This buzzing bar and restaurant within Grand Central is hugely atmospheric, with a vaulted tiled ceiling by Catalan-born engineer Rafael Guastavino. Ignore the formal dining area on your left as you enter: the prize seats are at the sleek communal tables on your right, where diners happily slurp oysters as quick as staff can shuck them.
Most New Yorkers come for the two-dozen oyster varieties, handwritten onto a menu above the bar counter. But if you don't like oysters, you can feast from the extensive fish menu (the same menu is available in all dining areas). Dishes are clean and simple, and you can guarantee the star of the show will be the expertly cooked, generously sized seafood servings.