Curry Hill & Koreatown: The Two Dining Corridors on The Anthem's Doorstep

Walk south on Lexington Avenue from 34th Street and the air changes. Somewhere around 28th Street it fills with cumin, cardamom, and frying onions — you've reached Curry Hill, a short, dense run of South Asian restaurants and spice shops that locals have nicknamed for good reason. Drift a few blocks west and the smell shifts to charcoal and gochujang: that's Koreatown, packed onto 32nd Street. From The Anthem at 222 East 34th Street, both corridors are an easy walk, which means two of Manhattan's best food neighborhoods sit within your daily reach.

Curry Hill on Lexington

Curry Hill runs roughly along Lexington between 26th and 30th Streets — a tight cluster of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan kitchens. The dishes worth seeking out are the regional ones you won't find on a standard takeout menu: South Indian dosas folded as wide as a forearm, dal so slow-cooked it turns silky, biryani layered with whole spices, and thali platters that arrive as a constellation of small steel bowls. Many spots run lunch buffets that let you taste broadly before you settle on favorites. Go hungry and go curious.

Spice Shops and Groceries

The anchor of the corridor is Kalustyan's on Lexington near 28th Street, a specialty grocer stocked with spices, dried chiles, lentils, rices, and pantry goods from around the world. Cooks travel across the city for it; you'd live a short walk away. Nearby grocers stock fresh naan, paneer, and produce you won't find at a standard supermarket. If you cook, this stretch quietly raises the ceiling on what you can make at home — and it turns a quick errand into something closer to a field trip.

Koreatown, a Few Blocks Over

Head toward 32nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and you're in Koreatown — louder, later, and stacked vertically, with restaurants on the second and third floors of nearly every building. Korean barbecue is the headliner: tabletop grills, marinated short rib, and an endless parade of banchan side dishes. But the corridor rewards range. Look for bubbling stone-bowl bibimbap, soft-tofu stew that arrives still boiling, fried chicken glazed in soy-garlic, and late-night noodles. Many kitchens stay open well past midnight, which makes it the neighborhood's reliable answer to a late shift or a long night out.

Mapping the Walk from 222 E 34th

Geography is the real luxury here. From The Anthem, Curry Hill sits a handful of blocks south down Lexington — a flat, straightforward walk. Koreatown is a touch farther west, an easy stroll that also drops you near Herald Square and the Empire State Building. If you'd rather ride, the 6 train at 33rd Street is about a two-minute walk from the building and runs you down Lexington in a stop or two. After dinner, the walk home is short enough that no neighborhood feels like a destination — it feels like part of where you live. That central footing is the whole point of Murray Hill, and it's worth experiencing before you sign anywhere.

Come taste the neighborhood for yourself: schedule a tour, then map out the rest of the area in our neighborhood guide. Our leasing team is at (212) 684-3222.