Whether you’ve been at a Broadway spectacular or a late-night jazz concert or you’ve been propping
up the bar in one of Midtown’s speakeasies, it’s now time for a “night bite.” Here are three deluxe
locations to get a good meal—with no greasy pizza or underwhelming burrito in sight!—in the wee
small hours near the no-fee luxury apartments at ARO in Midtown West.
Quality Meats | 57 West 58th Street
Given its name, it is perhaps little surprise that Quality Meats takes its cue from the traditional butcher
shops of New York past: stainless-steel features, ceramic tiles, and meat hooks lend an industrial vibe
to this joint, but, trust us, it couldn’t be more chicly done. The same goes for the food in this Midtown
gem: start with a serving of saline Beau Soleil oysters or crab and avocado before sharing a porterhouse
steak between two, with a side of herb-roasted baby potatoes. This is a menu of unashamedly bold
American classics, with an upmarket twist, and it’s tough to find a (carnivorous) New Yorker who
doesn’t love it. Ideal for those times you find yourself waltzing out of a bar at 11 pm with a hankering
for timeless food, cooked with contemporary panache.
Il Gattopardo | 13-15 West 54th Street
In continental Europe, eating late is the done thing. So, for Il Gattopardo, it’s only natural to be serving
up grilled octopus with celery hearts; beef and veal meatballs; Sicilian couscous with
shellfish ragu; and broiled bass until 11:30 pm on weekdays and Saturdays and until 10 pm on Sundays.
While you’re here, you may as well keep the vino flowing too: this calls for a bottle of Billecart–Salmon
Brut Reserve. Enjoyed in the setting of a renovated 19th-century townhouse, accompanied by a lilting
Southern Italian soundtrack? Sheer luxury.
Refinery Rooftop | 63 West 38th Street
Crowning Midtown’s Refinery Hotel is the Refinery Rooftop, a lofty oasis for the urbane diner—in
particular those who appreciate a view. To accompany the cinematic landscape of Manhattan that
glistens before you, there’s an accomplished cocktail menu (order the Black Currant Mule, made with
Grey Goose vodka, cassis, and ginger beer), and the kitchen is open until 11 pm. There’ll be no eye
rolls, then, from the chef, when you turn up at 10.45 and put in an order for ramen-spiced shishitos,
followed by the Hawaiian flatbread, made with pickled pineapple and smoked prosciutto.
Whichever show you’ve just been to, NYC’s after-dark skyline is the finest show of them all. While
you’re admiring the scenery, see if you can make out your ARO luxury apartment high on the horizon.