16 Best Restaurants in New York City, New York

Flushing has plenty of casual sit-down spots and street-style hawker stands, but Guan Fu is on another level, presenting legitimately tongue-tingling, lip-burning Sichuan dishes in an elegant, upscale environment. The mapo tofu, a staple of any good Sichuan restaurant, is impeccable over rice, and the boiled fish is a soupy symphony of spicy and sour flavors. What’s more, this restaurant pays homage to the classic Chinese American restaurants of old with its bamboo screens, elaborate metal serving ware, and two lion statues outside.

This fast-casual spot serves up possibly the best chicken on the planet. Servers hand you plastic gloves with your food because the chicken is so fall-off-the-bone tender and juicy that using anything but your hands to eat it is an exercise in futility. The secret is that they marinate the whole chicken in in a secret mixture of Chinese spices for hours and then braise the bird for an eternity. There are long list of sides, including scallion pancakes, pan-fried dumplings, and onion rings. 

Although the soups and the noodle options are consistently excellent at this no-frills restaurant, what you should really order here are dishes that involve the hanging lacquered ducks and other window "decorations." These are listed on a simple board and superbly served with pungent garlic-and-ginger sauce on the side. Seasonal specialties like duck with flowering chives and salt-baked soft-shell crabs are memorable.

Joe opened his first Shanghai restaurant in Queens in 1994, but buoyed by the accolades showered on his steamed soup dumplings—filled with a rich, fragrant broth and ground pork or a pork-crabmeat mixture—a Manhattan Chinatown location followed in 1995. After 25 years, it's moved to a new spot not far from the original and although the space is modern and updated, the food is just what fans have been raving about for years.

Dim sum is traditionally served in the morning but if you have a craving at another time, head to this old-school spot in the heart of Chinatown, where dumplings, turnip cakes, rice rolls, and a variety of other small plates are available from early until late in the evening. Nom Wah started out as a tea parlor and bakery in 1920, just a few doors down, and only later started specializing in dim sum, and there's still an impressive selection of specialty tea on the menu.

You'll want to check out the menu at this chic SoHo spot that's more than a "pinch" above the average Chinese joint thanks to its perfect dumplings and supertasty versions of mapo tofu, three-cup chicken, seafood fried rice, and many other classics. The wine and cocktail list are thoughtfully chosen to pair with the flavorful food.

This elegant Chinese restaurant has been prominent with NYC's fine-dining scene since 1971, and its menu reflects both dishes from China's regions and American Chinese restaurant classics. While the opulent dining room, reflected in red, navy blue, and gold, seems fixed in time, this elegant establishment has made a culinary imprint. Supposedly, the dish orange beef was first made here as well, and indeed, it's worth a sample, but there's so much more. Beijing pan-fried pork dumplings make a good starter, and dry sautéed shredded crispy beef is a house specialty. Beijing duck, served table-side with thin pancakes, is a signature dish here for good reason. 

The name says it all: the open kitchen at this salt-of-the-earth Chinatown restaurant (located on charming, curved Doyers Street) means you can watch the noodle slinger in action while awaiting your bowl of, yes, tasty hand-pulled noodles. Just choose your ingredients—beef, pork, oxtail, eel, chicken, lamb, or shrimp, among others—and prepare to eat the most delicious bowl of noodles since that last trip to Shanghai.

Some of the best deals in the neighborhood can be found here, with sizzling pork-and-chive dumplings (four for $3) and plenty of vegetarian options. This is a casual, order-at-the counter spot with a few tables.