup and the Fig & Olive Salad (figs, olives, tomato, shaved parmesan, manchego, gorgonzola dolce, goat cheese walnuts, green apples, 18 year balsamic fig vinegar dressing).

Mercer Kitchen

Mercer Kitchen is a New York hot spot inside the Mercer Hotel in Soho headed by famed chef Jean-Georges. My favorite detail about the restaurant is the bubble glass ceiling above the lover dining room where patrons can watch passersby walk across the roof that doubles as the Soho sidewalk outside the restaurant.One of my roommates and I surprised our other roommate by taking her out for drinks and appetizers at Mercer Kitchen for her birthday. I ordered a delicious seasonal cocktail that was a concoction of champagne and apple cider. Other fabulous sounding drinks on their drink menu include the Kumquat Mojito, Champagne Passion, Ginger Margarita and the Vodka Thyme Lemonade.
For our appetizers we shared the Butternut Squash Soup with black trumpet mushrooms, Shaved Fennel Salad and the Roasted Market Beets with goat cheese- all of which were amazing. The menu is full of other creative dishes that would satisfy vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.
Located at 99 Prince St. (at Mercer St.); reservations are highly recommended and can be made via OpenTable.

Barbonia

I finally visiting another restaurant I've wanted to try, Barbiona is near Union Square located at 20^th & Park. The restaurant is very large with a full bar on the side. I went after work on Thursday night with some colleagues. I have to say, I wasn't very impressed with our pushy waiter. We were seated around 7pm and greeted by our waiter who made us order appetizers and entrees all at once, insisting that the kitchen would have too many orders coming in later so it was best to place everything at once. I ordered the Israeli Salad I asked for no cucumbers but asked if it was still served with lettuce, he mumbled and nodded yes. Well he must have totally misunderstood me because I was literally served a bowl of diced tomatoes and onions. Good thing we ordered a side of asparagus to share for the table too so I could add some green into my salad.

Even though our service wasn’t the best and my meal wasn’t sensational, it was a still a fun dinner in a good environment. I would recommend going to Barbonia for drinks and appetizers after work.

Bocca di Bacco

Having not seen photos of this new restaurant before going I was pleasantly surprised. The big decorated doors (yes, just like this photo) opened up to an exposed brick, full wine bar venue. There is plenty of wine on tap and a long table for patrons to share apps and vino. Even though I'm a big fan of sharing appetizers with friends. I definitely recommend staying for a full meal at Bocca di Bacco. My sister had pumpkin gnocchi while my mom ordered their homemade pumpkin ravioli. This was the second restaurant we went to during their week long stay in NYC and by the end of their trip this was their most memorable meal! The dessert menu was tempting with but my mom and sister were off to see Rent so we couldn't stay, if you get a chance to try the desserts at Bocca di Bacco please let me know how it is!
Warming: Bocca di Bacco only accepts cash and Amex.
But... you can make reservations at Open Table.