Eat Me. P.J. Clarkes, NYC

As a huge Gossip Girl fan, one of the things I HAD to do whilst in New York in November was visit Chuck Bass’s hotel, The Empire. I arrived at the impressive building on a Sunday night with some friends after we had been ice-skating in Central Park. We checked out the building and visited the rooftop deck under the red neon sign before stumbling into P.J Clarkes on the ground floor to warm our numb fingers and curb our huge appetites.

We were greeted by a lovely waitress who encouraged our tourist enthusiasm by telling us about Gossip Girl sightings and seating us by the window. This P.J Clarks (of which there are several around the USofA) sits on the Upper West Side by the striking Lincoln Centre (home of New York Fashion Week), drawing a vibrant mix of creative culture and locals. The fit out is classic [upper-class] pub, with red and white chequered table clothes, dark wooden floors and panelled walls, complete with pane-glass windows.

The menu provides you with a choice of pub food with a bit of a classy twist. You can choose from their raw bar, appetisers, soups, salads, hearty casseroles and pies, steaks and, of course, hamburgers. I ordered the mini cheeseburgers and fries and was not disappointed. Out came three petit-ly scrumptious burgers with a generous serving of thin (just the way I like them) fries. The buns were warm and the patties were tender and juicy, plus the burgers weren’t overflowing like so many often are, which meant you could eat it without creating a right mess.

The mini burgers were popular on my table and there were no complaints, others had the chicken pot pie and the Caesar salad. They also do sweet potato fries which were delish!

I hear their macaroni and cheese can’t be beaten so I’d love to go back and try that one next! A great place to eat, great location, yummy food and I got to pretend I was in a filming of Gossip Girl for the evening, what more could you want? 4.5/5.

Where: 44 W 63rd Street, Lincoln Square
Bookings: recommended
Phone: (212) 957-9700