Lunch at Grey Bar and Restaurant on West 26th Street

Lunch can be complicated in the city.  You may have all intentions of running out to grab something to eat only to find yourself waiting in line, for forty five minutes, for a salad.  I really thought I had figured out the lunch game by heading over to the local grocery store which had a salad station.  All was working beautifully until everyone else realized you could get salads at this store.  There are times however that I actually want to sit down, like a normal person, and have lunch at a table with no work and no phone.  Well, I always have my phone with me but you now what I mean.

Food, Beer & Bourbon on West 26th Street

I have marveled at the resurgence of West 26th Street, between Fifth and Seventh Avenues, which was once a checkerboard of empty stores and wholesale cell phone accessory stores.  I am not sure which restaurant opened first but here are some of the restaurants you will now find on West 26th Street: Maysville (Food & Bourbon), Grey Bar & Restaurant, The Flatiron Room, Flatiron Hall, The Hog Pit, Hill Country BBQ, The Melt Shop, Belgian Beer Cafe, Ainsworth, Rare Bar & Grill, and numerous others including two new awesome looking bars that just opened (Between 6th & 7th Avenues) in the last few weeks.  The neighborhood was once a place you tried to avoid and now it has become a true destination.

Grey Bar and Restaurant

I am reluctant to share The Grey Bar and Restaurant with you because it has become a nice lunchtime haven.  Every once in a while we like to skip out of the office and head over to this nice bar which offers a lunch menu with options for everyone.  As the weather has gotten warmer they open up the front windows which can be pretty nice, except for when the smokers decide to stand right in front and blow smoke directly into the restaurant.  The restaurant itself is very nice with a long bar as you enter separated by an equally as long communal seating area.  It’s like have two bars in one, and with televisions all over Grey Bar and Restaurant you will be sure to see whatever game you want from any angle.  There are high tables that run on the opposite side of the restaurant and extend all the way to the back.

Lunch at Grey Bar and Restaurant

The menu contains the typical pub fare you would expect along with some delicious additions.  Some of our surprise favorites have been: Seared Ahi Tuna,the Roasted Turkey & Avocado Sandwich, Pan Seared Scallops, along with their daily specials.  We also totally enjoyed the Grey Bar Burger which has pecan-wood smoked bacon and Kerry gold cheddar. And their fries are pretty good too!

My wing man always goes for the Jumbo Chicken wings which he swears are awesome even though he never offers to share them!

The Seared Ahi Tuna is sliced rare and has sesame cucumber noodles with a ginger soy vinaigrette and avocado.  I was pretty impressed by this tasty dish as I am usually reluctant to order seared tuna at a bar but Grey Bar and Restaurant does a great job with this dish.  The Tuna has always been fresh and the cumber noodles are delicious as long as you can actually get them on your fork!  They are slippery little suckers those cucumber noodles!

Grey Bar and Restaurant has a nice selection of beers, both bottles and draft.  Keep an eye out on the blackboard near the bar for beer specials.  While lunch at Grey Bar can be on the quieter side come game night the place can get pretty crowded.  Go check it out along with some of the other great places along West 26th Street.

Grey Bar and Restaurant – Website
43 West 26th Street, New York, NY