The best restaurants in New York City

New York has always been a great place to eat and the city’s dining scene has plenty of momentum these days — much of it coming from experienced chefs and restaurateurs expanding their operations. In less than two years, Momofuku Ko alums Chase Sinzer and Joshua Pinsky have opened two hotspots — seafood destination Penny and the more intimate Claud — on top of one another along East 10th Street.

Meanwhile, beloved Brooklyn slice joint L’Industrie debuted in the West Village in late 2023, while Vietnamese favourite Mắm expanded its offerings on the Lower East Side, and downtown udon destination Raku started dishing up noodles in the Theater District.

But some of the best meals in this city are at places that have been serving New Yorkers and visitors for decades. Restaurants like oyster and chop house Gage & Tollner, which first opened in 1879, and Cho Dang Gol, which has soothed diners with steaming tofu stews for over 25 years, aren’t resting on their laurels.

Many restaurants are also perfectly positioned for those exploring the city’s finest art galleries and museums. Looking to make a night of it? continue at one of New York’s excellent cocktail bars, and finish up in a gorgeous boutique hotel.

Here are the best restaurants in New York City to visit right now.

Downtown Manhattan

Wu’s Wonton King

Best for: Wonton soup, casual dining, and big groups, with a BYOB offering
Address: 165 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002
Price: Mains starting at 13 USD

Anchoring the cluster of blocks where Chinatown converges with the Lower East Side — now known as Dimes Square — is Wu’s and its large bowls of hearty but delicate wontons bobbing in broth. It’s a favourite of New York City’s food writers and chefs who come for the soup, towering plates of wok-cooked snow pea shoots, and giant crabs that can be ordered for large parties. If you are looking for wine or liquor, be sure to pick some up on your way to take advantage of the restaurant’s BYOB policy, as the only alcohol they sell is beer.

Frenchette

Best for: Pretending you’re in Paris
Address: 241 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013
Price: Mains starting at 36 USD

Frenchette’s warm glow at night feels more Parisian than New York. Fittingly, chefs and owners Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr keep their menu in French with English descriptions. There’s poulet rôti (roast chicken with pommes purée) and onglet au poivre (hanger steak with Sarawak peppercorns and pommes frites). The 20-page wine list is primarily French, but includes a few options from neighbours like bottles from Slovenia and Catalonia. Beyond the bustling bar when you walk in, there’s a more intimate dining room with warm leather banquettes, but it can get loud, so come for a fête not a tête-à-tête.

Scarr’s Pizza

Best for: An excellent slice of pizza
Address: 22 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
Price: Pies starting at 21 USD

Great pizza in New York City can require commitment. At classic spots like Lucali in Carroll Gardens or Di Fara in Midwood, expect to wait and indulge in a full pie – not always a bad thing. At Scarr’s on the Lower East Side, whole pizzas are served at the tables in the back, but you can also get slices like a classic New York one or a Margherita with fresh mozzarella and basil to go. If you do, the move is to eat it while you walk to your next destination, but you can also take your slices two blocks east to Seward Park if you need to catch your breath.

Mắm

Best for: Imagining you’re in Vietnam
Address: 70 Forsyth Street, New York, NY 10002
Price: Changes daily

Formerly a pop-up, Mắm isn’t like most New York restaurants. The menu offers just one or two mains at a time like bún đậu đặc biệt, a platter of house-made tofu with sticky rice sausage and several other meaty delicacies. But you can also make an exciting meal out of the snack section, which includes boneless chicken feet with lemongrass, fried eggplants with peanuts and a soft boiled egg, and grilled prawns with a creamy green chilli sauce. Seating is on brightly coloured plastic stools and while the service here is friendly, it’s no fuss. Be prepared to place your order by marking it on a paper menu.

Thai Diner

Best for: Creative Thai food with a party vibe
Address: 186 Mott Street, New York, NY 10012
Price: Mains from 22 USD

Even when you’re not celebrating, a meal at Thai Diner always feels like a party, which kicks off in the morning and runs well into the evening, seven days a week. The restaurant places a Thai twist on a traditional American diner, with lacquered wood panelling and plants surrounding a central bar. Start with Thai disco fries with massaman curry sauce and don’t skip the stuffed cabbage (trust us). Or, pop in for the recently-launched weekday breakfast including Thai-style jok (rice porridge) with turkey, young ginger and an egg. Word to the wise: Prime dinner and weekend brunch times can get busy, so put your name on the list and go for a walk — there’s plenty to see nearby.

Foul Witch

Best for: Outstanding pastas and natural wine
Address: 15 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009
Price: Mains from 38 USD

While their celebrated tasting menu spot Blanca was on pause, chef Carlo Mirarchi and business partner Brandon Hoy opened their Italian restaurant and wine bar Foul Witch on the southern edge of the East Village. The ambient space has some gothic touches like a vaulted ceiling in the centre, and a strong natural wine list, but come for the thoughtful and nuanced cooking and party vibe. Dishes like the veal tortellini with amaretto and winter-time polenta with uni appear small, but are layered with flavour and are often far more substantial than they seem.

Lord’s

Best for: nose-to-tail dining, when you need a cosy reprieve from the city
Address: 506 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY 10012
Price: Mains from 38 USD

Lord’s in Greenwich Village bills itself as an English bistro in New York City, with a focus on nose-to-tail dining. It is the sister restaurant to seafood spot Dame, where tables pre-9pm are often hard to come by. Chef Ed Szymanski’s menu leans towards the UK with dishes like curried lamb scotch eggs, and duck pie with morels, Swiss chard, and sherry. Once you’re enveloped in Lord’s cosy surroundings, you’ll quickly forget the chaos of the city — something that’s particularly welcome on a cold grey winter eve.

L’Industrie Pizzeria

Best for: Pizza nerds looking for a side-by-side comparison
Address: 104 Christopher St, New York, NY 10014
Slices from 4 USD

The competition for the best pizza in this city is stiff. If you’re looking for a side by side comparison, head to the West Village where L’Industrie and Mama’s Too serve their respective renditions of the perfect slice half a block away from one another. At L’Industrie, the pies are made with sourdough, which gives the crust a satisfying chew. As for the toppings, they’re thoughtfully applied to pies like their signature burrata and the New Yorker, dotted with high quality pepperoni, sausage, and dollops of ricotta. Grab a slice or two and walk yourself over to Mama’s Too.

Raku

Best for: Chewy udon at affordable prices
Address: 342 E 6th Street, New York, NY 10003
Price: Mains from 14 USD

In the pre-pandemic era, Raku’s East Village location was so small and unassuming you could easily have walked by and missed it. But the restaurant has expanded, not only with outdoor seating, but also with a new location in Hell’s Kitchen tucked behind the Japanese-French bakery Patisserie Fouet. Thankfully, the standout toothsome udon noodles haven’t changed. There are a surprising number of soups on offer here, including several vegan options, stirred with the likes of nameko mushrooms and wakame seaweed.

Penny

Best for: a light seafood meal
Address: 90 E 10th St 1st Floor, New York, NY 10003
Price: Small plates start at 16 USD

Momofuku Ko alums chef Joshua Pinsky and Chase Sinzer first grabbed New York’s attention with their basement spot Claud. Early in 2024, they followed it up with Penny, a seafood counter located just upstairs. The space is simple, clean, and airy — nearly everyone is seated at a long white marble bar that runs down the length of the room. Start with the sesame brioche, which manages to be both rich and light, before moving on to dishes like octopus and potato salad or stuffed grilled squid in a fiery harissa-laced sauce. While Claud’s legendary devil’s food cake isn’t available here, you can try to sneak downstairs and see if a seat is available for dessert.

Chelsea, Koreatown & Midtown

Koloman

Best for: Austrian-inflected fare and a swank night out
Address: 16 W 29th Street New York, NY 10001
Price: Mains from 32 USD

It’s fitting that chef Markus Glocker’s Vienna-meets-Paris restaurant Koloman is situated on the first floor of the Ace Hotel, having been raised helping out at his family’s hotel in Austria. There’s no official dress code at Koloman, but there’s a touch of Old World glamour and ceremony here, so feel free to smarten up for dinner. Dishes like salmon en croute and a striking souffle for two with lingonberry jam are formal, but not fussy.

Txikito

Best for: Basque cooking in Chelsea
Address: 240 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10001
Price: Mains from 24 USD

After a long pandemic pause, Alex Raij and Eder Montero’s acclaimed Basque restaurant reopened in summer 2022 in Chelsea. With wood-panelled walls and candlelit tables, Txikito exudes the warmth of a neighbourhood favourite with culinary finesse. In addition to gildas and daily croquetas, there’s octopus carpaccio that’s thinly sliced and finished with piment d’espelette, bomba rice made with uni and wild shrimp, and local swordfish belly served with smoked eggplant.

Cho Dang Gol

Best for: Restorative Korean tofu stews
Address: 55 W 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Price: Bibimbap for 17 USD, entrees start from 29 USD

There’s no shortage of superb high-end Korean restaurants in New York City, like the two-Michelin-starred tasting counter Atomix and the high-end Korean steakhouse Cote. But after a long day, the homestyle cooking at laidback Cho Dang Gol is just the thing to restore you. Made in house, tofu is the star here, so be sure to order one of the tofu stews and bring a few friends, since many of the dishes like the bossam are best shared. Arrive early to avoid a long wait and head out for a stroll through K-Town after your meal.

Tatiana

Best for: A fine dining meal to remember in Lincoln Center
Address: 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023
Price: N/A

Bronx-born chef Kwame Onwuachi is only 33 years old, but has lived more lives than most of us. He sold candy on the subway to raise money to open a catering company at 21, competed on Top Chef, ran two restaurants in Washington D.C., wrote a memoir and a cookbook, and launched a nail polish line. Now, he’s telling his stories at Tatiana, a fine dining restaurant with a touch of glamour in Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. Don’t miss the soup dumplings with crab and egusi stew – a nod to his father’s Nigerian roots – and the New York bodega classic chopped cheese dressed up here with taleggio and truffles. Everything is made for sharing, while expansive windows offer views across Lincoln Square while you eat.

Uptown

Contento

Best for: Everyone, truly, but particularly wine lovers
Address: 88 E 111th St, New York, NY 10029
Price: Mains starting at 37 USD

Contento is a restaurant built for all. There’s space for people who get around in a wheelchair to navigate the dining room comfortably and a bar where one can roll up to. The menu also includes a QR code for a spoken version of the menu for visually-impaired diners. The kitchen serves Peruvian-inspired dishes like crispy yuca, ceviche with corn, onion and coriander, and tres leches cake with strawberries. The accompanying wine list is deep and includes a section called Wines of Impact, which are sourced from Black, female and Indigenous-owned wineries.

Brooklyn

Masalawala & Sons

Best for: Outstanding Indian food in Park Slope
Address: 365 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Price: Family style plates from 29 USD

In just a few years, Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya’s Indian restaurants Semma and Dhamaka became icons of the Manhattan dining scene. Their Brooklyn project, which is far easier to get a reservation at, explores India through the eyes of Mazumdar’s father, who is from Kolkata. His birth city in West Bengal sits close to the coast, so expect fish and seafood dishes like daab chingir – tiger prawns cooked in a young coconut shell that’s decanted tableside – and the biyebarir fish fry that’s a staple of Kolkata weddings. Set in a former bakery, the space is decked out with colourful garlands and wall murals.

Gage & Tollner

Best for: A classic New York steak, set in a 19th-century building
Address: 372 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Price: Mains from 34 USD

New York City is a place that values tradition, but also expects that tradition to evolve. Gage & Tollner, which first opened in 1879 in downtown Brooklyn, has done just that. Its current owners, Ben Scheider, St John Frizell, and chef Sohui Kim, have kept the ornate interiors, and restored them to a fine sheen. The menu has all the steakhouse classics like the New York strip and Parker House rolls, but also additions like fried chicken with cheddar kimchi cornbread, and clams kimsino made with bacon-kimchi butter.

Roman’s

Best for: Excellent pastas and vegetables, and warm service
Address: 243 DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Price: Mains from 27 USD

Andrew Tarlow’s Fort Greene Italian restaurant Roman’s never lets you down. Never. The short menu is constantly changing, but vegetable dishes like lettuces with romano beans and pecorino, and pastas such as linguini with smoked swordfish are always at its heart. When you arrive, ask the team if they still have loaves from Tarlow’s bakery Shewolf available – add it to your bill and take the loaf home at the end of the night.

Eyval

Best for: Contemporary Persian food and larger groups
Address: 25 Bogart St, Brooklyn, NY 11206
Price: Mains from 38 USD

Persian restaurants are rare sights in New York City. In 2018, Sofreh opened near Barclays Center and has been nearly impossible to get into ever since. Thankfully, there’s far more space at Eyval in Bushwick, which is owned by Sofreh’s former chef Ali Saboor. Meals here kick off with fresh bread that’s best dipped into strained yoghurt with pickled shallots or whipped feta with herbs and walnuts. Next, there are plenty of kebabs to choose from including octopus and mushrooms, as well as larger format dishes like a saffron half chicken. The meal is best shared and the tables can easily accommodate a group.

Taqueria Ramírez

Best for: Standout tacos in Greenpoint
Address: 94 Franklin St, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Price: Tacos from 5 USD

There are just six tacos on the menu at this Greenpoint spot — and that’s a good thing. The tight focus has allowed the team to perfect tacos like the al pastor with marinated pork butt and pineapple and tripa – slow cooked tripe that’s blow torched just before serving. Place your order at the bustling counter and have someone in your party scope out seating — there are just a handful of bar stools, plus some benches outside. If you’re lucky enough to snag one, don’t hog it for too long; these tacos have a cult following.

Win Son Bakery

Best for: Taiwanese-American treats
Address: 164 Graham Ave Brooklyn, NY 11206
Price: Scallion pancake sandwiches from 14

While we would never turn our noses up at a BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese) from a solid bodega — particularly after a long night out — the spring onion pancake version with havarti at Win Son Bakery is worth a subway ride to East Williamsburg. While you’re at this Taiwanese-American spot, a thick slice of bruleed custard toast or a millet mochi doughnut are also wise choices. Counter service keeps things casual here. If you’re looking for a sit-down meal, head across the street to the team’s restaurant Win Son, which serves dinner six nights a week, and brunch on the weekends.

Sobre Masa

Best for: Outstanding tortillas and an easy to score reservation
Address: 52 Harrison Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11237
Price: Mains from 29 USD

Reservations at the top restaurants have become almost comically difficult to score in New York. Bushwick Mexican restaurant and tortilleria Sobre Masa is a rare exception. You can often score a table for four here last minute. Expect refreshing milpa salad (ayocote beans, nopales, cacahuazintle corn, chile verde vinaigrette), asparagus esquite, and queso asado (seared queso fresco in a pool of charred tomato salsa). Whatever variety of house-made tortillas are available that day, be sure to order some.