201 Best Restaurants in USA

The breakfast burrito—paired with a cup of joe from their adjacent Deja Brew coffee stand—at this waterfront counter-serve can feel life-changing after a night out on Ocracoke. During summer, they also serve a lunch menu of fish tacos and curry bowls. 

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.

Family owned and established in 1951, this beach-style dairy bar—affectionately nicknamed Sully's—serves fried seafood, hot dogs, hamburgers, and ice cream at Castle Island. Don't expect frills or indoor seating—there is no need since its surroundings provide sloping lawns, picnic tables, benches, and beach vistas for lunching. Fries don't automatically come as a side with sandwiches, so if you want them, make sure you order them.

Whimsical art and brightly painted walls set a jolly tone at this casual eatery whose assets include the verdant rear patio. Waffles, eggs Benedict and ham on a Model Bakery English muffin, and the soft-scramble buttermilk biscuit sandwich are among the breakfast hits, with grilled cheese sandwiches done four ways (traditional, chicken avocado, smoked ham, and Waygu steak) and a kale and chicken Caesar salad steady crowd-pleasers at lunch.

Sunny Point serves food that's simple, well prepared, and not too expensive. Herbs and some veggies come from the restaurant's organic garden next door. Don't pass up the shrimp and grits or meat loaf (regular or vegetarian) with buttermilk mashed potatoes and sautéed greens.

Fun, dressed-up American favorites—a little something for everyone—are served in this renovated early-1900s stone farmhouse several miles east of town. The kitchen cranks out everything from Cajun-spiced prawns to meat loaf with marsala-mushroom gravy to grilled ribs and steaks.

Dine any time of day at this French-inspired café a block from San Diego Bay, as breakfast commences at 7 am with homemade granola, quiche, and just-baked coffee cakes and croissants. Sandwiches, salads, and soups round out the daytime menu, while dinner highlights include the catch of the day. Just be sure to save room for the Paris-pretty desserts.

This busy, informal restaurant on Alberta Street is known for its hearty breakfasts—namely, its biscuits and gravy, shredded-potato cakes, egg and tofu scrambles—but the lunch menu offers plenty of creative choices as well, like a creamy artichoke sandwich and a mac and cheese of the day. With a large stone fireplace and chimney, the covered, comfortable outdoor area doubles as a beer garden on warm spring and summer days, and the adjacent garden rounds off the property with a peaceful sitting area.

There's nothing "tiny" about the flavor at this chill, Caribbean-fusion spot across the street from the beach. Mouthwatering wraps, bowls, and sandwiches are served inside a brightly painted dining room or a big palapa out back. Sofrito bowls are among the more popular items, and the Ocean Wrap has black beans, guacamole, and roasted tomatillo sauce with a choice of shrimp or mahi on a pressed spinach tortilla. Heartier appetites love the Tripleta sandwich with pork, chicken, ham, jack cheese, and potato sticks on Puerto Rican bread. 

Perched on a rooftop in La Jolla, this café features a mindful menu of bowls, tacos, and other creative entrées that are all 100% organic, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, plant-based, seed-oil free, and soy-free. There's also a boutique with sustainable products and a yoga studio with aerial yoga, sound healing, and training workshops.

Although the menu here has a variety of fresh seafood, you should come for the oysters—served raw, baked, or steamed and with or without toppings—and stay for the view. The vibe is casual: place your order when you walk in, and grab a table in the air-conditioned interior or out on the patio; either way, your lunch or dinner will be accompanied by a spectacular Apalachee River basin view.

A local favorite in the morning and throughout the day for organic heirloom coffee and hand-blended fine organic teas, Urth also serves health-conscious food as well as pastries outside on the charming garden patio looking out at the Laguna Art Museum across the street. For lunch and dinner, they offer a variety of salads, soups, bowls, pizzas, and signature sandwiches. Heartier fare includes a Mediterranean platter, Urth tamales, lasagna, and an Asian-style nori plum rice wrap. There is a children's menu, too.

Clam shacks and roadside eateries of days gone by inspired this order-at-the-counter covered-patio restaurant serving ceviche, fried oysters, Louis salads, crab sandwiches, spicy tuna bowls, fish-and-chips, and other seafood-oriented comfort food. Despite the lack of a place to swim, a carefree summer-at-the-pool vibe prevails at this second venture by the Valley Bar + Bottle team, whose penchant for wines from eco-minded, family-owned, small-batch producers shows in the well-priced list here.

Head to this North Shore winery and bistro for wine tasting and dining on the terrace overlooking the Spaders Bay section of Lake Chelan. The lunch and dinner menus feature herbs and produce grown in Vin du Lac's own gardens, as well as meats, cheeses, and seafood sourced regionally as much as possible. Southern French and Northern Italian fare stars at this romantic, wine-focused restaurant where the menu changes quarterly to feature what's in season. Families are welcome, and you can even bring your pooch while you dine on the terrace.

Local foodies flock here for chef Ken Manring's delicious smoked meats and burgers at this hip but homey order-at-the-counter restaurant. Housed in an old storefront in the Boulevard Historic District just outside downtown, there aren't many indoor tables, but there's plenty of space to spread out in the picnic area outside. While meat is a specialty, the grilled tofu sandwiches and the Tiger Salad topped with tofu and fresh fruit have a fan following. Check out the daily specials, which can range from barbecue tacos to grilled fish.

Restauranteurs John Resnick and Eric Bost—of Jeune et Jolie and Campfire—are keeping Carlsbad on the culinary radar with their latest creation housed in an 8,000-square-foot former boogie board factory. This is where people come to grab-and-go or spend the entire day with a laptop open ordering brioche French toast and fresh pastries for breakfast, grain bowls and wood-fired sandwiches for lunch, and pizzas and rotisserie chicken for dinner. Despite the casual vibe, there’s an elevated approach to the menu with homemade bread, pasta, and pastries. The street-facing patio and full bar make it easy to lose track of time.

It's always brunch time at his small Laguna Beach institution where you'll find reasonably priced breakfast-to-lunch (okay, brunch) items that include everything from signature quiches, poached eggs, and homemade granolas, to healthy salads, homemade soups, quesadillas, and pizza. All the sweets are homemade, including the megasize brownies. There are some gluten-free and vegetarian items, too, including a Zinc Rubenesque on rye bread made with beets. A large beverage menu includes lattes, lemonade, beer, mimosas, and red and white wines by the glass.

Fresh flowers and innovative cuisine that even the staff struggle to characterize are this attractive café's hallmarks. Local ingredients pepper the menu, giving a Sedona twist to Continental fare; favorites include pecan-crusted, Sedona-raised trout with Dijon sauce and mesquite-crusted rack of lamb. Appealing vegetarian plates are also available, and scrumptious desserts include a phenomenal crème brûlée and a marzipan-filled poached pear with caramel sauce.

A barnlike space full of cheerful Mexican tiles and folk-art masks, Picante is a find for anyone seeking good Cal-Mex food for a song. The masa is freshly ground for the tortillas and tamales, the salsas are complex, and the flavor combinations are inventive.