July 2004:
The law in NYC as we understand it is as follows:
Smoking is completely banned in any enclosed public space.
Comment from Jonathan McEwan: "The vast majority of legitimate restaurants, bars
and clubs are indeed complying with the law. There are a few renegades, but
it still holds true that when you approach a venue on the weekend, you can
tell which ones are the most happening by the number of people on the
sidewalk in front catching a smoke before going back in."
(Much thanks to Wendy Ballard for useful updates.)
We've also heard the restaurant ban is not well enforced. Therefore, suggestions of truly friendly venues are welcome.
Feb. 2003: A Manhattan native reports: ... I have noticed a lot
of infractions tolerated by waitstaff and owners. I'm
talking about restaurants without bars and seating
more than 35 people. It's usually a matter of several
people lighting up at one table rather than half the
room, but we've noticed that unless other customers
complain, the staff do nothing but bring ashtrays out
for those who light up. Japanese restaurants seem to
be the most tolerant of customers smoking but people
will light up in almost any kind of restaurant. We...
are usually not out in restaurants
for later seatings (after 10 PM) when, friends tell
us, there is greater tolerance for smoking on behalf
of restaurants.
July 2001: A comment from a native: "I live in New York City. The smokefree ban is very well enforced. If you stay away from restaurants with fewer than 35 seats and without a bar area (which are a majority of NYC restaurants), you will 99% of the time be in a smoke free environment. In the years that the ban has been in effect, I have only been to one or two restaurants that have not enforced the ban. New York City is essentially smoke free heaven."
September 2001: "We were smoked out of a lot of restaurants in NYC. The ban is not as
well enforced as your site would suggest. We had drinks at a wine bar ... I wanted to go back for wine ... but the smoke was way too thick. We called for reservations at several expensive restaurants and were told that smoking was allowed at the bar, which is in the middle of the restaurant. We ate at [a] steakhouse and the smoke was awful. The "non-smoking" section was very small. It was a little nook off of the main dining room. That did nothing to help the smoke, which kept rolling in from the main dining room. The meal was great, but we won't be back..."
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BROOKLYN
Blah Blah Restaurant & Lounge
501 11th St (7/8) (Park Slope) (718) 369-BLAH
Good beer selection, kitchen stays open late. Live music and poetry. Open mic nights. Live DJ Friday and Saturday.
Brooklyn Brewery
79 North 11th Street, Brooklyn (718) 486-7422
No listing of smoke-free NYC establishments would be complete without the Brooklyn Brewery. This is the pub I've been searching for my entire adult life. Go there and you will find...
1) An utterly unpretentious, friendly, casual, SMOKE-FREE atmosphere.
2) The best beer in New York City and beyond. As you can see on the website: "In 2000, Blanche de Brooklyn was awarded the Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup Awards, besting all other white beers, including Belgium's Hoegaarden."
3) Great music, although they seem to have discontinued the live bands at least through the end of the year.
4) A great brewery cat named Monster.
There's a pool table, a dart board, and plenty of seating. Oh, and a good pizza joint a few blocks away if you get hungry. What more could you ask for???
thanks Hugh Yeman! (see his lovely pictures of woods and water)
MANHATTAN
Amy Ruth's Home Style Cuisine
113 West 116th Street (212) 280-8779
Soul food. Moderate prices, waist-expanding, yum. Fried chicken, seafood, yams, collard greens. Take-out available. Crowded/cozy.
Atlas Restaurant
40 Central Park South (5th and 6th Avenues) (212) 759-9191
Small, upscale, casual restaurant with an eclectic menu, amazing desserts.
Tue-Sun 11:30am-2:30pm / 5:30pm-10pm (weekend opens at 10:30am)
Comfort Inn Midtown
129 West 46th Street 1-800-567-7720- reservations
phone: 212-221-2600
fax: 212-790-2760
Renovated in 1998, the Comfort Inn Midtown is the only smoke-free hotel in Manhattan. The hotel is located on 46th street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, near Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the theater district, the Museum of Modern Art, Grand Centeral Station and Fifth Avenue Shopping. There are 79 guest rooms, with various amenities including complimentary continental breakfast and wireless web TV.
[Note: the Comfort Inn Midtown is only one of a number of hotels listed on that web site.]
The Fez
380 Lafayette Street (212) 533-2680
Restaurant/bar with live music and comedy. The Mingus Big Band plays incredible jazz every Thursday; various acts on other days. If only there were more places like this in Manhattan! The Fez serves all kinds of drinks, including weird house specialties, and has lots of tables and a few booths.
Herban Kitchen
290 Hudson Street (212) 627-2257
info@Herbankitchen.com
Organic restaurant and catering service.
Fresh food and plenty of it. You can reserve a table via their web site.
Mon-Fri 11am-4pm / Mon-Th 5pm-11pm / Fri-Sat 5pm-midnight / Sun 4pm-11pm
Joe's Pub
425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place (212) 539-8777
East Village bar and live music venue (not much room for dancing & not cheap). Local and national acts, eclectic schedule: chamber music, jazz, poetry, rock, comedy.
Madison Pub
1043 Madison (@ 79th Avenue) (212) 650-1002
Basic burgers and beer.
Mayfair Hotel
242 West 49th Street (at Broadway) (212) 586-0300
3-star totally nonsmoking hotel in the theater district.
Parking available.
Neary's Pub
358 East 57th Street (@ 1st Avenue) (212) 751-1434
Irish food and drink.
Nobu
105 Hudson Street (at Franklin) (212) 219-0500
One of the best Japanese restaurants in town.
Not cheap, but usually crowded nonetheless.
Get reservations; perhaps long in advance.
Thanks to Fred, who says(a) the food is incredible,
and (b) when someone lit up, they were told to go outside.
Payard Patisserie & Bistro
1032 Lexington Avenue (212) 717-5252
This fantastic upper east side pastry shop and restaurant is a rare find. Wonderful French food, beautiful room and out of this world desserts. Payard sells chocolates and pastries through the shop.
PostCrypt Coffeehouse
116th Street & Broadway (212) 854-1953
Live acoustic music in the basement of St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University.
Hosts well known acts as well as open mike nights.
Sam Chinita's Restaurant
176 Eighth Avenue (Chelsea) (212) 741-0240
Unpretentious corner diner serving your basic combination
of Cuban and Chinese food at good prices.
Daily noon-10:30pm
Totonno's
1544 Second Avenue (80th-81st Streets) (212) 327-2800
Brick oven pizzeria. There are other locations but their status is unknown.
Union Square Cafe
21 East 16th Street Floor 1 (212) 243-4020
Smokefree since 1990.
IN MEMORIAM, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
Wild Blue Restaurant
World Trade Center, 107th floor
Upscale steakhouse in the sky.
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