506 Best Restaurants in New York City, New York

The world's most famous French chef, Alain Ducasse, brings to New York a Right Bank bistro plucked straight from the City of Light. Expect cozy, red-velour banquettes and wall lamps illuminating each table, with a menu that celebrates rather than reinvents beloved French dishes. And that's okay, especially when onion soup, pate, filet mignon and other classics are so well executed. It's not exactly cheap for bistro fare, but it is a delicious reminder that beloved flavors of Paris also sparkle in Manhattan.

The truck that launched a foodie craze, Birria-Landia specializes in Mexican birria, a rich, tomato-y savory stew made with traditional goat or beef. Here, it's served folded into double-layered tacos, between two crispy ones with melted cheese called mulitas, or in a bowl in "consommé" form (also serving as a dip for those tacos). There will inevitably be a line, but that also means a number of other businesses have popped up along the block to service the line with candy, snacks, and traditional Mexican drinks like horchata. The fall-off-the-bone meat is best paired with a few slices of radish, some cilantro and a spicy sauce, and ferociously gobbled, standing up near the truck the moment it's handed to you out of the window. 

Chef Laurent Tourondel may no longer be involved with his namesake steak house, but this classy space, decked out in beige with resin-top black tables, still draws crowds. The no-muss, no-fuss menu with a variety of steaks and other options is nonetheless large, and so are the portions of starters such as crab cakes with celery-infused mayonnaise and ruby tuna tartare with avocado and soy-lime dressing. A veal chop crusted with rosemary and Parmesan lends new depth to the meat. Sides and desserts, like a killer peanut-butter chocolate mousse with banana ice cream, are all superior.

An unexpected find on a block just off Bryant Park and near Times Square, Blue Blossom serves a delectable fusion of Szechuan, Cantonese, and Shanghai cuisine. Dishes here are designed for sharing, with an excellent variety of both meat and vegetable dumplings (as well as tasty sesame buns for dessert), roasted Peking duck, a fragrant saffron seafood bisque, and special delights like grandma’s braised pork. The elegant, two-story space is a soothing break from the busy streets outside, featuring tables and long bar with comfortable seating, big booths, a high half-arched ceiling, and touches of blue porcelain throughout.

This tasteful den of a restaurant—formerly a speakeasy—on a quiet side street maintains an impeccable reputation for excellence and consistency under the leadership of chef Dan Barber. Part of the slow-food, sustainable agriculture movement, Blue Hill mostly uses ingredients grown or raised within 200 miles, including the Four Season Farm at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Barber's second culinary project in nearby Westchester County. The chefs produce precisely cooked and elegantly constructed dishes such as wild striped bass with potato-and-clam chowder and house-cured guanciale (pork jowl), and a smoked-tomato soup with American caviar.

Opened in 1992, Blue Ribbon still has a reputation not just as a top-notch restaurant serving French-influenced standards like escargot, French onion soup, and steak but also as a serious late-night foodie hangout. Literary types, chefs, and designers—generally a good-looking gang—tend to fill this dark box of a room until late (2 am these days though it used to be open 'til 4).

Chef Carlos Swepson, a Mississippi native, puts a contemporary spin on classic American soul food, with down-home dishes like biscuits and sausage gravy, jumbo shrimp and grits, turkey meat loaf, seven-cheese macaroni with applewood bacon, and a fried seafood po'boy. Owned and operated by Swepson and his wife, Markisha, the casual yet smart eatery serves brunch all day, every day in a comfy space directly above the entrance to the B and C trains at 116th Street. There's also a DJ spinning R&B, techno, and soul on the weekends during brunch and dinner. 

Hanging plants and elegant decor set the stage for this trendy Dominican--Asian fusion restaurant, where dumplings are filled with mofongo, soft oxtail meat dwells within samosas, and short rib braised in Korean flavors is accompanied with sweet plantain puree and tostones crumbs. All their tapas-size dishes are made to share, so make sure you have company.

A West Chelsea staple since 1997, this modern Tuscan gem attracts art gallery owners and chic locals with its impressive list of boutique Italian wines by the glass and menu that spans beloved classics—crispy fried artichokes, creamy cacio e pepe, and seared branzino—and bold surprises like braised wild boar shank. The elegant space, blending lofty industrial vibes with mid-century Eames and Knoll pieces, also features a sunlit atrium that opens to a wonderful garden in summer.

If you see the fiberglass head of a hammerhead shark in the front yard, you've arrived at this three-story restaurant where the nautical paraphernalia continues inside and out. Fashioned to be a beach house down the shore, there's an indoor restaurant component serving up crabs and other seafood, which spills out to the large seating area in the back. With an outdoor beach bar and miniature golf course, it's a fun maritime retreat where some New Yorkers spend entire afternoons in as a minigetaway. 

Neighborhood crowds clamoring for coffee and freshly squeezed juice line up for brunch at this TriBeCa mainstay, but Bubby's is good for lunch and dinner, too, if you're in the mood for comfort food like mac 'n' cheese or fried chicken. The dining room is homey and cozy, with big windows; in summer, patrons sit at tables outside with their dogs. Brunch options include just about everything, such as sourdough pancakes, huevos rancheros with grits, matzo-ball soup, and divine biscuits.

This one-of-a-kind, college-style burger bar, clad in wood paneling and looking like a rec room straight out of Happy Days, is tucked away in the lobby of the Thompson Central Park luxury hotel. Look for a neon burger marking entry into this delicious hideaway, up some stairs and behind a curtain. Inside you can find semi-surly, all-business cooks dispensing fresh shakes, crispy fries, and paper-wrapped cheeseburgers. These burgers are straightforward, cheap, and delicious—just be ready to order once you're at the counter, or they'll send you back to the start of the line. (There are two more locations, one inside Moynihan Train Hall, the other in Brooklyn's Industry City.)

Di Palo's has been an integral part of Little Italy since Savino Di Palo opened a small shop making fresh mozzarella and ricotta in 1910. That store grew into Di Palo's Fine Foods on Grand Street, which sells all manner of gourmet Italian products, and now Savino's great grandchildren have opened this spacious, though rather nondescript wine bar, serving those excellent products paired with lovingly selected Italian wines.

Chef Ignacio Mattos's sequel to his much-lauded Estela, nearby, is an airy, high-ceiling spot that's called a café but is more of a paradise of satisfying Italian fare. Pasta lovers melt over the perfectly prepared cacio e pepe, but the kitchen also turns out expert fish and meat dishes: perhaps a perfectly roasted half chicken, pork Milanese, or hake with cauliflower and capers.

Don’t be fooled by its name—Café Carmellini, the first namesake restaurant by Andrew Carmellini (of Locanda Verde, Dutch, and Lafayette fame), is anything but casual. The grand, two-story space stuns with plush blue-velvet banquettes, rich brown woods, and soaring ceilings. The discreet, polished service pairs perfectly with a compact, globe-trotting menu that nods to Italian flavors without staying confined to them. Standouts include the rabbit cacciatore, scallops Cardoz, and duck tortellini. And don’t skip the outstanding table bread.

The Mexican-style grilled corn, liberally sprinkled with chili powder, lime, and cotija cheese, is undoubtedly worth getting your hands dirty at this hip luncheonette that's become something of an institution on this well-traveled corner of NoLIta. Follow up with a classic Cuban sandwich (roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and chipotle mayo), fish tacos, or one of the innovative salads.

Named for a border town between Mexico and California, this casual, easygoing Cal-Mex restaurant originated as a street cart in SoHo before opening a number of storefronts, three of which are in Brooklyn. At the Upper East Side outpost, you'll find Calexico's usual staples of burritos, quesadillas, tacos, and enchiladas. Items to try include frozen margaritas, chipotle-marinated pork tacos, and esquites, a grilled corn salad mixed with cotija (aged cow's milk) cheese, lime mayo, chili powder, sour cream, and cilantro. There's also a kids' menu, weekday happy hour and a weekend brunch.

Goan cuisine is the specialty at this bare-bones yet comfortable restaurant, and many of the dishes served here employ its namesake ingredient in both sweet and savory formats. The Portuguese-inflected curries of the once-colonized region of Goa are brightly colored, bold in flavor and spice, and not quite like most of the Indian food in Queens. Try the Xacuti curry with fresh roasted coconut, or the smooth and silky fish curry.

Set on a nondescript block of Broadway, the original branch of the small, now-national chain is a favorite for families celebrating special occasions, preprom groups of teens, and locals looking for reliable Italian food. They come for mountainous portions designed to share, family-style, of tried-and-true Italian favs like fried calamari, linguine with white clam sauce, chicken parmigiana, and veal saltimbocca, all loaded with garlic or red sauce—or both. Family photos line the walls, an antipasti table groans under the weight of savory meats, cheese, and salads, and there's a convivial feeling amid the organized chaos. If you want a quiet or romantic dinner, this is not the place.

Savvy New Yorkers reserve early for the affordable Italian meals at this large, busy Midtown eatery, where family photos lining the walls lend a sociable feel to the Times Square hubbub. Groups carbo-loading for a day of sightseeing or a night of Broadway theater are rewarded with mountains of such classic, toothsome viands as fried calamari, linguine with white clam sauce, chicken parmigiana, and veal saltimbocca.

After the incredible success of their taqueria in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar's second act is this pork-centric taco spot that has been a huge hit since the day it opened in June 2024. If you like eating other parts of the pig, you'll be in porcine heaven here as lard-laden tortillas are stuffed with brain, belly, skin, ear, snout, stomach, butt, tongue, tail, uterus, and cheek. It's a choose-your-own pig offal adventure and it's delicious.

Come for the tacos, stay for the margaritas: that's what a lot of local Long Island City folks do at this popular Mexican standout. The chef is from Chiapas, but expect pan-Mexican fare, with tacos crammed with slow-cooked beef tongue or rich chorizo, among other options like a seasonal vegan taco. Whatever you do, don't skip out on their mole, whether as a plate or in enchilada form. Also worthy are refreshing fish ceviche and the albondigas, or tender meatballs, with a hard-boiled egg inside, wading in a spicy chipotle-tomato sauce.