Best Prix Fixe Lunch - Manhattan, NYC

Prix Fixe Lunch Restaurants in Manhattan, NYC. One of the best joys of living in The Big Apple is eating out as there are so many diverse restaurants to choose from.

But we also have budgets and sometimes the expense of enjoying a meal at a top restaurant can get out of hand. The good news is that even the best Manhattan restaurants, offer consumer-friendly, pre-theater or prix fixe lunch, dinner packages and many fantastic money-saving deals.

Sangria 46 Restaurant - New York, NY 

Sangria 46, located in the heart of New York's famed Restaurant Row, offers one of the best prix fixe deals you will find anywhere. Ariel and Judith, the friendly owners, along with their chef José Ignacio Marin, have created a mouthwatering menu of dishes from Spain, Argentina and other Latin American nations.

The atmosphere at Sangria 46 is delightful and the decor is bright and colorful, yet also very classy and romantic. Take your time to soak up the very Spanish hospitality as you sip a glass of the sangria that they have become known for. Happy Hour takes place from 3-7 PM and is a great time to sample their delicious and authentic tapas along with, of course, a glass of wine or sangria from the fruit-filled pitchers at the bar. You can choose a traditional red sangria, which mixes brandy, triple sec, red wine with apple and slices of citrus fruit. The white sangria blends the above ingredients with white wine. While most cafés and restaurants offer customers just red or white, Sangria 46 has a multitude of refreshing sangrias available.

Brandy, triple sec and white wine is only made better when you add peach and fresh strawberries to the mix. Their Coppa sangria blends Spanish champagne, brandy and triple sec with mixed fruit. The mango selection blends diced mango with white wine and brandy. Ariel, who hails from Argentina's mountains near Mendoza, and Judith, a flamenco dancer who grew up in Tennessee, make regulars and tourists alike feel very warm and welcome. The prix fixe deals may get you in the door, but it is the quality of the food that will keep you coming back. The prix fixe lunch, from 12 to 3 PM, is a real bargain at only $22. It includes an appetizer, main course, dessert and a glass of sangria or house wine.

At $30, the dinner prix fixe is still a steal with appetizer, entrée and dessert included. This is the good stuff. Appetizer selections include salad or soup of the day, chorizo sauteed with onions, muscles diablo or stuffed mushrooms. The main courses offered are very diverse. Chuletas De Cerdo is grilled pork chops with peppers, onions, white wine and lemon. A deceptively simple but always tasty dish is Gambas a la Plancha (grilled shrimp with olive oil and garlic). The Churrasco Con Cebolla (skirt steak in its natural juices with sautéed onions) and Ravioli De Langosta (a succulent lobster ravioli in a light pink sauce) are dishes that you just cannot go wrong with.

Their flan, caramel custard is just as good as the sangria, which is really making a statement. The flan, in both taste and texture, is perfect and not too sweet.  

If you have ever vacationed in Spain, you will find the flavors served here very familiar. You will feel as though you are back in Madrid, without a care in the world. You really can't buy that type of feeling. Some restaurants have it, others don't.
 

Location & Hours

Sangria 46 Restauant is located at 338 West 46 Street. Their number is (212) 581-8482. 
Sun-Thu: 12 PM-11 PM, Fri & Sat 12 PM-12 AM. 

Becco Restaurant - New York, NY

Located on Restaurant Row, just a couple of blocks from the bright lights of Times Square and the Theater District, Becco has been serving the finest Italian cuisine for over 20 years. In a highly competitive and volatile market, Becco has established a prideful tradition of innovative, well-prepared food along with excellent service.

Restaurants tend to come and go or feel the need to reinvent themselves. But there is no need to constantly be on the lookout for the next big culinary trend, when the team behind Becco are proven winners.

Lidia Bastianich is the dean of celebrity chefs. Her PBS cooking show, "Lidia's Italy", is still as popular as ever, after all these years. The name Lidia Bastianich is synonymous with great Italian food. A best-selling author, Lidia's cookbooks include "Lidia cooks from the Heart of Italy" and "Lidia's Italy in America". When dining at Becco's you will find some of Chef Lidia's most treasured cookbook recipes on the menu. If you watch "Master Chef", then you already know Lydia's son and business partner, Joe Bastianich. An award-winning restauranteur in his own right, Joe is often the voice of reason and the last court of appeal for contestants on "Master Chef", especially when Chef Gordon Ramsay gets a little too out there in his comments.

Completing the team at Becco is executive chef William Gallagher. To cook alongside the Bastianich family, you have to be good. Chef Gallagher is one of the most respected chefs in New York. He is one of the select few chefs invited to cook at the exclusive James Beard House. Chef William and Lidia also had the honor of preparing a meal for Pope Benedict XVI a few years ago. At Becco you will definitely enjoy one of the best prix fixe deals in New York... their symphony of pasta.  

For $18.95, you get a wonderful salad or antipasta misto (an assortment of marinated and grilled vegetables with seafood) followed by unlimited tableside service of Chef William Gallagher's three daily pasta preparations. You get value and quality. Becco uses only the freshest, locally sourced ingredients. Chef William and his team cook with the same care and consideration as your Italian grandma would, if you were lucky enough to have one. Cooking like Nona is a compliment of the highest order. It just doesn't get any better. The trio of pastas usually includes one filled or stuffed pasta such as ravioli or manicotti. One of the real joys in ordering the pasta trio is in sampling the delicious flavors that Chef William comes up with.

And remember, the portions are unlimited, so do arrive at your table hungry. As you would expect, the decor is very classy but also warm. The waitstaff are courteous and highly professional. The dishing out, at tableside, of the symphony Di Pasta is a theatrical presentation in itself. When you enter the brownstone that houses Becco, you are in for an experience that you will want to tweet about and share with friends and family on Facebook and Instagram. Chefs William, Lydia and Joe all love to cook... and it shows at Becco.

Location & Hours

Becco Restaurant is located at 355 West 46 Street. Their number is (212) 397-7597.

Dining Hours

Mon.: 12:00-3:00 (lunch) 5:00-10:00 (dinner)
Tues.: 12:00-3:00 (lunch) 4:30-12:00 (dinner)
Wed.: 11:30-3:00 (lunch) 4:00-12:00 (dinner)
Thurs.: 11:30-3:00 (lunch) 4:30-12:00 (dinner)
Fri.: 12:00-3:00 (lunch) 4:30-12:00 (dinner)
Sat.: 11:30-3:00 (lunch) 4:00-12:00 (dinner)
Sun.: 12:00-3:00 (lunch) 3:00-10:00 (dinner