These are the secret off-menu dishes at NYCs trendiest restaurants

Getting a prime-time table at a buzzy restaurant in the city is no longer enough.Diners-in-the-know pride themselves on ordering exclusive off-menu items, and restaurants are increasingly offering them. “It’s becoming a thing,” said Colleen Croft, co-owner of Elio’s, a popular Upper East Side Italian restaurant that’s been around for decades.

“When people are regulars they like knowing things other people don’t.”At Elio’s, the off-menu chicken parm has been a favorite of insiders.Have a look at it and four other popular off-menu items around town.

Gwyneth Paltrow is reportedly a big fan of the restaurant’s $44 rendition of the Italian-American staple, but Croft told The Post it will never be added to the real menu.“My husband always said it isn’t a traditionally classic Italian dish, and this is an Italian restaurant,” said Croft of her late partner, Elio Guaitolini, a Genoa, Italy native who opened Elio’s in 1981.

“It doesn’t belong on the menu.”Over the years, Elio’s has attracted a laundry list of bold-face regulars, including Joan Didion, Woody Allen and Paul McCartney.Paltrow celebrated her 40h birthday at the restaurant in 2012.Croft told The Post they sell about three dozen chicken parms a night, despite the dish’s stealth status.Emma Pendrill, who works in travel public relations and lives close to the restaurant, said she learned about the item from a friend who had been frequenting the restaurant for years.

The first time she had it, she said, “I fell in love.”“I am not a fan of chicken parm.In fact, I would never order it,” she said.

“But at Elio’s they cook it with very thin, perfectly crunchy chicken, and their classic red sauce doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the dish.”1621 2nd Ave., Upper East SideThe casual West Village pizza joint is known for its crowd-pleasing playlist, free-flowing martinis, and creative pies.The menu features a handful of pastas, but this $22 off-menu noodle is the one t...