69 Bayard

69 Bayard St., Chinatown, NY

7.2

map & more

Neighborhood
Chinatown

Cuisine
Chinese

Nearby
Bowery Ballroom
Brooklyn Bridge
Santos Party House

212-227-1173

Official Website

By Andrew Steinthal
October 13, 2011

For a district that is so completely bananas during the day, Chinatown really shuts down at night. It’s eerily quiet after dark, with the majority of the restaurants closing up shop after 10pm. The streets are filled with stray cats, garbage trucks and an occasional drunken suit stumbling around on Doyers street after a few too many at Apotheke. Where does everyone go?

Needless to say, Late Night Eats establishments in Chinatown are not easy to find. Most people find refuge in Great NY Noodletown, but we still don’t get what all that fuss is about. If it’s late and we’re in the mood for real Chinese, 69 is our move. It’s probably the best 3am option in Chinatown.

Like most restaurants in this hood, 69 isn’t much to look at. Their schtick is plastering dollar bills all over the walls – a technique that at least makes them stand out from the fluorescently lit dump next door. You won’t find any bells or whistles here, just down and dirty eats on the cheap. This is the kind of Chinese food you wish was being delivered to your door on Sunday nights. Sorry, they don’t make it like this in Murray Hill.

Photo Credit: Nicholas Breslow

Food Rundown:

Huge Menu
Attempting to pull off a proper food rundown on a Chinese menu with literally 150 dishes on it is damn near impossible, so instead, here’s a list of things we’ve eaten and enjoyed at 69. Egg Roll (really awesome). Fried Rice (huge, a must order). General Tso’s Chicken (better than average). Beef Chow Fun (decent, better when drunk). Anything over rice (especially the oxtail stew). Salt & Pepper Squid (one of their best known dishes) and, a fan favorite, the eggplant in black bean sauce. I’m sure we missed some things, but that’s a pretty good rundown of things to order when you come here. Enjoy.