Dining in NYC: A Guide to the Restaurants Featured in ‘And Just Like That…’ Season 3, Episode 4
And just like that, HBO Max’s Sex and the City sequel series returns for its third season. And Just Like That… brings back our long-time New Yorkers Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis), as well as relative newcomers Seema (Sarita Choudhury) and Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker), to our televisions and laptops. What is summer without our gals talking candidly about sex, making bad puns, and dining and drinking around the city?
Like previous seasons , will be tracking where the gang is eating across New York City, from brunch sessions to romantic dinners to cocktail dates. This guide will be updated weekly when each episode airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m., leading up to the finale. And we’re saying it now: there will be spoilers ahead.
Episode 4, “Apples to Apples”
Carrie is still down south in Virginia, which means she’s enjoying sleeping in a guest house, fresh country air, roaming chickens, and homemade flapjacks while dealing with Aidan’s family dynamics. She goes fishing with his sons, who opine on her ability to cook salmon . They play Apples to Apples, and the son who likes Carrie enjoys her answer of “pumpkin spice latte” for something mysterious. (Honestly, this episode has major vibes from that Sex and the City episode when Carrie visits Aidan’s cabin up in Suffern.)
Back in New York, Miranda’s housesitting for Carrie, taking care of the furniture-less home and Shoe the cat. We get a glimpse of her grown-up son Brady working the fry machine at Scout Sports Bar (presumably her ex-husband Steve’s Coney Island restaurant ). And her crush, Joy, comes over with her friends, and they get drunk on gin. The Charlotte household is learning the benefits of mutual aid organizations within their fancy building when they don’t know what to do with a ripe banana, but a neighbor messages that they want it via the community forum. Charlotte also cooks a proper Jewish dinner for her father-in-law, who compliments her “beautiful brisket.”
THERE WERE ABSOLUTELY NO RESTAURANT OR BAR SCENES THIS EPISODE!!!!!!!!
Here’s hoping we get some good dining scenes next episode.
Episode 3, “Carrie Golightly”
It’s a road trip for Carrie and Seema, who drive to Virginia under the guise of a book festival, but it’s really to visit Aidan and his sons (which, in actuality, is New York parading as the Southern state). Charlotte is in work mode during the European Fine Art Fair while partying and trying to sell art (which happens to have some food setups, including a bar touting Champagne, oysters, and salmon). Meanwhile, Miranda is finding the joys of going out with someone she enjoys.
Hot Fellas bakery is now open, and the girls are Anthony’s first real customers; he’s very worried that people aren’t coming — “Are people scared of carbs again?” But as soon as Lisa steps in, she’s followed by a posse of Upper West Side moms to Anthony’s relief. There are also hot pants-clad staffers outside enticing customers into the bakery.
The Union League Club
38 East 37th Street at Park Avenue, Murray Hill
The private social club is acting as a fancy Virginia restaurant, where Carrie and Seema are drinking martinis and are greeted by the book festival’s publicist, who manages the business. Seema asks if Mama’s homestyle fried chicken is “as yummy as it sounds,” but unfortunately, it was an old menu. The poultry option is now the less-appealing “air-fried with little or no oil and comes with an okra mousse topped with a succotash foam” since they went “a little more modern” and “Mama went heart-healthy.” Seema was not pleased and ended up ordering Kentucky Fried Chicken, which the girls ate in Carrie’s hotel room.
Tigre
105 Rivington Street, near Ludlow Street, Lower East Side
Miranda is out on a work date with BBC producer Joy at this cocktail bar from the Maison Premiere team . She’s sipping on what she declares is the “best mineral water I’ve ever had in the city,” while snacking on mixed nuts.
Little Sister Lounge
112 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth avenues, East Village
Charlotte and Harry are staying up past their bedtimes to appear cool and hip while attending a post-art fair cocktail reception at the Tao Group-run bar inside the Moxy East Village hote l, with lots of drinks and scattered foods on serving stands. There’s a whole thing where Harry has an accident because he can’t get to the bathroom in time because of his too-tight stylish jeans. How embarrassing.
Alphabet Bar
112 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth avenues, East Village
The show’s production crew stays in the same hotel to film an art show after-party at the cafe and bar. It’s supposed to have some weird 1960s theme with a bartender dressed up as Andy Warhol. The art buyer that Charlotte is trying to entice into buying a piece isn’t a fan of the bar ordering another round of drinks: “I hope the drinks are better than your art.” Charlotte and her co-worker go overboard on espresso martinis for the booze-caffeine boosts.
Deluxx Fluxx
125 East 11th Street between Third and Fourth avenues, East Village
Charlotte is properly wasted as she drunkenly dances and shouts that she loves espresso martinis on the floor of the day-glow nightclub . After some antics, Charlotte exits into the daylight, and we wait for the next episode.
Episode 2, “Outlook Good”
Welcome to New Rat City, Carrie Bradshaw. Her idyllic Gramercy Park townhouse garden is overrun by the truest of New Yorkers — rats! Miranda discovers the joys of bad reality dating shows, and Seema’s dealing with a parade of bad dates. Anthony is fulfilling his dream of opening a physical Hot Fellas bakery, or as he too obviously calls it, a “dick-and-mortar.” It looks cute, with a counter, baked goods on display, tiled walls, lots of blues, and bread-shaped scones and door handles. (The production team didn’t use an existing bakery for the filming — rather, they took over an empty storefront on the corner of East 88th Street and Madison Avenue.)
Jac’s on Bond
26 Bond Street, near Lafayette Street, Noho
The episode begins with Carrie meeting with her former neighbor Lisette, who bought her longtime Upper East Side apartment at the cocktail bar . Lisette preemptively orders them both gimlets. “I made a bold choice,” she explains. Lisette gifts Carrie a necklace with her old key and street address while they chat about dating in the city.
Rosa Mexicano
61 Columbus Avenue at West 62nd Street, Lincoln Square
The Upper West Side location of the Mexican mini-chain is a major set piece for this episode. In the first scene, Carrie, Miranda, and Seema are seated in the main dining room with chips and salsa for the group. A server comes over to make them tableside guacamole; she chimes in during Miranda’s discussion of dating reality show Bi Island, and Miranda falls in love.
Later on, Carrie and Miranda are back at the restaurant — Carrie is Miranda’s “guacamole beard” while Miranda flirts with the same staffer. “I predict a very bright future for you,” Carrie says, “Your combined good cholesterol will be through the roof.” They’re seated next to the stunning blue-tiled waterfall wall . They order the guacamole again made by the same server, but alas, it turns out she’s not interested in dating Miranda. Carrie also sends a voice text to Aidan while standing in the restaurant’s beautiful bathroom. (Rosa Mexicana is planning on shuttering this Lincoln Square location to reopen nearby inside the Empire Hotel on West 63rd Street at some point this year.
Le B
283 West 12th Street at West Fourth Street, Greenwich Village
Seema goes on a series of bad dates at the luxe restaurant , where she and the lackluster men sit at the best seats at the bar — the corner. She disses one date who she assumes will ask to split the check by summing up the experience: “Drinks: 30 dollars; telling you to go shove it: priceless.” Amazing.
Tatiana
10 Lincoln Center Plaza, at West 65th Street and Ninth Avenue, Lincoln Square
Seema goes on what she assumes is a date set up by her coworker at the upscale Afro-Caribbean restaurant . But it turns out to be a matchmaker meeting with Sydney, played by the delightful Cheri Oteri. (Maybe matchmaking in New York City is in the air: director Celine Song’s new movie Materialists , which comes out on Friday, June 13, centers on a matchmaker in Manhattan.) Sydney showcases how good she is at reading people by ordering for Seema: “salmon tartare, wasabi vinaigrette on the side, extra avocado, and hold the scallions.” Seema agrees it’s the right choice. For herself, she gets the crispy artichoke and a martini (none of these are served at Tatiana actually).
Bottino
246 Tenth Avenue, near West 24th Street, Chelsea
For Seema’s attempt to act like an appealing woman for the sake of a man, she goes on a date in the pretty garden patio of the Italian restaurant. They’re eating pasta and drinking red wine; later, the guy orders two tiramisus, but Seema has had enough. “I hated the cabernet you chose, and the tiramisu is tired,” she says, admitting that this isn’t who she really is. He claims to still be into the date, but then ditches her, leaving Sydney to pop up out of nowhere to finish the dessert.
Episode 1, “Outlook Good”
Goodbye, Carrie’s brownstone that’s actually in the West Village but masquerades as the Upper East Side; hello, new Gramercy Park townhouse. Last season, Carrie sold her iconic studio to buy and move into a large building along the park for herself and her cute kitty Shoe. Carrie and Aidan are in an ambiguous not-being-together-for-now situation as he lives in Virginia. Miranda’s now back in New York and single.
Motel No Tell
210 Avenue A, at East 13th Street, East Village
Of course, a queer bar decked out with neon and a disco ball would be blasting Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” This East Village bar is standing in for a “lady bar,” as Miranda describes to Carrie and Charlotte, thanking them for accompanying her on a night out of trying to score a date. Now, she’s a non-alcoholic drinker, but laments her $37 mocktail tabs, and later orders a Phony Negroni.
A couple of scenes later, we’re back at the bar: it’s closing time and Miranda is alone. But she meets Mary (played by Rosie O’Donnell), a Canadian visiting the city. They end up going to her hotel room together.
(In real life, Motel No Tell is celebrating its television appearance by offering a cocktail special for the summer: the Lady Pond is made with vodka, orange, vermouth, cranberry, lime, and apple shrub, for $16.)
Tavern on the Green
West 67th Street and Central Park West, Upper West Side
Okay, the iconic Central Park restaurant isn’t actually seen on the show, but it’s the butt of a joke. Miranda recaps her hookup to Carrie, explaining that she turned out to be a nun who really wanted to take her to Tavern on the Green, saying “she doesn’t know, it’s her first trip to New York.” Carrie is aghast: “I don’t know which is worse: that you slept with a nun or a tourist.”
Jean-Georges
1 Central Park West, between Columbus Circle and West 61st Street, Lincoln Square
Another talked-about but never-seen restaurant. Seema’s Marvel director boyfriend Ravis is back from filming in Egypt and tells her he booked lunch at the French tasting menu restaurant. But before that, his film crew has to scout locations in Red Hook, which makes him late for their 1 p.m. reservation. He pushes it back to dinner, and the group eats cooler sandwiches on the pier. But of course, they miss their dinner, and Seema breaks it off. “I don’t do vans or Cool Ranch potato chips, but I did try,” she says.
Red Rooster
310 Lenox Avenue, at West 126th Street, Harlem
Lisa is tasked with throwing a last-minute cocktail reception for her husband Herbert to make him look cool for his political campaign running for city comptroller. So what’s cooler than the celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson ’s comfort food flagship? The dining room is full — Lisa tells the girls that they should “eat everything” and that “the fritters are no joke.” The tables are laden with fried chicken and sandwiches, and the event ends with Carrie and Miranda eating some sort of pudding-like dessert out of little mugs.
