Sun 20 Sep
Five New York rooms you can sit in tonight.
Sunday is when the city exhales — and when the list of rooms taking bookings thins out anyway. Tonight's five never had a book to begin with: four take no reservations at all, and the fifth keeps nearly the whole diner for the door.
We never hold, resell or book a table. Availability moves minute to minute, so go early rather than late.
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao
Flushing, Queens
The original Flushing shop of the city's most famous soup dumpling lineup — paper-thin xiao long bao, scallion pancakes, a short walk from the Main Street 7 stop. The kitchen runs until 11:30pm tonight, so there is no rush on the LIE of it all.
walk in — there is no booking system, the line is the reservation
Their own locations page heads the Flushing hours grid "Open Hours - Walk In Only," with Sunday on the Sun–Thu 8am to 11:30pm line.
Kopitiam
Lower East Side
Chef Kyo Pang's tiny Nyonya coffee-shop counter on East Broadway — otak-otak, Hainanese chicken rice, kaya toast and condensed-milk coffee in a room the size of a good mood.
walk in — no reservations are taken at all, grab a seat when one opens
Their own front page: "No reservations, walk ins only." with hours printed as "7 DAYS A WEEK 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM."
L'Industrie Pizzeria
Williamsburg
Brooklyn's benchmark slice counter on South 2nd Street — the burrata square, the delivery-truck murals, and just enough counter seating to make standing on the sidewalk part of the meal.
walk in — a slice shop with limited seating and no reservations, period
Their own site, in bold, twice: "WE DO NOT TAKE RESERVATIONS. WE ARE A SLICE SHOP WITH LIMITED SEATING." Their hours page prints Sunday 12pm to 10pm for the Brooklyn shop.
Hometown Bar-B-Que
Red Hook
Pit-smoked barbecue at the edge of the map — brisket, pork belly with pickled onions, smoked duck — under warehouse lights, with live music on weekend nights and both bars pouring while you wait.
walk in — order at the counter first come, first served, and go early or late: they cook until the day's meats sell out
Their own site: "we offer walk-up service to our counter on a first-come, first-served basis—until we sell out of that day's specially cooked offerings," with Sunday noon to 9pm. Closed Mondays, so tonight is the last seat of their week.
Veselka
East Village
The 2nd Avenue Ukrainian diner, going since 1954 — pierogi with onions and butter, cabbage rolls, late bowls of borscht under the stained-glass light. A New York Sunday institution that runs until 11pm.
walk in — the diner runs first come, first served; only a handful of tables are ever booked, so the door holds the room
Their own site: "We generally operate on a first come first served basis, but do take limited reservations," with the East Village room closing at 11pm on Sundays.
None of these work tonight? Tell us what does — $12.
Your party, your neighborhood, your hour. One person researches tonight and sends three to five rooms with the way in, under 10 minutes.
We loaded every one of these pages ourselves before writing this. Check their hours again before you put your coat on.
That’s tonight. Coat, keys, go.