50 Most Underrated Places Across NYC, According To New Yorkers
From outer borough beaches, to underground tours beneath Nolita, to museum restaurants, these are all the spots that don't get enough hype.
We’ve all heard of NYC’s overrated spots (and may have fallen victim to them from time to time) — but what about the places most people have never heard of, or have heard of but just don’t appreciate fully? This is where the magic of the city truly lies.
Here are the 50 most underrated places in NYC, as told by New Yorkers:
1. “The churro lady under the 7 train tracks in Woodside. I’m fairly certain she’s magical.”
2. The New-York Historical Society
(Another commenter added: NYHS also houses my favorite restaurant, charming and feels like a homey cozy kitchen: Storico)
Where: 170 Central Park West
3. “Bethesda Terrace before 9 a.m. on Saturday, when the dogs of Central Park are off the lease. It is a magnificent sight. The Boathouse Cafe [Loeb Boathouse] also has an outdoor seating area where dogs are welcome and people will talk to you. Breakfast is inexpensive and the conversations are fantastic.”
4. “The burrito truck at 41st and Queens Blvd. Usually sits by the Capital One Bank.”
5. Wave Hill Public Garden & Cultural Center, The Bronx
Where: 4900 Independence Ave, Bronx, NY
6. “The Art Student League on 57th. My wife and daughter took classes together. It is a fabulous school.”
Where: 215 W 57th St.
7. “Tea & Sympathy, a British restaurant serving traditional British comfort food since 1990. The shop next door sells popular British groceries, sweets, tea.”
8. Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn
Where: 500 25th St, Brooklyn
9. “The Rockaways and the boardwalk spanning from Far Rockaway to Rockaway Park.”
10. “Little Italy in the Bronx — strip of restaurants and beautiful at night because it’s lit up (AKA Arthur Avenue)”
Bonus: check out our guide to the neighborhood here!
11. “The gyro cart on Ditmars Ave, a block away from Steinway Street — has the best shish kabob and gyro in Astoria.”
12. The Morgan Library and Museum on Madison
Where: 225 Madison Ave
13. Cathedral of St. John the Divine on W 114 ish.
(Another commenter added: “The Hungarian Pastry Shop across the street from St. John the Divine. The bathroom inside the pastry shop has the best comments written on the wall, put there by the students of Columbia. This European-style bakery is great.”)
14. Pelham Bay Park, The Bronx
Where: Middletown Road & Stadium Avenue, NY
15. Wo Hop, Chinatown
Where: 17 Mott St.
16. North Woods in Central Park. Great hiking trails up that way and just lovely.
Where: Mid-Park between 101st and 110th St.
17. The Irish Hunger Memorial, Financial District
Where: North End Ave &, Vesey St.
19. The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
Where: 30 Lafayette Ave & 58 7th Ave, Brooklyn
20. “Redhook, Brooklyn! Hoek for wood fried pizza, Steve’s key lime Pie on stick for dessert, sunset at Valentino Park with best view of Statue of Liberty and a cocktail at Sunny’s.”
21. The Tenement Museum, Lowest East Side
Where: 103 Orchard St.
22. Roosevelt Island
23. “Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the catacombs underneath,” Nolita
Where: 266 Mulberry St.
24. “The walk across the 59th Street Bridge (AKA the Queensboro Bridge, from Midtown East to Astoria, Queens).”
25. Strivers’ Row, Harlem
26. Downtown Flushing, Queens
27. The Greenbelt, Staten Island
28. Shakespeare’s Garden, Central Park
Where: 79th St Transverse, Central Park
29. Lincoln Center Library
Where: The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza
30. Elevated Acre, Financial District
Where: 55 Water St.
You can read more about this Manhattan hidden gem here.
31. The Cloisters, Washington Heights
Where: 99 Margaret Corbin Drive
32. The Noguchi Museum, Astoria
Where: 9-01 33rd Rd., Queens
33. Conservatory Garden, Central Park
Where: East Side of the Park between 104th and 106th St.
34. The Campbell, Grand Central
Where: 15 Vanderbilt Ave
Psst: it’s also on our “most beautiful bars in NYC” list!
35. Astoria Park, Queens
36. Governors Island
Get a first look at Governors Island’s lavish new waterfront spa
37. Forest Hills, Queens
38. The New York Transit Museum, Downtown Brooklyn
Where: 99 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn
39. Bryant Park’s bathroom
It’s #1 on our list of best public restrooms in NYC!
40. Elizabeth Street Garden, Nolita
Where: Spring St. between Mott & Elizabeth St.
41. Francis Lewis Park in Whitestone, Queens
Where: 3rd Ave, Whitestone, NY
42. City Island, The Bronx
43. East Harlem’s Tres Leches Café
Where: 356 E 112th St.
44. F.I.T. Museum. Free and always a great exhibit.
Where: 227 W 27th St.
45. Orchard Beach, The Bronx
Where: On Long Island Sound in Pelham Bay Park (Park Drive, Bronx)
On our list of the 10 best beaches in NYC here!
46. Economy Candy, Lower East Side
Where: 108 Rivington St.
Read more about its history here!
47. Ali’s Roti Shop on Fulton by Nostrand in Brooklyn
(A commenter added: “Abu’s Bakery too!”)
Where: 1267 Fulton St. & 1184 Fulton St. (bakery)
48. Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria
Where: 36-01 35th Ave, Queens
49. “Free ride in New York Harbor from the Staten Island Ferry.”
Where: Ferry terminal at 4 Whitehall St.
50. The Kristine Mann Library at the C.G. Jung Institute
Where: 28 E 39th St.