Historic Restaurants in New York

New York’s history is so jam-packed, it’s likely that every building has borne witness to historic events. Statues and tourist traps aren’t the only places to sit in the shadows of giants. Historic restaurants in New York let visitors learn a bit of rich history, while New Yorkers can just fall in love with old-timey atmosphere.

Writers tend to get their drink on, so it’s no surprise that New York’s historic restaurants include former stomping grounds of the literati. The White Horse Tavern in the West Village was built in the 19th century, but it’s really known as the hangout of beat writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg. Wanna-be writers and college students scribble away in Moleskine notebooks, hoping to get inspiration from literary ghosts.

Even older, McSorley’s Old Ale House has played host to guests like Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Diners are surrounded by artifacts from the past and can imagine the generations that have passed through the restaurant. Mostly men though, as McSorley’s only started allowing women in the 1970s. A restaurant that has been making history for over 150 years…in New York, that’s not surprising.

Diners at New York historic restaurants can take comfort in this: with New York’s constantly changing trends and tastes, these restaurants have to be doing something right to stick around all these years.