• Biltmore Room

  290 Eighth Avenue, 212-807-0111

  Don’t let the grand name fool you; the Biltmore Room doesn’t put on airs. Sure, its walls boast enough multicolor marble to stage a treaty signing, and the low-slung leather dining chairs are designed for women to throw their heads back in peals of lilting laughter. But the tacky, twinkly chandeliers and the Times Square–on–New Year’s crush at the bar should tip you off: The Biltmore is really a neighborhood place. From the gracious, flourish-free warmth of your greeting to the refreshing lack of fuss in Gary Robins’s vibrant fusion cuisine, the Biltmore makes you feel grand whether you’re in duchess satin or denim.

From the 2004 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine