11 Best Restaurants in New York City, New York

The food of the Republic of Georgia is one of the best and underrepresented cuisines of the world. Most of the excellent Georgian restaurants in New York are lodged deep into Brooklyn, but Chama Mama is a superb Manhattan option if you want to avoid a long subway ride. Start with khachapuri, the ubiquitous baked cheese bread (the boat-shape version from the region of Adjara has become the international face of Georgian cuisine) and then move to shkmeruli, a tender Cornish game hen cooked in a garlicky cream sauce. The khinkhali, broth-filled dumplings, are also excellent. There's now a second location on the Upper West Side (Amsterdam Avenue and West 78th Street).

In Serbia, a kafana is a neighborhood tavern with a menu of hearty Serbian staples like ćevapi, finger-size minced beef sausages, or karadjordjeva, a tubular pork schnitzel stuffed with ham and rich, creamy kajmak cheese. This rustic cash-only Serbian eatery, located in the wilds of the East Village on Avenue C, has excellent artery-hardening fare and an impressive list of natural wines from Serbia. Top off your meal with a shot of rakia, the potent fruit brandy that is ubiquitous in the Balkans. 

Not all the beer in the Balkans will help you pronounce the name of this small restaurant, focusing on the hearty and underrated cuisine of Albania. Start off with some dips and spreads—red pepper, creamy kajmak (Balkan cheese)—before moving on to the veal-stuffed dumplings, the clay-pot-cooked lamb and rice, or the qebaba (finger-sized ground veal sausages). Finish the meal with a glass of rakia, the potent (often homemade) fruit brandy that is ubiquitous in the Balkans.

This little shop on a side street has some pretty fascinating grocery products—pickles, dried persimmons, walnut-based satsivi sauce, and frozen khinkali (Georgian handheld dumplings)—but the real draw is the prepared food counter. Go for the khachapuri, the beloved Georgian cheese-filled bread that varies by region, or the Georgian-style chicken shawarma. There's no seating here, so be prepared to take your hot snack to the beach, or more likely, to eat it while walking, since you won't be able to resist digging in.

This diminutive, sparsely bedecked restaurant is the domain of owner and chef Elyas Popa, born in Romania and raised in California, who fuses the two culinary traditions to create a unique and satisfying menu. Expect dishes like mǎmǎligǎ, a Romanian polenta staple that is deeper and richer here thanks to melted Parmesan cheese and bone broth. Also, great is the "broken burrata," combining gooey southern Italian cheese with tangy Romanian telemea cheese plus a sprinkles of yuzu and bits of lovage and tomato to create a creamy, salty, acidic, and sweet sensation on the palate. 

The sit-down location of the long-established (since 1914) family-owned Russ & Daughters “appetizing” shop on Houston Street offers the same smoked fish, caviar, bagels, and potato latkes as the original, along with egg dishes, salads, and cocktails in a bright, updated-deli atmosphere. The “boards” are individual (but shareable) platters of smoked fish, accompanied by your bagel, bialy, or bread of choice, so that you can assemble your own sandwich.

Potato pierogi and other Eastern European staples like borscht and stuffed cabbage are available from early to late at this East Village stalwart, which opened in 1954; the name means "rainbow" in Ukrainian. The authentic Ukrainian-diner food is the perfect stick-to-your-ribs ending to a night on the town—or beginning to a new day, since there's also a full array of breakfast staples. It's a neighborhood experience, with tables of families sharing space with the hipsters. The spacious, sunny interior, with giant wall paintings to please the eye, is great for people-watching.