Mark’s Off Madison serves upscale, hearty Italian-Jewish classics like killer lasagna and fresh bagels, with a cozy vibe near Madison Square Park.
"One of Pete Wells’s 100 Best Restaurants for 2024, this Midtown spot from chef Mark Strausman, formerly of Freds at Barneys New York and Campagna restaurants, offers brunch classics in a just-right space that’s neither too casual nor too swanky. Choose from a selection of bagels and bialys, banana challah french toast, a Reuben, and more." - Eater Staff
"Chef Mark Strausman, formerly of Freds at Barneys New York and Campagna, runs this bagel-centric restaurant at the corner of Madison Avenue and 26th Street. In addition to bagels and lox and bagel sandwiches, go for the chicken soup, Belgian fries, or the overflowing spring salad. It’s open for dinner, too, with items like fresh pasta, pizza, and crabcakes." - Eater Staff
"Mark’s Off Madison from Mark Strausman — the chef best known for heading up the kitchen at Barneys restaurant Freds — offers an array of holiday dishes through the year’s end: Among them, you’ll find latkes with applesauce and sour cream ($22) as well as with smoked salmon and sour cream ($28). Estelle’s chicken and matzoh ball soup is also on offer, as well as German soft pretzels with chopped chicken liver and mustard ($24). Pumpkin ravioli will please a vegetarian, with shaved Brussels sprouts, butter, sage, and Parmesan cheese ($33). Mark’s mother’s brisket is also a crowd-pleaser, with sauteed carrots and mashed potatoes ($39). For $14 each, an array of vegetable sides can round out a meal. And don’t miss the jelly doughnuts." - Eater Staff
"From matzoh ball soup to gefilte fish to “my mother’s brisket,” the bakery and restaurant Mark’s off Madison from Mark Strausman has an extensive catering menu with a la carte items for pickup only." - Eater Staff
"At Mark’s, which opened in November, the Queens-born chef Mark Strausman (Freds at Barneys, Coco Pazzo, Campagna) delves into the Jewish and Italian dishes that have come to define his 30-year career: lush eggplant parm, rich pappardelle with brisket ragù, and a killer chicken soup named after his grandmother Estelle. In nice weather, the outdoor terrace, with its view of Madison Square Park, gets fairly packed with a tony mix of locals and Strausman groupies from his Freds days. On weekends, starting at 9 a.m., the place doubles as a Jewish bakery whose bagels and bialys and black-and-white cookies put most of the competition to shame. —Robert C. Sietsema" - Eater Staff, NYMag Staff
