Food & Drink in Central Park

Restaurants in Central Park

Central Park has two well-known sit-down restaurants inside its borders. Tavern on the Green, at West 67th Street and Central Park West, is the historic landmark — it serves lunch and dinner daily plus weekend brunch, with both an indoor dining room and a large garden terrace, and reservations are wise on weekends. It sits just inside the park on the west side, an easy walk from the southern entrances.

Further north, the Central Park Boathouse (the Loeb Boathouse) overlooks the Lake near 74th Street on the east side. After a closure and a change of operator, the lakefront restaurant has reopened and serves lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch, with a separate cafe for lighter, grab-and-go fare. Rowboat rentals and the open-air dockside service run seasonally, so confirm current restaurant and boating hours before you visit.

Casual food: carts, kiosks, and cafes

For something quick and inexpensive, Central Park is full of casual options. Yellow-umbrella food carts cluster near the busy entrances and landmarks — Columbus Circle, the Mall, Bethesda Terrace, the Zoo, and Bow Bridge — selling hot dogs, pretzels, roasted nuts, ice cream, bottled water, and cold drinks. Carts move around and many run only in good weather, so treat them as convenient rather than guaranteed.

For a step up, the Mineral Springs cafe (operated by Le Pain Quotidien) sits on the north edge of Sheep Meadow near West 69th Street, with table service, a terrace overlooking the lawn, and a takeout window for sandwiches, salads, pastries, and coffee — handy if you want picnic supplies without leaving the park. Hours are seasonal and weather-dependent, so check before relying on it.

Grab-and-go coffee and snacks

If you just want a coffee and something small, you have options both inside and just outside the park. Inside, the takeout window at the Mineral Springs cafe by Sheep Meadow handles coffee, pastries, and packaged snacks during its seasonal hours, and the cafe at the Boathouse offers lighter fare for those nearer the Lake. Roaming carts fill the gaps with bottled drinks, ice cream, and pretzels almost everywhere.

For the widest choice and the most reliable hours, step just outside a perimeter entrance: the streets around Columbus Circle, Central Park South, and along Central Park West and Fifth Avenue are lined with coffee shops, bakeries, and delis. Near our meeting point at Seventh Avenue and Central Park South, you can grab a coffee or a pastry on the way and bring it in with you — a relaxed way to start a tour.

Picnicking in Central Park

Picnics are one of the best things to do in Central Park, and the park's open lawns are made for them. Sheep Meadow, the 15-acre lawn near West 66th–69th Streets, is the classic spot, with skyline views and plenty of room — note that it is a designated Quiet Zone (no amplified music, no dogs) and opens seasonally, usually from mid-spring through fall. The Great Lawn, in the center near 81st Street, is the other large favorite, while Cherry Hill, just west of Bethesda Terrace, is smaller and especially pretty in spring.

You can buy supplies inside at the Mineral Springs takeout window, but most people stock up at a deli, grocery, or bakery just outside the park and carry it in. Casual picnics need no permit; only large groups (typically 20 or more) or events require one from NYC Parks. Whatever you bring, plan to carry your trash back out and leave the lawn as you found it.

• Best lawns: Sheep Meadow (skyline views, Quiet Zone), the Great Lawn (central and spacious), and Cherry Hill (smaller, scenic).
• Buy supplies at a deli, bakery, or grocery just outside the park, or at the Mineral Springs takeout window inside.
• Check whether a lawn is open before you go — Sheep Meadow and other lawns close seasonally and after heavy rain to protect the grass.
• Alcohol is not permitted in the park, so leave the wine and beer at home.
• Carry your trash out or use a bin, avoid glass, and do not bring grills or open flames.
• Sheep Meadow is a Quiet Zone: keep music to headphones and leave dogs at home.

Eating around our meeting point

All NY Central Park Tour rides begin at Seventh Avenue and Central Park South, at the southern edge of the park near Artisans' Gate — a corner that is well placed for a bite before or after your tour. The blocks of Central Park South and the streets running down toward Midtown are full of coffee shops, delis, and bakeries, so it is easy to grab a coffee and a snack on your way to check in.

If you would rather eat sitting down inside the park, Tavern on the Green is a roughly 15-minute walk north along the west side, and a pedicab tour can easily pass the Mineral Springs cafe and the Boathouse if you want to see them. We are happy to point you toward the closest options for your plans — just ask your guide or reach out on the contact page when you book.