Open, airy and cheerful in the daytime changing to a more chic, sophisticated room in the evenings. A popular outdoor terrace seats thirty and is surrounded by sea grass and garden flowers. Aquagrill has an active bar scene centered around the country's most diverse oyster raw bar. Diners can expect to find some unusual wine selections and great values on the award-winning wine list. Aquagrill's wine list has been awarded both the Grand Award and the Silver Award Winner for Best Short Wine List by Restaurant Hospitality's Annual Wine List Competition. Along with the extensive array of fresh oysters from around the world, Aquagrill offers a selection of fresh Imperial Iranian and American caviar. Dinner menu specialties are Crab Cake Napoleon, Exotic Seafood Plateau, Bouillabaisse and Falafel Crusted Salmon. In addition to the Chef's creative preparations, all fish and seafood is also served a la carte with a choice of preparations and side dish offerings so the diner can select exactly what they are in the mood for. Aquagrill also serves brunch, which has been voted the number one brunch in ZAGAT for the past six years.

Dish price range: $23-$27

The Cupping Room, established in 1977, was originally a wholesale coffee distributor which brewed various coffees and teas. Perspective customers tasted these different blends in a process known as "cupping" hence the name Cupping Room. The cupping room is housed in a landmark building which is over one hundred years old. The tin ceiling, pot belly stove and exposed brick walls are part of the original décor. Through the years, the Cupping Room expanded from a local café to a full service restaurant, which is family owned and operated serving breakfast, lunch and dinner 365 days a year.

Dish price range: $9.95-$23.95

Elizabeth is a neighborhood restaurant and gathering spot for locals and artists, serving as a breeding ground for new ideas. Open for lunch, brunch, and dinner, Elizabeth is set in a casual yet sophisticated atmosphere which culminates in an outdoor planted garden. It's menu offers a modern interpretation of New American Cuisine, and has an adventurous, sometimes silly spirit that's winning in its way, says Frank Bruni of the New York Times.

Dish price range: $9-$27

Il Buco is a renowned Mediterranean restaurant with the look and feel of a European country home as natural and rustically elegant as the food - an under the radar gathering spot for designers, actors, writers, and food lovers who are inspired by great food amongst friends in comfortable surroundings.

Dish price range for lunch: $12-$25

Guests are always impressed by the scope and creativity of the menu selections. Their surprise turns to amazement, however, when they discover that every one of the spectacular dishes is prepared not by top New York chefs, but by French Culinary Institute students. In a city where excellence is a price of entry, even the savviest diners have trouble believing that students could perform at such a high level. Dishes are contemporary French, and spiced with an array of ethnic influences that make each one especially memorable. Bon-appetit!

Price range:
$28, three-course Prix Fixe lunch menu
$42, four and five-course Prix Fixe dinner menu