Restaurant recommendations - Soho NYC

More great tips! Reading the menus makes me want to eat, eat, eat! And have a cocktail at Pegu Club.

Over on the corner of Bleecker and Bowery is the hip and wonderful Saxon & Parole. Great cocktails, excellent food, "now" vibe.

Raoul's-funky nyc classic french. The Dutch. Bobby Flays Gato is just one block north of Houston St. Pegu Club for cocktails and appetizers. Peasant a few block east of Soho in Nolita. Omen for the best Kyoto style food outside of Kyoto.

Balthazar is an all time favorite, you cannot go wrong there. But sometime might be a little bit touristy. Mercer Kitchen is always rock solid. The two restaurants I like a lot are in Nolita, Public and The Musket Room.

Thank you, everyone! Always helps to have some personal recommendations

Mercer Kitchen at Prince and Mercer is terrific. V
John George V is chef & it shows. Upstairs is better...quieter.

How could I forget? Lupa is in Soho! one of the best italian restaurants in New York, I think. and never a scrowded as its more famous big sister, Babbo. Both food and service are top notch.

If you don't know much about Balthazar (or even if you do!) this is a great inside story: http://nyti.ms/1HOoSzO. I agree with ChefJune re: atmosphere vs food, though. If your niece is a foodie and a bit more contemporary/off-the-beaten trail, Acme is one of my favourite of-the-moment restaurants in NoHo (I went for my birthday this summer & loved it!). The menu is tricky to read, but the food is fabulous http://www.acmenyc.com/

Boqueria in SoHo has a nice lively atmosphere. A bit farther (but if you've been is SoHo for the afternoon you might be ready to leave it) -- Buvette in the West Village is really charming.
RE cash only: Most restaurants run on a pretty small profit margin, and particularly for smaller ones, processing fees charged by credit card companies can be quite significant.

Balthazar is right in the middle of Soho, although I think its atmosphere is way better than the food.I like l'Ecole (the restaurant of the International Culinary Center) and The Dutch better.

Sorry if this is sheer ignorance, but why would an established restaurant be cash-only? Just curious.

p.s. It's for dinner

Balthazar is magnificently atmospheric. Not quite in SoHo, but I love, love Bar Pitti over in Greenwich Village.