973 Best Restaurants in New York, USA

Since 1934, Balloons has been a local favorite for its prompt service, uncomplicated menu, and warm welcome. The concrete wall of the Auburn Correctional Facility is right across the street, but Balloons, with its original art-deco decor, is a transporting experience. Sizzling steaks are the specialty, but you can also go for heaping platters of spaghetti and meatballs, surf and turf, or rattlesnake pasta (chicken and pasta with a spicy chipotle sauce), all accompanied by an iceberg salad topped with the original secret-recipe house dressing.

\"Banh\" means cake or anything made with wheat or rice flower in Vietnamese. And that's exactly what you'll find at this very popular Vietnamese bakery. The Lauren in the name is Lauren Tran, formerly a pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern, who bakes splendid sweet things with a Southeast Asian flavor profile. Think pandan-flavored coffee cake, coconut-and-mung bean-filled rice balls, and egg custard coffee (a Hanoi specialty), among other delights for the palate.

Acclaimed French chef Daniel Boulud, known for upscale New York City eatery Daniel, shows diners his more casual side with this lively, contemporary bistro and wine bar. The menu emphasizes charcuterie, including terrines and pâtés designed by Parisian charcutier Gilles Verot, as well as traditional French bistro dishes like steak frites and coq au vin. The 500-bottle wine list is heavy on wines from Burgundy and the Rhône Valley. The three-course prix-fixe menu ($68) from the entire menu is a good value.

There's something about Bar Pitti that, in this city jam-packed with Italian restaurants, feels much more authentically Italian than its pasta-serving brethren. Maybe it's the servers who prefer speaking Italian if they find out you can say a few words, and who show up at your table with a chalkboard scribbled with the daily offerings (written in Italian, of course). Perhaps it's the simple, but flavor-bursting pasta dishes; maybe it's that they only take cash. Or perhaps it's all of the above. In warm-weather months nab an outdoor table and don't be surprise if an A-list celeb is sitting at the next table. 

Chef Jonathan Waxman had to shutter this beloved West Village Italian spot in 2019, but he fortunately found a new home for it around the corner the following year. Waxman hardly tinkered with the menu for the new location. And why would he when everything here works so well? The specialties here are rustic Italian preparations with bright flavors, like house-made gnocchi with tangy tomatoes, grilled striped bass, and pasta carbonara, though the menu changes daily, depending on what's available.

Smoked ribs are the specialty at this perennial local favorite, and if you like them you might consider buying the bottled barbecue sauce. The wedge-cut fries are thick and satisfying, and the hearty breakfasts include all-you-can-eat buttermilk pancakes. In warm weather you may eat on the small deck. There's also a full bar.

Fresh-baked buns and house-ground beef define the gourmet cheeseburger nirvana that keeps the locals coming back to this little spot just outside the village—and a rotating $2 beer selection doesn't hurt. The burgers are a little on the small side, but that means there will certainly be room for Joe & Liza's delicious ice cream, made with milk that comes from happy cows in New York State. If beef isn't your thing, try the veggie or turkey burger, falafel, or house-made fish burger. A live jazz jam takes place here on Thursday nights.

On the second floor of a yacht club, this summertime favorite offers exceptional food with a terrific view. The emphasis is on local fish, chicken, or pasta, prepared with savory sauces that show an international flair, including curry, Thai-peanut, and mustard-cream. Innovative appetizers include pork belly buns with kimchi. Separate menus are devoted to martinis, mojitos, and margaritas. Save room for a homemade ice cream sandwich. The wait for an outside table can be quite long, so grab a few (pricey) drinks at the bar and relax. The staff, like the restaurant, is seasonal, so the service can be inconsistent.

Thanks to the meticulous owners, you'd never know that this 1860 castle, now a fine American restaurant, had survived fires and years of abandonment. The place is said to be inhabited by ghosts, and that's not hard to imagine. Stone archways separate the five cozy dining rooms, where white cloths cover the tables. The food doesn't detract from the haunting ambience. Many entrées come grilled, such as pork loin with compote or honey-glazed duck with fig relish. Meat-free dishes like terrine of grilled vegetables also appear on the menu. For a really spooky treat, have a drink in the dungeon, located in the castle's basement. The restaurant is 6 mi east of the center of Little Falls.

This cavernous restaurant-speakeasy behind a storefront selling old vinyl records from the '70s and '80s is barely a secret since you'll likely hear the merriment coming from just behind the velvet curtain in the back. Proudly representing the Bronx, this lively restaurant celebrates Black and Nuyorican old-school hip-hop culture through its graffiti-inspired murals, its music, and above all, its menu, with offerings ranging from churrasco to chicken and waffles.

The two pricing scenarios at this Bastianich-owned Italian spot make bustling Becco a prime Restaurant Row choice for time-constrained theatergoers: one includes an affordable all-you-can-eat selection of salad, antipasti, and three pastas served hot out of pans that waiters circulate around the dining room; the other adds a generous entrée to the mix. The pasta selection changes daily but often includes gnocchi, ravioli, and fettuccine in cream sauce. The entrées may be braised veal shank, grilled double-cut pork chop, and Porterhouse lamb chops, among other selections. Decor is somewhat basic here, and the exposed brick amplifies the volume during busy hours, but the convivial vibes prevail.

This casual restaurant with round-back chairs and low-hung stained-glass lamps is known for its generous portions, in-house bakery, and friendly staff. The menu is beef focused, with a special emphasis on roast-beef sandwiches (including the beloved French dip, with a side of au jus) and platters. Juicy roast beef is carved up and served on hard rolls; accompaniments may include German or American potato salad, baked beans, salad, mashed potatoes, fries, or coleslaw. Burgers, salads, and soups round out the menu.

Locals come into this casual, family-style Italian restaurant for hearty portions of meatball lasagna, veal Parmesan, or a seared Delmonico steak. There's a lounge and pool table.

The tablecloths are plastic, the floors are linoleum, and everyone seems to know everyone else at this no-frills greasy spoon, famed locally for its huge cinnamon rolls. The all-American menu includes sandwiches (e.g., grilled cheese and bacon) served with chips and a pickle, breakfast all day, and homemade pies. It closes at 2 pm.

Ben Gable was known for his savory pies and quiches in Brooklyn before he and his partner moved upstate to open this welcoming café serving his signature savories made with local milk, cream, cheese, and eggs. The café also sells sandwiches, soups, salads, and sweets.

The world's most famous French chef, Alain Ducasse, brings to New York a Right Bank bistro plucked straight from the City of Light. Expect cozy, red-velour banquettes and wall lamps illuminating each table, with a menu that celebrates rather than reinvents beloved French dishes. And that's okay, especially when onion soup, pate, filet mignon and other classics are so well executed. It's not exactly cheap for bistro fare, but it is a delicious reminder that beloved flavors of Paris also sparkle in Manhattan.

Grab a quick pick-me-up at either of Birch's two Upper East Side caffeine dealers (the other is at  171 E. 88th St.), but don't be fooled if you hear it called a chain—despite the company's now many locations, this is a local business that roasts all of its coffee beans in small batches just across the East River in Long Island City, Queens. The beans come from particular farms that are chosen for the care they've shown to their communities. Varieties of single-origin coffee and espresso change by the season. The baristas are known for being superfriendly. 

The truck that launched a foodie craze, Birria-Landia specializes in Mexican birria, a rich, tomato-y savory stew made with traditional goat or beef. Here, it's served folded into double-layered tacos, between two crispy ones with melted cheese called mulitas, or in a bowl in \"consommé\" form (also serving as a dip for those tacos). There will inevitably be a line, but that also means a number of other businesses have popped up along the block to service the line with candy, snacks, and traditional Mexican drinks like horchata. The fall-off-the-bone meat is best paired with a few slices of radish, some cilantro and a spicy sauce, and ferociously gobbled, standing up near the truck the moment it's handed to you out of the window. 

New York is known for bagels, which tend to be doughy and delicious, but the Montreal-style bagels served here have a denser, sweeter dough, with “toppings” (sesame, poppy seed, salt, everything) that are more generous than on Big Apple versions. The all-day menu includes sandwiches with cream cheese, smoked salmon, whitefish salad, or baked eggs, with additional lunch choices like a BLT, roast beef with horseradish cream cheese, and a tuna melt.

This is where local business executives go when they want to impress out-of-town visitors. With a posh interior of quarried stone, wood, and fireplaces, and detail-oriented and attentive service, every guest is treated to a V.I.P. experience. Beautifully marbled, aged prime steaks and fresh sushi dominate the menu, which also includes organic chicken breast and the Hawaiian "fresh catch" flown in daily. Al fresco dining is available in its outdoor lounge, and a sommelier can help you select the best wine to complement your meal.

Chef Laurent Tourondel may no longer be involved with his namesake steak house, but this classy space, decked out in beige with resin-top black tables, still draws crowds. The no-muss, no-fuss menu with a variety of steaks and other options is nonetheless large, and so are the portions of starters such as crab cakes with celery-infused mayonnaise and ruby tuna tartare with avocado and soy-lime dressing. A veal chop crusted with rosemary and Parmesan lends new depth to the meat. Sides and desserts, like a killer peanut-butter chocolate mousse with banana ice cream, are all superior.