The Best Restaurants for Power Lunches in New York City

Long before Nordic cuisine became the darling of the food world, Aquavit was a pioneer of modern Scandinavian cooking serving contemporary interpretations of Swedish classics. That was in 1987. Today, the restaurant continues to present creative dishes through the lens of Chef Emma Bengtsson. At lunch, diners can choose from a tasting menu, as well as two- or three-course options, with dishes such as matjes herring with rye crisps and sour cream, Swedish meatballs and kroppkakor (potato dumplings) with mushrooms and brown butter. A princess cake with raspberry and whipped cream provides a fitting finish.

Tucked inside the The Fifth Avenue Hotel in NoMad, Café Carmellini is set in a striking dining room that channels old New York. The menu marries French and Italian cooking with a New York sensibility, delivering a refined setting well suited to a pow-wow with colleagues, especially in a group. Lunch dishes include crab mille-feuille in Meyer lemon sauce, lobster frittata and a crowd-pleasing chicken under a brick.

Ci Siamo is an ode to live-fire cooking in Manhattan West, just adjacent to Hudson Yards — two major new commercial hubs in New York City. At Ci Siamo, celebrated restaurateur Danny Meyer and Chef Hillary Sterling bring together a space that is both welcoming and efficient. The kitchen turns out rich pastas, like pappardelle in a beef cheek amatriciana with pecorino and chiles, alongside hearty proteins such as chicken Milanese and olive oil–poached cod with salmoriglio, olives and capers, many designed for sharing. MICHELIN Guide Inspectors note one standout: “caramelized onion torta is enough to warrant a return, with melting onions packed into a delicate crust, buried under two kinds of pecorino and finished in the wood-burning oven.”

Set on the ground floor of a 1932 Art Deco skyscraper in FiDi, Crown Shy roots its cooking in European technique while drawing inspiration from around the world. Guests can choose between a reasonably priced à la carte or prix fixe menu, with executive chef Jassimran Singh layering bold flavors into dishes like a pork katsu sandwich with curry béarnaise and fennel slaw, and Arctic char with mole rojo and Brussels sprouts. Not to be missed are the tandoori flatbreads.

Since 1986, Le Bernardin has been a top choice for pristine seafood, guided by the philosophy that the fish is the star of the plate. This Midtown institution represents fine dining at its most polished. Under the direction of Chef Eric Ripert and an exceptionally professional team, diners can opt for a three-course prix fixe lunch organized into three categories: “almost raw,” “lightly touched” and “barely cooked.” Expect dishes such as hamachi, sashimi and oysters, followed by miso-glazed black cod or warm smoked sea trout, then tamarind-glazed skate wing or poached lobster in red wine sauce Bourguignonne. The setting encourages quiet conversation, with an elegant dining room and soft jazz.

At Le Pavillon, Chef Daniel Boulud and co-executive Chef Will Nacev oversee a contemporary, globally inflected menu spanning land and sea, with a strong emphasis on vegetables. Lunch features a two- or three-course prix fixe, as well as a six-course tasting menu. Dishes may include a Vidalia onion tart with Époisses emulsion; diver scallops with seared little gem, almond, Amalfi lemon and aioli; or a grilled avocado with einkorn berries, charred kale and green goddess yogurt. Located in the One Vanderbilt skyscraper near Grand Central Terminal, the dining room is designed as a natural landscape, with lush greenery, olive trees and soaring ceilings that create a notably serene setting — an escape from the city both day and night.