The 31 best restaurants in New York City
Ask a New Yorker, “So, what’s your favourite restaurant,” and be prepared for a long answer. In a city with some 25,000 places to get a meal, everyone has at least five front-runners to accommodate their various moods, neighbourhoods, and price points – and three of those top picks may change the following week. It’s not indecisiveness so much as ambition. New York’s extraordinary restaurant culture spans everything from hushed fine dining temples, to raucous burger joints, to family-style noodle shops and much, much more. You can dine out every night of every week or month and still barely scratch the surface.
That’s why we created this collection of some of the most interesting and exciting restaurants in New York City. These are places we recommend to locals and out of towners alike, and for which we refresh our reservations apps to secure our own tables. By no means an exhaustive list of everywhere worth eating in New York, it’s a delicious roadmap to start plotting your course. Here, 32 of the best restaurants in New York City.
Sunny Shokrae/Superiority BurgerSuperiority Burger
Housed in a vinyl-boothed former Ukranian diner, this cutting-edge vegetarian and occasionally vegan restaurant is a cult favourite for good reason. Brooks Headley, the former pastry chef at fine dining temple Del Posto, has created a fun, free-wheeling menu and quirky-cool atmosphere that brings everyone to the party. In addition to the rightfully famous signature veggie burger, which is topped with confit tomatoes and melted muenster, there’s an excellent collard greens sandwich and a comforting Sloppy Joe’s riff called Sloppy Dave, which features tender tofu and crispy frizzled onions. All are served unaccompanied, so round out your meal with sides like a twice-baked potato, burnt broccoli salad, or sweet-and-sour pink beets on a jalapeno cream cheese schmear. Desserts are similarly inventive. Try the griddled banana bread with coconut gelato or a malted date shake made with Bautista Family fruit from California’s Coachella Valley.
Address: 119 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009, United States
Website: superiorityburger.com
Gentl & Hyers/Le RockLe Rock
In 2022, when the owners of downtown’s perennially packed Frenchette restaurant opened Le Rock, it brought a much-needed jolt of energy to Midtown’s Rockefeller Center. Tables in Le Rock’s dining room remain among one of the hottest tickets in town, but the Art Deco-style bar possesses a buzzy scene all its own. The glittering space has the flattering sort of lighting that makes everyone look like they just got back from a week on St. Barths (many of the patrons likely did), and a 200-bottle wine list that skews French and natural. Creative cocktails like the strawberry-scented, sparkling rosé topped Chambery Spritz and a riff on the often overlooked Martini variation L'Alaska (dry gin, yellow Chartreuse) are perfect for happy hour people-watching (is that a Vogue editor, or just someone who looks like one?).
Address: 45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111, United States
Website: lerocknyc.com
Evan Sung/TatianaTatiana
Chef Kwame Onwuachi’s ode to New York City’s Black Caribbean cultures occupies a glass-walled space in Lincoln Center – diners dress up for the opportunity to share elegantly plated dishes in the mod, bustling dining room. It's one of Manhattan's most challenging reservations to secure, which, depending on your personal worldview, may, in fact, make tucking into the extraordinarily creative menu all the more satisfying. Portion sizes are large, and there are too many good dishes to choose just one or two, so the best way to tackle the menu is to come with a group and share. Start the meal with crispy okra, Egusi dumplings, or elegant curried goat patties with mango chutney, then move on to mains like braised oxtails with rice and peas. If you have the appetite (and the bank account), it’s worth investing in the short rib pastrami suya, a glamorous reimagining of the delicatessen favourite made with Wagyu beef and served with velvety red cabbage.
Address: 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, United States
Website: tatiananyc.com
Courtesy Keens SteakhouseKeens Steakhouse
The only difficult choice to make when entering Keens is where to look first. Is it up, at the 90,000 pipes lining the ceiling? To the glass cases, where the most famous churchwardens – 15-inch pipes – smoked by the likes of Babe Ruth and General MacArthur are stored? In the bar, are you mesmerised by the Miss Keen painting (a nude, lounging on her bear rug) right away, or are you too distracted by the New-York-ad-men-in-the-'50s vibe? This steakhouse, open since 1883, delivers something new to look at every time you go. Keens was originally called a chop house, in recognition of its famous mutton chop, and although that is good and musty and intense, most people are ordering steak. There’s the porterhouse for two or three, the chateaubriand, and the filet mignon – which is actually fabulous here. You want the béarnaise or au poivre sauce on the side, and the creamed spinach, which is less a vegetable than it is dessert.
Address: 72 W 36th Street, New York, NY 10018, United States
Website: keens.comChe Li
With its elegant thatched-roof dining room, twinkling waterfalls, and sophisticated menu of dishes from China’s Jiangnan region, CheLi feels worlds away from the St. Marks madness teeming just beyond its front door. The atmosphere is festive – especially when larger groups of stylish locals or nostalgic expats fill the sleek, lantern-lit booths – but never too loud to not hear your dining companions. The expansive menu spans crowd-pleasers like pillowy, porky soup dumplings and stir-fried rice cakes as well as specialities like tender chicken or chilled crab cooked in Shaoxing wine. Plan to share everything you order with your dining companions, and don't be afraid to ask the polished servers for recommendations on portions, how to course your meal, or drinks pairings advice – the bar serves a short but thoughtfully curated list of beer and wine, plus sake, Chinese rice wine, teas, and non-alcoholic drinks.
Address: 19 St Marks Place, New York, NY 10003, United States
Website: che-li.com
Photo by Molly YehKatz's Delicatessen
Tourist destinations in New York rarely make it into regular rotation with locals. Katz’s is an exception. What started as a deli called Iceland Brothers has been slicing exceptional pastrami, corned beef, and loaves of rye bread on the Lower East Side since 1888 (and made the famous “I'll have what she's having” cameo in When Harry Met Sally). While the menu offers tuna fish, burgers, and even a cheesesteak, stick to the deli classics like pastrami, corned beef, and beef tongue sandwiches. Round out your order with a knish, a bowl of matzo ball soup, or cheese blintzes.
Address: 205 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: katzsdelicatessen.comSylvia's Restaurant
Framed photos of decades of notable diners, including Barack Obama and Muhammed Ali, line the deep red and exposed brick walls of this Harlem soul food institution. Opened by Sylvia Woods, a South Carolina-born cook and culinary entrepreneur, in 1962, the restaurant remains a family affair, owned and operated by generations of Woodses. The skilled kitchen turns out extraordinary takes on soul food classics. Try the expertly fried chicken, whose crackling skin encases achingly tender meat, plus a side of tangy collard greens and mac and cheese so velvety it hardly seems real. The pace and tenor of the service varies based on how thronged the dining room is on any given day – and it can get awfully busy – but the warm, knowledgeable staff handles it all with aplomb.
Address: 328 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10027, United States
Website: sylviasrestaurant.com
ContentoContento
The five partners at Contento are deeply committed to hospitality for all: Contento was given Bon Appetit’s prestigious Heads of the Table Award – for those working to make the food space more inclusive – for its wheelchair-accessible bar seating, menu QR codes to a spoken version of the menu for diners with low-vision, and a Wines of Impact list of offerings from Indigenous-, Black-owned, and mission-minded wineries. Executive chef Oscar Lorenzzi, who was born in Lima, leans into Peruvian flavours with dishes like classic ceviche, Peruvian barley with roasted mushrooms and winter truffles, arroz con pato with pickled fennel and onion, and roasted scallops with pumpkin stew and Peruvian corn. Whether you come to Contento for its accessibility, thoughtful wine list, or Peruvian-inspired cooking, you’ll enjoy your evening. There’s space for everyone here.
Address: 88 E 111th Street, New York, NY 10029
Website: contentonyc.comAyada
When this 2008 institution from Elmhurst, Queens opened an outpost within Manhattan’s Chelsea Market, even more New Yorkers got access to its exceptional, home-style Thai cooking – while the locale isn't the most serene, the menu more than makes up for the always bustling, occasionally boisterous surroundings. By way of beverages, there's tart housemade lemonade in addition to frosty glasses of Thai iced coffees and teas. For food: papaya salad studded with savoury dried shrimp, sticky rice, and Panang curry topped with crispy duck are among the most popular dishes, but the expansive menu also includes crunchy fried chive cakes, steaming plates of pad see ew, and helpings of crab meat fried rice.Address: 75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011, United States
Website: ayadanyc.com- Klaus Vedfelt
Win Son
There’s a lot on the menu at Taiwanese Win Son, and little of it disappoints. Start with marinated cucumbers and clams and basil. Then move onto fried eggplant with black vinegar; pan-griddled pork buns; tofu stir-fried with garlic chives and yunlin black beans; and sesame noodles made with black sesame, mushrooms, snow pea leaves, and peanuts. For dessert, there’s just one option: tian miantuan, which is a fried doughnut with vanilla ice cream and condensed milk.
Address: 159 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11206
Website: winsonbrooklyn.com 
Eduardo CerrutiVia Carota
Sparsely decorated yet warm and inviting, with plenty of wood and exposed brick, Via Carota is the kind of place where you might run into celebrities, but where you’ll feel totally comfortable sitting next to them in jeans and a T-shirt. But they don't take reservations here, so the flip side of all that cool is that waits at peak times can push three hours. The menu is full of supremely delicious creations from Rita Sodi and Jody Williams, who between them run Buvette in NYC and Paris, I Sodi a couple of blocks away, and Bar Pisellino across the street. Even the relatively straightforward vegetable dishes, like the pear and gorgonzola bruschetta with walnuts, are remarkable in their fresh simplicity.
Address: 51 Grove St, New York, NY 10014
Website: viacarota.com
Photo by Damien LafargueThe Four Horsemen
Chirpy staff help it feel cosy – as does the knowledge that James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem) runs the joint. This is the sort of place, though, where you may consider inverting your drinking and dining budgets. Maybe you throw down 70 bucks for wine and 14 on butter beans in ham broth, deciding to listen to both sides of whatever album they're spinning, drink the whole bottle, and grab a slice of pizza later. The place is co-owned by four wine geeks and you see it all over the ludicrously long menu: there’s a whole page of orange wines, for example. The list shifts pretty much day to day, and the staff will alert you to what’s just in and what’s almost gone – a real oenophile’s dream. The Champagne section of the menu is simply extraordinary.
Address: 295 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Website: fourhorsemenbk.com
Evan SungLucali
Henry Street in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn is home to Italian families who have lived here for generations, the stroller set that moved in more recently, and Lucali, one of the city’s best pizzerias. Dining here takes patience and planning. Every afternoon a line forms outside of Lucali for “the list.” The team’s website explains it simply and best: “Show up before 5. Put your name on the list. Go have a drink. We'll call you when your table is ready.” It might be an hour, it might be three: Lucali is worth surrendering an evening for.
Address: 575 Henry Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Website: lucali.com
Melanie DuneaFrenchette
Frenchette, from Keith McNally veterans Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, isn’t quite a mirror of France; rather, it’s their take on what a French restaurant in New York City should be. Diners well acquainted with the French culinary canon will find many familiar friends on the menu here, including foie gras, poulet roti and cote de boeuf, but the menu isn’t limited to these items. Nasr and Hanson have also worked in their own interpretive dishes such as smoked trout beignets with ranch’ette, apples, and spaetzle.
Address: 241 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013
Website: frenchettenyc.com
Photo by Daniel Krieger/Courtesy Sushi NakazawaSushi Nakazawa
Daisuke Nakazawa – the apprentice from Jiro Dreams of Sushi – cooks here, and in an ideal world, you’re sitting right at his counter. You’ll pay a little extra to do so, but oh, what he can do with fish. The man must daydream in texture and temperature, because whether mackerel, smoked skipjack, or shrimp are on his menu, they are seasoned lightly, brought to a very precise warmth, and served to transcendent effect. People who have heard the four-star raves are here, whether they have sushi cravings and have saved their pennies or just have money to burn.
Address: 23 Commerce Street, New York, NY 10014
Website: sushinakazawa.com
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Courtesy Los Tacos No. 1Los Tacos No. 1
A reality check: New York City doesn't have the taco cred of a city like Los Angeles or San Diego. That said, it's not without its standouts. The menu at Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea Market is short, but hits all the high points with a tight selection of tacos made on corn or flour tortillas laced with lard. There are also quesadillas and mulas filled with proteins like pollo asada and adobada, or marinated pork topped with a pineapple. Fresh chips, salsa, and guacamole round out a meal. The lack of seating makes Los Tacos No. 1 ideal for a snack or light meal while you’re exploring the area.
Address: 75 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10011
Website: lostacos1.com
Ben HonRaku
Duck down Macdougal Street on the western edge of SoHo and look for a small white square sign with artfully drawn Japanese characters and Raku spelled out in small Roman letters below. If you elect to dine inside, you’ll be greeted by a calming and transportive dining room and some of the city’s best udon (the latter you'll have your fill of outside, of course). The lengthy menu at Raku can be a touch overwhelming for a first-time visitor, so first decide if you want your udon warm or cold, then concentrate your efforts on that section. Raku is one of those rare New York restaurants that’s impressive, transportive, consistently excellent – and (most importantly and surprisingly) easy to get a reservation at.
Address: 48 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10012
Website: rakunyc.com
Photo by Evan SungLilia
This Williamsburg paean to pasta is in a former garage with exposed-beam wooden ceilings. Chef-owner Missy Robbins is one of New York’s finest pasta chefs. People come here for all sorts of carby stuff: rigatoni diavola, gnocchi, and ravioli. Start, though, with some cacio e pepe fritelle, gorgeous fried balls decked out with salty cheese and pepper, and move on to seafood, another Robbins strong suit. Maybe today’s the day for grilled clams flecked with Calabrian chilies? Cured sardines with capers? It’s all good. But, the absolute must-order dish is the mafaldini, a rippled noodle spiked with pink peppercorns. Reservations are hard to come by (you may need to book a month in advance) but snagging one is well worth the constant refreshes of Resy.
Address: 567 Union Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Website: lilianewyork.com
Photo by William Hereford/Courtesy Le BernardinLe Bernardin
Long known as one of the best restaurants in New York City and the world, Le Bernardin has graced New Yorkers with its presence for decades. What you want to do here is go all in for superstar Eric Ripert's tasting menu. The fish that dominates his prix fixe is largely untouched, save for the best flourishes, so you put yourself in the very capable hands of his sauciers. And don’t skip dessert – not at a restaurant the New York Times has awarded four stars consistently since it opened in 1986. The service is also what you'd expect from a restaurant of this reputation: Everyone is so attentive it can almost be daunting (in a good way, in a good way).
Address: 153 W 51st Street, New York, NY 10019
Website: le-bernardinprive.com
Lizzie MunroGage & Tollner
Gage & Tollner is more than 100 years old, but somehow manages to feel exactly like a Brooklyn restaurant of today should: inviting, thoughtful, and bustling – with a dose of history mixed in for good measure. It’s the type of restaurant that reminds guests why New York is a great city to dine in. The landmarked interior at Gage & Tollner is lined with mirrors and cherry wood arches and lit by brass chandeliers. It’s precisely the type of place to order a classic cocktail, like one of the seven martinis on offer or a Manhattan. The menu leans into steakhouse classics like New York strip steak and shrimp cocktail, but there are more modern touches here too like clams kimsino, made with bacon-kimchi butter, and crispy hen of the woods mushrooms with black garlic aioli and house Sriracha. No matter your dinner order, make sure you save room for the baked Alaska by Caroline Schiff, who was recently named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine. Under a large singed meringue coat sits layers of fresh mint, dark chocolate, and amarena cherry ice cream and chocolate cookie crunch.
Address: 372 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Website: gageandtollner.com.jpg)
Courtesy Don AngieDon Angie
Italian-American food may seem a dime a dozen in New York City—but this is the sort of place you'll need to return to at least four or five times to eat everything on the menu you want to order. The husband-and-wife chefs, Scott Tacinelli and Angie Rito, have been cooking together for nearly a decade – before this they were at Quality Italian in midtown – and they're not just whipping up chicken parm with a side of ziti. This is some next-level Italian-American: Think a stuffed garlic flatbread starter, with cheese oozing out of every tear; a take on Chrysanthemum salad generous with grated cheese; and a garganelli giganti pasta, cooked in a salty, delicious guanciale and pecorino ragù that's basically the spaghetti and meatballs of your dreams. Drinks stand up, too: a Nonna's Little Nip, a blend of grapefruit, Campari, and prosecco, or a Pinky Ring, a swirl of bourbon, Carpano Antica, Galliano, and Campari, are just what you need to take the edge off.
Address: 103 Greenwich Avenue, New York, NY 10014
Website: donangie.com
Courtesy Raoul'sRaoul's
At this old-school SoHo institution, the white tablecloths, pressed tin ceilings, and $58 steak au poivre belie a long history of button-pushing and rule-flouting. The top-secret item? The burger au poivre. Burger hounds obsess over it and its drippy, creamy St.-André cheese topping. For desserts, the banana coconut bread pudding has its devotees. Come here when you’re curious about old, bad New York – when the SNL cast would roll out for dinner at 1 a.m., and people might end up dancing on the tables – and to see a slightly more sedate version today.
Address: 180 Prince Street, New York, NY 10012
Website: raouls.com
Noah FecksAdda Indian Canteen
New York’s neighbourhoods are dotted with Indian takeout spots that serve a rotation of standards like chicken tikka masala and paneer. Adda, in Long Island City, Queens is not part of this club. Run by Roni Mazumdar of Rahi and executive chef Chintan Pandya, Adda offers, as they say, “‘unapologetically’ authentic Indian food.” That includes the housemade paneer. There’s also junglee maas, or goat curry, and snacks that come with a fair warning on the menu: “highly addictive.”
Address: 31-31 Thomson Avenue, Queens, NY 11101
Website: addanyc.com
AtoboyAtoboy
Inspired by banchan, but more voluptuous and satisfying in delivery, the refined food at this Korean eatery (not to be confused with LES food-free cocktail temple Attaboy) is made by a hotshot, Michelin-starred chef. Think beet and smoked yoghurt, octopus with chimichurri and potato, pork belly and enoki, or duck with chanterelle and quince. Desserts tend to be bright, floral eye-openers for the night ahead. Wine is the focus of the drink menu here, with a tightly curated list that leaves room for experimentation alongside the classic Californian and French numbers.
Address: 43 E 28th Street, New York, NY 10016
Website: atoboynyc.com.jpg)
Albert CheungWildair
Peer into this narrow space, with tall stools, high tables and be forgiven for thinking, “All this excitement…for a wine bar?” It is, in a sense, but before visions of big bills and dreadful food dance in your head, know that this food is some of the best in a city with some of the best food in the world. As is true of a famous album, several singles on this menu have their fans. There’s one man eating the little gem–pistachio salad and raving about it. A few stools down, a woman goes wild for clams with XO in an almond broth. And they'll bar the doors if you try to leave without trying the tartare.
Address: 142 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: wildair.nyc
Evan SungDame
What started as a pop-up is now a hit British-leaning seafood restaurant for golden-brown fish and chips plus broiled oysters with green chartreuse hollandaise, elegant squid and scallion skewers, blowfish tales with chili butter, and a creative wine list divided into two sections: “What Austin Powers is Drinking” and “What James Bond is Drinking.” Patricia Howard and Ed Szymanski's tight menu looks to his British roots for inspiration with dishes like kedgeree rice with curried crab, “proper English chips,” as the team calls them, and desserts like sticky toffee pudding, but the Englishness of it all isn’t so overt that you feel you’re dining in the British countryside. There are also elegant raw scallops with preserved lemon and nardello peppers, and tuna tartare on toast that’s topped with bottarga. Tables at Dame are coveted, so while the restaurant can seat parties as large as six, if you can't snag a reservation then it’s best to plan an evening with just one dining companion, or dine by yourself at the bar that looks into the kitchen.
Address: 87 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10012
Website: damenewyork.com.jpg)
Cervo'sCervo's
Cervo’s has been around since long before Dimes Square's new dining buzz, and it continues to be one of the area's best restaurants. The kitchen looks toward the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula – but the vivacious, tightly-packed space and the seasonal outdoor seating on Canal Street feels distinctly New York. The regularly changing menu always leans heavily into seafood and vegetables with lots of bright and briny touches like bottarga shaved atop heirloom tomatoes, watercress salads soused with vinegar, and those little Manila clams cooked in vinho verde. While there are larger plate options like a fried skate wing and a lamb burger, the best meals at Cervo’s are the ones made up of many small plates you can leisurely work your way through. Like the food menu, the wine offerings are inspired by Spain and Portugal, with a number of orange bottles and other natural options. There’s also vermouth service with seven vermouths on offer, and an excellent spritz.
Address: 43 Canal Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: cervosnyc.com
Gary HeCote
Head 10 blocks south of New York’s Koreatown and you'll find Cote, one of the city’s best and buzziest Korean restaurants. There’s no shortage of a la carte options, but the prix-fixe Butcher’s Feast is where diners should start. For $65 a person, you're treated to seasonal ban-chan, savoury egg soufflé, two stews (including spicy kimchi stew), and the house selection of beef, including USDA Prime and Wagyu, cooked on the table with smokeless grills.
Address: 16 W 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010
Website: cotenyc.com
Courtesy BuvetteBuvette
You're back in that one Paris café you particularly loved, right down to the tiny tables and soft lighting. Your most important move is to order the anchovies on warm toast slicked with cold butter. After that go for hearty mains like cassoulet or one of the croque monsieurs, and maybe skip the buzzed-about chocolate mousse – we found it not worth the hype – in favour of sweet tarte tatin. Also, in case it wasn't clear from the jump: you’re drinking wine. Chef-owner Jody Williams takes a lot of pride in her list. Go for rosé with friends over brunch or open a well-priced bottle of something from the Loire Valley to sip with charcuterie in the evening.
Address: At the corner of Bleecker, 42 Grove St, New York, NY 10014
Website: ilovebuvette.com
Courtesy TerangaTeranga
Teranga is run by the acclaimed Senegal-born chef and cookbook author Pierre Thiam. Offering a culinary lens into Africa through African-grown ingredients and flavours that date back to before colonization, the restaurant is as much a place to dine as it is an integral part of The Africa Center. The name Teranga translates to "good hospitality" in Senegalese, and although this is a fast-casual spot – bowls and all – the team here is indeed warm and welcoming.
Address: 1280 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10029
Website: itsteranga.com
Will EllisDhamaka
Restaurateur Roni Mazumdar and chef/partner Chintan Pandya have taken the city’s dining scene by storm in the past few years with a string of openings that, without question, match their company’s name: Unapologetic Indian. Their West Village spot Semma, which recently received a Michelin star, is often rightfully in the spotlight, but Dhamaka is the cool older sibling that has their own thing going on. Dhamaka is not a restaurant of restraint, it’s one of abundance and exuberance. Pandya and his team’s cooking looks deep into regional cuisines of India to share dishes we rarely see on menus in the U.S. like the restaurant’s acclaimed rabbit dish from Rajasthan, which must be ordered in advance. It’s marinated for 48 hours in spiced yoghurt and then slow-cooked for hours. There is also doh khleh, a chili-laced pork salad with cilantro and ginger from Meghalaya near Bangladesh and chenna poda, a baked cheese dessert from a state in eastern India below Kolkata. Some dishes like the exceptional goat neck dum biryani, which is served in a pot that’s sealed with a thin flatbread, are larger, so check in with your server about the number of items to order.
Address: 119 Delancey St, New York, NY 10002
Website: dhamaka.nyc