Where to Eat Before a Broadway Show
Restaurant Row pasta, a 1965 theater hangout, tacos you can finish before the overture and the bars where the cast goes after: eating around the Theater District in 2026.
The best places to eat before a Broadway show are on West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth, the block called Restaurant Row: Joe Allen and Orso for a classic pre-theater dinner, Becco for all-you-can-eat pasta, and Bar Centrale upstairs for the drink after. If you have less than half an hour, Los Tacos No. 1 on West 43rd gets you fed and seated before the house lights dim.
Two things changed on the theater dining map this year. Sardi's closed on June 24, 2026 for a renovation after the Shubert Organization bought it, with a reopening promised for the fall; until it posts a date, do not build a night around it. And Barbetta, the West 46th Street institution that opened in 1906, closed for good in February 2026. The rest of the block is holding up well.
Walking times below are measured on a pedestrian route map from Shubert Alley at West 44th and 45th Streets, which is within five minutes of most of the big houses. Add two or three minutes if your theater is on the far side of Broadway or up on 50th Street.
At a glance.
- 01Los Tacos No. 1The fastest good food, you can be in and out in 15 minutes
- 04Joe AllenA pre-theater and post-theater institution since 1965
- 06BeccoUnlimited tableside servings of three daily pastas
- 14Bar CentraleWhere actors and stage managers unwind after the show
- Where
- West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth, called Restaurant Row
- Best time
- Book for 5:30 for an 8pm show and tell your server your curtain time
- When
- Some key restaurants, including Joe Allen and Becco, are closed Mondays
The quick answer
- Fastest good food: Los Tacos No. 1, 5 minutes.
- Best sit-down: Joe Allen, 4 minutes (Orso next door if you can get in).
- Best value: Becco's unlimited pasta, 5 minutes.
- Best after-show drink: Bar Centrale, 4 minutes.
If you have 30 minutes
The Times Square branch of the Chelsea Market taco counter is standing room only and built for speed. The adobada, marinated pork shaved off the spit, is the order, and the quesataco versions on the current menu run from $7.75 to $8.25. You can be in and out in 15 minutes even with a line.
Go for: two adobada, one carne asada. Know before you go: there are no real seats; eat at the counter ledge or on the walk.
The Broadway outpost of the Carmine Street slice shop sits right by a 40th Street subway exit, which makes it the natural stop if you are coming up from the train. It is open until 3am most nights and later on weekends, so it covers the post-show craving too. Our pizza slice guide has the rest of the city.
Go for: a plain slice and a fresh mozzarella. Know before you go: it is a counter with a few stools; plan to stand.
A serious Neapolitan pizzeria on West 50th, and the fastest sit-down in the northern part of the district. It is walk-in only, which is a feature when you forgot to book. The Montanara, a pie that is lightly fried and then finished in the oven, is its known specialty; the Margherita is the benchmark.
Go for: the Montanara. Know before you go: no reservations, so arrive by 6 for an 8pm curtain.
Sit-down before the show
A pre-theater and post-theater institution since 1965, with brick walls hung with posters from Broadway flops, which is the room's great joke. The Joe Allen burger ($26) and the meatloaf ($30) are the correct orders, and the service is built around curtain times. It takes reservations a week out and holds a line for walk-ins from 11am.
Go for: the burger. Know before you go: closed Mondays; Tuesday service starts at 4:30pm.
Joe Allen's sibling next door is the more polished Italian room, and the one theater regulars book for special nights. The rigatoni Bolognese ($29) and the Margherita pizza ($25) are simple and right. The restaurant itself warns that pre-theater tables book very quickly, and it opens reservations a month ahead.
Go for: rigatoni Bolognese. Know before you go: dinner only, Tuesday to Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday.
The Bastianich family's Restaurant Row trattoria has one of the best deals in Midtown: the Sinfonia di Paste, a Caesar or antipasto followed by unlimited tableside servings of three daily pastas, $36.95 on the current menu. Every bottle of wine is $45. It is loud, fast and full of people checking their watches, which is the point.
Go for: the Sinfonia di Paste. Know before you go: closed Mondays; matinee lunch runs Wednesday and Saturday.
A big, easy French brasserie at the corner of 44th and Ninth with a three-course prix fixe dinner at $52 on the current menu and a bouillabaisse ($46) worth ordering on its own. The daily oyster happy hour, 3:30 to 5:30pm with Malpeque oysters at $1.50, is the smartest way to start a matinee day.
Go for: oysters at happy hour, then the bouillabaisse. Know before you go: it is open daily, which helps on a Monday when Joe Allen and Becco are closed.
If you are seeing something at the Walter Kerr on West 48th, SaiTong is practically across the street, and it is the most interesting food on the block: chu chee short ribs, pad Thai with lobster tail, tamarind duck. It serves lunch into the afternoon and dinner until 11pm, 11:30 on weekends.
Go for: the short ribs chu chee. Know before you go: book on Resy for a 6pm table.
The steakhouse with the meat locker in the front window has fed the Theater District since 1927. At dinner it is dry-aged porterhouse territory; the three-course lunch special at $34, served 11:45am to 3:45pm daily, is the move before a matinee. For the full steak picture, see the best steakhouses in NYC.
Go for: the lunch special before a Wednesday matinee. Know before you go: book on OpenTable.
Family-style Italian on huge platters meant to be shared, one block east of Broadway. It is the answer for a group of six who need to eat quickly and cheaply per person before the same show, and it takes reservations.
Go for: a platter of chicken parm and a pasta for the table. Know before you go: portions are meant for two to four; order less than you think.
After
A two-level American tavern in the middle of the theater block that runs a pre-theater menu before curtain and keeps the kitchen going late after it. It is open until 1am Thursday to Saturday. A 14 oz NY strip is $58 on the current menu.
Go for: a steak at the bar after the show. Know before you go: the bar fills fast after the 10:30pm let-outs.
West of Ninth Avenue, Bea stays open until 2am most nights, which makes it one of the few real restaurants in the district still serving after a long show. It is a relaxed room for cocktails and a full dinner menu, and the crowd at 11pm is mostly people who just came out of the theaters. Our Hell's Kitchen guide has more in the neighborhood.
Go for: a late dinner after an 11pm curtain. Know before you go: weekend brunch runs 11am to 4pm.
A combination bar, restaurant and live music venue open until 3am or 4am every night, with a late-night menu until 2am. It is the answer when you want a burger and a cocktail at 12:30am. Strictly 21 and over from 7pm.
Go for: a late burger and a beer. Know before you go: it gets loud after midnight.
Drinks
Upstairs in a Restaurant Row brownstone, next to Joe Allen and from the same family, Bar Centrale is where actors and stage managers have unwound after the show for years. There is no sign worth mentioning and no standing room; you sit at a table or at the bar, and reservations, taken up to a week ahead, are strongly recommended. Parties max out at six.
Go for: a martini after the curtain call. Know before you go: only book through barcentrale.nyc; other similar-looking domains are not the bar.
In the Edison Hotel, a warm wood-paneled bar with live piano and jazz every night, and a rum list to match. Trader Nic's Mai Tai is $19, the Rum Fire Colada $20, and happy hour runs 4 to 6pm. It takes reservations Wednesday to Saturday and walk-ins always. For more like it, see our piano bar guide.
Go for: a mai tai and the pianist. Know before you go: 21 and over.
A narrow boxing bar opened in 1971 by the trainer Jimmy Glenn, with fight photos on every wall and some of the cheapest drinks in Midtown. It is the antidote to a $22 cocktail. The building's owner moved to evict the bar in late 2025 and a judge paused that in early 2026, so go while you can.
Go for: a cheap beer between the matinee and dinner. Know before you go: it is tiny; after-show crowds stand three deep.
On the 40th and 41st floors of the Aliz Hotel, a rooftop cocktail bar with the Midtown towers lit up around you. It opens at 4 or 5pm and runs until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, which works both before an 8pm curtain and after. More heights in our rooftop bar guide.
Go for: a cocktail at the window at sunset. Know before you go: 21 and over; book on Resy for weekends.
The casual pick on Restaurant Row: tacos, burgers and wings, cocktails with names like The Wolf of 46th Street, and a kitchen that runs until 1am. It opens at 4pm daily, and it has heated outdoor seating.
Go for: a drink and wings after the show. Know before you go: no dress code, no fuss.
Timing it right
Most evening curtains are 7 or 8pm, and every restaurant on this list knows it. Book for 5:30 for an 8pm show, tell your server your curtain time when you sit down, and pay when the mains arrive. If you still need tickets, read how to get cheap Broadway tickets through rush and lotteries and put the money toward dinner. And for shows away from Times Square, our Off-Broadway theater guide has the downtown houses.
More pre-show guides
This page is part of our where-to-eat-near series. See also where to eat near Madison Square Garden, near Lincoln Center, near Carnegie Hall, near Bryant Park, near Barclays Center, near the Met and near the World Trade Center.
The Shout NY take
Theater District dining has a bad reputation it mostly earned in Times Square proper. Walk to West 46th Street and it is a different world: Joe Allen and Orso are still the best pre-theater rooms in the city, Becco still feeds you for under $40, and Bar Centrale is still where the night ends. Book early, eat by 7:15, and save the second drink for after.
Questions, answered.
- What is the best restaurant near Broadway theaters?
- Joe Allen and Orso, side by side on West 46th Street's Restaurant Row, are the two classic pre-theater rooms, each about a 4 minute walk from Shubert Alley. Book ahead: Orso says its pre-theater tables go quickly.
- Is Sardi's open?
- Not right now. Sardi's closed on June 24, 2026 for a renovation after the Shubert Organization bought it, and it has said it will reopen in the fall of 2026. Check its site for a date before planning around it.
- Where can I eat quickly before a Broadway show?
- Los Tacos No. 1 on West 43rd Street (5 minutes from Shubert Alley) and Joe's Pizza at Broadway and 40th (7 minutes) are the two fastest good meals in the district. Both are counter service.
- Where do people go for drinks after a Broadway show?
- Bar Centrale, upstairs next to Joe Allen on West 46th, is the long-running post-show spot for theater people. The Rum House on West 47th has live piano nightly and pours until 1 or 2am.
- What is the Becco pasta deal?
- Becco's Sinfonia di Paste is a Caesar salad or antipasto followed by unlimited tableside servings of three daily pastas, $36.95 per person on the current menu. Every bottle of wine is $45.
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