6216 Best Restaurants in USA

Arguably the best restaurant inside the bustling 222 Market food hall, and one of the top dining destinations in the city, this beautifully designed contemporary seafood restaurant with a marble-top bar and striking oyster-shell chandeliers is a winning choice for anything from a snack of oysters on the half shell to a grand feast. Consider sharing a couple of starters—maybe charred carrots with white-bean hummus and local mussels, before diving into more substantial dishes, like whole Dungeness crab with brown butter, lemon, and capers.

With its hip, Pacific Northwest–chic interior and a patio that feels more like a secret garden, Chelsea's Kitchen can easily make you forget you're dining in the desert. Expect a wait on the weekends but don't fret: it's an opportunity to grab a drink on the patio bar. Specials are good and change frequently, but regulars love the shrimp ceviche, burgers, and pan-fried chicken.

A favorite for an elegant working lunch, this cozy gem spotlights southern French cooking and serves lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. On the menu, you will find classic French fare such as duck confit, steak and fries, and mussels. The dining space consists of three distinct spaces: a quaint indoor dining room with vintage French art, a picturesque patio surrounded by greenery, and a third dining room with an active fireplace in the winter for a cozy, romantic vibe. 

The menu may be nearly illegible, the space minuscule, and locating the tucked-away location like finding Waldo, but the food is almost always sublime. Each night only two appetizers, two entrées (like snapper with white wine sauce or gnocchi with chanterelles), and two desserts are offered. Sharing multiple dishes is a good option.  If the dining room feels too snug, head to the outdoor patio, perfect for dinner or brunch.

Alice Waters's legendary eatery, often considered the birthplace of California cuisine, first opened its doors in 1971. It's still known for a passionate dedication to locally sourced heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables, heritage breeds, and ethically farmed or foraged ingredients. The restaurant offers formal prix-fixe menus and personal service, while its upstairs café serves simpler fare in a more casual setting. Both menus change daily, and legions of loyal fans insist that Chez Panisse lives up to its reputation. Reservations for both dining rooms are practically essential.

Street food from hot zones around the equator is how this restaurant describes its unique cuisine, served family-style. There's also a sushi bar and imaginative drink list, including the Chinopolitan, a cosmo garnished with dry ice. Don't forget your hearing aid, because this place is a scene all week long, especially during happy hour.

Pronounced cho-pez, it looks like a run-of-the-mill adobe building from the outside, but inside the 150-year-old former Benavidez homestead you'll find happy locals and many turistas eating well-seasoned Mexican food and drinking ice-cold beer and tasty margaritas. Bikers join the convivial crowd in the bar next door; like the restaurant, it's still owned by the Benavidez family. It's worth the 15-mi drive south from Old Mesilla for the local flavor.

Tucked beside the popular Glover Street Market, this bakery is justly renowned for both savory and sweet treats, including—most famously—cinnamon "twisps" (the bakery's own decadent version of cinnamon rolls). Note that they often sell out by late morning, so arrive early if you want to get one. There are also smoothies, milk shakes, and build-your-own sandwiches.

There are rooms with a view, and then there's this view: uninterrupted sea from a wraparound veranda at the southern end of Humiston Park. Even better, the food here is a straightforward, delicious celebration of fresh and fabulous. The emphasis is on Florida seafood (don't miss the fresh snapper), with organic and gluten-free touches. Sunset lovers (and bargain hunters) rejoice over the two-course prix-fixe menu Monday through Thursday from 5 to 6 pm. A kids' menu is available.

This upscale gastropub chain just a block from the convention center offers more than 40 beers on tap and loads of bottles. The high ceilings, reclaimed wood walls, and copper bar give the large spot a warm, rustic feel. Expect standard American pub comfort food with a few upscale plates like grilled ahi tuna and miso-glazed salmon. There's also a solid brick-oven-pizza selection. It gets a nice crowd, but you never feel crowded in the spacious bar–dining room. The jumping happy hour offers great prices.

Shaped like a giant fried-clam box, this small roadside stand is the best place in the region to sample Ipswich's famous bivalves. Since 1935 locals and tourists have been lining up in droves for clams, oysters, scallops, and onion rings.

For more than a half century, this shack has been known for speedy service and great takeout fare, like its traditional boiled lobster dinners and lobster rolls on freshly baked buns. Eat at one of several wooden picnic tables that overlook the Kennebunk River. There’s even a lemonade stand to complete the experience.

One of local restaurateur Larry McGuire's white-hot eateries, Clark’s has occupied a top seat in the repertoire of Austin's best restaurants since its 2012 debut. The hip, and decidedly cozy, oyster bar tucked into a modest corner lot of West 6th has all the appeal of a sophisticated seafood restaurant, with the comfort of a neighborhood bistro. You'll find a pristine, daily rotation of raw oysters served with fresh horseradish, house cocktail sauce, and a tangy mignonette. The lobster roll is a signature home run, but the house burger is a surprising favorite, which spikes in popularity during the daily happy hour, when burgers and martinis are all half-off.

Ski bunnies and shredders flock to this laid-back beach house downtown offering one of Aspen's best après-ski experiences. The crisp white walls and warm wood weathered by salt and sand offer a cozy spot to sip wine and clam chowder. A large table near the fireplace or a tucked-away corner booth are prime spots to share extravagant caviar, red snapper ceviche, or a lobster roll with a piled-high stack of shoestring fries. A fish tank and open kitchen add to the appeal. 

Drinks at a bar favored by the sailing crowd, intimate dinners by the fire, and relaxing lunches overlooking Newport Harbor are a few of the experiences possible at this multilevel complex. The first-floor Candy Store serves casual fare and has a sushi bar; the second-floor offers casual dining in the Bistro and cocktails in the Midway Bar; and the Summer Porch and 12 Metre Yacht Club Room on the third floor have elegant fine dining requiring proper dress. The Sky Bar serves Newport's most expensive cocktail, Newport Water, made with top-shelf Champagne, Grand Marnier, and St. Germain poured over ice.

Have a seat at a picnic table overlooking Haynes Inlet at Oregon's largest oyster farm, which dates to 1981 and is located a few miles north of North Bend proper and fairly close to the Horsfall area of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. At this picturesque, laid-back restaurant, bivalves are the star attraction and are available served raw, in a chowder with smoked bacon, in tacos, chicken-fried, and in po'boys. Salmon burgers, albacore ahi, and other fresh-caught fish are served as well, and you can also buy your seafood and other snacks to go from the on-site market and deli.

A tried-and-true destination for authentic Indian cuisine, Clay Pit has developed a devoted following in Austin since opening in 1998. Wash down some of their signature curried mussels with garlic and red wine sauce with one of their sweet lassi drinks. The historic (and haunted) Bertram Building (a favorite on downtown ghost tours) is romantic and stately and just a few blocks from the Capitol, so lunch crowds attract everyone from state and university workers to downtown tourists.

Part of the fun of dining in this handsome, bi-level restaurant with huge windows overlooking the bay is watching—and listening to—the big posse of sea lions gamboling about on the docks out back, but Clearwater also serves terrifically good seafood. You can't go wrong with any of the shareable starters, including tuna poke tacos and quinoa-crusted avocado fries, but save room for one or two of the signature mains—maybe jumbo sea scallops with green pea risotto and a blood orange–balsamic reduction or steak with a miso-cilantro sauce.

In a former flour mill with great views of the Spokane River, Clink's has been a Spokane institution since 1974. The seafood, steaks, and prime rib are excellent; the Broadway pea salad, French onion soup, and beer-battered fish-and-chips are all popular at lunch. Some favorite dessert choices include seasonal bread pudding, molten chocolate cake, and key lime pie.

At this casual retro-diner restaurant, weekend brunch brings a line down the street for what many believe to be the best blueberry pancakes in the city, if not the whole country. Lunch and dinner options include a variety of burgers, sandwiches, and salads—and you can get those pancakes at dinner, too, without as long a wait.

Some of the best bites come from the smallest spots, and that's especially true at Clive's Cafe. This local gem serves hearty plates of some of the best Jamaican food in Miami. Each entrée, from curried goat to jerk chicken, is piled high and features your choice of two sides, such as the popular rice and peas or macaroni salad. Don't forget to grab a spicy beef patty for the road.

Built in 1888 as a US Life-Saving Service Station, this restaurant has been nearly destroyed twice by storms—by Hurricane Bob in 1991 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Regardless, the dining area has spectacular views of the ocean, the roof deck is a great hangout (try the frozen Dark 'n Stormy cocktail), and the patio is about as close to the sea as you could be without getting wet.

Yachts in the marina nose right up against the outdoor dining deck, and large windows frame the harbor in the elegant indoor dining room and casual bar. Complementing the views are the exceptional sandwiches, salads, pizzas, and tacos served at lunch, and the oysters, lobster, sushi, and steaks served at dinner. If it's a special occasion, go for the ultimate surf-and-turf meal: a 10-ounce Wagyu strip steak with butter-poached lobster.

Chef-owned restaurants are common in New Orleans, but this one builds on owner Donald Link's family heritage as he, working with co-owner Stephen Stryjewski (who received a James Beard Award for his work here), prepares Cajun dishes he learned to cook at his grandfather's knee. The fried boudin with pickled peppers is a must—trust us on this one—as well as the wood-fired oysters with chili garlic butter. Then move on to the rabbit and dumplings, and a hearty Louisiana cochon (pork) with turnips, cracklings, and cabbage. Despite the pork-centric reputation, all the vegetable sides, especially the braised collard greens, are excellent.

Around the corner from its big brother Cochon, Butcher packs its own Cajun punch with an upscale sandwich menu that dials up the flavor on local classics. With house-cured meats and olive salad, the muffuletta reveals exactly how delicious Italian-Creole can be, though the pork-belly sandwich, with refreshing mint and cucumber, also brings customers back. In addition to sandwiches, there are meaty small plates and a rotating selection of wines, beers, and well-made cocktails. There are a few tall tables for dining in, or you can get your sandwich to go. Before leaving, stock up on boudin, bacon pralines, and other to-go Cajun delicacies—all much better souvenirs than anything for sale on Bourbon Street.

There was great excitement in summer 2020, when the second Colada Shop opened, an extension of its very popular first branch in Northwest D.C. Its breakfast menu, in particular, is extensive and appealing, bringing a Cuban twist to familiar-sounding offerings and serving a wide variety of coffees, including café con leche and café bonbon, made with condensed milk. And while it may feel strange to have baked eggs for dinner rather than breakfast, it’s certainly worth breaking with convention for the sake of the chorizo and chickpea calderos. If you’ve never had sweet plantains before, this is a great place to try them. Finish your meal with churros, and you’ll be thoroughly satisfied.

There’s a fight in Los Angeles over who created the French dip sandwich. The first contender is Cole’s, whose sign on the door says it's the originator of the salty, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth meats. The restaurant opened in 1908 and today is still going strong with dark lighting, delicious sandwiches, and a secret speakeasy called the Varnish hidden in the back.

The men’s room nods to the famous clientele of the past with plaques over the urinals notifying bathroom goers that Charles Bukowski and Mickey Cohen both "pissed here.”

You'd never guess by the nondescript exterior and the location in an old pineapple cannery-cum-strip-mall, but this restaurant has the feel of a hip urban eatery and is popular with locals for breakfast and lunch, as well as happy hour and dinner—when the bar side opens, the candles come out, and it's time for martinis and fresh fish.