The late chow

Dining at 8 p.m. is so 2009. New Yorkers in the know are stepping out for their evening meal much later these days. And lucky for them, pizza, hot dogs and diner fries aren’t their only options. Dishes run the gastronomical gamut from fully fledged feasts to salty, savory snacks perfect for peckish drinkers. The common ground, however, is that each late-night menu allows ardent foodies to try treats that aren’t on the menu at dinnertime — along with possibly dining alongside the chefs themselves who always eat dinner after 11 p.m.

“We get quite a few restaurant people,” says Erik Cereceres (a k a chef Chewy) of Macao Trading Company, which serves dim sum until 3:30a.m. three nights a week. “People come off work wanting to eat and chill out with their friends.”

Here are five places to frequent when hunger strikes after midnight.

East Side Social Club

230 E. 51st St.; 212-355-9442
Late-night special: Fancy pub grub
After-hours: Monday through Sunday, midnight to 3:30 a.m.

Finding food in Midtown at any time, let alone after midnight, has never been easy. East Side Social Club is looking to change that with its new late night menu seven nights a week. The hearty fare includes a short rib sandwich with bone marrow ($17), homemade pork sausages served with cheesy polenta ($15) and a 10-ounce burger that chef Devon Gilroy says they “sell tons of” ($15).

“The menu is flexible,” he says. “It’s to cater to late-night drinkers, people in the industry who need somewhere to go, foodies and neighborhood people.”

Otto

1 Fifth Ave.; 212-995-9559

Late-night special: Antipasti and a bottle of wine
After-hours: Sunday through Thursday, 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Mario Batali’s chi-chi pizzeria started offering a late-night antipasti meal earlier this month, featuring a plate of house-cured salami, Grana Padano cheese and homemade pickled vegetables, plus a bottle of sparkling, white, rosé or red wine for just $33. The meal for one (or decent-size snack for two or three) is “a fun way to taste different wines with classic Italian antipasti, and also a great start to a late dinner with friends,” says Otto’s wine director Dan Amatuzzi.

EN Japanese Brasserie

435 Hudson St.; 212-647-9196

Late-night special: “Fish Heads, Eel Bones and Beer” dinner with unlimited beer
After-hours: first Saturday of the month from 10 p.m. to midnight

Based on ‘makanai,’ the Japanese staff meal made from leftovers and off-cuts of meat, EN’s “Fish Heads, Eel Bones and Beer” dinner started as a one-off event back in January. But the inaugural dinner was so popular that it will now be served buffet-style once a month.

The menu changes depending on what’s “in the fridge,” says co-owner Reika Yo, but past dishes include braised Wagyu beef tips, deep fried eel and fluke and sea bream-head soup, all washed down with unlimited glasses of Sapporo beer for $45 per person.

“People want to know what restaurant people eat. They are so curious,” says Yo. “We try to keep the same vibe as the real staff meal. We change the music to Japanese folk music that’s really corny. It’s like a party.”

Macao Trading Company

311 Church St.; 212-431-8642

Late-night special: Dim sum cart
After-hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday from midnight to 3:30 a.m.

Macao’s had a late-night menu since it opened in November 2008, but it only recently started the delectable dim sum service, featuring a cart that’s wheeled around the TriBeCa restaurant. It features small plates of sticky rice, crab and shrimp dumplings and lemon drop chicken soup that cost between $7 and $15.

“Downstairs, there’s a deejay. It’s a bit louder and rambunctious. Upstairs people are mostly at tables, but there’s a deejay too,” says chef Chewy. “We’re trying to do something different. You can get dim sum in Chinatown, but not this late, and we’re putting our own spin on it.”

Momofuku Noodle Bar

171 First Ave.; 212-500-0831

Late-night special: Caviar sampling
After-hours: Friday and Saturday, midnight to 2 a.m.

Night owls in the mood for a really fancy feed should head to David Chang’s East Village eatery for three caviar choices: trout ($75), hackleback ($200), or both ($265), with blini. (A similar offering is available at Chang’s Ssam Bar Sunday to Thursday.)

“We’re doing it, quite simply, because we feel like it,” says chef de cuisine and co-owner Kevin Pemoulie, who added the dish to their existing late-night menu (featuring smoked chicken wings, ramen and the infamous pork buns) in January. “Momofuku has always gone against formal dining. We thought it would be fun to serve something extra formal in an informal setting. It’s an expensive snack, but it’s also ideal for a group of four. And, it’s hilarious to eat caviar next to someone eating chicken wings.”