What to Order at Minetta Tavern

Minetta Tavern is Keith McNally's red-boothed Greenwich Village bistro, and its menu peaks at two extremes: a famous dry-aged burger and a 40-ounce côte de boeuf for two.

What should you order at Minetta Tavern?

Order the Black Label burger on a normal night and the côte de boeuf on a big one. The Infatuation rates Minetta an 8.8 and its praise concentrates on the meaty end of the menu.

1. Black Label burger. Prime dry-aged beef on brioche with jammy caramelized onions. The Infatuation calls it "tidy, but secretly intense" and suggests adding gruyère "for added oomph." This is the dish that made the room famous.

2. Dry-aged côte de boeuf. The 40-ounce bone-in rib steak for two, $189 as of mid-2026, which the review names its favorite big-night-out meal in the city.

3. Roasted bone marrow. Served as a small tower. The review's instruction: scrape the "jiggly, smokey marrow" onto the toast that comes with it.

4. Soufflé for two. Order the Grand Marnier version at the start of the meal. The review notes it arrives "almost as jiggly as the bone marrow."

5. Minetta French Dip. The Infatuation calls it an "excellent lunch or brunch order": thin-sliced beef with shreds of horseradish, $33 as of mid-2026.

6. Frites. They come with entrees, and the review declares it "completely acceptable to order as an appetizer" anyway.

What should you skip at Minetta Tavern?

The menu doesn't miss so much as it splits diners. The Minetta burger, cheddar and looser-packed, runs juicier than the Black Label per the review, and costs less. Choosing it isn't a downgrade, so the real skip is ordering light: The Infatuation's advice is to lean into the meaty options, and a table that orders like a salad crowd leaves wondering what the fuss was.

How does ordering actually work at Minetta Tavern?

It runs like the French bistro it looks like: starters (the onion soup earns its place when it's cold out), burgers and mains, and the shared côte de boeuf as the centerpiece move. Solo diners do unusually well here. The Infatuation notes complimentary champagne and generous treatment at the bar, which makes Minetta one of NYC's best solo steak dinners.

How do you get a reservation at Minetta Tavern?

Minetta books through Resy, and prime dinner slots in a small, century-old Greenwich Village room disappear fast. Book when dates release, or watch for cancellations and aim for lunch, when the French dip is the order and tables come easier.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Black Label burger?

Minetta's signature: a burger built from prime dry-aged beef cuts on brioche with caramelized onions. It costs more than most burgers in the city and reviewers keep concluding it earns the premium.

Who owns Minetta Tavern?

Keith McNally, the restaurateur behind Balthazar and Pastis, who relaunched the 1937 tavern in 2009 and kept its red booths, checkered floor, and caricature-lined walls.

Is Minetta Tavern good for solo dining?

Yes, notably so. The Infatuation highlights the bar treatment, including complimentary champagne for solo diners, and the burger suits a bar seat perfectly.

Getting the table is the harder half of the plan. DinnerElite tracks when Minetta Tavern releases reservations and how far ahead it books, and it emails you the moment a cancellation opens up. Start from DinnerElite's Minetta Tavern page.