Covering the Ithaca Commons and a block or two in each direction, Downtown Ithaca offers the biggest selection of restaurants in easy walking distance. There's free parking on nights and weekends in the City-owned parking garages, and an hour free during the day. Enjoy "restaurant row," including Madeline's, Simeon's, and Just a Taste; check out the eateries in the DeWitt Mall; or stroll the Commons and Center Ithaca's food court.

Capital Corner Restaurant
118 West State Street
607-272-7350 (fax 272-9398)
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: 11am-10pm 7 days a week
This new establishment where Asiatic Garden lived for decades has a lot to live up to, and is off to a very good start. We were impressed that our egg rolls came out of the kitchen almost as soon as we’d ordered them, hot and fresh. The steamed dumplings appetizer didn’t arrive in quite as timely a fashion, coming after the first of two entrees. Our beef satay, with chunks of fresh tomato, was a pleasant surprise, and the sesame chicken (a Chinese restaurant staple) was good. They have affordable combo dinners and lunch specials, and deliver free with an order of $8 or more.

Commons Delicatessen
218 East State Street on the Downtown Ithaca Commons
607-272-5484
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: 8am-10pm 7 days a week
Opened in January 2005 by Lou Cassiniti, the owner of the seasonal hot dog stand on the Commons for several years, the Commons Delicatessen is a traditional deli making inexpensive handmade sandwiches to order from top-notch Boar's Head cold cuts. There are fresh salads, the pumpernickel is good, the meat's piled on thick, Lou makes soup daily, and there's even dessert. You can even get one of Lou's famous hot dogs with Nance's mustard all year 'round. (Full Review)

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches
122 North Aurora Street, Ithaca
607-645-0075
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: 11am-3am daily
This sandwich shop offers well-stuffed sandwiches on French bread or thick-sliced whole-grain bread, with delivery available (the prices are higher for each item). The sandwiches are made to order, and they're lightning-fast. (Web Site)

Juna’s Cafe
146 The Commons
607-256-4292
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: 7:30-7:00 Mon-Thu, 7:30-9:00 Fri, 9:00-11:00 Sat, 10:00-7:00 Sun
Juna’s offers a wide variety of fresh, tasty, made-to-order sandwiches, salads, and wraps, and a vegetarian-frendly attitude. (The chef salad, for example, offers tempeh in place of the chicken at no extra charge.) On a cold day, try the chili, and don’t miss out on the coffee drinks. (Web Site)

Just a Taste
116 North Aurora Street
607-277-9463
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Dinner Sun-Thu 5:30-10 and Fri-Sat 5:30-11.
Catering to an interesting mix of business owners, college students, and everyone in between, this wine and tapas bar offers an ever-changing menu of creative food, and a broad array of wines to sample. Since the menu changes every night we can’t suggest a specific dish, but we’ll tell you that if it sounds like an odd combination, it’s probably exquisite. Try the sangria. Just a Taste is once again serving its excellent weekend brunches, with great omelets and focaccia french toast. (Full Review) (Web Site)

Letters Central Hots
109 South Cayuga Street
319-4944
Downtown Ithaca
Letters is a small shop on South Cayuga Street featuring hot dogs and coffee in a beautifully redone space with a gorgeous wood bar and free evening music.

Little Tokyo Korean Japanese Restaurant
113 East State Street, Ithaca
607-272-8638
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Lunch 11:30-2:30, dinner 4:30-9:30
Little Tokyo is a promising new restaurant, with a variety of Korean and Japanese lunches and dinners, plus a list of sushi rolls made fresh. Lots of the meals offer a choice of meats, tofu, or vegetables, making this a promising downtown vegetarian destination. The food was very good, and plentiful, though they need to work on better-organized service in this oddly shaped (long and narrow) restaurant; one waitress might well have been enough in a different layout, but ours seemed overwhelmed when the tables were only about a quarter full. They should do well with the $10 business lunch crowd, if not the $5 bargain lunch crowd.

Lost Dog Cafe
106-112 South Cayuga Street
607-277-9143
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Closed Mondays
The Ithaca version of this legendary Binghamton hangout was a long time in the making, but it was definitely worth the wait. It’s both coffee shop and eatery, and dinner was a wonderful array of creative flavors. Sundried tomato dip with slices of garlic toast, and smoked trout served with crackers and a creamy horseradish sauce, were great appetizers. I recommend the tortellini amore, tricolor cheese tortellini served with a mound of lobster chunks, enormous shrimp, and spinach and mushrooms in a cream sauce. The Dog has several good beers on tap, including Guinness and the fine Ithaca Stout, and a wide array of coffee drinks. The Lost Dog is a welcome addition to the west end of the Commons, and to Ithaca’s culinary landscape! (Full Review) (Web Site)

Madeline's
215 East State Street
607-277-2253
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Lunch and dinner 7 days
A trendy bar and eatery with fancy food and fancy prices, on the east end of the Ithaca Commons. Exceptional bar featuring a great single malt Scotch selection. Listed only.

Mahogany Grill
112 North Aurora Street, Ithaca
607-272-1438
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Until 1am
American cuisine with lots of steaks and seafood entrees. Listed only.

Napoli Pizzeria
401 East State Street
607-272-3232
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: 11am to 1am (weeknights) or 2am (weekend)
Napoli, at the foot of the State Street hill in the Gateway Center, has some of the best pizza and wings in town, for dine-in, carry-out, or delivery. Hot and cold subs and Italian specialties round out the usual pizzeria menu, but they also have ribs, burgers, and fried clams, shrimp, or scallops in addition to the typical fare.

New Delhi Diamond's
106 West Green Street, Ithaca
607-272-4508
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
On Green Street just off the Commons in Downtown Ithaca, Diamond's features an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet with an ever-changing variety of Indian specialties, as well as a dinner menu for sit-down dining. They never manage to maintain the supply of nan, the traditional Indian flat bread, or refill water glasses in a timely manner, costing the restaurant a rating point. The silver lining? When there's nan, it's fresh and warm, and perfect for mopping up some spinach aloo or other thick sauce. The tandoori chicken is always delicious, and we recommend a mango lassi (think smoothie) with your meal. There's always room for a bowl of kheer, a sweetened, creamy rice dessert.

Sangam
Center Ithaca
607-277-6716
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Open 7 days a week
There are a few select entrees from the main Collegetown Sangam Indian Restaurant here at this steam-table counter in Center Ithaca. The food always tastes fresh, and it's always ready when you walk up. There's also a small selection of Indian groceries and videos.

Shortstop Deli
200 West Seneca St., Ithaca
607-273-1030
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: 24 hours every day
Whether you call them subs or grinders or hoagies or whatever, Shortstop Deli specializes in those long sandwiches on fresh-baked French bread, or smaller sandwiches on kaiser rolls. They've got the usual ham, roast beef, and turkey, but they've also got seafood salad, eggplant, seitan, or prime rib. For the last couple of years, the Shortstop hot sub menu has had a selection of the famous Hot Truck French bread pizza subs. Supplement your sub with a fresh hot bowl of soup or chili. (Full Review) (Web Site)

Sticky Rice
401 East State Street, Ithaca
607-275-3641
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30-2:30, dinner 7 days
Thai and Laotian restaurant at the back of the Gateway Center, just east of the Ithaca Commons. Theoretically open for lunch, but always closed when we try to go. Listed only.

Taste of Thai
216 The Commons
607-256-5487
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Tues-Sun, 11am-3pm lunch, 5pm-10pm dinner
With a great fancy Thai restaurant on Route 13, and a great casual Thai restaurant in Collegetown, it’s nice to see something in the middle price-wise, but with top-notch food. The Pad Thai was delicious, and not quite what we were used to, and the Khao Pud Supparod, or pineapple and chicken fried rice, with slices of Thai sausage and raisins, was our first experience with sweet fried rice. Nearly all the dishes can be made vegetarian, using tofu, vegetables, or mock chicken or duck in place of meat ingredients. Our waitress was great, but some of the “supporting cast” in the dining room seemed to need a bit more coordination.

Viva Taqueria
101 North Aurora Street, Ithaca
607-277-1752
Downtown Ithaca
Affordable and unassuming, this taco and burrito eatery provides a limited menu of passable if unexciting California-style Mexican fare. The burritos used to be humongous and cheap, enough for two meals, but the portions aren't what they once were. The next-door Cantina adds table service and margaritas.