966 Best Restaurants in New York, USA

This snug Lebanese café caters to locals with its popular vegan platters, mixed kebabs for two (with kofta, chicken, and lamb), shawarmas, and more. Seating is limited, but if you can snag a seat at lunch or dinnertime, you’re in for a treat. Try the mint lemonade and falafel sandwich, a house blend of chickpeas and fava beans, topped with turnip and pickles. For a carnivorous option, go for the El Toum sandwich, made with ground beef and pine nuts.

Broadway lovers hungry for more music and dance will get a kick out of Ellen's, a 1950s-style, multilevel diner with a singing waitstaff and all-day breakfast. The menu focuses on all-American classics like meat loaf and chicken potpie, and the servers serenading you on roller skates dazzle with Broadway-caliber talent. It's the kind of over-the-top family fun that makes sense in Times Square, so expect a vivacious dining experience.

The trendy, rough-hewn microbrewery restaurant draws a young crowd. The shepherd's pie is popular, and the menu also includes English-style fish-and-chips and assorted grilled steaks. You may eat outside in the German beer garden, which has a brick patio and vines climbing the walls. Tours of the brewery are available. This is the original; there's a Fredonia offshoot as well.

Even though Duke Ellington made it famous to take the A train, it’s more convenient to take the 1 train to this friendly, casual neighborhood hangout that combines good food and live music with contemporary decor. Brunch features the Southern staple chicken and waffles, there are some inventive fish and seafood dishes, and the bar is open until 1 am.

The specialties at this beloved Brooklyn pizzeria and Italian-ish eatery, named for its proprietor and situated on a charming block, range from Detroit-style grandma pies (think square instead of round, thick instead of thin) to wood-fired pizzas with ingredients like clams, anchovies, and Calabrian chilies. One item that might convince you to forego pizza, though, is the signature burger, an American cheese and caramelized onion–topped beef patty on a pretzel bun.

This flagship by chef Alex Stupak (wd~50 and Allinea) applies Mexican influences toward an inventive contemporary American menu amid an open kitchen, two-level seating, and a display case adorned with ceramics in unique shapes and sizes. For the table dishes encompass queso fundido (baked cheese) with steak tartare and crab nachos with sea urchin. Taco variations are unexpected but delightful—maitake mushrooms, pastrami, dry aged beef picadillo (ground beef and potatoes simmered in a spicy tomato sauce) and lobster. Their fajitas are also unique, with jumbo tiger prawns or surf and turf, but the dessert selection has gotten much attention. In particular, the "avocado" does resemble the fruit but it's actually a creamy, lime-flavored parfait.

At the end of 2023, lauded chef Alex Stupak renovated this upscale taco-focused eatery to make it more casual: gone were the elegant tables and chairs, replaced by high-top tables; gone were the elevated takes on Mexican fare, substituted with large-portioned nachos and an excellent burger. The high-quality tacos and margaritas are still here, though. So is the friendly service. If you want to experience what Empellón was like for the first decade of its existence, head to the uptown location on Madison Avenue and 53rd Street.

Just a short walk from the ferry terminal, Enoteca Maria began an ordinary Italian eatery, with several nonne (Italian grandmas) in the place of a chef, each one cooking regional dishes on different nights. They've since branched out to celebrate global cuisines with "Nonnas of the World," and have been recognized for that incentive. On any given night you might sample Ukrainian, Sri Lankan, Greek, or Argentinian comfort food, cooked with organic ingredients sourced locally when possible. Check their website's calendar to find out what country the next nonna hails from, before she prepares dishes for you in this small, but welcoming space. 

A grand experience awaits at this lavishly appointed restaurant at the Castle on the Hudson. Choose from three formal dining rooms: the Oak Room, with ornately carved built-ins from France; the Tapestry Room; and the Garden Room, which has breathtaking Hudson River views. French influences make their way into the Auberge-style fare and inventive dishes, which the chef creates using naturally sourced ingredients.

Vintage signs and photos and tablecloths printed with Victorian-era newsprint add interest to this casual place on the north end of town. The menu is a mix of bar food, salads, wraps, and sandwiches: batter-fried shrimp, a Reuben, a chicken BLT, burgers, chips topped with shredded cheddar and bacon. The dinner menu adds entrées to the mix, such as beef tenderloin dusted with coffee, chocolate, and spices, pan-seared and served with a port wine sauce. Locals warm the stools in the front-room bar.

On an out-of-the-way stretch of the Lower East Side, Ernesto's refined atmosphere and creative, daily-changing menu of satisfying Spanish and Basque delights transports diners to coastal Spain. This isn't the small plates, tapas-style Spanish restaurant that New Yorkers are familiar with, though sharing dishes like a tortilla española (egg and potato omelet) or creamy croquetas (ham-filled deep-fried fritters) and heartier fare like seared duck breast slathered in a port and foie gras sauce or baked salt cod in a garlicky green sauce is not frowned upon.

The name is Italian for "bait," and this restaurant lures you in with a long menu of delectable crudo preparations and then hooks you with bold entrées that might include whole salt-baked branzino, sea bass for two, or bucatini pasta with spicy baby octopus. The restaurant saw a few changes when longtime chef Dave Pasternack bought it in 2019, but its menu remains sharp, as does the adventurous Italian wine selection.

The menu of this tiny basement eatery offers a smattering of inexpensive dishes from Thailand, Mexico, England, Italy, and the Middle East. There's counter service only and just a few tables. Top a quick chimichanga with fresh fixings from the salsa bar.

Locals treasure this as their secret spot—a simple roadside restaurant housed in a little red house that serves good breakfasts and lunch, as well as fresh, creative American dinner fare. People rave about the blueberry pancakes and chorizo hash. Crab cakes and chicken quesadillas are popular with the lunch crowd, and vegetables and salads couldn't get any fresher—they come from their own garden out back. A three-course prix-fixe dinner is offered for $29. If you want to make a reservation, call between 2 and 3:30.

A brick building across the street from the Aurora Inn houses this tavern, a once-crusty bar now outfitted with dark-wood paneling, rough-hewn beams, and crackling fireplaces. The food is pub fare with a bit of flair. The most popular item is the burger, topped with raw or caramelized onions and a choice of cheese, served with hand-cut fries. Also on the menu are pulled-pork sandwiches, spicy black bean burgers, and barbecue chicken sandwiches with apple-smoked bacon. A TV resides over the bar and there's a pool table in back.

Stop by this tiny counter-serve for impressive Asian-inspired vegan snacks like a take on the sloppy joe sandwich, made with mushrooms served on a sesame pancake, and perfectly chewy sticky rice dumplings that get a zing from chili oil. Although there's no actual seating, they do serve canned wine, beer, and sake.

Steamers, mussels, and fresh fish are the mainstays at this casual, nautical-theme restaurant overlooking the bay, and the big waterside deck, shaded by a tent canopy, is a great spot on a sunny day. Steaks, chops, and chicken are also on the menu, joined by salads and panini at lunchtime. The wine list features local and international selections, with 25 available by the glass. Great for family dining, there is always a lively bar and live music scene as well.

Subterranean Fedora was an ancient, little-patronized restaurant until 2011, when the old Italian owner left the building and restaurateur Gabe Stulman took over, revamping the place to attract a younger, hip crowd. The kitchen now churns out French Canadian–accented fare like garlic-cream-topped duck breast and scallops paired with bone marrow. Creative cocktails give the space a buzzy, almost clubby vibe. Fedora (the restaurant) will never be the same, and that might be a good thing.

With dark-wood furniture, wood beam ceilings, and Yankees memorabilia on almost every wall, this one of the few true old-school neighborhood sports-themed bar and grills you'll find hereabouts. It's all very un-Hamptons. Established in 1980, it probably hasn't changed much since then, and the locals like it that way. There's no cocktail menu, no local wines, and if you ask what type of beer they have, they'll simply says "cold." But if you like steak, you'll love the 16-oz porterhouse marinated in Budweiser and ketchup; corn fritters are served with a zesty, creamy horseradish sauce; and if you just want a chili dog, you can get one here. The prices are also very un-Hamptons, and it's open year-round.

It's hard to choose among the classic Italian desserts displayed in the pastry cases here, but keep in mind that they come in miniature versions so you can try a few. Whatever you opt for—either to take away or to eat in—you can be assured that the recipes have been perfected, as Ferrara has been serving since 1892.

Not all the grappa in this charming, diminutive Italian restaurant will help you pronounce its name, but you won't care once you tuck into the fabulous pasta dishes made in the open kitchen. The menu's focus is on Tuscany with a few nods south to Rome. The pappardelle al ragù is rich and satisfying. Same for the tagliolini laced with sea urchin. But for first timers and twenty-first timers, it's impossible to pass up the cacio e pepe, a simple, gooey, cheesy Roman pasta dish that tastes like it just magically materialized from the Eternal City.

The mantra here is "rice is culture." Chef JJ Johnson, a James Beard Award--winning chef, founded this rice bowl shop in 2019 with a focus on heirloom grains and the countries and places from which they're harvested. Top bowls include crispy chicken with barbecue sauce over Carolina gold rice, sticky rice with shrimp in a green curry sauce, and an Indian-inspired veggie bowl with basmati rice. The crab pockets (Johnson's version of a crab rangoon with garlic herbed cream cheese) are a delicious snack or side. Wash it all down with a pineapple ginger lemonade.

Part restaurant, part postwork social pub, Finn's has the feel of an Irish tavern, with lots of wood and a noise level that rises as the evening wears on. In addition to a large selection of domestic and imported beers, the pub serves hearty homemade stews and sandwiches.

Fatty Crab and Fatty 'Cue founder Zak Pelaccio decamped from Manhattan to Hudson to set up shop in a former blacksmithing shop, where he serves a delicious seven- or eight-course tasting menu. Be advised there's no vegetarian or pescatarian option, and dietary restrictions aren't accommodated so picky eaters should think twice. But more spontaneous eaters will enjoy the frequently changing menu and kitchen that will only use the highest quality and freshest ingredients. You could get lightly smoked salmon one night and rotisserie-roasted duck breast the next. Pelaccio's wife Jory Jayne Emde creates the restaurant's vinegars, pickles, and condiments. Reservations are tough to get, but a small selection of à la carte dishes is available at the bar and on the brick patio.

Authentic and flavorful contemporary Mexican food, perfectly mixed cocktails, and amiable staff define this cozy restaurant, overseen by award-winning chef and cookbook author Roberto Santibañez. While happy hours at the bar are popular, stay for dinner to enjoy enchiladas with mole, lump crab croquettes with avocado serrano sauce, or poblano peppers with roasted-tomato chipotle sauce. The small space is always buzzing, plus there's backyard seating.