Profile

This venue is closed.

Compared to top-of-the-tower views that make New York's landscape seem faraway and ethereal, Times Square demands something brash and in-your-face. Foley's Fish House, hidden within the Renaissance Hotel, delivers the appropriate postcard view of Times Square from one floor above street level. The neon billboard throb and glow spills into the dining room through the double-height windows. Luckily, the craziness stays outside: The dining room is relatively quiet and formal. At Foley's, a mix of theater-bound ticket-holders and local office workers tuck in to big plates of shrimp, lobster, and crab. Still, the name seems a bit of a misnomer. If you shun shellfish your options are limited. The fish is fresh and high-quality, as it should be for a restaurant family that claims three generations in the seafood industry, but prepared in a heavy-handed way, thick with sweet sauces and salty fry-ups. Beware the Return to Life appetizer, a mix of various seafood ends drowned in cocktail sauce. A better option is the saffron-bright paella with tender calamari rings and chunks of swordfish, or sweet-and-sour glazed salmon filet served on a cedar plank and garnished with tangy capers and chopped tomato. The menu takes few risks, but for some, the dazzling lights of Times Square are all the excitement required. — Kara Newman

If your wallet is conspicuously light after plumping for those orchestra seats, skip dinner and sip a Manhattan (what else?) at Foley's Bar or the Lobby Lounge, both located on the same floor as the restaurant. They have the same spectacular view of Times Square.

Cedar plank salmon filet, $29; Foley's seafood paella, $32