NBC 4

By Chris Glorioso

New York City Restaurant Week, a time-honored tradition of the city's food scene, makes its grand return this month in style, offering five weeks of dining and new tiered pricing options for hungry guests.

The semiannual event returned Monday with in-person dining for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, hitting the city's restaurant industry especially hard. This year's first iteration of NYC Restaurant Week was takeout only, but still boasted one of the largest events in its history.

"Our first-ever takeout and delivery program became our largest dining initiative to date, with more than 800 participants from all five boroughs," the city's website says.

Lower virus cases and a significant boost to the city's vaccine distribution have helped drop essentially all public health restrictions and allowed for the event to promote indoor dining once again. For those that still prefer a takeaway option, participating restaurants will again offer to-go meals.

NYC Restaurant Week runs from July 19 through Aug. 22 at more than 500 eateries across all five boroughs, from fine dining to casual eateries.

This time around, participating restaurants will provide an entrée and at least one side for lunch and/or dinner for the price of $21 or $39. Diners can try the new Signature Dining Experiences priced at $125 for three or more courses.

The full list of participating restaurants can be found here.