9164 Best Restaurants in USA

In an immaculate setting boasting a long communal table, firewood as decor, and an enormous open kitchen, chef-owner Seth Stowaway's complex and invigorating tasting menus change their concept every few weeks. However, the firewood is a hint at the overarching theme of every experience: live-fire cooking incorporated into every dish. That touch of flames might be demonstrated by a more subtle smoke influence in a sauce or delicate, direct grilling for an elaborate meat or seafood centerpiece.

The first American craft brewery to can its beer, Oskar Blues is a Lyons hot spot for beer, pub grub, and music. Try Dale's Pale Ale or any of the other robust beers brewed nearby in small (20-barrel) batches. In the basement, a "juke joint" hosts live music and an arcade has old-time games; there's a bluegrass jam Tuesday night.

Chef David Bush, who achieved national recognition for his food pairings at St. Francis Winery, owns this tavernlike small-plates restaurant inside an 1890s storefront that incorporates materials reclaimed from the building's prior incarnations. Starters often include oysters, ceviche, and deviled eggs with Dungeness crab and homemade yellow curry, meant to be enjoyed before moving on to barbecued pork ribs, shrimp and cheesy grits, Moroccan-spiced salmon, and similar items.

Simple, well-prepared dishes draw folks to this pleasant harborfront restaurant in the middle of a boatyard. On weekends, the full menu includes seafood and pub specialties as well as a selection of pizzas; on Thursday and Monday, only pizza is served.

Under the careful direction of acclaimed chef-owner Jeff Michaud, Osteria has flourished, with a seasonally changing menu that offers everything from amazing brick-oven pizzas to delicate house-made pastas to a strip steak. With its rustic wooden tables, soaring ceilings, and decor that blends loft and countryside, industry and art, this place helped establish the restaurant scene in 2007 in the redeveloping North Broad neighborhood.

Chef Fabian Hernandez Blanco serves some of Chicago’s most soul-satisfying Italian food at this cozy and convivial Logan Square Piedmontese restaurant. The pastas are flawless and come stuffed and topped with seasonal accompaniments, while the hearty meat and seafood main courses pair perfectly with the Northern Italian wine list—save room for the classic Italian desserts or order a bittersweet digestif to end the meal.

The Bonannos, whose restaurants number more than a dozen now and are all among the best in town, continue to have success with this reasonably priced, casual eatery. High-backed wooden booths, dish towels as napkins, and exposed-brick walls provide a hip, urban setting below street level for wood-fired pizzas topped with Frank Bonanno's homemade or imported cheeses and house-cured meats. Or try one of the sampler trays from the formaggi and salumi (fresh cheese and meats) bar, the Italian version of an artisan deli that greets you at the entrance. Salads are large enough to eat as entrées. The mostly locally sourced meat dishes shine—especially the lamb meatballs with housemade goat-milk ricotta. Happy hour runs from 2 to 5 on weekdays and features snacks for $8 and under.

Between music by Pavarotti, the checkered tablecloths, and the sight of homemade pasta and free-flowing vino, you’ll swear you’ve died and gone to Italy. At this cozy La Jolla Shores eatery, northern and southwestern Italian flavors have fused into culinary magic—homemade bread, sauces, gnocchi, and pasta like pappardelle with braised lamb and linguine with mussels—since 2004. The breaded veal and lobster ravioli are both exceptional and pork osso buco in port wine sauce is a popular main course that can be enjoyed alfresco on warm summer nights on the dog-friendly patio. Despite its size, the tiramisu with espresso-dipped ladyfingers goes down way too easily.

It's easy, crowd-pleasing Italian here, with an array of classic pasta, salads, meat, and seafood dishes. The results are tasty, but Osteria shines brightest at making you feel comfortable. If you opt for the $49.95 prix-fixe, you pick an entrée and servers do the rest, working the room with several rounds of communal platters of antipasti followed by your entrée and dessert.

Its name means oyster in Spanish, and you will find them plenty fresh here, chilled on the half shell and served with mignonette or chipotle cocktail sauce. The oyster bar also serves up crabs, shrimp, and ceviche. Other premium offerings are blackened redfish, grilled ahi tuna, and filet and lobster tail. The nonseafood menu is limited, so ask the server for suggestions. It's open for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner at a lovely spot on the River Walk, housed in the luxury Mokara Hotel & Spa;  Dinner reservations are highly recommended, especially on weekends.

Sophisticated yet unpretentious European-inspired California cooking is the order of the day at this intimate and stylish bistro, whose seasonal menu might include such items as seafood risotto or crispy duck breast in a pomegranate reduction sauce. The creative concoctions poured at the slick marble bar include whiskey mixed with apple and lemon juice or tequila with celery juice and lime.

This diminutive, sparsely bedecked restaurant is the domain of owner and chef Elyas Popa, born in Romania and raised in California, who fuses the two culinary traditions to create a unique and satisfying menu. Expect dishes like mǎmǎligǎ, a Romanian polenta staple that is deeper and richer here thanks to melted Parmesan cheese and bone broth. Also, great is the "broken burrata," combining gooey southern Italian cheese with tangy Romanian telemea cheese plus a sprinkles of yuzu and bits of lovage and tomato to create a creamy, salty, acidic, and sweet sensation on the palate. 

Usually packed, Otto Pizza delivers on tasty, delicious classics like cheese, pepperoni, or margherita, but where it really shines is with oddball combinations—like caramelized pear, blue cheese, and arugula, or pulled pork and pineapple. Diners can enjoy sit-down service, paired with a beer or glass of wine, or get a slice at the bar or get one to go.

Dan Wentz and John Slimp ditched their corporate jobs to open this cheerful, low-key breakfast and lunch spot. They named it for Otto Sallman who built the building in 1899 and had planned for, but could never open, a restaurant of his own. We're pretty sure Otto would be pleased with the changing menu of home-cooked, locally sourced dishes such as whole wheat pancakes, spinach salad, and biscuits and sausage gravy made with Arnold's Farm organic pork sausage. There are gluten-free and vegetarian options, too, plus made-from-scratch desserts (like pineapple upside down cake, made-to-order), and lovingly crafted dinners every Friday and Saturday night.

At Elouise "Ouisie" Adams Jones's casually elegant, ersatz preppy restaurant, American cuisine is prepared with eclectic, Southern accents. Dine in the main room, or request a table on adjoining Lucy's Porch for a view of the herb plantings snipped daily by the kitchen staff. Fine dinner choices include a brace of roasted quail with apple-smoked bacon, and a shrimp curry with lemon-ginger rice. There's a fabulous weekend brunch and an afternoon "little bites" menu.

Baskets of fresh baguettes and focaccia greet you as you step inside. Glass counters hold lush chocolate temptations and bags of apricot rugelach. You can pick up goodies for a picnic or grab a table and dig into a sandwich with the house-smoked pastrami. Get here early, as the place is only open until 5 pm. The gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are as good they get.

This three-level brewpub boasts an amazing rooftop patio, with great views of the surrounding canyon as well as the goings-on below on Main Street. The beers include four standards plus a few seasonal offerings while the food is typical pub fare, with a sprinkling of more interesting entrées like smoked-beet Reuben sandwiches.

Craft beer rules at this wind turbine–powered brewery and British Isles–style pub. Opt for seared local tuna atop a garden salad or noodle bowl, or go for a bratwurst sausage plate. Copper accents, lots of wood, and fun, retro touches (a Superman doll denotes the men's room; Wonder Woman, the ladies' room) characterize this huge white building, modeled after a turn-of-the-19th-century lifesaving station. Regularly scheduled live music adds to the festive atmosphere.

Live ragtime piano music welcomes you most nights to this saloon-style eatery, specializing in steak, seafood, and pasta. Portions are generous and loaded with extras (each entrée comes with rice or potato, vegetables, and bread).

The Outpost occupies one of the sleekest spaces in town: a large building with a log-cabin exterior, a vast entry lobby, and a bright, spacious, high-ceilinged dining room. The kitchen serves creative pizzas and has a lengthy menu of standard entrées including burgers, steak, seafood, salads, and quesadillas.

Blink, and you may think you’re in South Beach: this trendy restaurant has quickly become the city’s most popular, where the suit-and-tie crowd sidles up to the elevated bar or takes a seat on the cushy outdoor terrace. Try the grilled octopus starter, tossed with lemon juice and capers, or the charcoal-grilled whole fish, be it wild sea bass, sole, or snapper.

A joint venture between James Beard Award–nominated chef Cathy Whims and renowned cocktail mixologist Ryan Magarian, this aptly named late-night spot specializes in creatively topped wood-fired pizzas and deftly crafted cocktails that rely heavily on local spirits and fresh juices. The salads and appetizers are also terrific, especially the radicchio version of a classic Caesar salad.

It's a picturesque 15-mile drive northeast of Concord to reach this hilltop restaurant and rustic barn with dazzling views of the countryside in all directions—definitely try to snag a table on the deck if it's a nice day. The kitchen serves farm-to-table-driven burgers, bratwurst plates, and pizzas with both classic and inventive toppings. The property also houses the popular Moonlight Meadery and Hidden Moon Brewing, whose hand-crafted meads and ales are served here and sold to go. There's live music many evenings, too.

Set in a charming 1861 farmhouse just "over yonder" from Mast General, this approachable restaurant serves inspired takes on Appalachian food like tomato cobbler, grilled meatloaf, and pan-fried rainbow trout with sweet potatoes. Sit inside the historic rooms or on the wraparound porch.

Amid the shade of banyan trees in the hip Burns Court district, a 1923 cottage has been converted into a casual restaurant that serves quintessentially Southern fare (though the menu is not geographically limited). Dishes emphasize locally caught seafood, with everything from a shrimp-and-oyster po'boy with bacon to chicken-fried lobster tail. Takeaway "jars" offered include smoked fish spread with saltines, fried pickles, and boiled peanuts. Note: there can often be a wait, so get here early because you can't reserve a table.

Housed in a replica of an early-19th-century Outer Banks Lifesaving Station, the dining room of this classic since 1946 feels like a nautical museum: classic clapboard construction, pine paneling, and walls of maritime artifacts. Miss O's crab cakes are perennially popular, as is the 14-layer chocolate cake.

Cozy and eclectic, this little gem tucked away on a downtown side street uses locally sourced, organic ingredients in its flavorful portobello banh mi sandwiches, lamb kofta kebabs, pork belly burritos, and dinner salads. A colorful owl mural on the back wall watches over a dining room decorated with plants, patterned tablecloths, and local works of art.