West Village is one of New York City‘s most romantic neighbourhoods for visitors, whether you’re here for brunch and shopping, or Comedy Cellar and Carrie Bradshaw’s stoop. I love the neighbourhood’s historic homes, tree-lined cobblestoned streets and the great wine bars, cafes & bookstores you can find in the backstreets. It’s also home to the biggest cheese shop in New York City – let’s be honest, this is all it needed to win my cheesehead heart! I lived in New York City for two years, and loved spending evenings and weekends in West Village. In this West Village neighborhood guide I’ve rounded up the most beautiful spots, and the best bars, restaurants and cafes in West Village.

West Village is just south of the tiny Meatpacking district and Chelsea, with the rest of Greenwich Village to the east, SoHo to the south and Hudson River to the west.

Check out my New York City Travel Guide for more tips & ideas on visiting the city, as well as my SoHo, Nolita, East Village, Upper West Side, Gramercy, Midtown and NoHo neighbourhood guides.

My West Village neighbourhood guide includes:

• A bit of history
• How to get there
• The best things to do
• The best cafes & brunch spots
• The best restaurants
• The best bars
• The best sweet treats (there are lots!)

Why the West Village is famous

West Village was once a bohemian enclave, home to artists, musicians and writers like Allen Ginsberg, Diane Arbus, Ezra Pound, Jim Morrison and Jack Kerouac. Its forward-thinking residents made West Village a hotbed of alternative and avant-garde culture. The Village was the birthplace of political, artistic and cultural movements, including the gay liberation movement and the Beat literary movement. Like most gentrified areas, the types of artists who made it cool could not afford to live there now. Today, West Village’s resident artists are A-listers like Julianne Moore, Hugh Jackman, Sarah Jessica Parker and Taylor Swift.

How to get to West Village

Get the 1 train to Christopher Street or the A, B, C, D, E or F line to West 4th. My favourite parts of Village are around West 10th, Carmine Street & Bleecker Street. The West Village is walking distance from Chelsea, Soho, Nolita, Greenwich Village & East Village.

Things to do in West Village

Sit in the fountain at Washington Square Park

Historic Washington Square Park is one of my favourite spots in New York City and the most beautiful part in West Village. I love sitting just inside the fountain (in the patches which don’t get intermittently sprayed with water) and watching the world go by on a hot summer’s day. It’s a New York City icon, but at the same time is not quite like anywhere else in the city. It’s a great spot for people watching during the day, but I’d hazard a guess that it’s not the safest place to go walking alone at night.

Hear the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at the Village Vanguard

New York City is renowned for jazz clubs, and there’s no better place to start than Village Vanguard. One of the oldest jazz rooms in the city, Village Vanguard has been running since 1935, and celebrates jazz in all it’s many forms. Name a jazz great and they’ve played at the Vanguard. Thanks to the room’s unique triangular shape, and therefore great acoustics, there are dozens of “Live at the Vanguard” albums from artists of all stripes. The Vanguard was opened by Max Gordon, who ran the place until he died in 1989. His wife, Lorraine Gordon, took up the reins until she passed away in June this year – making it a remarkable 83 tenure between the couple.

The Vanguard hosts rotating acts for weeks at a time, as well as being home to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, which plays on a Monday. On my second trip to New York, my boyfriend & I saw the Jazz Orchestra and loved it (okay, I loved it) – I just wish I’d booked a little more in advance so we could have seen the 8pm show rather than 10pm. We were still jetlagged and it was a real struggle to stay awake late.

Visit the Stonewall National Monument

The Stonewall Riots in 1969 in Greenwich Village are regarded as the beginning of the LBTQ rights movement in the United States. Today, the entirety of Christopher Square Park and the block of Christopher Street surrounding the park is part of the Stonewall National Monument. The Stonewall Inn was originally on Christopher Street across from the park, and is where the riots began, however it went out of business after the riots. There is a new pub, also called The Stonewall, at the same site today. July 2019 marks 50 years since The Stonewall riots, so pride is on display more than even this year in celebration of this landmark event.

Get the Giggles at Comedy Cellar

Comedy Cellar is the most famous comedy club in New York City, if not the world. It uses a showcase format, rather than headline acts, which is great because you get to see 5-7 comedians in one show and it keeps tickets affordable. You never know who might show up – Amy Schumer, Dave Attell and and the like have been known to show up unannounced to practice material. On our second visit, Judd Apatow dropped in!

I was so excited to finally see a show at Comedy Cellar on my recent trip to New York – experiencing local live entertainment is one of my favourite things to do in a foreign city, and it doesn’t get much more New York than a comedy club. Stand up comedy was invented in turn-of-the-century New York, borne out of the burlesque shows in vaudeville theatres around the city, where dancing acts were broken up by slapstick shows and eventually, short sharp pieces that were designed to trigger laughs without the need for setting up a big story – the beginnings of what we know today as a joke, and stand up comedy.

You’ll need to book online, around two weeks in advance. Tickets are usually are $22, but you also need to order two items per person once inside. I shouldn’t have been surprised at how many times I laughed out loud or how rarely a joke fell flat across the five comedians that night, it was the real deal. I’d 100% go back on my next trip to New York and I can’t recommend it more for your first trip to the city. It’s definitely one of my favourite things to do in New York City!

Shop on Bleecker Street

Bleecker Street is West Village’s most famous shopping destination. Some of my favourite spots in the area are Maje and Intermix for clothes and CAP Beauty & The Mask Bar for skincare – the latter is a tiny shop dedicated to Korean face masks, which is exactly what the doctor ordered after spending more than 20 hours on an airplane.

Visit “Carrie’s Apartment”

Sex and the City fans can find Carrie’s apartment building at 66 Perry Street in West Village. Carrie lived in the Upper East Side in the show, but the entrance and exterior in the show was actually at this building in West Village. Hugh Jackman & Calvin Klein are both rumoured to live on Perry Street too. The steps are roped off by the owner to stop a constant stream of tourists posing for photos on their front steps.

Best Cafes & Brunch Spots in West Village

Jack’s Wife Freda

On the long list of brunch spots I wanted to try in New York City, Jack’s Wife Freda topped the list. It’s got a lovely, warm and welcoming atmosphere, which is so typical of West Village, and a fresh and veggie-heavy menu which was so refreshing, since we were travelling and it was hard to prepare our own food. If you didn’t know any better, you could almost be at your favourite neighbourhood cafe anywhere. It’s very popular, so get there before 9am on weekends to avoid a long wait. The Madame Freda is a decadent spin on a Croque Madame, but with house made duck prosciutto replacing the traditional ham. For a fresh start to the day, I love the Mediterranean breakfast (pictured) with tomato & cucumber salad, labne, pita, avodado & eggs.

Jeffrey’s Grocery

Jeffrey’s Grocery is known for its oyster bar, but it does a great brunch! The menu is a mix of brunch classics and, not surprisingly, great fish-for-breakfast options (smoked trout & zucchini pancakes, whitefish toast, bagels & lox…yum). I’m a BIG fan of fish for breakfast, so I love Jeffrey’s Grocery. It’s a quintessential West Village brunch spot.

Buvette

West Village loves a little taste of France, and Buvette has locals and visitors lining up 18 hours a day for Chef/Owner Jody Williams’ decadent and delicious small plates. Buvette is popular for brunch, but it’s open at nearly all hours, so don’t hesitate to pop in for any meal, at nearly any time. My only advice is to be more interesting that avocado toast – it’s totally fine but not memorable. Leave the smashed avo to one of the many Aussie cafes all over town and order something a little more exciting at Buvette.

Joseph Leonard

Another one from restauranteur Gabriel Stulman, who also runs Jeffrey’s Grocery and Fairfax Wine, Joseph Leonard is considered a West Village institution. I love this small, cosy neighbourhood spot, their mushroom croque monsieur and how friendly and laidback the atmosphere is here.

Cafe Cluny

The French-American cafe and brasserie Cafe Cluny epitomises West Village charm. The breakfast menu has all the usual suspects you’d hope for at brunch, but I really like the grapefruit brulee, which was a fresh and unexpected start to the day.

Toby’s Estate

It might not be owned by Australians, but it serves solid Aussie coffee. For homesick Australians looking for a caffeine fix, Toby’s Estate is your place. Good coffee is getting easier to find in New York, but Toby’s is still always busy – don’t count on being able to stop for a table.

Bluestone Lane

Another spot for Aussie coffee, Bluestone Lane is like a little slice of Melbourne in Manhattan – complete with Aussie accents everywhere. Bluestone Lane has coffee shops all over the city, but their spot in West Village is a full service cafe which makes it perfect for brunch.

Best Restaurants & Places to Eat in West Village

Via Carota

Via Carota continues to be the hottest reservation in West Village. This longstanding local favourite is the perfect, warm Italian restaurant and is always busy. Make sure you book in advance! I had my 27th birthday dinner here, which was such a memorable night!

Dante

Dante bills itself as a bar, but you should definitely book a table for a meal here. Established in 1915, new owners breathed new life into this classic West Village bar in recent years, and made it an instant hit. Dante is a local favourite, and for good reason. It was named the World’s Best Bar in 2019, and continues to go from strength the strength. Book a table for lunch or dinner for the ultimate West Village meal.

Minetta Tavern

Minetta Tavern is owned by Keith McNally, just like Balthazar in SoHo (one of my other favourites). Like Balthazar, Minetta Tavern’s menu is classic Paris-meets-New-York. You will definitely need to book – I booked about six weeks out for a Wednesday evening, and we could only get a 5pm or 10pm seating. In hindsight, the 10pm seating was a dicey choice when we were both still very jetlagged and the restaurant has dialled up it’s mood lighting up to 11 (or down to 11…), making it very hard not to fall face first into dessert.

Morandi

Keith McNally veers from his usual French flair for casual, rustic Italian at Morandi. Book a table on the patio for some West Village people watching, sunshine (hopefully) and delicious, familiar Italian food. I love the pici al limone (housemade lemon pasta).

Best Bars in West Village

Katana Kitten

Named the Best Bar in America at the World’s 50 Best Awards, don’t miss the Japanese-American cocktail bar that’s taking New York City by storm. Katana Kitten is a buzzy, two-level space with more of a party vibe than the more serious cocktail bars that senior management & ownership team have come from (Existing Conditions, Pegu Club). Downstairs, the basement floor is inspired by Tokyo’s Golden Gai.

Employees Only

Employees Only has stood the test of time. Opened in the early 2000s by industry veterans, Employees Only kicked off the craft cocktail movement while also offering a rowdier cocktail experience than Manhattan’s typically serious cocktail bars. It’s consistently ranked in the World’s 50 Best Bars, and has so far stood the test of time through personable, unpretentious service, serious cocktails and generous pours of top notch ingredients. The entrance is tucked behind a tarot card reader’s rooms – which you can visit if you need a break from the crowded bar, which is packed wall-to-wall on weekends. I love the Fraise Sauvage!

Bar Pisellino

Can’t get a table at Via Carota? Join the club at Bar Pisellino. Bar Pisellino is by the same owners as Via Carota & I Sodi, so you’ll get a taste of the same magic at this lovely, oddly-shaped bar on the corner of Grove Street. It’s still a hotspot, so book if you can or be prepared for a short wait.

Fairfax

Fairfax is an all day cafe, restaurant and wine bar, with a modern Mediterranean menu. We popped in for a glass of wine and cheese between seeing a show at Comedy Cellar and a late set at the Village Vanguard. It feels like you’re in someone’s really stylish living room, again capturing that comfy, warm West Village atmosphere that makes the neighbourhood so popular. It’s at the intersection of West 4th St & West 10th Street, which is also where you’ll find Bar Sardine, from the same owners, and Empellon Taqueria. This is probably the tastiest intersection in New York. I didn’t realise til I was writing this blog post, but Fairfax is also by the same team who own Jeffrey’s Grocery!

Entwine

Entwine is a charming neighbourhood spot that is firmly off the tourist trail. It has a pretty little courtyard which is a lovely spot to while away an afternoon in summer. It has recently celebrated it’s 10th birthday, which is no mean feat in a city as fickle as New York City!

Murray’s Cheese 

Murray’s Cheese has the biggest selection of cheese in New York City. And the staff are generous with tastings. Need I say more? The best part is, they have a wine & cheese bar on the same street, so you can enjoy cheese & wine flights even if you’re just visiting. We went for a cheese & wine flight before going to dinner at Minetta Tavern, it was the perfect start to the evening.

Little Branch

Tucked away in a quiet corner of West Village, Little Branch is part of bar savant Sasha Petraske’s cocktail bar empire. The subterranean bar is small and slightly more relaxed than the late Petraske’s most famous venture, Milk & Honey. Petraske is also credit with leading the craft cocktail revival and starting the trend of serious cocktail bars, where bartenders were suited up in whites, drinks were made carefully and entrances were tucked out of sight.

Sweet treats in West Village

Magnolia Bakery

It wouldn’t be a West Village neighborhood guide without Magnolia Bakery. It’s 15 minutes of fame from being on Sex and The City has lasted 15 years, so it’s a little touristy, but don’t knock it til you’ve tried it. Magnolia Bakery is one of the few places to survive the cupcake bubble bursting, for a reason. Plus, there’s a park across the street where you can eat your cupcake, which beats walking and eating – one of my top ten pet peeves.

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Have you got any favourite places in West Village? Let me know in the comments!