9204 Best Restaurants in USA

Renovated from an 1850s general store, this inn, about 13 miles north of Nashville, is known for fine dining by oil lamp. Breakfast and lunch menus cull ingredients from the on-site garden and include locally raised game meats, featuring in everything from a chicken breast with spiced peaches to grilled artichoke on a croissant. Some of the inn's accommodations are above the restaurant and there are also cottages on surrounding land.

Climb to the top floor of Pike Place Market to find this storied Seattle cafe. In addition to perfectly pulled espresso drinks, Storyville offers fresh pastries, light lunch items, beer, and wine in a welcoming space with ample comfy seating and Elliott Bay views. The coffee beans are lovingly roasted on nearby Bainbridge Island. Enjoy a steaming cup of housemade hot chocolate or chai in front of the fireplace–the perfect remedy for a chilly Seattle morning. 

Combine fabulous harbor views with a top-notch chef and island favorites like fried clams, lobster rolls, and clam chowder and you get this clam shack and fish market. Chef Gabriel Frasca of Straight Wharf opened this sister property offering playful takes on seafood dishes like a caviar sandwich on a King's Hawaiian roll topped with red pepper jelly and a Funyun.

Operating inside of a well-preserved 1938 Worcester Streamliner, Strangebird serves up casual, approachable eats with a Mexican flair. The appetizing aromas of smoked meats and Yucatan marinades fill the cozy diner car, which has already amassed a flock of devoted patrons since its opening in July 2023.

It may be a no-frills diner, but Streamliner is a local institution on Bainbridge Island thanks to its hearty breakfasts and vegetarian options. Many travelers stop for a bite here when they hop off the ferry, though you'll see just as many locals lining up for breakfast and lunch. Waits can be long during the busy season, but you can explore the nearby shops until your table is ready.

Named for local gastro-superhero Dana Street, who's launched a bevy of Portland's best eateries, this staple of the city's upscale restaurant scene is a stunner even after all these years (it opened in 1989). Still drawing crowds in huge waves, diners come for the pan-seared and grilled seafood and mouthwatering pasta like lobster fra diavolo. It all adds up to a Mediterranean-meets-Maine meal you won't soon forget.

Wylie Dufresne’s friendly pizza parlor serves classic and creative 12-inch pies on artisanal dough. You can dig into everything from a Classic NY with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan to a Danny Boy topped with dan dan chicken, vodka sauce, sesame, and cilantro. If you’re lucky, nab one of the cushioned booths.  

This lavish but cheeky steak joint, an off-shoot of the New York City original, wears its bordello-chic atmosphere with a healthy touch of irony. The red-flocked wallpaper and other decor may suggest that you're inside an early-20th-century house of ill repute, but the menu of artfully presented chops and classic American food reflects a highly skilled, contemporary kitchen. Appetizers such as roasted bacon with pickled cucumber and lobster bisque are indulgent starters. A broad variety of steaks includes 20-ounce bone-in or 14-ounce dry-aged rib eyes, as well as filets and New York strips, but you can also order miso sea bass or crispy organic chicken and will be just as satisfied. The 24-layer chocolate cake makes for a fittingly decadent end to your meal.

There are several top-line restaurants in Manhattan to get an excellent steak, and the Strip House is one of them; the added bonus here is the bordello-esque ambience, complete with velvet banquettes and sexy photos on the walls. The intimate Strip House "Speakeasy" downstairs is more casual.  

The butter finish that makes restaurant steaks so delectable is done with a particularly artistic flair at StripSteak, where James Beard Award–winning chef Michael Mina puts his modern touches on the traditional steak house with a wood-burning grill and butter-poaching method turning out numerous cuts of beef every night. The menu includes several large-format choices, such as a 36-ounce dry-aged Porterhouse or a 40-ounce tomahawk, either of which will serve two (or more), plus more manageable sizes and several Japanese A-5 wagyu cuts. Or try something classically Mina-quirky, such as the 16-ounce duck-fat prime rib with blue cheese popover and fresh horseradish, or a caviar jelly doughnut. There's an extensive raw bar, seafood towers, a trolley with liquid desserts, as well as a three-course tasting menu that touches on the chef's Egyptian roots.

Good beer, wood-fired pizza, and, occasionally, live music—it's a combination that fits perfectly into a lazy day of leisurely exploring the Blue Hill Peninsula. Recent renovations have upgraded the dining room, rendering it even more cozy than before, and the menu now spotlights new pizza styles (the dough is made in-house) and a bigger craft cocktail program.

This sprawling building on Kansas City's north side was once the first stagecoach stop for travelers on their way to St. Joseph. After feasting on fried chicken and homemade pies, take a stroll around the grounds, complete with ponds, geese, and swans.

Both upscale and unpretentious, this Michelin-starred contemporary American restaurant is helmed by Top Chef winner Jeremy Ford, who has created a small menu of exquisitely executed fresh dishes that change often. The popular prix-fixe tasting menu is known for its pâté and foie gras, as well as fresh seafood and short ribs. The intimate restaurant boasts an open design where diners can see the action-packed kitchen as they meticulously plate each bite. Reservations are recommended.

With only nine tables and a counter inside, this place is always full. The kitchen whips up daily lunch specials like seafood platters or pulled pork with hand-cut fries, but the all-day breakfast is the main draw. You can get the usual breakfast plates, but most newcomers opt for oddities like the lobster omelet, alligator tail and eggs, or grits and "grunts" (that's fish, to the rest of us).

This hot dog specialist a block from the Fells Point waterfront earns a large share of the lunch and late-night crowds with specialties like the Bmore Dog, with grilled baloney and deli mustard, and the Wild Thing, a Bison dog with blue cheese and diced raw onions. For dessert, the fried Oreo cookies have a certain charm. There's a second location in Federal Hill (at 17 E. Cross St.)

This Portland import is housed in a handsome, historic building with a perfectly preserved, pressed-tin ceiling. The java here is top-notch, and the atmosphere is great for lingering. The one perpetual issue is that seats are often occupied by the laptop set. In warm weather, grab one of the outdoor tables.

A pioneer in Portland's artisanal coffee experience, Stumptown Coffee Roasters has expanded into a nationally revered brand. There are several local cafés—including this bustling storefront space in Old Town—where hip baristas, well versed in all things coffee, whip up delicious espresso drinks. Not far away, the Harvey Milk Street location adjoins the trendy Ace Hotel.

One of Wyoming's best Mexican restaurants is in the tiny refinery town of Sinclair, 6 miles east of Rawlins. Green chili is a big draw here, and the menu is full of Mexican favorites, as well as Navajo tacos.

Beautifully plated meat and seafood dishes take center stage at this local favorite, where ingredients (and beverages) are sourced locally whenever possible. As the name suggests, Subterra is located in an underground cellar space, but it's not as cramped as it sounds; there's even a private dining room for special events.

This contemporary take on Mexican fare makes for a fun dining experience right on East Sixth Street. Interiors are spacious and bright (if a bit impersonal and loud during peak hours), and the food, like goat-rib barbacoa and confit Wagyu brisket tacos, are extremely satisfying. Make plans for their popular brunch service on weekends or stop by during their daily happy hour.

Stop by Sugar 'N Spice for a Balboa Bar that is a slab of vanilla ice cream dipped first in chocolate and then topped with your choice of other sweet treats. It's also home of "The Original Frozen Banana" created back in 1945. They also have a frozen cheesecake an frozen tiramisu on a stick, plus ice cream cookie sandwiches.

If the chef at this La Jolla bakery looks familiar, it's because she won Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship in 2015. Since that win, chef Maeve Rochford has made a name for herself as a celebrity chef and owner of Sugar and Scribe, offering baked goods like delicious scones as well as sit-down options (final seating 2 pm) like lobster Benedict, Irish sausage rolls, and irresistible blueberry pancakes with fresh-plucked berries, edible flowers, and vanilla whipped cream. For a La Jolla summer cool down, try the horchata latte.

An early-morning crowd lines up here for flaky pastries, bagels, coffee, and cookies. While the sweet treats are the main draw to the aptly named cafe (think lavender shortbread, frosted sugar cookies, and confetti cake), the freshly made soups, quiche, and sandwiches are also tasty.

Stop in to try one of dozens of cupcake flavors or one of the special flavors featured each month—or you may like a cookie or a whole cake. With flavors like cannoli, cookie dough, and Boston Cream cupcakes, you're bound to find one (or more) to fuel your sugar high.

Painted portraits of neighborhood locals adorn the arched walls of this husband-and-wife-owned, small-batch scoop shop. The selection of about 10 ice-cream flavors rotates seasonally; try summer favorites like "Sweet Socialism," a foolproof dairy-free sorbet with an incredibly creamy texture made with single-estate Madagascar dark chocolate, or "Chairperson of the Board," a blueberry cheesecake fan favorite. The "What's up, Doc?" is a play on carrot cake ice cream, and "The Unicorn" is as colorful as it sounds. In the winter, opt for a hot chocolate topped with a scoop of ice cream and a ring of torched marshmallow. There are two other locations; one farther uptown, and one on Lexington Avenue on the east side.

Creative interpretations of classic ice cream flavors reign at this popular student hangout. All the ice cream is made from scratch. 

A Tybee tradition since 1971, it offers cones, ice cream sandwiches, coffees, candies, and more.

The cupcake craze isn't dead yet, and this old-school, cozy bakeshop—the brainchild of two former Magnolia Bakery employees—turns out delectable options. Try the chocolate-almond Gooey Gooey or the cream cheese frosting–topped pumpkin; flavors are intense but not too-too sweet. Some believe that the real showstopper is the swoon-inducing banana pudding, with crumbled Nilla wafers suspended in vanilla pudding.