Where to eat in New York City

A restaurant in the Seagram Building on East 52nd Street, in the room that was the Four Seasons, now run by Major Food Group and given over to American classics carved and finished at the table. Has a really nice old-timey feel and excellent quality steak.

Address: 99 E 52nd St, New York, NY 10022, USA

A Shanghainese restaurant on St. Mark's Place, its rooms strung with red and cream lanterns, where the menu runs from chicken soaked in Shaoxing wine to stir-fried rice cakes with pork and leeks. This is my favourite Chinese restaurant in NYC. They have the absolute best soup dumplings. They are a little delicate but bursting with flavour.

Address: 19 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003, USA

A Sichuan restaurant on West 37th Street, its vintage dining room designed by Yiming Wang, serving regional specialities alongside the dishes everyone knows. There are non-spicy options too for those who see the word Sichuan and automatically assume they can't eat here. Trust me, as someone who can't tolerate spicy food, I had a great meal here.

Address: 59 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018, USA

A Shanghainese restaurant on East 48th Street, run by the son of a restaurateur who opened his own xiao long bao house in 1994, with the recipes handed down from father to son. Solid quality soup dumplings for a quick bite.

Address: 7 E 48th St, New York, NY 10017, USA

Danny Meyer's Italian restaurant on West 33rd Street, set deep inside the Manhattan West development, where Hillary Sterling cooks behind an open kitchen. This is my favourite Italian restaurant in NYC. Their pastas are perfect, and they have some of the most delicious cherry tomatoes I've ever had.

Address: 440 W 33rd St Ste 100, New York, NY 10001, USA

An Emilia-Romagna restaurant on East 20th Street in the Flatiron District, built around handmade pasta, from anolini di Parma to gramigna with a slow-braised sausage ragù in bianco. Great quality pasta dishes, also delicious mortadella and stracciatella starters.

Address: 27 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003, USA

Andrew Carmellini's Italian restaurant at 50 Hudson Yards, a second room for the osteria he opened in Tribeca, serving what it calls urban Italian cooking. Decent Italian in a pleasantly designed setting.

Address: 50 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001, USA

The New York room of a Tokyo ramen house, on West 36th Street, where the noodles are made in-house and the tonkotsu is the bowl to order. Best ramen I've had in NYC.

Address: 13 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018, USA

Masa Takayama's more casual room on the fourth floor of the Shops at Columbus Circle, next door to Masa itself. I've been going to Bar Masa for many years, more than any other restaurant in NYC, and it's been consistently good.

Address: 10 Columbus Cir, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10019, USA

A taqueria on West 34th Street by Hudson Yards, run as a street-style counter with no seating, serving tacos, quesadillas, and aguas frescas from family recipes. Great-quality tacos for NYC. Was a bit spicy for me, but I still enjoyed it.

Address: 508 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001, USA

Aman New York's speakeasy-style club in the Crown Building on West 56th Street, with live music nightly and a light menu drawn from across the Aman hotels. Very difficult to get a booking here, so make sure you plan. The food was good as well, but sadly I didn't take photos as it was pretty dark.

Address: 9 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019, USA

Major Food Group's bakery and dining room on West Broadway in SoHo, founded in 2015 and named for co-founder Jeff Zalaznick's great-grandmother, is built around bagels and smoked fish. Mouth-wateringly good food. Generous portions make it a great place for a filling breakfast.

Address: 463 W Broadway, New York, NY 10012, USA

Ron Silver's American restaurant on Hudson Street in Tribeca, sourcing off what it calls the commercial food grid and known for its homemade pies. Great for typical American dishes and satisfying brunch items.

Address: 120 Hudson St, New York, NY 10013, USA