Industry wisdom says that bars are always busy during a recession, while people refrain from dining out. But is that actually true? We checked out several Manhattan restaurants, each at two different times -- a recent Wednesday and Saturday, during a window from 8 to 9 p.m. -- to see who was busy, and who was refolding napkins all night. S
ome results of note: Dovetail, home of the $88 tasting menu, was near capacity on a Wednesday night, as was the private dining room. But poor Secession had only seated eight diners at around 8 p.m. on that same night. Pastis was packed last Saturday, but Hearth could have seated 36 more people. Fickle times! Check out our chart to compare crowds.
| Wednesday | Saturday | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Restaurant | Seated | Empties | Notes | Seated | Empties | Notes |
Schiller's | 90 | 10 | About 15 at the bar | 96 | 4 | At or around the bar: 46 |
Spitzer's Corner | 85 | 35 | 146 | 8 | Full, save 2 empty booths in back | |
Shang | 70 | About 60 | Approximately 20 at the bar | 66 | 64 | 17 at the bar |
Back Forty | 50 | 25 | 63 | 10 | ||
Hearth | 69 | 27 | 60 | 20 | 8 at the bar | |
Secession | 8 | 72 | Closed for private party. | |||
Momofuku Ssam | 41 | 34 | 56 | 4 | 6 people waiting | |
10 Downing | 55 | 10 | 65 | 0 | ||
Da Silvano | 40 | 35 | Inside only | 73 | 2 | Inside only |
Otto | 164 | 16 | 175 | 5 | ||
Scuderia | 93 | 7 | 88 | 12 | ||
Le Cirque | 36 | About 50 | 22 in bar area | 77 | 18 | 30 in bar area |
Dovetail | 70 | 5 | Including private dining room | 61 | 14 | Not including private dining room |
Fatty Crab UWS | 57 | 8 | 70 | 4 | Wait for 2 at 8:45: 45 minutes | |
West Branch | 130 | 0 | 3 mid-size parties waiting | 112 | 18 |
Previously on NYmag.com's Grub Street...