Oct 10 2008
BYO Guide
Last modified on 2009-06-26 09:51:56 GMT. 18 comments. Top.
A Cafe & Wine Room – BYO w/ no corkage fee Alto — BYO w/ no corkage fee Apiary — No corkage fee on Monday nights Baoguette / Baoguette Cafe — BYO w/ no corkage fee Bar Blanc Bistro — No corkage fee on Sunday nights Beacon — No corkage fee on Sunday nights Broadway East — No corkage fee on Sunday and Monday nights. Cafe Himalaya (aka, Himalayan Cafe) – BYO w/ no corkage fee A Casa Fox – BYO w/ no corkage fee (the fireplace is a plus) Cherin Sushi – BYO w/ no corkage fee Chow Bar — BYO w/ $10 corkage fee Cipolla Rossa — BYO w/ no corkage fee Cipriani Downtown — BYO w/ no corkage fee Dylan Prime — Corkage fee has been waived through Memorial Day Labor Day El Parador — No corkage fee on Monday nights and 20% off any bottle on the list Houston’s — BYO w/ no corkage fee at both locations Island Burgers & Shakes — BYO w/ no corkage fee not BYO anymore Joe’s Shanghai — BYO w/ no corkage fee at both locations Keste Pizza & Vino — BYO w/ no corkage fee (N.B., still BYO as of 4/27/09) La Palapa West — BYO w/ $10 corkage fee La Sirène Bistro : BYO w/ no corkage fee (cash only) Megu: BYO w/ no corkage fee on Tuesday nights The Modern — No corkage fee on Sunday nights The Orchard – No corkage on Sunday nights Palacio Azteca — BYO w/ no corkage fee (thanks to our friend Andrea for telling us about this one on the UES) Philip Marie — BYO w/ $7 corkage fee San Marzano Pizzeria — BYO w/ no corkage fee Square Meal — BYO w/ $2 corkage fee Tabla — BYO w/ no corkage fee on first 2 bottles, $25 each additional bottle Tadka – BYO w/ no corkage fee Tribeca Grill – No corkage fee on Monday nights Union Square Cafe — Reduced corkage fee from $25 to $10 Via dei Mille — BYO w/ $10 corkage fee Wo Hop — it’s BYO w/ no corkage at this Chinatown spot know for it’s late night/early morning dining Yama – BYO w/ $10 corkage fee AND HERE ARE THE USUAL SUSPECTS ON THE BYO SCENE: Panna II Indian Restaurant (East Village) Cube 63 (Lower East Side) Tartine (West Village) Peking Duck House (Chinatown) Poke (Upper East Side) Ivo & Lulu (Soho) Gazala Place (Midtown West) Sticky Rice (Lower East Side) Bellini (Upper West Side) Persimmon Kimchi House (East Village) Sigiri Sri Lanka Restaurant (East Village) Nook (Hell’s Kitchen) Di Fara Pizza (Brooklyn) Kuma Inn (Lower East Side) $5 — Click here for our dinner at Kuma Inn Grand Sichuan (Various Locations) $5 but only if they don’t have your bottle on their list Zaytoons (Brooklyn)
BYO’s Spreading Like the You-Know-What Virus
While the SLA has been cracking down on restaurants with temporary BYO policies — those that allow BYO while they await their liquor license — several restaurants are following in the footsteps of Alto and either waiving or relaxing their BYO policies to attract customers. We all know the NYC BYO mainstays (think Tartine, Nook, Poke, Cube 63, Peking Duck House, Persimmon, etc.) but did you know, for example, that Houston’s is BYO with no corkage fee at both Manhattan locations or that The Little Owl is BYO with no corkage fee on your first bottle? In a recent WSJ piece, Danny Meyer explained why he’s been relaxing his restaurant’s BYO policies: “I would imagine that many wine lovers have more bottles in their cellar than they’re going to drink in a week, a month, a year, maybe even a lifetime and they’re waiting for a special occasion to open them. We wanted to encourage people to enjoy what they already own and at the end of a delicious meal, they can see that the check is smaller.” In fact, for the month of May, Danny Meyer’s Union Square Cafe is reducing its corkage fee from $25 to $10, which is “really gentle” according to Meyer. We agree. To find some other “really gentle” BYO policies, we’ve done a bit of groundwork on GoBYO.com and created a list of some of the best BYO spots around the city with corkage fees of $10 or less. But please always call first to verify. We’d hate for you to be left holding the bottle.
Last modified on 2009-01-24 15:20:23 GMT. 5 comments. Top.
Kuma Inn is located at 113 Ludlow between Delancey and Rivington on the Lower East Side. The first time we attempted to give it a try we could not even find it, because it is hidden up a narrow staircase on the second floor of the building. This time there was a blackboard on the sidewalk with an arrow, so we could not miss it. After having a couple of strong ales at Spitzer’s (only 1/2 a block away), one of our favorite beer bars, we were hungry for dinner. We headed up the stairs and were immediately faced with the small open kitchen and the cooler (keeping various bottles of sake, wine, and ingredients cold) in the tiny waiting area. We were seated right away and were ready to start our own tasting of Kuma Inn small plates. More on our Kuma Inn BYO extravaganza after the jump… Kuma Inn descibes its food as “Southeast Asian-style tapas.” The chef, King Phojanakong, a “Thai-Filipino New Yorker” has cooked for Bouley and Boulud, but there is definitely no foie gras or truffles on this menu! The flavors of the small plates are certainly Asian but are vibrant and inventive. We brought four bottles of wine with us and went through them all (Note- $5 corkage fee per bottle) as we embarked on our tasting adventure ordering at least 3 separate rounds of dishes. We tried so much it is hard to describe each dish, but I’ve listed our favorites and the ones we wished we skipped below. We truly feasted at Kuma Inn and it was hard not to continue the ordering frenzy after tasting such wonderful dishes, but beware that Kuma Inn is cash only so you may want to stop by an ATM before devouring the scrumptious small plates like this is your last supper- they do add up in the end! Our Favorites: (photos that follow were taken by a much more highly skilled food photog than us, Tina Wong, aka The Wandering Eater) * Deep fried pork belly lechon kawali with atchara (pork belly + fried = mmmmm….) * Yellowfin tuna tartare with a rice noodle crisp (Fresh yellowfin with nice citrus balance- another please) * Sautéed chinese sausage with thai chili-lime sauce (Something a bit different for an Asian plate and the sauce was incredible) * Shrimp Shumai (A special for the day- not like any other shrimp shumai I’ve ever tasted!) * Pork Buns (Another special for the day- savory pulled pork and plump round buns) * Asian Paella (You MUST try this) * Steamed edamame with thai basil-lime oil (A staple snack with a different twist- loved the oil) Ones we would Skip: * Grilled baby octopus with pickled bamboo shoots (Needed some sauce for the grilled octopus) * Grilled salmon, shitake mushrooms & baby bok choy (Good classic dish, but too much else to try!) * Sautéed tofu, thai basil and wood ears in spicy soy mirin (Also tasty, but other veggie options were more spicy and flavorful)
BYOB Bliss: The Many Tastes of Kuma Inn
Andy and I have been dying to try Kuma Inn for ages. After having to cancel a couple of reservations, we finally made it to Kuma Inn with Donna and Charles in from Atlanta and with our friend Gassan. In harsh economic times, BYOBs are a great choice for those of us who normally have a heftier wine bill than food bill when we go out to eat. We heard great things about Kuma Inn and we were not disappointed.
Last modified on 2008-11-21 18:00:34 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
BYO (for a limited time only): Motorino Pizza in Brooklyn
BYO restaurants are the best way to dull the pain of the price of dining in NYC and represent some of the city’s hidden gems. The problem is not too many restaurants are willing to forgo an alcohol revenue stream with its huge mark-ups. One thing we’ve noticed is that restaurants will open before receiving their liquor license and operate on a temporary BYO basis. Remember this is how it was at Mercadito for a while. We received an email newsletter on Tuesday from Tasting Table alerting us to Motorino, a new restaurant in Brooklyn that’s BYO for a limited time. We’re gonna check it out Sat night and let you know how it goes.
Remember to always confirm corkage policies when making a reservation, as they often change.
Where you can BYO and we can BOO (bring our own):
No Corkage Fee BYO’s
Panna II Indian Restaurant (East Village)
The Little Owl (West Village)
Cube 63 (Lower East Side)
Tartine (West Village)
Peking Duck House (Chinatown)
Poke (Upper East Side)
Ivo & Lulu (Soho)
Gazala Place (Midtown West)
Sticky Rice (Lower East Side)
Bellini (Upper West Side)
Persimmon Kimchi House (East Village)
Sigiri Sri Lanka Restaurant (East Village)
Nook (Hell’s Kitchen)
Free corkage Monday nights at Tribeca Grill (Tribeca)
Di Fara Pizza (Brooklyn)
BYO’s With Reasonable Corkage Fees
Kuma Inn (Lower East Side) $5 — Click here for our dinner at Kuma Inn
Angon on the 6th (East Village) $5
Barbetta (Theater District/Hell’s Kitchen) $15
Smith & Wollensky (Midtown East) $10
Grand Sichuan (Various Locations) $5 but only if they don’t have your bottle on their list
ViceVersa (Theater District) $15 — have heard great things about this place as a pre-theater spot
[...] Where to BYO [...]
The Little Owl allows 1 bottle/table with no corkage. They also have a beer and wine list.
finn624, that’s great to know! ‘preciate it. been dying to try little owl, especially after reading about the bacon cheeseburger on A Hamburger Today: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/01/the-little-owl-best-cheeseburger-west-village-nyc.html
We just went to a great BYO in Hoboken, New Jersey called The Dining Room at Anthony David’s. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was great. There’s no corkage fee. Menu changes frequently and is italian themed. More details at anthonydavids.com
Just called Alto–it’s a whopping $60 for one bottle (I clarified three times), and you can only bring one bottle per table, and it can’t be on their list. After 9pm, there’s on corkage fee, but you can still only have one bottle. Also, that means your res is for 9pm or later, you can’t get seated at 8:30 then just wait.