33 Best Restaurants in New York City, New York

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.

Bakeri

$ | Greenpoint Fodor's choice

When Williamsburg's best European-style bakery wanted more space, it opened a Greenpoint outpost and included a rustic communal table, antique finishes, and hand-painted wallpaper. From house-made focaccia to financiers, there are plenty of mouthwatering choices (including vegan and gluten-free options) for breakfast and lunch. At breakfast you can watch the bakers in the open kitchen as you sip your morning coffee and snack on a raspberry pistachio muffin or Norwegian skolebrød. Soups and sandwiches on freshly baked bread are served at lunch.

Dough

$ Fodor's choice

Ask the baker at Dough which doughnut you should try, and you may get this answer: “The only thing better than the chocolate salted caramel is life itself.” That may be true, but the cinnamon, original glazed, and more unusual flavors like the passion fruit and hibiscus are also unforgettably delicious—good luck choosing. The doughnuts are as big as a man’s hand, and they’re fried in batches throughout the day to ensure freshness. You'll see Dough doughnuts sold in cafés around Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Doughnut Plant

$ | Lower East Side Fodor's choice

The all-American junk-food staple is elevated to high art here, with fresh seasonal ingredients, real fruit, and imported chocolate mixed into the batter. Traditionalists croon over the vanilla-bean doughnut, but there are plenty of exotic flavors to tempt taste buds: the dense, fudgy Brooklyn Blackout is covered in crumb topping; carrot-cake doughnuts have a cream-cheese filling. Choosing is the difficult part: options include cake doughnuts and yeast doughnuts, as well as "doughseeds." There are other locations around the five boroughs.

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Ess-a-Bagel

$ | Midtown East Fodor's choice

If you're feeling peckish in this hurried neighborhood, join your fellow customers waiting their turn at this favorite Manhattan café and bagel bakery that has been serving authentic family-style comfort since 1976. There's a good selection of jumbo, kosher bagels onto which toppings are piled high and cream cheeses are generously spread upon, or choose from a variety of salads, sandwiches, and fresh-baked treats available all day. The line moves fairly quickly so be ready to know how you want your bagel or other order.

Fabrique

$ | Meatpacking District Fodor's choice

Despite the Gallic-sounding name, this bakery is all Swedish. There's nearly always a line out the door, and it's worth queuing up. The bread produced here is some of the best this side of the Atlantic. Baguettes, whole loaves, pastries—everything that comes out of the oven here is edible gold: the cardamom bun has become legendary. There's a small seating area in the back or get some goodies for take away and eat them at the tables scattered around the Meatpacking District.

Levain Bakery

$ | Upper West Side Fodor's choice

Completely unpretentious and utterly delicious, Levain Bakery's cookies are rich and hefty (they clock in at 6 ounces each) and one of those NYC musts that even New Yorkers admit is worth standing on line for. Choose from the chocolate-chip walnut, dark-chocolate chocolate chip, dark-chocolate peanut-butter chip, or oatmeal raisin: batches are baked fresh daily and taste best when they're warm and melty right out of the oven. Levain also bakes artisanal breads, including banana chocolate chip and pumpkin-ginger spice, sour-cream coffee cake, chocolate-chip and cinnamon brioche, sourdough rolls stuffed with Valrhona chocolate, blueberry muffins, a variety of scones, and the unique bomboloncini (jelly doughnuts).

One Girl Cookies

$ | Boerum Hill Fodor's choice

Vintage serving pieces, a hand-painted family tree, and life-size family photos adorn the interior of this aqua-walled bakery and café beloved for its old-world charm and tasty, bite-size cookies. The whoopie pies—chocolate or the very popular pumpkin—and cupcakes are worth checking out, too. The free Wi-Fi, spacious seating, and pleasant atmosphere invite lingering.

Ovenly

$ | Greenpoint Fodor's choice

This tiny bakery has made a name for itself with standouts like vegan salted chocolate-chip cookies, pistachio agave cookies, and currant-rosemary scones. The seasonal specials are equally mouthwatering—just try to resist the bourbon-maple-pecan pie made for Thanksgiving. In warm weather, take your goodies up the block to WNYC Transmitter Park for a picnic that will make everyone jealous.

Patisserie Tomoko

$ Fodor's choice

Tokyo-born chef Tomoko Kato came up through New York's famed Le Bernardin and the East Village teahouse Cha-An before opening this pastry shop. Her inspired desserts marry Japanese flavors and French techniques, resulting in original creations like black-sesame crème brûlée, sake ice cream, and green tea mousse cake. Ingredients like matcha, yuzu, and mochi are sourced from Japan, appearing alongside seasonal items like chestnuts and cranberries. Sit at the dessert bar for a three-course tasting of sweets, or take them to go.

Almondine Bakery

Arguably the best French bakery outside Montmartre is on DUMBO's Water Street. Chef Herve Poussot helms this neighborhood favorite, baking chocolate raspberry croissants, mille-feuille, macarons, and pear tarts, as well as baguettes, quiche, and sandwiches. Pick up a snack and a coffee to take to the park.

Artuso Pastry

$ | Belmont

Step inside this neighborhood mainstay near Arthur Avenue for a delectable selection of on-the-go snacks that include cakes, black-and-white cookies, and Italian pastries. Artuso's has been run by the same Italian American family since 1946, and the impassioned proprietors and community vibe truly add flavor to the shop's outstanding selection of sweets.

Baked in Brooklyn

Follow the smell of fresh bread to this giant bakery with a storefront selling a variety of breads, cupcakes, cookies, danishes, and a select menu of sandwiches. It's especially convenient for picnics in Green-Wood Cemetery. The line of baked pita chips can be found all over the city.

Bien Cuit

$ | Boerum Hill

Locally ground flour, hand-mixed doughs, and European recipes are among this artisanal bakery and café's secrets to success. Some regulars drop by to stock up on classic challah, French pain de mie (a sweet bread good for sandwiches or to toast) and baguettes, and Italian Pugliese loaves, but others come for the pastries, sandwiches, or quiches. It's hard to choose among the cranberry danishes, fruit tarts, chocolate pecan tortes, or the flawless croissants, the latter served plain or with various fillings.

Breads Bakery

$ | Union Square

Drop in for the famously decadent babka (a yeast bread with layers of chocolate or cinnamon), rugelach (flaky, crescent-shape cookies), or any of the other baked goods, but stay for a coffee and a light meal. The front counter is for breads, cakes, and cookies; the back counter turns out sandwiches, quiches, and salads.

Brooklyn Kolache

$ | Greenwich Village

If the Czech Republic and Texas had an edible baby and that baby were born in Brooklyn, it would taste a lot like the bite-sized sweet and savory cakes served at this diminutive shop. Kolaches were brought to Texas by Czech immigrants and have been a staple of Lone Star State cuisine ever since. Grab a few, plus a coffee, and enjoy them in nearby Washington Square Park or Father Demo Square.

Court Street Pastry Shop

$ | Cobble Hill

A celebrated remnant of Cobble Hill's Italian-American past, this family-owned bakery delivers classics to savor: cannoli, pies, spumoni, custard ices, exquisitely layered Neapolitan-style sfogliatelle,and rainbow cookies by the pound. The vintage sign alone may be reason to visit, but even better is the intoxicatingly delicious interior, where you can discover everything from seasonal pastries to sugar-free cookies.

Dominique Ansel Bakery

$ | SoHo

The cronut, a delectable cross between a doughnut and a croissant, was invented by Dominique Ansel in 2013, and the flaky pastries continue to create a hubbub, with just one inventive flavor available each month. There are plenty of other delightful creations here as well, such as decadent hot chocolate, which you can eat in the café or take with you.

Dominique Ansel Kitchen

$ | West Village

Don't come here looking for the cronut, French baker Dominique Ansel's insanely popular Franken-pastry, because you won't find it (for that, head to his other bakery in SoHo). Instead, the cutting-edge baker-wizard conjures up other edible oddities such as garlic-bread croissants, a French toast–like croque monsieur, and beignets sprinkled and filled with matcha powder. In warmer months, the outdoor tables are much more pleasant than the uncomfortable stadiumlike seating setup on the inside. Nothing here will ever match the phenomenon of the cronut, but given the much shorter lines, that's a good thing.

The Donut Pub

$ | Chelsea

After a fire shut down this popular 24/7 doughnut shop, it reopened in late 2023 to great fanfare among the city's fried dough fanatics. The doughnuts here are always excellent, but if you can magically time your visit for when the morsels are fresh out of the oven, you'll be in heaven. There is now a second location on Broadway and Astor Place that is also open 24 hours.

Dough Doughnuts

$ | Flatiron District

There’s a reason why these doughnuts in multilicious flavors have become a signature at so many cafés throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, and at this Manhattan outpost of the Bed-Stuy original, you can get them fresh out of the oven. The ever-popular (though odd-sounding) hibiscus doughnut looks gorgeous and has just the right amount of tart fruitiness to balance the sweetness of the dough; other favorites include passion fruit, salted chocolate, and cinnamon and sugar. Some are made vegan, too.

Dragon Bay Bakery

One of several traditional Chinese bakeries along 8th Avenue, this busy café is a good stop for a morning or afternoon pastry and a sweet milk tea. Savory and sweet Chinese classics like the flaky egg tarts, steamed buns, and airy slices of green-tea sponge cake are all between $1 or $2 apiece, so try as many as your appetite allows. Get your snack to go, or grab one of the few small tables.

Fortunato Brothers Café & Pasticceria

Of the few old-school Italian pastry shops remaining in Williamsburg, this family-run café and bakery is by far the best. The three Fortunato brothers emigrated from Naples in 1971 and opened this Italian bakery in 1976; the fact that they may not have updated the decor since then only makes the place feel more authentic. Glass cases are lined with trays of cannoli, tiramisù, rum baba, sfogliatella, cream puffs, and cookies, all made in-house. The gelato is homemade, too.

Keki Modern Cakes

$ | Chinatown

If you're craving something dessert-ish but not too sweet, the light and "bouncy" Japanese-style cheesecakes and cream puffs in flavors like matcha, ube, and cookies and cream from this little shop are delicious. The American-style cheesecake is really good, too.

La Brioche

$ | Brighton Beach

Don't be deceived by the French name: this unassuming bakery is Russian-Jewish, right down to its rugelach roots. The wall-to-wall trays are packed with babka (a sweet yeast cake filled with swirls of chocolate or cinnamon and sugar), smetannik (sour cream layer cake), vatrushki (cheese pastries), and honeyed poppy-seed rolls. Slices of cake are sold by the pound and prices are shockingly low.

La Gran Via Bakery

Indulge your sweet tooth with slices of cake at this Latin bakery, open since the 1970s and now run by the children of its founding family. The bakers fashion a silky tres leches cake, but also do quatro leches and cinco leches versions. Open 24 hours, the bakery also makes sandwiches, doughnuts, cookies, and so many other types of cakes.

Leske's Bakery

Alongside traditional Scandinavian treats like limpa bread and flakey chocolate-, fruit-, and custard-filled kringles, this 50-plus-year-old bakery offers New York classics like cakey black-and-white cookies, apple turnovers, jelly doughnuts, and cheesecake. There are many varieties of Italian cookies, including themed ones for occasions like Halloween and Easter.

Mazzola Bakery

$ | Carroll Gardens

This bakery is all about lard bread. "Lard bread," you ask? It’s a loaf of slightly sweet, buttery and crusty Italian white bread with a generous amount of cured pork and provolone cheese baked right in---think of it as "prosciutto bread." They also sell croissants, muffins, and hazelnut coffee cake but it’s the lard bread you must try here, ideally still hot.

Ole & Steen

$ | Union Square

The array of delectable baked goods at this counter-serve spot imported from Denmark are what lure most customers, but locals know this is also a great place for sandwiches, soups, and fresh bread. If you like cinnamon, you must try the cinnamon pastries.

Oneg Heimishe Bakery

Deep in the Hasidic section of South Williamsburg, with nary a fashionista in sight, this bakery produces superlative chocolate babka. The anachronistic storefronts around here haven't been recreated to look "old timey," they simply haven't been updated in decades, and Oneg is no exception. The tiny, no-frills shop has baskets of cookies, rugelach and pastries in the window, and trays of babka sitting on wire racks. There are two types of babka: chocolatey and very chocolatey. Choose the latter—it's got rich, gooey chocolate between thin layers of dough (yum).

Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies

$ | Red Hook

Freshly squeezed key lime juice is just part of what imbues every bite of these pies with a taste of Florida sunshine. Steve Tarpin is a Florida native who's been making pies in Brooklyn for more than 20 years—always, always, always using Florida key lime juice squeezed fresh right before the pies are made. Pies are available in 8- or 10-inch sizes or as individual 4-inch tarts.

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