Waverly Inn

"Waverly Inn seems to look about the same as it would have nearly 200 years ago: a brick townhouse with a wood-framed front porch and mullioned windows, and an interior consisting of a barroom, a pair of dining rooms, and a back porch visible from the sidewalk through a vine-covered iron fence. Fireplaces, murals from Edward Sorel, and bric-a-brac grace the interior. Get the burger or the chicken pot pie." - Melissa McCart

"A clubby, intimate American restaurant on a West Village side street, the Waverly Inn offers a cozy, fireplace-accented setting for dining on spendy comfort fare. The food is served in curved red booths nestled into two attached townhouses. Classic dishes include grilled octopus, crisp-skinned Scottish salmon, tomahawk rib chop for two, and Waverly’s famous chicken pot pie." - Eater Staff

"Spooky score: ???????????? This classic West Village restaurant in an 1840s brownstone draws celebrities like Robert De Niro, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Taylor Swift. But those aren’t the guests we’re most interested in getting to know. A mural of Village personalities by Edward Sorel takes up an entire wall, and combined with all the mirrors in the candlelit, low-ceilinged space, you quickly get the sense that someone’s watching you. There’s always another face just on the edge of your peripheral vision. A former general manager saw a man wearing a waistcoat and a top hat appear in a mirror at the Waverly, and there was a mysterious fire in the ’90s. Another later fire damaged the famous mural. That one started in the basement—where one server told us she never goes after dark. When we asked any ghosts present to order our drink via Ouija board, we received the letter C—and got a nice, stiff Cosmo." - molly fitzpatrick

"The first thing you’ll notice on the Waverly Inn’s menu is a review of its fare by one Donald J. Trump: ” “Waverly Inn – worst food in city.” The second thing you might notice is the ghost who resides in room 16 – the only room that survived a fire in 1997 that destroyed most of the original inn. The inn, built in 1844 and used as a bordello, has had many strange occurrences like phantom footsteps and doors opening and closing. Witness for yourself over a chicken pot pie and a pint." - Laine Doss

"Swift visited Graydon Carter’s clubby West Village classic a few days ago (and more than once this month, according to a source). Perhaps she’s as enamored with the details as we are, from the Donald Trump quote on the restaurant serving “the worst food in the city” to the Ed Sorel murals. Look for a menu of small plates — burrata, beet salad, cheese plate, oysters, pate — and mains like Amish chicken, Scottish salmon, duck two ways and a cheddar burger with fries." - Melissa McCart