As you may have guessed, I spend a lot of time in New York City. However, I rarely am in the city on a weekend. Yes, I know my way around, and I use the subway almost exclusively. However, on the weekends that can change! Let's get on with it!
1. Weekends vs. Weekdays in New York City. There are millions of people in New York City. That doesn't include the massive influx of visitors that come by, especially in the summer. Summertime is vacation time, and up to 18 million people come to visit New York City during this season every single year. There are lots of events on the weekends as well, so most tourists visit then. This is a bit cathartic if you don't relish crowds.
Just know that if you join the massive crowds descending upon New York on the weekends that you will be dealing with a million or so extra people, diminished subway operation, locals in the mix for leisure activities and so on. While there is extra ferry service on the weekends in the summer, it doesn't make up for the buses, trains and subways offering less. Public beaches like Rockaway and Coney Island are totally overrun on nice weekend days. Restaurants that you can walk into on a weekday suddenly need a reservation, and if you don't get there because your subway is only running at half schedule or skipping your stop, you might get charged $25 just because you didn't show up for that reservation.
When I go into the city on a weekday, there is rush hour on the subway. However, no one is doing construction on a weekday, so there are more subways and they are more reliable. Other than that, it's calm compared to the weekends in the summer. All I can say is contemplate this carefully.
If you are attending an event, your hands are tied. If you're visiting museums, parks, venues, etc. Check for weekday closures and think about going on a weekday schedule. You'll be able to get around easier, get a table easier, not get stuck in as many lines and crowds, and probably have a better time.
https://www.nyctourism.com/things-to-do/events-and-festivals/
https://www.viator.com/blog/ways-to-beat-the-crowds-in-new-york-city/l50138
https://www.iloveny.com/blog/post/new-york-on-a-budget-free-and-low-cost-things-to-do-in-nyc/
2. The Time Out Market, DUMBO, Brooklyn. This is a story that you might not like. My husband and I just finished walking the Williamsburg Bridge and were hungry. We hauled our butts all the way over to DUMBO, because the Time Out Market had been advertising all week about how they were turning part of the market into a little Portugal and this was Lisbon weekend!
We are huge fans of Portugal, and we even intend to retire there. We love the food and thought it was well worth the time and trouble to make our way over there, even though we knew well that there was a watch party forming feet away for the finals of the World Cup. We hopped two subways and walked down from High Street to Brooklyn Bridge Park to go to The Time Out Market. We followed the signs through the apparently non participating vendors to the second floor where we were told was Portuguese Food being cooked in the Lisbon fashion.
What we found after walking through the entire market and going up to the second floor and all the way through that, was that a single vendor was selling Bifana sandwiches. That was it. Not joking. We looked all over and couldn't even find a glass of Port wine. The lesson I learned from that was to be wary of themes at Time Out Market. I thought of it as a hoax. While the views off the second floor deck are amazing, and the food in the Market is good; there was nothing special going on there. So, if you want to go for the regular food; it's good and varied throughout the vendors. If you're counting on that theme; I wouldn't bother.
https://www.timeout.com/time-out-market-new-york
https://www.nyctourism.com/restaurants/time-out-market-new-york/
https://brooklynbridgepark.org/
https://dumbo.nyc/publicspaces/
3. Golden Hof Korean BBQ, 48th Street, Manhattan. This place is both a gem and a travesty. This is one of the places where you can cook your own food over a grill in your table. I love these places! My husband loves to cook the food! It's an experience that you shouldn't miss.
However, apparently visitors to New York don't understand how this works. We were up by Rockefeller Center, so I was pretty sure there were very few locals in this place on a Saturday night in July. The entire time we were there, we were the only people enjoying the experience. The servers asked us if we wanted them to cook it for us, and we thought that sounded crazy. It wasn't a hibachi with a show. It was a Korean BBQ with a grill.
Then I looked around to see that we were the only ones using the grill. Many tables had someone cooking for them. Other tables, the servers had used the grill to keep the plates of food warm. It was bizarre to me. There are a bunch of Korean BBQ places that you can go to and just order food. At Golden Hof, if you don't wish to cook, you could just reserve a table on the upper floor. Other types of Korean BBQ's are far less expensive. Why bother with the one designed for you to have the experience of grilling for yourself?
Anyway, the food was delicious and the experience was fabulous. If you aren't joining in the experience on this one, you're missing out. I find it a real shame. If you want to give it a real try, Golden Hof was great and the staff were patient, accommodating and kind.
https://www.goldenhof.com/about
https://www.yelp.com/biz/golden-hof-new-york-5
https://resy.com/cities/new-york-ny/venues/golden-hof?date=2026-07-23&seats=2
https://www.instagram.com/goldenhofny/?hl=en
4. H. K. Wonton Garden, Mulberry Street, Chinatown, Manhattan. This is my husband's favorite place, maybe on Earth. He loves the Duck Soup. To be fair, I've never had bad food in this place, and while he always gets the Duck Soup, I try something different almost every visit. We've been stopping off here for more than 15 years, and it never disappoints.
When in Chinatown, there are some things to know. First, most people who visit Chinatown, only really know the main drag on Canal Street. I promise you, the best parts of the neighborhood are on other streets. Most people go to Mulberry Street and go the opposite direction of our favorite restaurant to visit Little Italy. This is a local gem, and the food is fantastic. There's even a bit of a language barrier, but it's no where near enough to make it worth going somewhere else.
I love this one. Can't recommend it enough. Always good food. Always a place to sit, because it's a local place. Always good service and pleasant atmosphere. This is a good one!
https://www.yelp.com/biz/h-k-wonton-garden-new-york
https://hkwontongardennyc.com/
https://www.untappedcities.com/secrets-chinatown-manhattan/
5. The Frying Pan, 12th Avenue at pier 66, Hudson Riverfront, Manhattan. This is a pub. Let me be clear. A pub and bar. We ate fish and chips like I do most of the time when I visit a pub. However, this place is wild.
The Frying Pan is a collection of floating items turned into a seasonal restaurant, and basically a pub. The focal point is the lighthouse ship named the Frying Pan Shoals. I understand they use these in the Carolinas to this day, but this one has been retired for decades. Apparently, it was even used at the Panama Canal once. There was also a collection of other boats, a water wheel, a caboose from the Lackawanna Railroad and you entered across a floating bridge. Was that all cool? Yes!
We did make a reservation for this, but you can try to just walk on. Once again, we were there on a Friday night. If you visit during the week, it will be less crowded. One of my favorite parts was the view over the Hudson River. You can't beat it.
Now, the food was good. The boats and everything was cool. The view was fantastic. However, this was a multi sectioned pub and bar over a few different boats that were all connected. The staff was sparse and due to understaffing, everything was slow and a bit difficult. Our first table, in a restaurant that was in no way filled to capacity, was in the setting sun and it was hot and we couldn't see. We had to ask to be moved. The hostess was reluctant but moved us anyway. After our initial order, we couldn't find anyone to get another drink or the bill. We waited a normal amount of time for our initial order, but we waited almost an hour to pay. Little weird, but they did seem understaffed.
Overall, I liked the Frying Pan. It is pricey for what you get, but the view alone can really be worth it on a nice night. Just be prepared to stay awhile, because it can be hard to get the check.
https://www.fryingpan.com/the-big-red-boat/
https://hudsonriverpark.org/activities/frying-pan/
https://newyorkcliche.com/2014/09/03/bar-barge-and-boat-the-frying-pan-nyc/
http://www.bigapplesecrets.com/2014/09/the-frying-pan-historical-boat-and.html
There you have it. I love to visit local restaurants when I travel and New York City has some of the most fascinating local restaurants anywhere. I love a different venue, various cuisines, and an experience to remember. I hope that you try most of these suggestions. I did truly love Golden Hof, and the Frying Pan, while H. K. Wonton Garden has been a favorite for years.
If you'd like to see what I'm up to right now, check out my YouTube channel, "Adventures for Anyone with Terri Dixon." That's me!
https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresforanyone2026
Never stop adventuring! There's so much to see and do out there that it would be tragic if you didn't get in on at least a little bit of it. Join me each week and follow if you'd like to be notified of my next post! Thanks for joining me! Enjoy!
