Are you spending time in Gotham and looking for a great salad place? We’ve rounded up the best places for a delicious salad in New York City right now.
Where are the best places for a delicious salad in New York (NYC)?
Elaine:
Can I have a big salad?
Waitress:
A big salad?
Elaine:
You see…
George:
[irritated] Just tell them what you want. They’ll make it for you.
Elaine:
It’s a salad, only bigger, with lots of stuff in it.
Waitress:
I can bring you two small salads.
Elaine:
Could you put it in a big bowl?
Waitress:
We don’t have big bowls.
Elaine:
All right, just get me a cup of decaf.
Waitress:
We have Sanka.
Where are the best places for a delicious salad in New York City?
The dialogue above is from the iconic episode of “Seinfeld” when Elaine introduced us to the big salad. This was years before Just Salad, Chopt, and Sweet Green became staples of every corner in most cities. Back then you had to go out of your way to get a great big salad or —GASP!—make it yourself. And thank goodness now we live in a day and age when a big salad is an essential part of every brunch and lunch menu at some of the best restaurants in NYC.
The best places to go for a delicious salad in New York (NYC).
Some restaurants are even defined by their big salad. Grubstreet writer Tammie Teclemariam wrote it best earlier this year when she said, When you eat a salad at work, it feels like work. But a main-course salad at a restaurant is something else entirely, like the difference between chugging down a paper cup of office coffee from a pod and sipping a fresh-made latte out of a porcelain mug. At their very best, restaurant salads are not merely meal salads, they are true Big-Ass Salads, each component of which has been carefully chosen to work within the service of the greater good.”
If you are anything like me then you are constantly on a quest for the best salad in NYC. This is not the ultimate list but I did search high and wide and ate a lot of kale to put this one together.
The best salads in New York
1. Chopped Salad
American Bar has the quintessential perfect brunch/lunch salad. This salad is so good that I dream about the dressing sometimes (honestly is a salad anything without the right dressing?) I think it is the sundried tomatoes that give it that extra kick, but some may it is the soppressata (I usually get that taken off and substitute a chicken.) Or perhaps it is just the great people watching at American Bar that really makes this the best salad. The Peanut Chicken Salad is also a strong contender but it is obviously a very different vibe.
The best places to go for a delicious salad in New York (NYC).
2. Mark’s Classic Chopped Chicken Salad
Anything on the brunch menu is delicious at Mark’s Off Madison, but the salads are particularly great. I favor the Classic Chicken Salad but the Palm Beach is also a strong contender. Of course the Dijon-based dressing takes it to a whole new level but there are also real moments of innovation with the pears and string beans tossed in. That’s art. Plus, these salads do not skimp and you will get to have a second meal in the privacy of your own home.
3. The Freddy
Sadelle’s is the pivotal brunch spot in NYC: chic, buzzy and sometimes impossible to get a reservation at. The dressing on their Freddy Salad is chef’s kiss emoji. Who needs a bagel and lox when you have this masterpiece of a salad?! Though all the salads are worth trying that is hands down my favorite and is so much more than a salad but rather a brilliant medley of shrimp, hearts of palm, radishes, and crispy shallots. The salad seems to perfectly embody the dance of the same name which you may recall from the iconic from Troop Beverly Hills.
4. Brussels Salad
Yes, this is a chain (but it’s not like it’s Subway.) Yes, this much easier to get a table at which is half the fun for people but the Shaved Brussel Sprouts salad is incendiary at La Pecora Bianca. It is so fresh and light but that shaved parmesan just takes it over the top.
5. Kale Salad
Tiny’s in Tribeca and rushed over to the much bigger and scenier Odeon but you would be missing out on a truly delicious salad. It is just a simple kale salad but I was delightfully surprised one hot summer day when I couldn’t put my fork down. Made with apples, carrots, walnuts, gouda and maple vinaigrette it is so strong in flavor it barely needs a protein (but the chicken mixes in perfectly.)
The best places to go for a delicious salad in New York (NYC).
6. Hillstone Kale Salad with Peanut Dressing
You may think of Hillstone as more of a night time place for a corporate dinner but it is perfectly great for brunch and the salads are huge and delicious.
7. Westville Kale Salad
There is a reason this salad is called the “crack salad.” You will devour it. Luckily there are a few Westville’s in NYC so it is easy to get. The combination of the pickled red onions, candied walnuts, and crumbled blue cheese, is perfection. Add in cranberries, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and that light but delicious lemon and olive oil dressing and you are in for a feast.
best places for a delicious salad in NYC
It takes a lot of energy to be in New York City, and sometimes it takes a big salad to find the will to power through. Now you know where to find the best most delicious salads in NYC at eateries large and small. ‘Cause why come all this way and then settle for Sweet Green, dear reader?
