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Ready to take a bite out of New York? Hope you've come hungry. In a city where creativity is expressed in innumerable ways, the food scene takes center stage, with literally thousands of chances to taste what Gotham is all about. Whether lining up at street stands, gobbling down legendary deli and diner grub, or chasing a coveted reservation at the latest celebrity-chef venue, New Yorkers are a demanding yet appreciative audience.
Every neighborhood offers temptations high, low, and in between, meaning there's truly something for every taste, whim, and budget. No matter how you approach dining out here, it's hard to go wrong. Planning a day of shopping among the glittering flagship boutiques along 5th and Madison Avenues? Stop into one of the Upper East Side's storied restaurants for a repast among the "ladies who lunch." Clubbing in the Meatpacking District? Tuck into a meal at eateries as trendy as their patrons. Craving authentic ethnic? From food trucks to hidden joints, there are almost more choices than there are appetites. Recent years have also seen entire food categories, from ramen to meatballs to mac 'n' cheese, riffed upon and fetishized, and at many restaurants you find an almost religious reverence for seasonal, locally sourced cuisine.
And don't forget—New York is still home to more celebrity chefs than any other city. Your chances of running into your favorite cookbook author, Food Network celeb, or paparazzi-friendly chef are high, adding even more star wattage to a restaurant scene with an already through-the-roof glamour quotient. Newfound economic realities, however, have revived appreciation for value, meaning you can tap into wallet-friendly choices at every level of the food chain. Rest assured, this city does its part to satisfy your appetite. Ready, set, eat.
Meat lovers in particular will enjoy Korean barbecue, and Dons Bogam is a venerable, quality option with a variety of meats (including American Wagyu) and seafood, cooked for you on a grill embedded in your table. Dishes are served with assorted condiments, sauces, and embellishments. Don't ignore the appetizers; the dumplings and pajeons (scallion pancakes) are excellent, as are the noodle dishes and bulgogis (marinated beef slices) if you aren't into barbecue. Artisanal and infused sojus (a Korean spirit) are among a good selection of wines, sakes, and beers.
Just a short walk from the ferry terminal, Enoteca Maria began an ordinary Italian eatery, with several nonne (Italian grandmas) in the place of a chef, each one cooking regional dishes on different nights. They've since branched out to celebrate global cuisines with "Nonnas of the World," and have been recognized for that incentive. On any given night you might sample Ukrainian, Sri Lankan, Greek, or Argentinian comfort food, cooked with organic ingredients sourced locally when possible. Check their website's calendar to find out what country the next nonna hails from, before she prepares dishes for you in this small, but welcoming space.
On an out-of-the-way stretch of the Lower East Side, Ernesto's refined atmosphere and creative, daily-changing menu of satisfying Spanish and Basque delights transports diners to coastal Spain. This isn't the small plates, tapas-style Spanish restaurant that New Yorkers are familiar with, though sharing dishes like a tortilla española (egg and potato omelet) or creamy croquetas (ham-filled deep-fried fritters) and heartier fare like seared duck breast slathered in a port and foie gras sauce or baked salt cod in a garlicky green sauce is not frowned upon.
The name is Italian for "bait," and this restaurant lures you in with a long menu of delectable crudo preparations and then hooks you with bold entrées that might include whole salt-baked branzino, sea bass for two, or bucatini pasta with spicy baby octopus. The restaurant saw a few changes when longtime chef Dave Pasternack bought it in 2019, but its menu remains sharp, as does the adventurous Italian wine selection.
Subterranean Fedora was an ancient, little-patronized restaurant until 2011, when the old Italian owner left the building and restaurateur Gabe Stulman took over, revamping the place to attract a younger, hip crowd. The kitchen now churns out French Canadian–accented fare like garlic-cream-topped duck breast and scallops paired with bone marrow. Creative cocktails give the space a buzzy, almost clubby vibe. Fedora (the restaurant) will never be the same, and that might be a good thing.
New Yorkers in all neighborhoods were delighted to welcome this second branch of the famed Friend of a Farmer, if only because a second outpost means a second chance at scoring a table for their legendary weekend brunch. The Gramercy location opened in the 1980s and is known for its cottage-core vibes, hearty servings, and as a pioneer in the farm-to-table movement offering seasonal and locally sourced ingredients. This Upper West Side location offers the same wholesome appeal and experience. While the brunch gets most of the attention (a fallout of the original location appearing on best-of NYC brunch lists for the last decade), the supper menu is as comforting as the farmhouse decor suggests. Look for all your favorites, from Chicken Pot Pie to Shepherd's Pie (there's a vegan option, too), burgers, fish, grain bowls, and duck.
èThis bi-level space, bathed in a riot of beige and white, feels like a clubhouse of sorts: an elegant ambience with linens blanketing the tables but with very friendly service and a French-accented menu of decadent comfort food. Sip a mezcal-laced Golden Swan martini while grazing on Parmesan-sprinkled steak tartare, foie gras mousse, truffle-laced, three-cheese-bathed tagliolini, or the excellent Gruyère-topped burger. The book-length wine list is heavy on French reds.
Helmed by celeb-chef Marcus Samuelsson, Hav & Mar means "ocean" in Swedish and "honey" in Amharic, the majority language in Ethiopia, reflecting the chef's personal background. The food, artwork, and experience at this 125-seat spot is meant to evoke Black cuisine in New York City. The spacious interior, with Black-mermaid-bedecked walls and Noguchi-style chandeliers, creates a fun atmosphere to tuck into flavorful seafood dishes like a zesty banana-leaf wrapped snapper with crispy coconut rice or the signature fried chicken served with a soft-boiled egg.
Family owned for three generations, the Heidelberg is a throwback to when Yorkville was a bustling German community more than a century ago. A thriving remnant of this past, the restaurant's exterior reflects German fachwerkhäuser (half-timbered) facade. Once inside, you can soak up the Bavarian beer hall vibes with a frothy lager, accompanied by one of the classics from the kitchen, like wiener schnitzel, shareable sausage platters, jägerschnitzel, which is covered in a mushroom sauce, or beef goulash braised in paprika sauce. It's a popular evening spot, so squeeze up to the bar area to grab a seat or corner space.
In a city where you can't throw a meatball without hitting an Italian restaurant, this minimalist-designed, Tuscan-focused eatery is a real find. Spiky-haired owner Rita Sodi, a Florentine who formerly worked in the fashion industry, ensures the traditional Italian fare coming from the kitchen is satisfying and seasonal. Expect a bevy of pasta dishes, topped with good stuff like duck ragù, as well as artichoke-laced lasagna and pancetta-wrapped pork and rabbit. Hoist a glass of grappa at the end of the meal, and be happy you're in the right place. Chef Sodi also runs the excellent Via Carota around the corner on Grove Street. Service can be frustratingly cantankerous at times.
It would be understandable if, upon entering this dark-hued, dimly lit restaurant where patrons are ordering from the martini menu and tucking into large-portioned plates of red meat, you mistook the place for a classic old-school New York spot, a place that has been here since the 1950s. In fact, Jack & Charlie's, which opened in late 2021, only wants you to think that. The menu here is also a throwback with satisfying bone-in duck meat loaf and black–garlic–marinated strip steak, among other meaty delights.
Many restaurants have come and gone from this corner location, but it seems this lauded Korean spot, with its tall windows, wood tables, and modern lighting, will be boiling noodles and simmering broths for a while. Specializing in Korean ramen, called ramyun, Jeju concocts spicy deliciousness in a bowl, producing cauldrons filled with smooth, rich veal broth bobbing with tender brisket and Wagyu, among other specialties. The chef worked in the kitchens of Bouley, Nobu, and Per Se; you can tell with the first slurp he has the skill to thrill.
King is a beloved local spot run by three women who met while working at the famed River Cafe in London. Serving up better-than-average Italian and French fare in a stylish atmosphere, King's short menu changes frequently when new ingredients come into season, but expect dishes like Gorgonzola-spiked risotto, crispy chickpea fritters, and rosemary-accented hanger steak.
This elegant dining room across from Bryant Park has evolved from a coffee refueling spot to a full-fledged restaurant serving masterful modern American and traditional Mediterranean dishes—as well as a few Asian favorites—from seafood to a legendary truffle burger. Whether you visit for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, don't miss the award-winning, halva-infused coffee.
Food-media-darling chef Andrew Carmellini (who has several other restaurants around town, including Locanda Verde and the Dutch) goes Gallic at this upscale bistro with lots of cushy booths. There's no culinary trickery, just straightforward and very satisfying French fare along the lines of roasted halibut with saffron-spiked potatoes, a silky beef tartare, and excellent steak frites. For something more casual, grab a seat at the all-day café and bakery, where breakfast is the sleeper hit.
A nod to Midtown's famed, former Legacy Recording Studios, this chic eatery with a focus on the cuisine of northern Italy is well worth a far-west-side walk to the edge of Hudson Yards. The culinary dream team here also operates downtown's Charlie Bird and Pasquale Jones restaurants, focusing here on the north's coastal regions that are showcased with a crudo tasting menu, as well as more inventive dishes inspired by remote locales across Italy. The small bites and larger plates are sensational, elevated by the tantalizing cocktail program and enormous wine selection. The restaurant has a casual elegance thanks to its homey wood, leather, and brass details, with a compact dining room and inviting U-shape bar.
In a quiet stretch of Prospect Heights is this cozy, convivial neighborhood restaurant serving Asian- and Mediterranean-inspired American dishes, best enjoyed family-style. Dishes are so packed with flavor that you might need to order plain bread to balance them out: the tomato-based seafood stew is a tangy, salty, and sweet concoction; Japanese sweet potatoes rest on a divinely vinegary pine nut verde and lots of chopped dill; and yu choy (a softer cousin of Chinese broccoli) is served on a creamy, savory spread of black sesame tahini. The meat and fish offerings, most often presented as “large plates,” change frequently depending on what is in season and available locally; but what is fairly certain is that they’ll be butchered and prepared right downstairs. The white-washed walls lined with wooden trims, potted plants, and congenial waitstaff rocking Leland-branded fanny packs all make for a classic Brooklyn dining experience—though at decidedly Manhattan prices.
The menu at this charming and buzzy French restaurant is written on a chalkboard and changes frequently, so you can't scout out in advance what you're going to want eat—which is part of the Gallic-accented adventure. You can expect, however, to be wowed by the well-executed bistro dishes here, particularly the duck and seafood options, as well as the popular oeufs mayo: boiled eggs, slathered in freshly made mayo and dotted with trout roe. The all-French wine list is excellent.
Run by one of Manhattan's top chefs, Andrew Carmellini, this is a consistently fine option for satisfying, sophisticated TriBeCa dining. Occupying the ground floor corner of the Greenwich Hotel (and affiliated with Robert De Niro), Locanda Verde is warm and welcoming, with accents of brick and wood, and large windows that open to the street, weather permitting. The inspired Italian comfort food is worth the splurge on tantalizing, seasonally inspired antipasti, spectacular handmade pasta dishes, and hearty secondi celebrating different regions of Italy. Several draft beers, along with more than a dozen wines by the glass, make an already hopping bar scene even more of a draw. The restaurant also has a location inside Midtown's Hudson Yards.
Your inner magpie might be first attracted to Loulou for its colorful floral bedecked exterior as well as the romantic, dimly lit interior, but the food at this classic French bistro is as dazzling on the taste buds as the decor is on the eyes. The Gallic-accented menu doesn't stray too far from tradition, and that's a good thing. Start with some garlicky escargot or saffron-laced mussels before moving on to a tender steak au poivre, which arrives with a bountiful basket of crisp fries. Most of the signature cocktails are poured into uniquely designed glasses in the shape of various animals.
Whether you're lucky enough to nab a table at 1 pm or 1 am, this bistro—Keith McNally's original solo foray into the restaurant world, before Balthazar and Pastis—always seems like the place to be. The French-influenced kitchen's offerings are straightforward: croque monsieur, steak frites, and salade niçoise are old standbys, with a turkey burger thrown in to accommodate the palate américain. Bedecked in classic bistro trappings—hammered-copper stools, mirrors with menu items scrawled on them—the restaurant would look just as perfect in the Bastille neighborhood of Paris as it does in this swanky part of the Big Apple.
From the team that brought the West Village the Little Owl comes this all-day spot, offering a menu that combines culinary elements of Japan, California, and the Mediterranean. Think hamachi crudo with Tokyo turnips and charred avocado, braised chicken cacciatore ravioli, and roasted tilefish served with forbidden rice. The bar program has a similar philosophy, shaking up classic and signature cocktails using liquor and other ingredients from Japan and the Mediterranean.
The upscale-hacienda appearance of this justifiably popular restaurant showcases some of the best Mexican food in the city, courtesy of Mexican chef Richard Sandoval. Begin with a fresh mango margarita, then tuck into lobster corn empanadas, or the unusual octopus chicharron appetizer. Next, indulge in adobo birria (stew) made with adobo braised, tender roasted pork short rib. The daily happy hour, only at the bar and lounge, gets busy with specials on house margaritas, wines, and Mexican beers, along with tacos, nachos and other small plates. The dessert menu features its own roster of drinks, including Mexican coffee and a 1942 tequila. The bottomless brunch on weekends can get loud, but with unlimited cocktails and dishes you can see why.
"Born, bred, and buttered in Harlem" is how founder Melba Wilson describes herself. After working at New York City mainstays like Rosa Mexicano and the legendary Sylvia's, she decided to venture out on her own, opening Melba's in 2005. Here, she doesn't serve appetizers, but rather "comfortizers," like spring rolls stuffed with rice, black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cheddar cheese. The portions tend to be large enough to almost spill over the edge of the plate, so feel free to go straight for entrées like the Jamaican oxtail, country-fried catfish, or the food-coma-inducing fried chicken and eggnog waffles with strawberry butter and maple syrup.
