28 Best Restaurants in New York City, New York

Much more than a shopping break, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurant is a love letter to greenmarket cuisine. Underneath the exposed concrete beams, a chic crowd devours fresh, flavorful appetizers like the roast carrot and avocado salad or pretzel-dusted calamari, and winning entrées that include pizzas, pastas, and hearty mains. The restaurant is committed to all the right causes—environmentalism, sustainability, supporting local farmers—all of which are announced in a near manifesto-length list on the back of the menu; thankfully, ABC Kitchen pulls it off without seeming patronizing or preachy.

The key to this restaurant's success lies in its use of ultrafresh ingredients, sourced from local purveyors and presented with style in an upscale, yet casual space that honors its neighborhood's historical roots. A selection of small plates and crostini complement popular main dishes like bison steaks, bone-in pork chops, and homemade pastas. Weekend's offer popular brunch fare including shrimp and grits and "eggs in purgatory" (spicy tomato pomodoro).

At the flagship of Top Chef head judge Tom Colicchio's nationwide, mini empire of excellent restaurants, the top-notch seasonal fare is exceptionally prepared with little fuss and served in a cozy-yet-minimalist space with exposed brick details, wood floors, and bare light bulbs. Expect a menu that hits a variety of high notes, from exuberantly fresh hamachi or braised octopus to start, stylish salads, hearty but not overpowering pastas, and perfectly cooked mains.

Occupying a prime corner in the base of historic 70 Pine, Crown Shy draws even uptowners down to the Wall Street area for its creative menu that plays with international cuisines. Don't be surprised to find brilliantly fused flavors from Italy, Japan, Mexico, or the Middle East here, all deliciously vegetable-forward and elevating the best of the season's produce. Decor is understated modern-Deco, with high ceilings and big windows, a large dining area, and a long, friendly bar. Expect to find plenty of businesspeople on weekdays, giving way to a lively mix of foodies on evenings and weekends. Dishes are priced to invite multiple small-dish tastings, along with a few standout main courses, and creatively balanced desserts.

Luxury, precision, and creativity are the driving forces at this internationally renowned prix-fixe restaurant in a refined high-ceilinged space. Swiss-born chef Daniel Humm oversees the kitchen, concocting unexpected, often whimsical, dishes that change often but have a solid grounding in locavore American tastes. This is one of the most fine-tuned dining experiences you can have in New York City.

The New York interpretation of what many consider one of America's finest restaurants (the Napa Valley's French Laundry), Per Se is chef Thomas Keller's Broadway stage—set in a large, understated dining room with great views of Central Park. Keller embraces seasonality and a witty playfulness, and some dishes are world-renowned, such as the tiny cones of tuna tartare topped with crème fraîche or the "oysters and pearls"—tiny mollusks in a creamy custard with tapioca. The menu changes daily. Dessert service is a multicourse celebration of all things sweet, including a choice of 27 house-made chocolates. Service is sublime, as you'd expect. An à la carte "salon" menu is available in the front barroom, but let's face it: if you snag a reservation, there's nothing else to do but submit to the prix-fixe. 

A deservedly popular special-occasion destination, this waterfront institution complements its exquisite Brooklyn Bridge views with memorable top-shelf cuisine served by an unfailingly attentive staff. Lobster, lamb, duck, and steak are among the staples of the prix-fixe menu. The chocolate Brooklyn Bridge mousse delivers the perfect ending to dinner. 

Outfitted with candlelit tables and a twinkling rear garden, this romantic destination is well worth the sloping walk up from the waterfront. Seasonal menus include inventive new American fare and crowd-pleasing brunch dishes, with a couple of pasta dishes and classics like roast chicken, chicken liver mousse, and pork chops always in rotation. Wait times can be considerable, but the cozy bar pours potent cocktails, local beers, and wine by the glass in the interim.

An island of fine modern American dining just a stone's throw from bustling Times Square and Broadway theaters, Aureole is the second act of a New York classic from famed chef-restaurateur Charlie Palmer and Executive Chef Chris Engel. The airy dining room, inviting thanks partly to the seasoned staff, offers an elegant prix-fixe menu with elevated American and international choices and optional wine pairing. In the front Liberty Room, enjoy a shorter pre-theater prix-fixe menu or à-la-carte courses, all while watching the Midtown clientele evolve from expense-account patrons to discerning diners. In warmer months, the Patio opens in the covered outdoor breezeway beside the restaurant, serving drinks and bar bites in its trio of seating areas.

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—tends to fill this dark box of a room until late (2 am these days though it used to be open 'til 4).

This sumptuous supper club on the ground floor of the Chatwal Hotel has superb art deco detailing, red leather banquettes, and a roaring fireplace. Led by Chef Jack Logue, the menu features contemporary American cuisine with luxe touches in everything from shellfish and classic salads, to a shortlist of chophouse steaks and excellent sides and sauces. There's also a robust three-course pretheater menu ($85 or $95). The lunch menu is balanced with a range of perfected dishes; but the sleeper meal here is breakfast, with generous sweet and/or savory fare that will fill you up for the rest of the day.

This tiny neighborhood joint, with seating for 28 people, is exceptionally eager to please—and this attitude, plus the food, is a winning combination. The menu is just as small, which actually makes it easier to decide what you want; and what you want are the pork-veal-beef-pecorino-cheese meatball "sliders." The big-portioned Nova Scotia halibut with chive-sprinkled mashed potatoes is hugely satisfying. Raspberry-filled beignets, served with warm Nutella, are otherworldly. It's quintessential West Village: quirky and wonderful. Fans of the sitcom Friends might recognize the apartment building that houses the restaurant.

Expect to find beanie clad locals and families alike at this spirited, rustic-industrial neighborhood bar. In addition to serving high-quality cocktails (all under $14) like the Fig & Bacon Old Fashioned and a variety of tap beer, this spacious spot packs a punch in the kitchen, too. Try bar snacks like the sweet yet spicy honey chili chicken wings or the giant pretzel with beer cheese and mustard, or go for something more refined like their Pat La Frieda NY Strip served with a peppercorn sauce and fries. For the best deal, grab a $4 Narragansett and a $10 order of fried pickles during their Monday through Friday happy hour.

Adding to downtown’s destination-dining scene is this contemporary-American restaurant helmed by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, located on the lobby level of the new Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center. Its creative menu reinvents, and in some cases, perfects, classic dishes with touches from Italy, Mexico, Japan, and the Caribbean—such as short rib with potato churro, smoked hamachi taco, angel hair vongole with salsa verde, and aged Long Island duck with mole and braised sweet potatoes. The menu favors fresh produce, best celebrated with “farmer’s market platter,” a vegetarian take on a seafood tower that features seasonal fruits and vegetables that are grilled, pickled, and fermented, alongside house-made condiments and dips. Lunch and brunch bring more familiar dishes, albeit made with especially fine ingredients. Specialty cocktails read as unusual, but often are delightfully tasty, such as the toasted-sesame Manhattan and white Negroni with jasmine pearls. The space itself is reason enough to visit Metropolis, a serene escape with a small and comfortable bar, outdoor terrace, and spacious dining room adorned with original art, earth-tone furnishings, and undulating backlit wood ribbons across the ceiling. The restaurant also serves snacks and libations to Lobby Stage guests attending its always-free performances.

By converting a moribund 80-year-old Italian restaurant into a cozy hot spot, restaurateur Keith McNally created yet another hit. Try early and often to score reservations, so that you can sample creations like truffle-spiked roasted chicken breast, bone marrow on toast, expertly aged steaks, and the celebrated Black Label burger, a gorgeous assembly of meat with caramelized onions and an added layer of cheese. The barroom, with its original details intact, is great for people-watching. Landing a table in the back room, with its original mural depicting West Village life and wall-to-wall photos of famous and infamous customers from eras gone by, makes sweet-talking the reservationist a worthy endeavor.

It might not be the hot spot it was when it opened back in 2011, but this attractive wood-paneled space—named for two 19th-century racehorses—continues to attract an upbeat crowd thanks to its long front bar and top-of-the-line, meat-and-seafood-centric menu. The burger is one of the best around, though these days, you have to choose between the dry-aged beef version and the Impossible Burger vegetable option—even meat-lovers applaud the latter.

Hidden just steps from busy Union Square, this refined, serene dining oasis of excellent Gallic American fare is a secret even to many New Yorkers, despite receiving accolades since it opened back in 2000. Begin with the signature starter, an unctuous angel-hair sea-urchin carbonara, before moving on to dishes like saffron-and-fennel-spiked grilled octopus or smoked duck breast paired with baby bok choy and Asian pear.