Where to Eat Around Times Square, New York City

These are some of the best hidden gems around the Theatre District and Times Square.

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If you’re new here, and stumbled upon this blog through the mythical powers of the Internet, welcome! I know a lot of visitors to my website are people who randomly come upon this website through search engines like Google, but I also do have a lot of visitors who come back. Regardless: my name is Ashley, and I started this blog in order to keep track of everything I’m coming across in the world.

I went to college in New York City, and it was the first time living in a major American city besides Baltimore for me. Despite going to FIT and living in the middle of the hustle and bustle, I never really had money in college, so I never took advantage of being in the city.

Then I moved back home for the pandemic, but I would go up to New York about once a month once I was in grad school. The $1 bus tickets still existed back then, so I was living life large. Nowadays it’s about $100 for me to go to the city alone, which means I’ve been going a lot less lately. However, because I worked in the theatre district and simply saw a lot of shows, I ate my way around town.

I feel like if you’ve done your research about New York, a lot of the same restaurants come up again and again. Something I always try to do is intentionally eat at different places than the mainstream norm whenever I’m in town, and I have my own vetted research process that often doesn’t involve Instagram or TikTok. Over the years I’ve discovered that a lot of hyped places on Instagram/TikTok don’t live up to the hype.

That said, here are some of my favorite places to eat after, or before, a night out at the theatre. These are all places I’ve come back to over the years, especially when it comes to quality and price.

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YGF (Yang Guo Fu) Malatang is one of my favorite self-serve hotpot places in New York City.

Fun fact: YGF Malatang hasn’t been open that long, but it’s actually one of my most visited spots whenever I’m in New York City. When I lived in Korea the second time, when I was in Busan, I ate a lot of malatang because it was so delicious and customizable.

Located not too far from Penn Station, YFG specializes in malatangs that are either dry or in broth. You start by picking up your tongs and bowl, then go down the line of ingredients to pick out whatever you want to go in your dish. I always load up on the veggies, tofu, and then grab a little bit of the brisket at the end with a you tiao. How much you pay for your food depends on how much it weighs, but you could literally feed an entire family by filling a bowl or two.

Price wise I’ve never managed to spend more than $20 here, and I get about a pound of food every time and bring my own water. My go-to is the classic mala broth—I’ve never tried the dry options.

They have a DIY sauce bar at the end, so I make a vinegar and chili oil based dipping sauce, plus they have free water cups if you forget to bring a drink. It’s such a good option too if you’re vegetarian, as you can avoid getting the meat products and load up on tofu.

Joe’s Home of Soup Dumplings is a great spot for Shanghainese food—and it arrives quickly.

Joe’s Home of Soup Dumplings is somewhere I’ve taken my mother to and eaten alone at multiple times. It’s a cousin of Joe’s Shanghai down in Chinatown, although the prices are a little bit more adjusted for midtown Manhattan. This is a no frills Shanghainese restaurant.

Upon being seated, you’ll be given a menu and a water. The waiters will take your order, then I’ve never waited longer than ten minutes for my food beyond that point. You can watch the cooks hand rolling the wrappers for the dumplings while waiting, or enjoy a pot of tea. I’ve enjoyed that pot of tea plenty of times.

My go-to order here are the scallion pancakes and xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, if I’m alone. That leaves me stuffed for the rest of the day. If I’m with my mother or someone else, I’ll split a noodle dish. Everything I’ve had here I’ve genuinely enjoyed, and whenever I get the bill, I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I ate for that price in midtown Manhattan.

Rice x Beans has some of the most filling Brazilian food around Times Square at an affordable price.

Rice x Beans is a place where I’ve taken multiple people to before. And every single time, I order the same dish: the feijoada. When I was with someone I stay with, I split a flan dessert and the pao de quiejo with her, which were both very good, but I find the feijoada to be the star of the show here.

Feijoada is the national dish of Brazil, and it’s stuffed with smoked pork, beef, and beans. It’s rich, comforting, and, most of all, very filling. It’s meant to keep you going for the rest of the day.

When I’m by myself the single portion is more than enough food. I usually end up just eating half, as the plate comes with rice, collard greens, an orange slice, and farofa. With a Guarana on the side (preferably diet), this tends to be more than enough food. When I’ve gotten the portion for two people, it’s always been too much food on that end, too.

It’s a small spot, but whenever I’ve gone it hasn’t been full. Next time, I want to try one of their cocktails!

Cheeseboat Hell’s Kitchen is a great place to catch up with friends and eat cheese-filled bread with wine.

Where I’m from in Maryland only has a single Georgian restaurant, so every time I go out and eat Georgian food, I find that it’s quite the treat. I went to Cheeseboat for the first time when I was going to meet my boss, as it wasn’t too far from her apartment at the time, and so I snagged a reservation.

We were joined by someone else and the restaurant accommodated us well. Every time I’ve walked past, and when I ate here, it’s been packed, so a reservation might do you well. The stars of the show are the breads stuffed with cheese. When you come in you see the factory assembly line where they’re baking these bad boys. They’re so good.

I also recommend the khinkali, which are like soup dumplings. I split with the person I was with a khachapuri and the khinkali. She also ordered the wine flights and really liked them, as I told her Georgians were famous for their wine. It’s not too expensive, plus we sat and chatted for a long time—this is such a good spot to go to in Hell’s Kitchen area!

Chubby Skewers is an excellent spot for late-night Chinese barbecue and hanging out with friends.

Chubby Skewers is what my friend calls exactly like China. When you enter the restaurant you are hit with an assault of neon lights in cheerful Mandarin and a bunch of seats in the lower and upper sections that are very close to the ground. The concept here is simple: it’s Chinese barbecue that you roast over charcoal.

At the time of typing this, it is a $1.30 a skewer. It doesn’t matter what kind of skewer; they’re all $1.30. You go to the meat section and pick out your own skewers, which ranges from lamb, wagyu, seafood, chicken feet, and a wide variety of vegetables, then go roast it at your table as the mando-pop and k-pop blares behind you.

I tend to get a Tsingdao beer while I’m here and go to town. I never spend more than $30, as this is a nibbles place for me, but I see people getting so many skewers that it’s kind of crazy. They’re open late too, which makes this a great spot if you’re drunk and want something small but delicious to eat. I highly recommend popping in at least once!

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