The short version
Tribeca is where we send guests when they want a proper dinner and don't want to go to Midtown for it. It's the neighborhood directly north of us, roughly Canal Street down to Chambers Street, Broadway west to the Hudson, and it has more good restaurants per block than anywhere else this far downtown.
Getting there from John Street is easy. Walk west to Broadway, then north and west along Chambers or Reade toward West Broadway, and you're in it in about 15 minutes. If it's raining or you're running late, take the A or C one stop from Fulton Street to Chambers Street and walk two blocks. Either way it's a short trip, which is the reason we recommend it over the West Village for a weeknight dinner.
A few things worth knowing before you book. The rooms here are small and the neighborhood is residential, so reservations open 30 days out at most places and the 7:30 slots go quickly. Bar seating is usually walk-in and usually your best move if you're two people and flexible. Tribeca is expensive; that's not a secret and it's not going to change. And it goes quiet early on Sundays compared with the Lower East Side or the East Village, so check hours before you walk over.
Below are the places we actually name when guests ask, with a note on what each one is good for.