Felix

Felix is the place for Soho shoppers to prepare for — or recover from — a long day in lower Manhattan’s premiere open-air mall. From noon to midnight on weekends, it’s packed: Drinkers spill out of floor-to-ceiling windows onto the sidewalk, while lucky diners hold court at the banquettes and café tables and nosh on French-restaurant classics like moules-frites, steak tartare, and spicy merguez sausage (there are a few American touches, like the seared tuna on the Niçoise salad, and a hamburger, albeit one topped with a fried egg). As cuisine goes, this ain’t quite haute — correcte is the French term for it — but that, of course, ain’t the point; the point here is to throw back a beer or cold Lillet, compare purchases, and figure out where you’re going next.