9221 Best Restaurants in USA

Charleston's resident European-style bakehouse, Weltons is acclaimed for its breads and sweet morning treats. The menu changes weekly, but if any of the loaves are made with benne—the West African sesame seed that looms large in historic Lowcountry cuisine—snag one.

Overlooking the Bridge of Flowers and Deerfield River, this quaint upscale pub filled with plants and local artwork is a charming place to catch lunch. Tables on the enclosed porch offer a nice view while you enjoy a hearty burger or fancy salad.

Thin-crust pizzas made from organic flour are the specialty at this lively eatery that also serves a range of creative pasta and entrees like a roasted root bowl. Try out eclectic pizza toppings like roasted salmon, butternut squash, and sweet onion marmalade. The open-air patio is especially popular.

This sophisticated dining room on the town green is the place to see and be seen. Dinner selections might include free-range chicken with potato purée, braised short ribs with Cabernet demi-glace, or Scottish grilled salmon with ratatouille.

The culinary team focuses on Americanized versions of bistro classics created from regional ingredients in this modern-style West End restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton Washington D.C. In warmer months, the patio is popular with guests and locals alike, and innovative cocktails please the happy hour crowd.

More than 200 original oil paintings, all with a Western theme, line the dining room of this eatery in the Wall Drug complex. For a tasty meal, try a hot beef sandwich or a buffalo burger. The old-fashioned soda fountain has milk shakes and homemade ice cream. This place also serves the area's best doughnuts, and a regular cup of coffee is still just 5 cents.

Locals jokingly refer to the regular morning gatherings here as "the old men's club," where all the latest happenings in Cloudcroft are discussed at great length, and sometimes with great passion. Come in as you are (this place is casual personified) and get ready for great big helpings of local favorites such as chicken-fried steak. Don't expect pepper-encrusted ahi here: this is basic, rib-sticking Western food served in a simple, no-frills room where the wood tables and chairs and paneled walls may remind you of your grandparents' living room. The bar next door is great if you require more than water and sodas or one of the number of good microbrews.

A deer head, often sporting sunglasses, surveys the cowboys and families that pack the counter stools and tables at this down-home breakfast and lunch spot. Peruse the local paper as you work your way through biscuits and gravy, eggs with corned-beef hash, or pork chops. There's nothing fancy outside or in, but for local color, this is it.

Smack-dab in the middle of the aging yet charming flea market that gives it its name, this burger joint and bar is a hang-out for colorful regulars. The juicy burgers are made to order, and there are myriad beers on tap with which to wash them down.

Within the Terrain garden store, you'll find a bright, cheery café that offers exquisitely prepared dishes using locally sourced organic produce so fresh you'll want to become a gardener yourself. Enjoy brunch all afternoon; dinner entrées like line-caught Atlantic halibut with barley risotto or the duck breast with braised endive come with a delicious (and, frankly, adorable) terracotta pot of baked bread.

An unassuming roadhouse along Route 66 in Seligman, Westside Lilo's is a must for exceptionally well-prepared, hearty short-order cooking. The prodigious breakfast burritos, green-chile stew, hefty cheeseburgers, and famously massive cinnamon buns are a hit with regulars and tourists. One "slice" of the famous carrot cake is equal to three or four slices at most restaurants.

This cart is ready for hungry trailblazers, who stop in to enjoy jalapeño poppers or corn-dog nuggets, complete with a fresh-off-the-trail frozen lemonade. And what hungry cowboy doesn't want candied bacon on a skewer? This cart also offers breakfast. If you've entered the park, and the lines at the Main Street Bakery are halfway down Main Street, keep moving, and stop here. Grab a breakfast sandwich to eat while in line for Big Thunder or Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

This unpretentious bar and grill, which sits in the shadow of the Pyramid alongside the Mississippi River, dishes out large portions of steak and seafood, excellent burgers, and a full selection of rice-based dishes, including several vegetarian options. A weekday "Meat and two" lunch special includes features entrees like country-fried steak and catfish, accompanied by sides like macaroni and cheese, turnip greens, and other vegetables. The kitchen stays open until 3 am, seven nights a week.

There's little on offer here, just chips, soft drinks, and concessions served on picnic tables under an awning, but it's the only choice on Wetherill Mesa.

For a casual, almost funky, nautical experience near the beach, look no further than this raw bar featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. If you want to blend in, order a fish special with whale fries—thinly sliced potatoes that look like hot potato chips. (People come from near and far for these famous fries!) Those with smaller appetites can choose from salads and raw-bar favorites like steamed Ipswich clams.

This 1940s-era filling station—the pumps are still outside—has been converted into an eclectic bar and seafood restaurant. The menu ranges from bar bites like buffalo wings and burgers to local shrimp, crab cakes, and pan-seared mahi-mahi and never disappoints. While the interior is all dive with its concrete floors and bathrooms outside, the food is always fresh and local, plus the beer inventory consists of microbrews. Monday night brings karaoke and draws a lively mix of locals and visitors. Blues and rock bands regularly play on the weekends.

Dating back to 1949, the original cocktail lounge roared back to life in 2024, luring patrons-in-the-know for daily Martini Hour from 4 to 5 pm, and shaken elevated classics like Pink Royale, Rolls Royce, and Truffle Old Fashioned. The reasonably priced menu leans toward “let’s share a few” no-regret dishes including duck meatballs, lobster roll dip, whipped buttermilk ricotta, and Maine scallops. Grab a booth where famed regulars, including Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss), once lingered over drinks and dreams. Regardless of belly space, make room for Budino dessert, Italy’s version of creamy custard. It’s discrete, it’s iconic, and it’s the closest thing you’ll find to a speakeasy in La Jolla.

Fresh seafood is the drawing card at this large wooden building, which wouldn't look out of place in a New England fishing village. Despite its out-of-town look, the restaurant has an authenticity sometimes hard to find in touristy towns. Locals come in for the fresh Virginia scallops, shrimp, fish, and other seafood. Steaks and lemon herb chicken are available for the non-Whalers. The restaurant is off U.S. 60 near the Route 199 interchange.

Situated on 1¼ acres of the city's historic New River waterfront, this nautical-themed space with communal tables and two large bars is surrounded by five local pop-up restaurants and Rivertail, by award-winning chef José Mendin. Nightly events and activities make this the go-to spot for Sunday Funday and hanging out with friends.

A cute vintage shack, painted a cheery yellow, is home to the best smoothies and shakes on the Hamakua Coast. Order at the counter and take away, or sit awhile under the canopy while you indulge in a Mango Tango, Lava Java, Bananarama, or any of about 15 selections of creative smoothies; you can pair it with tasty turkey, fish, or chicken roll-ups and other wraps. Although the focus is on vegetarian fare, there's something for everyone here, including a kids' menu and the Beyond Burger, a veggie burger impossible to distinguish from the real thing. What's Shakin' is in Pepeekeo, south of Honomu Town.

You can see fettuccine, lasagna, and other pastas squeezing out of the pasta machine in the front window of this main-street restaurant. Traditional Italian dishes share menu space with more creative fare. Smoked salmon, caviar, and scallions adorn angel-hair pasta in Alfredo sauce; the same sauce dresses breaded breast of chicken filled with asparagus mousse and served with tomato-tinted pasta. For a truly regional experience, try the handmade gnocchi—pasta made of potatoes and called "hats" in some parts. There are 24 wines by the glass.

At the restaurant's headquarters and flagship restaurant/store in Three Forks, you can enjoy tasty sandwiches, freshly baked bread, and pastries. You can even purchase grind-your-own flour from their Prairie Gold Whole Wheat.

This upscale seafood restaurant serves straight-from-the-sea clams, oysters, and fish inventively prepared and exquisitely presented. The clean lines of the dining room give the nearly always crowded restaurant a maritime feel that perfectly complements the food. No reservation? See about seats at the bar or chef's table.

This outlet of the Kittery-based bakery sells unusual artisanal breads such as Sicilian green olive with hot cherry peppers or red pepper hummus with sesame seeds and garlic, as well as classic sourdough, whole-wheat, pumpernickel, rye, or oat-and-honey loaves. You can also grab a giant cookie or muffin-size cake to munch on while wandering between the outlet stores. 

With family-style food that's a notch above most, this is a kid-friendly place that's easy on the wallet. Try baby back ribs or "pulled pig," slow-cooked, hickory-smoked pork pulled from the bone. Brisket and barbecued chicken are served, too, all with house-made sauce. Baked beans, broccoli salad, and macaroni and cheese are among side dishes. Dine by the fireplace in winter or on the porch when the weather warms.

Every winter city needs a ramen shop, but the menu and the mood at this upscale eatery make it a must-visit. The restaurant's basic name belies the creativity at work, with Japanese small plates, a long roster of ramen dishes, and eye-catching cocktails in the cozy back-room bar.

Evening meals in this renowned 40-seat, Victorian restaurant are perfectly romantic. Sink into red tufted chairs under ornate crystal chandeliers and relax. The owner personally handles reservations, welcomes diners, and oversees the staff. The contemporary menu changes weekly, but always emphasizes seafood, especially New Jersey sea scallops when they're in season. A full sushi menu is available year-round. In addition to fish, consider the lamb shank, the pork tenderloin, or the grilled, barrel-cut filet mignon. BYOB.

On the square in downtown Clayton, this European-inspired market located next to the White Birch Inn offers a coffee bar, fresh fruit smoothies, house-made baked goods, gourmet cheeses, and a wine cave filled with a wide selection of vino—including a few local choices.