48 Hours In New York - Londoners Discover The Best Bars & Restaurants in NYC 🚕🗽🍎

No, no, Jess, Jess, I need you. Yeah! Tell us a bridge. Is it a bridge? Woo-hoo! Daddy likes it deep! Jesus, Torey! Hey, I'm Jesse. Behind the camera is Will, and together we are Top Jaw. When we first started doing our tours around the world, we always wanted to come to New York. It's taken us three years, but we are now here in NYC, and it has been the trip of a goddamn lifetime. We have been to high-end restaurants, holes in the wall. We've been to little cocktail bars, speakeasies. Sun, rain, everything. This film has the lot. So let's get stuck into it at the Ludlow Hotel where we're staying, where we're loving. Now, keep your delicious pupils peeled for our brand new... Coffee machines. Coffee grinders. I didn't know the table was right there. For our brand new collaboration stubble and co. rucksacks. First comment wins. First stop of the day, bro. Numero uno. Out of the hotel, two doors down. This little coffee spot we've been hitting up every day since we've been here. New York coffee, roasted in Brooklyn, served here in Manhattan. How many have you had since you've been here? Six. Six. Sweet. This is their cool, casual coffee spot. Good workplace, lots of people reading in here. It's that proper New York, like, film vibe, you know? And us with our big old camera. Time for brunch, baby. Oh, yeah. We're in West Village for Dante. This place has been here since 1915. This neighbourhood was a very Italian neighbourhood. Since then, it's had a very exciting life. It won World's Best Bar in 2019. And when you see inside, it's not exactly what you'd imagine the World's Best Bar would look like. It's not a dark, streamlined cocktail bar. No, no. Very welcoming, innit? And it's exactly the sort of place you'd bring someone that you love. Aww. I get it. Yeah? You love me. Yeah. I mean, you wouldn't take someone here to Dublin, though. It's way, way too romantic for that. Cocktails for brunch, is it, bro? So we've got a partly drunk spicy fresca. Apparently, it's one rule for me and not for Will. I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything before it's filmed. But Will has. So this is a mini martini. Gin, vodka, bitters, and an olive. Super aggressive this time of day. But that is delicious. I like that with the lime. Do you remember those things when you were a kid? And you'd, like, pop them one way and you'd throw them on the floor and they'd go, boom, pop. It's the baked eggs. And Sam's eating those tomatoes. And a basil oil on top. It's a bit of all right. I've got a chocolate Negroni. It's chocolate bitters. Shaved chocolate. Oh, God, yeah. It tastes like a brilliant Negroni with a little bit of, like, dark chocolate running through it. I don't think you can come to Dante without having a tiramisu. First problem. It does smell pretty nice, doesn't it? Chocolate Negroni, I bet. So Dante has been superb. Honestly, world class. Just finish your pint of Negronis. But when in New York, you can't not have an absolutely belting burger. This is exactly what we're about to do. Emily. It's square Detroit-style pizza. And it's burgers, which some say are the best in New York. Or the world. We're going to sit outside this West Village one. I apologise if I look like a Krispy Kreme donut. But it's pretty humid out here. Oh, yeah. You ask a lot of New Yorkers where the best burger is. They might send you to Peter Luger in Brooklyn. It'll be featured in our Brooklyn Guide. But lots of people say this place. Which is weird. Because it's not a burger first place. It's a pizza first place. Doing the best burger. Casual. This is a banquet of schmells, I can tell you that. This is the Emmy Double Stack burger. So we have a pretzel bun. Don't know if I've ever had a pretzel bun. A Double Stack dry-aged beef. They have a secret Emmy sauce. Which they won't tell me what it is. American cheese. Pickles. And caramelised onion. Mate, I'm quite nervous. Like, the best burger in New York. Oh, here it goes. Nice. Close is a good thing. That's so good. Oh my god, it's good. I can't tell you how f***ed up this is. How what? F***ed up. I don't have burgers that often anymore. But if and when I do, I want them all to be like this. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Dip, dip, dip. Out of frame. Dab on the forehead. Yeah? It's real good, innit? Bloody crispy. I'm not entirely sure how they did that. But that is none less than a life-changing burger. Emily, well done. Right, that Emily burger is one of the best burgers in New York. In my opinion, it's probably the best. But of course, there are so many other great options. Many of which you can find on our curated map in the Step app. And to get exclusive access to that, join our Patreon. Link's in the description. Thank you, bless you. We're staying in the Ludlow Hotel on Ludlow Street. Now this street is amazing. It is probably the best position you can be in when staying in New York. And the hotel itself is gorgeous. It's actually a reasonably new hotel. Even though it looks like it's been here for decades. With a good old glug of 70s style. You've got this lounge area here with a big old roaring limestone fireplace. Yes, it's warm outside, but hey, how cosy is this? And incredible rooms with big crickle windows giving views out to Soho and beyond. Let's go and check them out, mate. Let's. Welcome to my queen studio room. Big comfy bed, TV on the wall. Beautiful crickle window with that view. We're 13 storeys up in this room, but it's cosy as hell. With it's exposed beams and it's rich sumptuous wood. Oh, you look comfy there, bro. Oh, you bet your boots I'm comfy. Shoes off, mate, on the red boots. You ain't my dad. Really flattering angle, this one. Take a look at my shower room, okay? We have bath mat and bath robes by Maison Margiela. Awesome. Check out this shower with marbled mosaic floor. Ooh, where am I? Where am I? We're in the shower. We're in your shower. What have we got here, mate? This is my lovely girlfriend, Miss Lamb. Just having a drink in, I'm going to call it the conservatory of the Lardelaire Hotel. I'm really liking it here, I will. Yeah. The audio doesn't get into my ears, so. Next up, we had to feature the best bagels in New York. Come to New York, you get a bagel. And where else are we going to do that? Tompkins Square Bagels. And it's very rainy. Yes, that's why I'm doing the intro to this from this door. Oh, I'm so sorry. This is Timothee Chalamet's favourite bagel place in New York, so it's good enough for him. It's good enough for us. I was speaking to the manager, working out what to have, and he said, do you want the Weezer? Wearing a t-shirt with the Weezer on it, he was like, it's the best breakfast bagel you'll ever have in your life. Bacon, chorizo, egg, cheese, cream cheese. That is great. Why can't we do this in the UK? No one's making bagels like that anywhere. I don't get it. That is fantastic. This is the Lox Deluxe. Smoked salmon, tomato, cream cheese, capers, cream cheese and scallion. This is another classic. Let me tell you two things about Tompkins Square Bagels, right? One, they're messy. But two, they are absolutely amazing. It's the best bagels I've ever had in my life. Really? Yeah. Alright, well, now for something sweet. We're at Ray's Candy Store. It's a place that's been here since 1974, and it's an institution of the East Village. Ray's Candy Store is kind of every big kid's dream. You've got fried Twinkies, Oreos, Reese's Pieces, but they're an ice cream shop. Thank you very much, Ray. We're going for a hot fudge sundae, nice and simple. Soft serve ice cream with loads of hot fudge. This guy Ray, who I'm talking to, is fascinating. He's about to turn 90 years old. He still works here every single day. He's originally from Iran, he's Iranian. He joined the Navy because his job making materials was paying him between 70 and 80 cents a week. During his time in the Navy, he was on board the ship travelling around the world. He pulls into Virginia, in America, he'd never been before. And he just saw it and was like, this is it, this is me, I'm out. He just jumped off ship and has been in America ever since. A little deep fried Oreo, sounds brilliant. I've never had a deep fried Oreo, this might be my only opportunity. Where are you going, bro? Where are you going? Ray's famous fried Oreos. Ray's are really good. The Oreo is like, not a hard Oreo anymore, it's just a gooey, chocolate, sticky thing. It used to be open 24 hours and Ray used to lie down here in his galley and have a little nap. So many people walk in and get up. But now, he's 90 years old, so he just closes at 4am and opens again at 10am. Tori, would you like one of Ray's Oreos? Ray, this is my girlfriend, Tori. It's really good, isn't it? It's really good. So there's fried Oreos, you can sell 100 of those portions a day. It's just a remarkable human being. It's awesome. Oh, I see, so it's like the BBC World Service, I think it's like a news line. The fried Oreos, brilliant. But the best thing about that place is Ray and he's there everyday. So go in, see him, have a chat and he'll give you one of his extremely interesting stories. Thank you. They are here, our brand new Top Jaw travel rucksacks. And we're so excited to be collaborating with the heroes Stubble & Co, the London-based premium minimal bag maker, to produce a bag perfect for whether you're travelling to the studio or the other side of the world. Designed for all weather conditions, the Top Jaw roll top is durable, lightweight, exceptionally comfortable and made from recycled materials. All zips are water resistant, so you don't have to worry about your precious items when you're getting 100% shat on them. And flip it round and in the back you have a dedicated separate section for your laptop, meaning your sweaty gym kit and your laptop don't have to get all cosy together. Expandable side sections for your water or of course your parallels. Inside we've got a bright lining. But one of my favourite things about this bag is the way it closes. It's one of your favourite things, mate. With a magnetic clasp, you pinch, roll, hook and you're off. Complete with all our Top Jaw touches, we absolutely love this thing and we think you will too. It's just the best rucksack ever. And it's now available on topjaw.co.uk We've come slightly uptown. We're on 29th and Broadway for Swingers. Top Jaw Heads have seen us feature this place in London. It's one of our faves. This place opened about two months ago and it's been a real hit, which we're really pleased to see. But Will, let's go try the courses out for ourselves, you know, because we'll be the judge. Yeah! Woah! This is on another blimmin' scale! Following the success of the two London sites that we absolutely love, the open one in Washington and now this one in New York. And this is massive! Jesus Tory! 23,000 square feet, three courses, six bars. It's vast. They have a selection of brilliant New York food vendors through there in a little mini food court. So here you could be playing crazy golf, getting a cocktail and having some beautiful Iranian food, for example. It's a loop-de-looper! Oh no! Oh my God! 3-1! What's it gonna be? Don't know whether I'm winning this one. Probably not. However, am I having a good time? Yes. And hey, this is bigger and better than the one in London, Will. What happens if it goes behind the bin and it falls? We are arriving at the wonderful Hawksmoor. This place is a brilliant steak restaurant, but it has an incredible bar. Hawksmoor is reasonably new to New York. It's just about to celebrate its first year anniversary. This is their cocktail bar and it is big and it is beautiful. And we're loving it. I'm going to muck him for a ham with Meg's Mark Bourbon, peach jasmine soda. Ice game on point, look at that! Let me introduce you to Hawksmoor's Sour Cherry Negroni. Forged Gin, Rubino Martini, Sour Cherry and Campari. And that is gorgeous. This is the old Charities Assembly Hall, built in 1893 by a local blah blah blah blah. Teddy Roosevelt even had an office here. There's a lioness on the back bar there because someone, as a gift, delivered him a real life lion. You ain't the only lioness here, Riri. Once upon a time... Toy Story 4! Oh, that was good actually. Once upon a time, Kate Moss walked into a bar and she was... She walked into a bar and she said to the bartender, can you make me something that's going to keep me really awake but also f*** me up a little bit. And he was like, I don't know what to do. And then his fresh Martini was born. And now you can literally get them all bar one in Skegness. Do you know what I mean? Oh my god, it's so nice. Oh, it is good. You rarely see a dining room as elegant, as opulent as this. And the old light fixtures they're not currently using were actually installed by Thomas Edison himself. What? I love that. Ouch. Continuing our love affair with the Lower East Side, we've come around the corner to Fool's Gold. This place has craft beer, cocktails and food named Fool's Gold because of their love of the Stone Roses. And the frs... The Stone Roses fans amongst you might recognise the paint job on the front. Like a certain album cover? Way over my head, but hey, the Roses fans will know. We've got sporting screens. We've got so many beers to actually not get your way through. On Sunday night, by the way, if you're wondering what's going on behind me, a bunch of people bring some board games and play really intense games of board games. Big love sandwich, it's me in the middle. It's always had a mimosa that she's loved. Roger's a legend. Just had a shot with him. Cheers. Now we have to go off to dinner. Roger? Alrighty then. We are prepped and ready. And Will, this is one of those rare occurrences on Top Jaw where I'm actually hungry. This is Crownshive. A Michelin star restaurant in the financial district of New York. Right at the base of the peninsula. We have chef de cuisine James Kent at the helm. X11 Madison and Nomad. Now he's here with that beautiful Michelin star. This cocktail right here I've just had a taste of is one of my favourite cocktails. I mean, that's amazing. It's the Malona Milk Punch. In here I've got vodka, honey juice, sticky rice, coconut, and clarified milk. Obviously everything is made clear. Everything is a process. Go on Tori, what you got? I've got something with brown sugar in it. This is their pull apart olive bread. And how they make it is they make individual dough balls, squish them all together, then bake them. And that's why they call it pull apart because you can basically pull it apart into sections. It's so nice. Warm and it's lemony. So these are our zucchini chips. And this is the basil mayo. People say that basil mayo goes with their beer as well. Oh my god, it's f***ing good. Suzanne Perb. This is the citrus chicken served with his little tootsies and tats. This place is big on their sauces and big on their flavours. They're punchy flavours, not shy. This is the satsuma sorbet with a toasted meringue marshmallow on top. Hangy satsuma sorbet with bits through it. And that honeycomb just sticking it all together and giving it that real sweet kick. What awesome desserts. You know you're going to get amazing food at a Michelin star restaurant. Then comes the other things. The service, the wine of choice, just the ambience and the friendliness. And that has all been absolutely tip top here. I'd recommend it to anybody as a really special place to go. Our films are all about where you're getting a great experience. Some are going to be super low cost like Ray's, which is a few dollars. And some are going to be a few hundred dollars like Crown Shark. But it's all to do with what you should go check out. Spend your time and your money. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye. Good morning, Will. How are you doing? So we're just leaving the Ludlow here, a wonderful hotel on the Lower East Side. And we need to find some coffee. Jack, our brilliant editor, said you have to go to the camera. It's about a 12 minute walk up there. Should we do it, Will? Mind your head. I never have to duck. This place is a Nordic bakery roastery with a few spots in Denmark. And this is their first in NYC. The coffee is worth waiting for. The baked goods are amazing. The cardamom bun I've heard massive things about. So let's go get one. Top jaw, we do like food and travel films around the world. Thank you, ma'am. Cardamom bun. Some people just buy them, take them home, put them in the oven, turn it on just to fume their house. I think. That is a cardamom bun. And it smells incredible. Oh, wow. I actually grabbed it. So I got you that almond croissant. You have one in bicycle. Thank you. I mean the colour. It's flaky. This is a sweet bun with a rhubarb compote inside. Again with the refined, you know what I mean? Really refined, bud. Really refined. It's got like a whale's blowhole. We're about to leave. And then Cole was like, oh, you've got to try our bread and butter. It's like what we're known for. It looks flavoursome. Yeah, that's awesome. Thank you, guys. You know why the line's this big? Because these boys are here. New York, man. We walked up the road to Joe Jr. Now this place is a bit of an institution. It's been around for a very long time. This is a proper American diner. And there is an underground opinion that this might be the best burger in London. No frills. In where? That this might be the best burger in New York. Not London. I mean, we've got to go bacon cheeseburger. A deluxe bacon cheeseburger. I don't even think I'm going to complicate it with bacon. A deluxe cheeseburger. This place has been doing these smash burgers, which are now becoming a real thing for a very long time. Which may be longer than we've been alive. Mate, they are working so hard. You know when you see an action film and they're like back-to-back, and they're going, bang, bang, bang. That's what they're like. Just back-to-back, just flipping ******* eggs. Probably hate each other outside of work. Oh, look at the juice. Excuse the jaw dislocation. So all this is like $13. You don't get that many other places in Manhattan. Very true. Love it. Alright, Joe Jr. Very classic American diner experience. It's cheap, it's cheerful. But I think if you're going to go in there expecting to have the best burger in New York, you might be a bit disappointed. I think if you want a hearty diner experience. Yeah. But we've got seven more stops for today. So one burger only for me, please. Am I ready for this? These guys have just made me walk 17 miles around Manhattan. Okay, we're here for Whaler, a Thai restaurant. We go down the stairs. We're going to go through the back where there's an incredible little secret private garden. Get me a Pad Thai, please. How about a lobster Pad Thai? He started out by asking what's a light lunch. Alright, cool. Thanks for that information. We're just going to order a heavy lunch. Whaler means time. They want people to come here and spend time with friends. Because in Whaler, all their dishes are family style. Sharing dishes. Do you know what cheers is in Thai? It's a good question. Chom! Okay, Chom! Barbecue beef salad. Lovely. This is the curry with a curry sauce. In here is minced chicken, potato, onion. This is the yum nua yang. Beef flank sliced. This is the moo sarong. It's like a little pork fried dumpling wrapped in noodles fried with sweet chili sauce. Wow. Oh, what do you think it is? Oh, that's nice. Wow. So fragrant. The seasoning, those Thai spices. Mmm. Uh oh. Grilled chicken. Crab meat omelette. Spicy shrimp, the core green jumbo shrimp. It's ancient pad laob. Exactly. So it's also like a crab fried rice. Crab fried rice. Awesome. So this is the fish chili sauce inside. The most flavor you're getting is the egg and crab. Help. To be honest, do you know what? I'm fine. I'm not that stuffed. I'm good. Yeah. Look at it. Over here is the branzino. So like whole fish chopped up, fried in fish sauce. Mmm. This is their jumbo king prawn dish. Their spiciest one on the menu. Oh, thank you. Ha ha ha. They've brought over three cocktails. This one is a simalola. A raisin infused cocktail. Raisin infused. Ahem. Pandan ice cream with taro jackfruit. This is their mango sticky rice. Yes. Look at it. We've got more pandan ice cream, but we could have happily shared none. A bowl. All the flavors here have been unreal. Awesome. Come here. Mmm. Come here. Oh. Wow. That was. Doesn't take too much effort after that amount of food. But I'm now very happy we've experienced it. Wayler. And you need to. Big recommendation. Quick donut pit stop at Do Donuts. They have a Michelin star pastry chef, Bethany Costello, as the culinary director. A donut pit stop was a creation of Pitt. He really wanted it. So I'm going to let him go in and do the ordering for us. Maybe he doesn't get carried away. Plain glaze. Dulce. Hibiscus. Cream orange. Amazing. Cheers. It's heavy. I think I've gone a little bit too big on donuts. Jesse's not going to be happy, so let's see what he says. Sure. Hey Jess. Yeah? Have a look at what I went for. What are you playing at? And I got a freebie. Just prepping for the carbs. It's so big. They're really big. We're going to have a little quick pit stop in our day of eating. In the beautiful Ludlow where we're staying. We've got some beers that were given to us by the brewery Finback. We're going to have them on that 20th floor roof. I can handle that! Okay, before we have our little sundowns up on the roof, we thought we'd come check out the restaurant here at Ludlow just for a couple of... Pails. And this is Dirty French. We're not going to eat here right now, but the food is good. It's French food with influences from everywhere that the French Legion touched. I don't know how PC that is, but it does make a very good menu. My legs feel like jelly. My hamstrings don't feel right. Should we stand on this? No, no, Jess, Jess. I mean... We've come to the roof of the Ludlow Hotel, 20th floor. What a view. I mean, there's nothing in New York that we cannot see. Big night ahead. Saturday night. I believe in you. I believe in you! Look into my eyes. Stay there. Come on, bro. Nice and deep. Shout at me again. Daddy likes... Daddy likes it deep! On the 20th floor of Ludlow Hotel, we actually have a gym. So you can run just like Pix do right now. Comfortably. He's finding it so easy, whilst it looks like that beautiful New York skyline. Is that it? Burn, burn, burn. I'm going to have a chicken burger now. Okay, we're at Double Chicken Please. This place is predominantly a cocktail bar with fried chicken sandwiches. Cocktails and fried chicken. Yes! The cocktail menu here, they try to recreate food dishes they like in the cocktails. That is cool. This is me. It's not me. This is me trying to be something I'm not, which is cool. So I've got a cold pizza. They try to replicate the flavour of a margarita pizza in a morning after. What? This is incredible. Pix got a Japanese cold noodle. There's a little Alice in Wonderland feel to this, right? Yeah. Flavours you haven't tasted in a cocktail before. It's textured. That's like sweet cold noodles. Yeah, it is. This place is really cool. Bolognese cheese steak. You heard? This is the salted egg yolk. This is the hot honey honey. Really? Right, so we've got three new cocktails. This one right here is a French toast. And that Oreo is espresso martini flavour. Jesus. This cocktail is key lime pie. Oh my. How have they got the... You've got the lime flavour, but you've also got all the pasty flavour. Thank you for having us. Double sugar please. It's been awesome. I've loved every second, every mouthful, every sip. The mezcal, the sour plum, the shisho leaf. Let's go. That's nice. The double chicken, man. It's the best place. Oh, that was sick. Guys, it's such an experience in there. It's not just eating. It's learning. What a crescendo to end on. Double chicken please. Amazing. If you like the look of our Top Jaw and Stubble & Co collaboration travel bag, which has been serving us extremely well this entire trip. As you see, I've been wearing it for almost the whole time. The link's in the description to get one for yourself. A big up to everybody who's helped us create these lists for these three films. They have been blinders. And a huge thanks to all our Patreons. Again, if you want this list and the extended, extended shortlist for New York and all around the world, you can get access to our recommendations on the Step app via our Patreon. For our other New York films and all our future travel guides, make sure you subscribe to Top Jaw. Thanks guys. See you later. That driver just like chopped off a bike.