35 ways to have the best summer in NYC – Time Out New York

“Soak up the sun as well as our list of recommendations for the best things to do during summer in New York.”
By Shaye Weaver and Krista Diamond

“This summer in NYC promises to be an unforgettable one now that our city is back up. The city has a boundless energy once the heat cranks up, and doubly so this year, so it’s time to start checking off our sensational list of things to do in summer in NYC. Some of the most popular New York attractions provide an endless list of things to do outside from rooftop movies and free dance parties to can’t-miss music festivals and more. Here’s how to make the absolute most of these steamy summer nights.

Tip: You may want to request off for a few staycation days too so you can spend some time relaxing at a few rooftop pools during the week when they’re less crowded.”

35 ways to have the best summer in NYC

Do dinner and drinks at Time Out Market New York

Broadway at the Drive-In

Be a disco diva at Lola Star’s Dreamland Roller Disco

Catch “In the Heights” at the Tribeca Film Festival

See live music at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival

Try the city’s best bites at Smorgasburg

Take in a show at Irving Plaza, finally

Get down at Hot Honey Sundays

Get free entry to the 1885 Tall Ship Wavertree

Skate around at TWA Hotel’s Roll-A-Rama

Celebrate Pride!

Visit NYC’s gorgeous floating park

Do margs on NYC’s only floating Mexican restaurant

Go glamping in the Rockaways

Go glamping on Governors Island, instead

Fill up at Queens Night Market

See the hot Immersive Van Gogh exhibit

See movies atop Pier 17’s rooftop

See a free SummerStage show

Devour an ice cream cone at Ample Hills Creamery

Eat, drink and shop in the streets

Cool off in the city’s pools

Lindy Hop at the Jazz Age Lawn Party

Take a trip to Governors Island

Catch a flick at Rooftop Cinema Club

Have drinks with a view at these rooftop bars

Drink on the water at boat bar!

Scream your guts out at Luna Park

Go stargazing on the High Line

Nosh on as many lobster rolls as you can

Dance the night away at Midsummer Night Swing

Tackle the water slide at Summer Streets

Go kayaking (for free!)

Attend a tennis match during the U.S. Open

Have a picnic in the park

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Best New Restaurants in NYC

If you are looking for some of the best info on food and drink, restaurants and eating in New York City, then you want to head to New York magazine’s Grub Street.

Right now you want to check out: The Return of Restaurants

“Make up for lost meals. No takeout, no pasta kits, just 66 of the best new (or newly relevant) places to eat.” Edited by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld,

Here are 3 more of my faves:

Feast on Escargot and the Scene

Pastis / 52 Gansevoort St.

We’re happy to report that whatever strange alchemy it was (the warming onion soup, the cheeseburger “à la Americaine,” the spacious sidewalk operation sturdy enough for any blizzard) that elevated this fashionable Stephen Starr–Keith McNally Meatpacking District brasserie into one of the go-to destinations during the dark pandemic months is still very much intact. Like everywhere else around town, the dining room is beginning to fill up again, but the best seat in the house is still outdoors, where the sidewalk between the tables along Gansevoort Street has turned into a kind of promenade for the vibrantly reopened city. There was a jazz trio spinning out New Orleans sounds when we dropped by the other day, and couples walking arm in arm on their way to the High Line or an evening picnic in the park. Any picnic here should include some oysters and the bubbly, shell-less escargot, but be sure to save a little room for the baba au rhum, the nougat glacé, and the rest of the underrated brasserie desserts.—A.P.

Snag a Seat for Vietnamese Vermicelli

Di An Di / 68 Greenpoint Ave., Greenpoint

Cymande’s “bra” piped through the outdoor jukebox on a recent Friday at the Vietnamese restaurant Di An Di while patrons slurped up brothy vermicelli noodles underneath strings of white lights. Those who arrived after 8:45 p.m. were out of luck, as every table was filled with fashionable young folks in T-shirts and hosts had stopped taking names. Bowls of mi xao bo do bien, firm egg noodles studded with fat slices of squid and shrimp, scented the air with its garlicky perfume. The Before Times menu still hasn’t returned, which means no more rice-paper pizzas for now, but there are newish bánh mì lunch sandwiches stuffed with fried chicken, tofu, or pork belly. And the aromatic shaking beef (bo luc lac), with its wok-seared cubes of medium-rare sirloin and crisp tomato-watercress salad, remains.—R.P.S.

Sip Vermut Like a Basque Boulevardier

Ernesto’s / 259 E. Broadway

The pandemic was a disaster for everyone, but few felt the old “defeat snatched from the jaws of victory” moment more keenly than chef-owner Ryan Bartlow, who had to close this elegant little Basque-themed bar operation just as the buzz for its special brand of convivial tapas-style cooking was building. The bare-bones staff managed to survive on PPP checks and a pickup menu until early summer, before throwing open the floor-to-ceiling windows and filling the sidewalk with rows of tables, which, on a warm night, as the evening light filters through the leafy trees across the street, can feel a little like an outdoor café in San Sebastián. These days, the long, dinner-friendly bar is humming again, and with the first-rate drinks program (try the vermut and tonic), a roster of expertly rendered Spanish classics (the croquettes, the morcilla, the tortilla española), and a peaceful, unhurried vibe, there are, for our money, few more-enjoyable indoor-outdoor-dining options in town.—A.P.

Also see Eater New York’s interactive map that highlights
these 66 restaurants that deserve your attention.

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