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If you're looking for privacy in Midtown, try going to a Theater District restaurant at 8:05 p.m. If it's anything like La Prima Donna, it will be blissfully empty—the better for you to take in the dramatic surroundings: Venetian carnival masks, red chandeliers, and large reproductions of colorful Italian artwork. This glossy Tuscan spot, presided over by chef Joseph Drapeylo, a veteran of the Coco Pazzo restaurants, takes its setting seriously: The soundtrack is either Sinatra or show tunes, and the servers even pretend to speak Italian. But the menu, somewhere between red sauce and high concept, tones down the artifice. The food is simple and well crafted. A broiled branzino is expertly cooked, crispy on the outside and moist inside. Top this off a bartender who knows his way around a cocktail, and La Prima Donna is one of those rare Times Square restaurants worth visiting at any time. — Melena Ryzik

La Prima Donna features prix-fixe deals for both lunch and dinner, with a three-course, pre-theater type menu that hits all the standard notes

Live Jazz
Fri.—Sat., 8:30 p.m.—11:30 p.m.

Branzino tricolore, $15.95