Anyone can walk in to Rao's for a drink in the afternoon. Anyone.

I've posted about Rao's ad nauseum in the past, so I'll keep it short. I spent half my life in that neighborhood for one thing or another. I've eaten there a couple times and it's no better than any other family style Italian place, like Dominick's in the Bronx or Bamonte's in Williamsburg. And those are places where you can walk right in and enjoy the same kind of atmosphere with comparable food.

And like someone just said, there are literally a hundred great Italian restaurants in NYC. I just mentioned two because the atmosphere and food are similar.

It's all moot anyway. You're not going to get a reservation by going in at 10 in the morning, but you might be able to eat at the bar on a weekday afternoon. But to what end? None of the so-called atmosphere is available at that time anyway.

But enjoy New York while you're here. Greatest city in the world .