West Village Dinner, Then the 10 PM Set at the Village Vanguard
One table takes a booking, one takes a walk-in, and both leave you a short walk from a basement club that starts seating its second show at 9:30.
🍝 The Table You Book
Minetta Tavern first opened in 1937 on MacDougal at Minetta Lane, and since its renovation it has described itself as a Parisian steakhouse crossed with a classic New York tavern. The dining room takes bookings through Resy; dinner runs from five every night and supper until midnight, with lunch Wednesday to Friday and brunch on weekends. Take the seven o'clock table so that you are heading to Seventh Avenue by nine; the Vanguard starts seating its second show at 9:30, and the walk from MacDougal is about eleven minutes.
🥂 The Walk-In Around the Corner
Via Carota doesn't take reservations, so the line on Grove Street is the system. It serves without a break, from 11 Monday to Thursday and from 10 Friday through Sunday. Go at six, not seven-thirty: if you are still waiting at eight fifteen, walk away, because the Vanguard's second-show queue forms about 45 minutes before the 10 PM set and Grove Street to Seventh Avenue takes five minutes. Bar Pisellino, the same owners' bar right across Grove Street, is the faster fallback. Roughly what you'll spend: about $60 a head before tax and tip, and the menu in the room is the one that counts. Ask for the terrazza if the night is mild.
🎷 Ten O'Clock, Down the Steps
The Village Vanguard has worked the same basement since 1935, with two shows a night at 8 and 10. The 10 PM set is the one you can make after work and still be in bed by one. Seating starts at 9:30, first come first served, so a ticket buys entry rather than a particular table. Admission is priced per show and paid ahead of drinks, and online sales close an hour before showtime. Weeknight 10 PM sets sometimes get discounted tickets, so check the calendar before you pay full price. Refunds only within 24 hours of buying, and anything bought within 48 hours of the show is final sale. If it is sold out, join the standby line 30 to 45 minutes before the set; entry is not guaranteed, and Smalls on West 10th is the backup, with its music charge on your bar tab and one drink per person per set. One drink per guest is required here too, soft drinks included. The room is 15 steps down, and the minimum age is 15.
