Restaurants Open Between Lunch and Dinner Near Union Square
By Jules Bennett · October 22, 2026 · 7 min read
Restaurants open between lunch and dinner near Union Square: six list hours through 3:30pm, four close until 5pm. Hours from each official site, October 2026.
Six restaurants near Union Square list hours that run straight through the afternoon, so a 3:30pm table or snack works at Union Square Cafe, Tarallucci e Vino, Eataly Flatiron, Pizzazz, Da Andrea and Pete’s Tavern. Four others, Zero Otto Nove, Massara, Rezdôra and Il Cantinori, publish a break between lunch and dinner. Every hour below was read from the restaurant’s own website in October 2026.
Where can I eat between lunch and dinner near Union Square?
The table gives each restaurant’s published hours for a Wednesday and a Saturday. The test times, 3:30pm and 4:30pm, are not hours any restaurant publishes. They were chosen because both fall inside every split-service kitchen’s published gap, the shortest of which runs from 3pm to 5pm. “Yes” means the restaurant’s own page lists hours that cover both times on both days. It does not promise that every dish is available then.
| Restaurant and address | Wednesday | Saturday | Open 3:30 and 4:30pm? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Square Cafe, 101 E 19th St | 11:30am-10:30pm, Midday menu 2:30-5pm | 11am-10:30pm, Midday menu 2:30-5pm | Yes |
| Tarallucci e Vino, 15 E 18th St | 8am-10pm | 9am-10pm | Yes |
| Eataly Flatiron, 200 Fifth Ave | Store 7am-11pm; La Pizza & La Pasta 11am-10:30pm | Same | Yes |
| Pizzazz, 38 Union Square East | 11am-9pm | 12pm-9pm | Yes |
| Da Andrea, 35 W 13th St | 11:30am-10pm | 11am-11pm | Yes |
| Pete’s Tavern, 129 E 18th St | Noon-2am, kitchen to 11pm | Noon-2am, kitchen to midnight | Yes |
| Zero Otto Nove, 15 W 21st St | 12-3pm, 5-9:30pm | 5-10:30pm only | No |
| Massara, 913 Broadway | 12-2:30pm, 5-10:30pm | 11:30am-2:30pm, 5-10:30pm | No |
| Rezdôra, 27 E 20th St | 12-2:30pm, 5-11pm | 11:30am-2:30pm, 5-11pm | No |
| Il Cantinori, 32 E 10th St | Lunch 12-2:45pm, dinner 5-10pm | Dinner 5-10:30pm, no lunch listed | No |
Counted from those pages, six of the ten pass that test, and four of the six are Italian or pizza-led. Union Square Cafe lists itself as New American and Pete’s Tavern calls itself a historic bar and restaurant; both are here because the question is about the clock, not the cuisine.
Does Union Square Cafe serve food between lunch and dinner?
Yes. Union Square Cafe names the afternoon on its hours page: a Midday service every day from 2:30pm to 5pm. It follows lunch (Monday to Friday, 11:30am to 2:30pm) or brunch (Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 2:30pm) and comes before dinner, which runs 5pm to 10:30pm with a last reservation at 9:30pm.
The Midday menu is a Bar Bites list. As of October 2026 it includes Spicy Tuna Tater Tots at $12 and a 19th Street Burger at $32, alongside oysters and salads. The page lists 2:30pm as the last lunch and brunch reservation, the same minute the Midday service begins.
Which Italian restaurants near Union Square are open all day?
Four Italian or pizza-led rooms list no afternoon break.
Tarallucci e Vino at 15 East 18th Street says on its Union Square page that it is “open all day.” It lists Monday 8am to 9pm, Tuesday to Friday 8am to 10pm, Saturday 9am to 10pm and Sunday 11am to 9pm. Happy hour runs 3pm to 6pm in the bar and outdoor area only, so the dining room is not part of it. The happy hour menu lists drinks, pinsa and arrosticini, the Abruzzese lamb skewers.
Eataly Flatiron at 200 Fifth Avenue lists the store as “Daily, 7 AM - 11 PM,” but the restaurants keep narrower windows. Its restaurants page shows La Pizza & La Pasta daily from 11am to 10:30pm, Il Pastaio di Eataly daily from 11am to 10pm and Bar Milano daily from noon to 10pm. For a quick slice, Pizza alla Pala (Roman-style pizza by the slice) is listed daily from 10am to 9pm.
Da Andrea at 35 West 13th Street gives one block of hours per day with no split: Monday to Thursday 11:30am to 10pm, Friday 11:30am to 11pm, Saturday 11am to 11pm and Sunday 11am to 10pm.
Pizzazz at 38 Union Square East, which its site calls an “Artisanal Pizza Shop,” lists Monday to Friday 11am to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday 12pm to 9pm. It is the quick option on the square itself.
For a non-Italian afternoon table, Pete’s Tavern at 129 East 18th Street, at the corner of Irving Place, lists seven days a week from noon to 2am. Its kitchen closes at 11pm Sunday to Thursday and at midnight Friday and Saturday.
Which kitchens near Union Square close between lunch and dinner?
Of the ten checked, four list split hours on their own sites: lunch, a gap, then dinner.
- Zero Otto Nove (15 West 21st Street): lunch 12pm to 3pm Monday to Friday, then dinner from 5pm, to 9:30pm Monday to Thursday and 10:30pm on Friday. Saturday is dinner only, 5pm to 10:30pm. Sunday runs 4pm to 9pm, the earliest dinner opening of the four.
- Massara (913 Broadway): lunch 12pm to 2:30pm Tuesday to Friday and 11:30am to 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday, then dinner 5pm to 10:30pm. Monday is dinner only.
- Rezdôra (27 East 20th Street): the same shape, with lunch ending at 2:30pm and dinner running 5pm to 11pm. Monday is dinner only here too.
- Il Cantinori (32 East 10th Street, between University Place and Broadway): lunch 12pm to 2:45pm Monday to Friday, dinner 5pm to 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 5pm to 10:30pm Friday and Saturday. No weekend lunch is listed.
Measured from the published hours, the gaps are 2 hours at Zero Otto Nove (Monday to Friday), 2 hours 15 minutes at Il Cantinori (Monday to Friday), and 2 hours 30 minutes at Massara and Rezdôra on the days they serve lunch. On Saturday, Zero Otto Nove and Il Cantinori list no lunch at all, so 5pm is their first seating.
Best for a late lunch, an early drink or a 4:30pm table
- A late lunch after 2pm: Il Cantinori lists lunch until 2:45pm on weekdays and Zero Otto Nove until 3pm Monday to Friday. After that, Union Square Cafe’s Midday menu or any of the all-day rooms above.
- A drink between 3pm and 6pm: Tarallucci e Vino (3pm to 6pm, bar and outdoor area), the Amalfi Rooftop by Birreria at Eataly (Monday to Friday, 3pm to 6pm) and Pete’s Tavern (Monday to Friday, 4pm to 6pm). Room-by-room aperitivo windows are in aperitivo and after-work drinks near Union Square.
- A sit-down meal at 4:30pm: Da Andrea and Eataly’s restaurants, such as Il Pastaio di Eataly, list continuous hours that cover it. On a Sunday, Zero Otto Nove opens at 4pm.
- A sit-down lunch before 2:30pm: the options are laid out in where to eat Italian lunch near Union Square, and a room’s lunch menu can differ from its dinner menu, a point La Superlativa works through in what actually changes between lunch and dinner at the same Italian restaurant.
What this list leaves out
The ten are rooms in the Union Square and Flatiron blocks whose own sites publish hours for both a weekday and a weekend day. A restaurant without clear hours on its site was left out, so the list is a sample, not a census. Hours shift with the season, so confirm anything you are crossing town for. For where six of these rooms sit relative to the park (Tarallucci e Vino, Pizzazz, Da Andrea, Zero Otto Nove, Rezdôra and Il Cantinori), Restaurants Near Union Square Park, Edge by Edge counts the streets from each edge of the square.
Frequently asked questions
What restaurants near Union Square are open at 3pm?
Union Square Cafe, Tarallucci e Vino, Eataly Flatiron, Pizzazz, Da Andrea and Pete’s Tavern list hours that include 3pm on both a Wednesday and a Saturday, as of October 2026. Zero Otto Nove is the edge case: its Monday to Friday lunch ends at 3pm, and on Saturday it opens at 5pm.
Do any restaurants near Union Square have a happy hour between 3pm and 6pm?
Yes. Of the ten restaurants checked, three near Union Square list one. Tarallucci e Vino runs happy hour from 3pm to 6pm in its bar and outdoor area only. Eataly Flatiron’s Amalfi Rooftop by Birreria lists a Monday to Friday happy hour from 3pm to 6pm, and Pete’s Tavern lists Monday to Friday from 4pm to 6pm.
Where can I eat near Union Square on a Saturday afternoon?
Six restaurants list Saturday hours that cover the afternoon: Union Square Cafe, Tarallucci e Vino, Eataly Flatiron, Pizzazz, Da Andrea and Pete’s Tavern. Massara and Rezdôra serve Saturday lunch until 2:30pm and reopen at 5pm. Zero Otto Nove and Il Cantinori list no Saturday lunch, so their first seating is 5pm.
How long is the gap between lunch and dinner at Union Square Italian restaurants?
Among the four split-service Italian restaurants near Union Square, the published gap is 2 hours at Zero Otto Nove and 2 hours 15 minutes at Il Cantinori, both Monday to Friday, and 2 hours 30 minutes at Massara and Rezdôra on the days they serve lunch. All four reopen for dinner at 5pm, except Zero Otto Nove on Sunday, when it opens at 4pm.
