Where to eat, sleep and shop in the Lower East Side, New York City

Gentrification has come thick and fast for the Big Apple’s Lower East Side, creating a booming nightlife, exceptional dining scene and thriving indie stores, but this area has managed to keep hold of its roots, as Lucy Thackray discovers

Expect busy brunches and on-trend places to stay in the Lower East Side (Gerry Images/iStockphotos)

Firmly in touch with its past but peppered with bars and restaurants setting a tone for the future, a stay in the Lower East Side gives an invigorating, 360-degree view of this city. Traditionally the first point of settlement for immigrants arriving via the city’s Ellis Island, it was once known for cramped tenement apartments and the small family businesses that sprang up around them.

In more recent years, it’s become a byword for cutting-edge dining and nightlife, mixed up with indie bookshops and white-box galleries. You’ll find it sleepy each morning, shutters closed on graffiti-streaked streets; but from afternoon into late night, it hums with locals letting off steam. But the LES hasn’t lost touch with its roots: legendary Jewish delis still see queues around the block, while a tradition for pickling vegetables (there was once a “Pickle Alley” here) lives on in several quirky shops.

A sprinkling of new hotels is making this the place to not just drink, eat and soak up the culture ‒ but also stay. Which is handy, as you’ll likely be out until 3am.

Read more: The best hotels in New York City

What to do

Tenement Museum

The Tenement Museum reimagines a building on Orchard Street which once held 22 apartments (Lucy Thackray)

A true highlight of an urban adventure here, the compact Tenement Museum reimagines an old tenement building on Orchard Street, which once held 22 apartments. For decades it sheltered families arriving into the US from Ireland, Eastern Europe, China and beyond, hoping to make a new life; now, dozens of spellbound preserved rooms tell their stories. Captivating guides present the (often moving) backgrounds of former tenants as you sit on their beds and sofas, perusing ceramic knick-knacks, 1950s kettles, record players and chintzy duvets; you can also join more general walking tours of the neighbourhood. Downstairs, a free screening room plays documentary films worth pausing for, while the shop is stacked with books on the immigrant experience, NYC souvenirs and LES tote bags.

Essex Market

Almost across the street from the museum, covered food hall Essex Market reopened in spring 2019, a loving restoration of a historic market that originally opened in 1940. Behind its neon signs you’ll find independent vendors with strong links to the local Jewish, Latinx and Italian communities, from bagels at Davidovich Bakery to cheeseburger empanadas from Dominican Cravings. Stop in for a coffee, to peruse the groceries and support family businesses such as Shopsin’s General Store.

Museum at Eldridge Street

You could easily stroll past this museum, a historic synagogue that whispers rather than shouts. The decline of the Jewish population here in the late 20th century saw Eldridge Street’s striking place of worship fall into disrepair, but a band of passionate patrons restored its beauty and transformed it into a museum, opening it in 2007. Today, it deconstructs the rituals and calendar of the faith as well as showcasing beautiful examples of wooden pews, prayer shawls, menorahs and a velvet-wrapped torah. You will be hypnotised by the huge painted dome in the main sanctuary, and the blue-green stained glass window with its swirl of stars. Monday is “pay what you can day”; usual entry fee is $15.

The historic Essex Market originally opened in 1940, and reopened in 2019 (Essex Market)

Where to stay

Moxy Lower East Side

This affordable boutique hotel occupies a tall tower on Bowery, the avenue that trims the Lower East Side, and it feels like a party from the minute you arrive. Locals flock to hang out on its glittering rooftop terrace, the Highlight Room, or sip nightcaps in its piano bar, Silver Lining. Stroll through the foliage-draped lobby with its six-foot bear statue and zoom up to smart but simple bedrooms – think mattresses that ease jet lag and downy-soft duvets, but no frills in the form of wardrobes, posh hairdryers or coffee machines. Sliding doors lead to modern bathrooms with power showers and full-sized toiletries. It’s worth booking ahead for its Sake No Hana restaurant.

Nine Orchard

This swanky boutique number opened in summer 2022, with 116 rooms occupying a Beaux Arts bank building. Custom furniture, period features and simple ice-white linens characterise calm and cool rooms, with spacious loft and terrace suites upping the luxury stakes; downstairs is a polished cocktail bar, the Swan Room, while the Corner Bar, a high-ceilinged all-day bistro, serves oysters, grilled fish and steaks, along with a comprehensive wine list.

The Nine Orchard’s terrace has a spectacular view of the NYC skyline (Booking.com)

Where to eat

Dudley’s

Brunch is a big part of New York life, particularly at the weekend. But you can tuck into a midday feast every day of the week at Aussie-American hangout Dudley’s, where a sociable crowd clinks mimosas on tables spilling out onto the pavement in warmer months. The menu is comfort food with a side of great coffee and daytime-friendly cocktails: think classy fried chicken sandwiches, ricotta hotcakes with banana and maple syrup. Huge glass punchbowls of sharing cocktails get the party started.

Pig & Khao

Filipino food is having a moment in the spotlight, so of course the LES has had a local institution serving its cuisine for nearly a decade. Leah Cohen is the ahead-of-the-curve chef and owner at Pig & Khao, which is inspired by her heritage and annual trips to the Philippines, Dig into spiced prawns in the lightest, crispiest batter shaken up with okra and spicy sauce, umami-packed Hainan duck, and the sweetest, creamiest coconut rice of your life (you’ll be begging for the recipe). The cocktails – such as whisky with lemon and chilli – are just as wow-factor; sip them surrounded by locals on dates or celebrating birthdays.

Dig into spiced prawns in the lightest, crispiest batter at Pig & Khao (Rachel Ayotte)

Russ & Daughters

Along with Katz’s Delicatessen (of When Harry Met Sally fame), the 1914-founded Russ & Daughters is one of NYC’s most famous Jewish delis. Queues for weekend brunch here still top an hour some weeks – put your name down, then have a stroll nearby – but it’s worth the wait for the novelty of sitting at its buffed marble tables and polished counter, beneath metallic trim and illuminated signs for lox, rugelach and schmaltz herring. Many locals still shop at its takeaway counter, but sit in for your plump bagels and salmon, comforting knishes (potato cakes) and matzo ball soup.

Where to drink

Caffeine fix

Hip coffee shops are dotted all over this district, but a few of the best are Brooklyn transplant Grumpy’s (the original starred in Girls), sourdough-serving Beloved Cafe, and understated, bean-worshipping Ludlow Coffee Supply.

Thief LES

Walls are scrawled with Basquiat-esque street art at this pumping Ludlow Street watering hole, along with portraits of the man himself, while Beastie Boys and Run DMC tracks vibrate the walls. You can get ambitious whisky and tequila cocktails, bar bites and East Coast brews here – a place to mingle with locals and get fired up for the night ahead.

Parcelle

A retro-styled wine bar on Divison Street, Parcelle does tasting nights and sommelier talks as well as being a cool spot to pop in for a glass of red or white. Tuck into charcuterie and cornichons or “chunks of fancy parm” from the substantial nibbles menu, or drop by for Thursday’s Wine School, from 4pm.

Ray’s

An instant hit when it opened in 2019, Ray’s is a modern spin on a dive bar – though the owners (including actor Justin Theroux and Nicholas Braun, aka Succession’s Greg) prefer to call it a “hometown bar” in the big city. Vintage Americana is the order of the day, from a disco ball to the pool table and checkerboard floors, via a vast American flag on the wall. Expect rock and hip hop blasting from the speakers as you order beers, whiskies and buffalo bites.

Where to shop

Sweet Pickle Books

The shop is a cult favourite that even has its own merch (Lucy Thackray)

Your cluttered, boho bookshop of dreams, with a twist – the team also makes and sells hulking jars of pickles, on display between used and rare copies of novels, memoirs and encyclopedias. Sweet Pickle is such a cult fave that it has its own merch, including tote bags and T-shirts of a book proffering a dill pickle. Who could resist?

November 19

Dreamy concept store November 19 is part-Japanophile, part-trinket hoarder. One could spend hours admiring its doughnut-shaped candles, linen dresses, locally-designed jewellery and Japanese kitchenware.

Edith Machinist

Vintage fans are spoiled for choice in this area, but Edith Machinist is one of the best for pre-loved leather bags, one-off hats, floral tea dresses and retro Fair Isle jumpers. Channel your inner Carrie Bradshaw and look out for designer pieces among the jumble.

Getting there

Trying to fly less?

Your only option outside of flying is a ship, whether cruise or cargo: Cunard’s lavish Queen Mary 2 runs between Southampton and New York roughly once a month, taking 21 nights. Otherwise, look into a cargo ship crossing at Voyagesencargo.com.

Fine with flying?

Virgin Atlantic flies direct to New York from Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Edinburgh from £363 return, also offering good value flight and hotel packages.

Read more on the best New York hotels