Tue 29 Sep
Five New York rooms you can sit in tonight.
Tuesday is the easiest seat of the week in New York, so tonight's five use it: every one of them is a counter you simply show up to, and none of them has a book to fight.
We never hold, resell or book a table. Availability moves minute to minute, so go early rather than late.
Katz's Delicatessen
Lower East Side
The deli that never left 1912 — pastrami carved by hand at the counter, rye wrapped in paper, a ticket you keep like a receipt from history. At night the neon and the sawdust floor do something no new room can fake.
walk in — take a ticket at the counter and hand it to the carver; there is no booking to get into
Their own hours page prints "Monday - Thursday: 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM," and the only reservation anywhere on their site is a "Group Reservations" link — dinner runs on the ticket you take at the counter.
Scarr's Pizza
Lower East Side
The Orchard Street slice counter that mills its own pepperoni and fries its squares in seed oil — a room the size of a hallway with the best button in the city: a slice, eaten standing, at 11pm on a Tuesday.
walk in — order at the counter; there is no working reservation page at all
Their own hours page prints "Sunday - Wednesday 11:30am - 11pm," and the "Reservations" item in their site nav leads to a 404 — no booking page exists.
Sake Bar Decibel
East Village
Down the stairs under East 9th Street: a cramped, loud, wonderful basement sake bar — hundreds of bottles, fried chicken skin, oden, and salarymen three inches from your elbow. The closest thing to Tokyo's Golden Gai that New York keeps.
walk in — the room calls itself a walk-in bar; only a handful of tables are ever booked
Their own site prints Tuesday "6pm - 2:50am," and their Resy page states "We are predominantly a walk-in bar. Limited reservations are available 10 days in advance."
Los Tacos No.1
Chelsea
The adobada trompo inside Chelsea Market that became the city's reference taco — crispy chicken, guacamole, a paper bag lunch that ruins other lunches. The Market's arcade hum is part of the meal.
walk in — order at the counter, eat at the standing rails; nothing is ever booked
Their own locations page prints the Chelsea Market room "Monday - Sunday" "11am - 10pm," and there is no reservation channel anywhere on their site.
Xi'an Famous Foods
Williamsburg
The hand-pulled noodle counter on North 8th — biang biang noodles with chili oil, spicy cumin lamb, stewed oxtail, in a fluorescent room that does not care about your plans. Arrive before 9: the kitchen closes early.
walk in — order at the counter and grab a stool; there is no booking channel at all
Their own locations page prints the Williamsburg room "Every day: 11:30-9:00," with no way to book anywhere on their site.
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.