Murray’s Cheese Bar

Sixty years of cheese retail built the credibility; the restaurant is where that credibility gets plated. Murray's Cheese Bar in Long Island City is the dining extension of Murray's Cheese, the Greenwich Village shop that has operated continuously since 1962 and remains one of New York's most referenced specialty cheese retailers. The Long Island City outpost, which opened in 2020, was designed by the Rockwell Group with materials and textures drawn from cheesemaking and cave-aging environments, giving the space a considered coherence that most casual bistros don't bother with. The menu is built around cheese in a way that goes beyond the obligatory cheese board. Mac and melts, fondue, grilled cheese preparations, and composed cheese plates anchor the offering, supported by pasta, salads, and seasonal produce that give the kitchen room to work with whatever the cheesemonger side of the business is sourcing at a given moment. Proteins and vegetarian dishes round out the card, but the dairy-driven preparations are the reason to come. OpenTable places the per-person spend at $31 to $50, which positions it as a mid-range destination rather than a special-occasion splurge. The Long Island City location includes a full-service bar and outdoor seating, which makes it functional across seasons and occasions in a way the original Manhattan format didn't always allow. For anyone already familiar with the Bleecker Street shop, the restaurant translates that retail expertise into a sit-down format without the self-congratulatory tone that often accompanies brand extensions. The Rockwell Group design signals that this was treated as a serious project, not a licensing exercise, and the menu's coherence backs that up. At this price point in New York, few places can claim sourcing depth rooted in six decades of wholesale and retail cheese relationships.