The West Village is known for impossible reservations, but some of its best meals don’t need one. After months of wandering, these are the five places I keep coming back to.
L’industrie Pizzeria
L’industrie started in Williamsburg in 2017, opened by Massimo Laveglia, who grew up in Tuscany. Its Manhattan outpost at 104 Christopher Street serves the same slices that made the original famous. The dough goes through a three day cold fermentation, which gives it a light, airy crust that still folds like a real New York slice, and many toppings come straight from Italy. The order is the burrata slice: two big dollops of cold, creamy burrata on a hot slice, and that hot and cold contrast is the whole point. Expect a line, but it moves quickly, and don’t skip the gelato on your way out. Bonus: Mama’s Too is just around the corner if you want to make it a pizza crawl.
Recommendation: The burrata slice with creamy burrata on a hot slice.
Mamoun’s Falafel
Mamoun’s opened on MacDougal Street in 1971 in a tiny storefront of about 200 square feet, making it the oldest falafel spot in New York. Back then, a falafel sandwich cost 75 cents. The price has gone up, but it’s still one of the cheapest, most satisfying meals in the city: crispy falafel stuffed into a warm pita with lettuce, tomato and tahini. Add a drizzle of their hot sauce, and if you have room, grab the knafe, shredded phyllo with pistachios. It’s open late, so it works just as well at 1am as it does at lunch.
Recommendation: The falafel sandwich with a drizzle of their hot sauce.
Hamburger America
George Motz has spent decades studying the American burger, from his James Beard nominated documentary to his books and YouTube series. Hamburger America at 51 MacDougal (the entrance is on Houston) is his first restaurant, designed to feel like a classic burger counter from another era. The star is the fried onion burger, an Oklahoma style burger where thinly sliced onions are smashed right into the beef so they cook together. The patties are pressed with a custom spatula Motz had made in Argentina. Pull up a counter stool, order an egg cream or a Miller High Life, and finish with key lime pie. There are no milkshakes, on purpose.
Recommendation: The fried onion burger with an egg cream.
Claude Bakery
This tiny bakery on West 4th Street has a story. It opened in 1982 as Patisserie Claude, run by a baker from Brittany known as much for his temper as his croissants. When he retired, his longtime assistant kept it going for years. Today, pastry chef Anthony Roonchareon, who moved to New York from Thailand, has revived it as Claude Bakery. The croissants are still excellent, but the must order is the Manhattan Blackout Cake, devil’s food cake with chocolate ganache and sprinkles, which has gone viral. Anthony’s personal favorite is the strawberry rhubarb danish when it’s in season.
Recommendation: A slice of the Manhattan Blackout Cake.
Semma
Semma, at 60 Greenwich Avenue, opened in 2021 and earned a Michelin star within a year. The name means “excellent” in Tamil, and Chef Vijay Kumar cooks the food of Tamil Nadu, the region where he grew up, using recipes rooted in his family’s home cooking. The gunpowder dosa, a thin, crispy crepe filled with spiced potato and finished with ghee, comes with sambar and chutneys and is on nearly every table. For something new, try the mulaikattiya thaniyam, a sprouted grain dish inspired by the chef’s childhood snacks, or the attu kari sukka, tender lamb in a deeply spiced curry. Reservations open about a month out and disappear fast, so set a reminder.
Recommendation: The gunpowder dosa.
The best part of the West Village is that you don’t have to choose. One night it’s a Michelin starred dinner, the next it’s a falafel sandwich from a shop that has barely changed in fifty years. Every block has something worth stopping for.
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