Best American Restaurants in Chinatown

The Odeon is a perfect New York experience…. Lively, bustling, fantastic food and drinks. It was the perfect place to spend Christmas Eve!

We tried The Crosby Bar’s afternoon tea after years of going to The Plaza. The Crosby’s gluten free offerings were delicious and we preferred their GF scones. The Crosby was also a better value; the finger sandwiches were bigger and we had the option of asking for more at no extra charge. Truly excellent. We will be back.

If you order a cheeseburger as I did, note that's all you get, no little greens or fries with it. Also, it's the yellow sliced, non-cheese cheese. The host noted that the people in front of us did not have a reservation and then disappeared without saying anything to us--we did have a reservation, and our friends (as it turned out) were already there, but we ended up waiting about ten minutes for the host to arrive, ask about our reservation and shown to our table. I had asked for a quiet table so we could talk. I understand it's never "quiet," but did not expect to be seated right next to the speaker and right next to others on the long bench. We were shouting just to hear each other. They could have given us a separate table atleast, away from the speakers. I won't be coming back though everyone was friendly, because this is New York and there are other choices.

So by day, this spot is a normal cafe. But by night, it apparently turns into a Korean street food stand. You go through the cafe and to the backyard, where there's a beautiful hut hiding a chef grilling up giant shrimp and mackerel. The seating is outdoor so dress warmly. There's some heating elements but not enough. The table seats are also a bit low so if you're not ok with that, make sure you snag a seat by the bar. We were a bit disappointed when we got there and they told us there was no pork belly or galbi. That was literally half the menu! Halfway through our dinner, galbi became available so we ordered a grilled one. The noodle soup and Oden were the best. Both was Seoul (get it?) warming. The giant shrimp was fresh and grilled nicely. The chicken fried rice tasted mostly like butter unfortunately. And the grilled galbi was 90% bone and no meat. All their cocktails are soju based. The cold brew cocktail taste like watered down coffee. But the soju mule was tasty. Overall I'll give these guys a 3.5. I'll come back for the vibes and good service. The chef offered us more broth as we were finishing the noodles. Maybe we'll try the other dishes next time assuming they're available.

The wait staff was attentive and helpful and the menu very original.