973 Best Restaurants in New York, USA

This family-oriented restaurant actually floats on the water (the foundation was once used as a dredge on the New York State Canal System). The oak-trimmed dining room has antique buffet tables. Try the prime rib (also served Cajun style), seafood pasta, porterhouse steak, or shrimp scampi. The menu also includes plenty of chicken and pasta dishes. The restaurant is part of Captain Thompson's Resort. A deck has open-air dining.

Goan cuisine is the specialty at this bare-bones yet comfortable restaurant, and many of the dishes served here employ its namesake ingredient in both sweet and savory formats. The Portuguese-inflected curries of the once-colonized region of Goa are brightly colored, bold in flavor and spice, and not quite like most of the Indian food in Queens. Try the Xacuti curry with fresh roasted coconut, or the smooth and silky fish curry.

On Lewiston's historic main street (Center Street), Carmelo's has a classy small dining room with an oiled wooden bar, dark-wood beamed ceiling, partial stone walls, and white tablecloths. Fresh and often local ingredients are used in pastas, like homemade ricotta gnocchi with rapini and sweet sausage or slow-cooked veal, pork, and pancetta Bolognese, and in entrées, such as peppercorn-encrusted ahi tuna with a ginger-soy glaze.

Set on a nondescript block of Broadway, the original branch of the small, now-national chain is a favorite for families celebrating special occasions, preprom groups of teens, and locals looking for reliable Italian food. They come for mountainous portions designed to share, family-style, of tried-and-true Italian favs like fried calamari, linguine with white clam sauce, chicken parmigiana, and veal saltimbocca, all loaded with garlic or red sauce—or both. Family photos line the walls, an antipasti table groans under the weight of savory meats, cheese, and salads, and there's a convivial feeling amid the organized chaos. If you want a quiet or romantic dinner, this is not the place.

Savvy New Yorkers reserve early for the affordable Italian meals at this large, busy Midtown eatery, where family photos lining the walls lend a sociable feel to the Times Square hubbub. Groups carbo-loading for a day of sightseeing or a night of Broadway theater are rewarded with mountains of such classic, toothsome viands as fried calamari, linguine with white clam sauce, chicken parmigiana, and veal saltimbocca.

After the incredible success of their taqueria in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar's second act is this pork-centric taco spot that has been a huge hit since the day it opened in June 2024. If you like eating other parts of the pig, you'll be in porcine heaven here as lard-laden tortillas are stuffed with brain, belly, skin, ear, snout, stomach, butt, tongue, tail, uterus, and cheek. It's a choose-your-own pig offal adventure and it's delicious.

Tucked away on a side street in downtown Canandaigua, this Italian restaurant offers an intimate setting with burgundy linens and candles on each table. The menu includes shrimp scampi, homemade potato gnocchi, and braciola (thin slices of beef rolled with a filling of prosciutto, sliced egg, Parmesan, and onions).

Come for the tacos, stay for the margaritas: that's what a lot of local Long Island City folks do at this popular Mexican standout. The chef is from Chiapas, but expect pan-Mexican fare, with tacos crammed with slow-cooked beef tongue or rich chorizo, among other options like a seasonal vegan taco. Whatever you do, don't skip out on their mole, whether as a plate or in enchilada form. Also worthy are refreshing fish ceviche and the albondigas, or tender meatballs, with a hard-boiled egg inside, wading in a spicy chipotle-tomato sauce.

Strudel, Swiss fondue, sauerbraten, and schnitzels highlight the largely German and Hungarian menu at this restaurant, part of Castel Grisch winery. In warm weather you can sit on a veranda taking in the vineyards, hills, and the lake in the distance. Steak and duck preparations, as well as American fare (burgers and such), also are available.

Excellent gourmet pizza, seafood specialties, pasta dishes, a full wine list, and homemade desserts make it hard to decide what to order at this pleasant spot. Dine alfresco in the warmth, and by lantern light in the chill.

Swaths of sheer fabric and vibrant murals romance the interior of this rustic trattoria—a paean to northern Italian food. Transplanted New Yorkers sip reds and whites from an extensive wine list. Sage-browned butter laces silky calves' liver, and an espresso demi-glace enlivens grilled hanger steak. The gnocchi pairs well with the lamb ragu. Vegetarians can choose from pasta dishes such as whole-wheat fusilli primavera.

Organic gardens line the restaurant's perimeter, hinting at the fresh ingredients Peter and Rose DiSclafani incorporate into their mostly new American, seasonally driven menu. Dishes may include such favorites as smoked duck with an apricot-apple cider sauce or trout with green-olive pesto. The 26-seat dining room is cozy, calling to mind a diner with its metal-framed chairs and huge windows.

This fast-casual spot serves up possibly the best chicken on the planet. Servers hand you plastic gloves with your food because the chicken is so fall-off-the-bone tender and juicy that using anything but your hands to eat it is an exercise in futility. The secret is that they marinate the whole chicken in in a secret mixture of Chinese spices for hours and then braise the bird for an eternity. There are long list of sides, including scallion pancakes, pan-fried dumplings, and onion rings. 

Cavallario's is one of those places that quickly becomes a family tradition. Part steak house, part seafood eatery, the place also has a rich and lusty Italian streak. Try the bruschetta, escargot, or the hot peppers (a regional favorite) to warm you up for more-robust fare like the veal, manicotti, duckling, or the combination seafood in wine sauce.

As an upscale eatery known around the world, Cecconi's made a splash when it joined the polished DUMBO culinary and cultural scene in 2017. The Italian menu and stunning East River–facing outdoor terrace are enough to warrant a visit; but no matter the season or weather, the roomy bar, outstanding service, and inviting furnishings make this a hot spot well worth a trip to this historic district.

This German-Swiss eatery in the heart of Windham is a slice of the old country: the two ceramic stoves, oversize wine casks, and all the ironwork were brought over from Germany. The kitchen turns out authentic jaegerschnitzel (lightly sauteed veal cutlets), wiesswurst (veal sausages with sauerkraut), and sauerbraten (potato pancakes with red cabbage and applesauce). There are three kinds of fondue, including one made with chocolate and served with fresh fruit.

With its old-world, exposed-brick and wood interior, new American cuisine, and creative cocktails, this homey brunch, dinner, and drinks destination feels like the transformation of Mott Haven in a nutshell. Housed in the lobby of the renovated Clocktower Building, once a piano factory, the restaurant maintains a playfulness, especially when there's live music on Wednesday nights and during Sunday brunch. Look on the walls for irreverent portraits of famous Charles and Charlies, including Barkley, Darwin, Chaplin, and Brown, to name a few.

Locals come to this upscale deli-grocery for breakfast and lunch, or to pick up specialty ingredients. You can eat a sandwich or sip an organic coffee drink at one of the café tables in the simple dining area. While waiting, study shelves of vinegars, olives, old-fashioned candy, and Italian lemonade.

This stylish outpost of the popular chocolate purveyor of Puerto Rico serves more than just desserts; their menu also includes many savory offerings—with and without chocolate infusions—including wings smothered in chocolate guava chili, sancocho (stew), chicken soup with mofongo (mashed fried plantains), and a classic Bronx bodega chopped cheese sandwich, with chocolate chipotle mayo.

A small, reliably tasty menu headlines this Prospect Heights institution for buns, Brussels sprouts in fish sauce, and above all, ramen noodles in savory broths. Pork, chicken, and eggs are typical add-ons to any of their flavorful bowls, although any can be made vegetarian. Long waits for a table are the norm—especially during winter months—however, seats at the bar are in constant flux. 

On the far West Side, just past Moynihan Train Hall, discover this spacious, lively, second-floor restaurant in the middle of the Manhattan West megablock. Chef Hillary Sterling earned instant raves (and a James Beard nomination) for her excellent homemade pastas and her balance of hearty, familiar Italian dishes elevated with seasonal ingredients and live-fire cooking. The large dining room is lined with big half-moon booths perfect for taking in the busy open kitchen, as well as the city views from the airy window wall. As splendid as the food is at this new establishment from well-known restaurateur Danny Meyer, the wine and cocktail assortment is especially fantastic, and so are the irresistible desserts.

Chef Chaminda Widyarathna and his wife Shiwanti hail from Sri Lanka and serve specialties from their home country alongside some of the best Indian food in the Hudson Valley. To start, try the chicken tenders topped with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and Sri Lankan spices. The chef's divine fish curry cooked in tangy tamarind sauce with spicy chiles is wonderful. The couple also have an outpost in Poughkeepsie.

More clams are sold here than anywhere else in the region, according to the Clam Bar, which also serves lobster, haddock, steaks, and chicken, plus daily specials. Clams come raw, steamed, in marinara sauce, and with garlic, butter, and wine. A full bar rounds out this comfortable, family-owned North Syracuse spot, which opened in 1959 in an old farmhouse.

There may be better, trendier, friendlier restaurants in town, but in Greenport Claudio's is a fixture, and a something of a destination in itself. Three restaurants share this 2½-acre waterfront property. The Clam Bar, right on the dock, serves salads, hot dogs, fried clams, mussels, and soft-shell crab, and is known for live music and a lively bar crowd. Claudio's, for more upscale indoor dining, is known for seafood, porterhouse steaks, and lobsters; the bar dates from the late 1800s. Crabby Jerry's offers self-service with picnic tables on the Main Street Dock.

Some of the freshest natural, sustainable seafood in the area is to be found at this cute little red-and-white New England–style seafood market and restaurant with outdoors-only seating. It has arguably the best lobster roll around, along with market grilled fish, smoked fish, a raw bar, and some decent burgers. Have a hankering for frog’s legs? You can get them here. Live acoustic music sets the tone for a laid-back, relaxed meal. Expect a wait, however. The staff is helpful and friendly, but it sometimes takes a bit of time to prepare your food. Beer and wine are available while you wait.

Enjoy upscale fare in a casual, comfortable space with cloth-covered tables in this chef-owned restaurant. The menu at this local favorite emphasizes seafood: shrimp scampi, sautéed or broiled scallops, king crab legs. Filet Oscar is butterflied filet mignon dressed with crabmeat, asparagus, and béarnaise sauce; veal Oscar is similar. The menu also includes chicken Parmesan and other chicken dishes.