3 Best Restaurants in New York, USA

At this unassuming storefront, you wouldn't be able to tell that this Nigerian restaurant has garnered high praise from many food critics, but owner-chef Ayo Balogun doesn't just prepare a meal for an intimate party of 16 guests sitting around a communal table, he takes diners on a nostalgic journey, through food and personal storytelling, to the north-central Nigeria of his childhood in the early 1980s. Classic dishes like pepper soup, asaro (yam porridge), and egusi (a creamy, nutty soup) are elevated through plating, while old Nigerian tunes play on vinyl, and art and old photos hang on the wall. There are two seatings at 6 pm and 8:30 pm each open evening, for the $97.20 prix-fixe experience.

David Geffen Hall was probably the last place most New Yorkers would think to go for a chopped cheese sandwich, that is until New York City chef Kwame Onwuachi took this iconic NYC staple out of the local deli and into a shimmering space in Lincoln Center, elevating it accordingly with a steamed bun, dry-aged beef, smoked mozzarella, and shaved black truffles. Within weeks of opening, the celeb chef's first New York City restaurant was lauded and applauded by locals and media alike for bringing delicious African and Caribbean flavors and interesting twists on classic New York dishes to Lincoln Center, and specifically back to San Juan Hill, an area that once housed a vibrant community of Black and brown residents who were removed for the center's development. A couple of years in, this is one of New York City's highest-rated restaurants and one of the city's hottest reservations. The vibes are relaxed and upscale, with comfortable booths, marble tables, floor-to-ceiling gold link chains, and cloudlike light fixtures that change color—all set to a loud and lively soundtrack of classic and contemporary hip-hop. The menu is inspired by the chef's experience working in some of New York City's top kitchens; his mom's Creole cooking; and the Nigerian, Trinidadian, and Jamaican foods he grew up eating in the Bronx. Standouts include egusi (a one-pot soup) dumplings, Jamaican curried goat patties, and a flavorful pastrami sandwich, served on the bone, coated with a Nigerian-inspired suya (spice blend) with a side of warm bread. Just be sure to leave room for the Harlem Chocolate Factory white chocolate cheesecake. 

At Ponty Bistro, Franco-Senegalese cuisine reigns supreme. The sophisticated flavors and cooking traditions of Senegal are combined with French and Mediterranean dishes. They are served alongside house cocktails in a warm, dark-wood bistro in this oft-neglected reach of Central Harlem. Try dishes like poisson yassa (a whole branzino with white rice), three cheese gougeres (French cheese puffs), or niokolokoba (grilled sirloin steak with African spice).