The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near 188 Cuchifritos
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Rank 1. 188 Cuchifritos
Caribbean
At this Fordham Heights lunch counter, the air snaps with the sound of hot oil and the smell of pork frying in practiced hands. The multigenerational crowd knows what they came for, and 188 Cuchifritos delivers it without ceremony.
- Eater 2026 · The Best Classic Restaurants in NYC
- The New York Times 2026 · #87 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 2. Mario's Restaurant
Historic Italian
- Eater 2026 · The Best Classic Restaurants in NYC
- Grub Street 2026 · The 40 Best Restaurants for Kids (and Parents!)
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Rank 3. Çka Ka Qëllue
Albanian
Ramiz Kukaj's rustic Albanian dining room, decorated with folk photographs and traditional garb, serves fortifying meat and dairy dishes in the spirit of village hospitality. Burek and sarma arrive simple and comforting, built on bread, cheese, and the promise implied by the restaurant's name: whatever we have, we share.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times 2026 · #96 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 4. Trattoria Tra Di Noi
Italian
Crimson walls and red-checked cloth create the intimacy of a confidence shared; Chef Marco Coletta runs this Arthur Avenue trattoria with operatic precision, consulting the nightly blackboard for handmade spaghetti alla chitarra crowned with meatballs and pomodoro, ricotta cheesecake to close. A place that makes you feel like the secret is yours alone.
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Rank 5. Casa Della Mozzarella
Old-School Italian
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Rank 6. Prince Coffee House
Turkish Coffee
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Rank 7. Buunni Coffee
Ethiopian Coffee
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Rank 8. Tobalá
Oaxacan Mexican
A dimly lit room in Riverdale lined with Oaxacan pottery and clay masks sets the stage for cooking that respects tradition without performing it. House-made corn tortillas arrive with salsa verde and chile de árbol; the barbacoa tacos showcase lamb in its plainest form, while duck enmoladas swim in a dark mole negro layered with fruit and chiles. A focused mezcal program anchors the drinks.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Grub Street 2026 · The 40 Best Restaurants for Kids (and Parents!)
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Rank 9. Lechonera La Piraña
Puerto Rican Caribbean
- The Infatuation #23 · The 25 Best Restaurants In NYC
- Time Out 2026 · The 45 best restaurants in NYC right now
- Eater 2026 · The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 10. Cocina Consuelo
Mexican
In a snug dining room that feels like a well-kept secret, Karina Garcia and her husband Eduardo Rodriguez serve food with the intimacy of their original Harlem supper club. The coarse corn tortillas and birria built around a prehistoric marrow bone suggest a kitchen comfortable with bold, unpretentious gestures.
- The Infatuation #9 · The 25 Best Restaurants In NYC
- Eater The Best Breakfasts in New York
- Eater 2026 · Where to Eat Brunch in New York City
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Rank 11. Dukagjini Burek
Albanian
A portrait of Mother Teresa presides over this Bronx counter where craggy phyllo pies filled with beef, feta, or spinach crackle and flake beneath your teeth. The burek here makes a compelling argument against pizza's dominance.
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Rank 12. Sylvia’s
Southern
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · America's Classics: New York State
- Eater 2026 · The Best Classic Restaurants in NYC
- Time Out 2026 · The 45 best restaurants in NYC right now
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Rank 13. Ajo y Oregano
Dominican, Caribbean
A dining room of pink shutters and palm-green walls dishes up Puerto Rican stews in metal pots, their richness settling into your bones with each spoonful. The cuerito crackles audibly, and mofongo arrives as a sculptural pile of plantains crowned with shrimp, garlic sauce pooling at its base.
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Rank 14. Patricia's
Italian
Exposed brick and high ceilings frame Patricia's spare take on Italian cooking, where a brick oven yields pizzas with properly charred crusts and the wine list surprises with obscure varietals. The seafood risotto arrives creamy and studded with mussels, clams, and squid—a dish that suggests ambition beyond the neighborhood trattoria.
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Rank 15. MAMA'S TOO!
Sicilian Pizza
- Time Out The Cacio e Pepe · The 18 best pizzas in the world right now
- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · #4 · 50 Top Pizza Slice USA
- Time Out 2026 · The 45 best restaurants in NYC right now
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Rank 17. Kingston Tropical
Jamaican, Caribbean
For more than fifty years, Kingston Tropical has supplied Wakefield with Jamaican patties that hold their shape without sacrificing flake, each one marigold-bright and thyme-scented. The chicken filling justifies the pilgrimage alone, best consumed on a concrete bench while the No. 2 train announces itself overhead.
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Rank 18. Sugar Monk
Cocktail Bar
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Rank 20. Melba's
Southern
Melba Wilson's Harlem dining room glows with the ease of a neighborhood gathering place, where Southern cooking feels both rooted and inventive. The fried chicken arrives darkly bronzed alongside eggnog waffles; mini-burgers swim in smoky-sweet sauce; spring rolls cradle black-eyed peas and collards. A fruit cobbler closes the meal with unironic comfort.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outsdanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
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Rank 21. Bo's Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
- Eater The Best Bagels in New York City
- Time Out The 18 best bagels in NYC
- The Infatuation #5 · The 19 Best Bagels In NYC, Ranked
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Rank 23. Oso
Mexican
A brick storefront near City College turns out Mexico City street food with real conviction—al pastor tacos with proper char, enchiladas verde blanketed in Oaxaca cheese, tortillas pressed fresh and tender behind an open kitchen. The menu is short and focused; the churros with chocolate and cinnamon caramel are reason enough to return.
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Rank 25. Seis Vecinos
Central American Mexican
A corner room in a classic Bronx building fills with afternoon light and the smell of charred corn. The kitchen moves between Central American traditions—papusas, baleadas, enchiladas topped with smoky red sauce—while guacamole is mashed tableside in a molcajete. The welcome is genuine, the cooking straightforward, the sense of place unforced.
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Rank 26. Bo's Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
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Rank 28. La Morada
Mexican
- The Infatuation Mole Poblano · 25 Iconic Dishes That Define New York
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
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Rank 30. Charles Pan-Fried Chicken
Southern
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Charles Gabriel
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Charles Gabriel
- Eater 2026 · The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 31. Sugar Hill Creamery
Dessert
A small-batch shop on Lenox Avenue where the ice cream names—"sweet socialism," "chairperson of the board"—announce themselves like inside jokes, each flavor a minor act of whimsy. The Madagascar chocolate and graham-cracker-blueberry combinations suggest a kitchen unafraid of specificity, which is its own kind of charm.
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Rank 33. Louie & Ernie's Pizza
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 34. Xi'an Famous Foods
Xi'an-Style
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Rank 35. Make My Cake
Southern Bakery
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Rank 36. Accra Express Restaurant
West African, Ghanaian
A modest steam-table spot on 125th Street celebrates jollof rice with uncompromising fervor, the grains smoking and insistent alongside iron-red stew that refuses restraint. The portions suggest abundance over refinement, a philosophy that feels honest in its directness.
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- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
- Time Out #30 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now
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Rank 38. Angel
New American
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Rank 39. Lechonera La Isla
Caribbean
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Rank 40. Barawine
Contemporary
Fabrice Warin's dining room on Lenox Avenue draws in passersby with whitewashed walls that do double duty as wine racks, a communal bar, and a quieter back space where the mood settles. The menu refuses easy categories—quinoa salads and braised lamb shanks coexist without apology, each executed with equal conviction.
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Rank 41. Charles Pan-Fried Chicken
Southern
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Charles Gabriel
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Charles Gabriel
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Rank 43. Make My Cake
Southern
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Rank 44. Taco Mix
Mexican
At Taco Mix, a narrow Harlem counter serves meat-forward tacos that spill past their tortillas—cecina, suadero, barbacoa with caramelized edges, and al pastor carved from the spit with pineapple. You eat standing at a ledge, shedding cilantro, in a space that has refined nothing but the fundamentals.
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Rank 47. Tamales Lupita
Mexican
The narrow storefront on East 112th operates on the principle of arrival and luck: come early or settle for what remains of the day's tamales. Mole-streaked masa and lard-rich Oaxaqueño varieties emerge from their wrappings with the texture of custard, each one a small argument for restraint in seasoning.
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Rank 48. Sushi Noz
Sushi
Chef Nozomu Abe orchestrates an intimate omakase where every tool and gesture recalls a Japanese refuge, moving from silken cooked fish to jewel-like sushi with ceremonial precision. Booking requires patience for his limited dates, but the gratitude extended by kimono-dressed staff justifies the pilgrimage.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Vogue 2026 · A Definitive Guide to the Best Omakase in New York City
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Rank 49. Cocotazo
Puerto Rican
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Rank 50. Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too
Southern
A narrow storefront on 110th Street devoted to unapologetic Southern indulgence: baked turkey wings, Louisiana catfish, and fried chicken arrive alongside candied yams and collard greens, while house-made peach cobbler and sweet potato pie suggest the kitchen understands that dessert is not optional here.
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Rank 52. Daniel
French
Daniel Boulud's Upper East Side temple to French refinement has softened its formality with a welcoming red-carpet entrance and art-lined dining room. The kitchen's rigorously composed dishes and decades-loyal service staff remain uncompromising in their precision.
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Rank 53. Essential By Christophe
Contemporary French
Heavy iron doors open onto a sleek townhouse dining room where chef Christophe Bellanca marries French technique with Asian inflection—white asparagus with bergamot crème and herb vinaigrette, blue prawns with genmaicha tuille, black sea bass gilded in turmeric. The space hums with quiet confidence.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Christophe Bellanca
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Rank 55. Per Se
Contemporary French
Thomas Keller's tasting menu unfolds with unhurried elegance in a soaring room overlooking Central Park, each course a precise study in seasonal restraint. The kitchen's confidence—evident in signatures like Oysters and Pearls—never overwhelms; service orchestrates the meal with quiet grace.
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The open kitchen at this Astoria taverna crackles with the rhythm of a neighborhood institution. Spinach pie arrives in flaky, sesame-studded sheets; whole branzino glistens under olive oil and herbs. It's the kind of place where servers slip into Greek if you seem to belong, where the food tastes like it knows exactly what it's doing and nothing more.
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Rank 57. Hamido Seafood
Egyptian Seafood
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Rank 58. Jean‑Georges
French
Vongerichten's flagship overlooks Central Park with the confidence of a chef who has earned it. The egg toast with caviar arrives as prologue to a menu that pivots between French discipline and global improvisation—tomatillo with lemon verbena, black truffle with za'atar—each plate proposing a conversation between technique and audacity. This is cooking that knows what it is.
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Rank 59. FIELDTRIP Harlem
NY Comfort Food
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
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Rank 60. Pizzeria La Rosa
NY-Style
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Rank 61. AbuQir
Egyptian Seafood
At this Astoria seafood counter, fish arrive so fresh they stare back before the griddle claims them in smoke and wheat bran crust. The tagine swells with shrimp the size of blossoms, the pita exhales steam, and even the rice glows with seafood stock.
- The New York Times 2026 · #17 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
- Grub Street 2026 · The 40 Best Restaurants for Kids (and Parents!)
- Eater 2026 · The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 62. Le Bernardin
Seafood
A Midtown room where diamond necklaces catch the light and Eric Ripert's kitchen moves with quiet confidence through pristine seafood—yellowfin tuna pounded thin over foie gras toast, salmon with horseradish emulsion—finished by a dark chocolate tart that tastes like technique perfected. French classicism with global reach, no tasting menu required.
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Rank 63. Fieldtrip
NY Comfort Food
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
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Rank 64. Sushi by Sea
Sushi
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Rank 65. Abyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant
Traditional Ethiopian
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Rank 66. Masa
Sushi
The roar of Columbus Circle dissolves into silence at a hinoki counter where Masa Takayama orchestrates omakase with balletic precision. Truffles and caviar accent each piece—foie gras nigiri, abalone so tender it dissolves—gestures that walk the edge between refinement and indulgence. It's an experience that feels less like dinner than ceremony.
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Japanese Cuisine Restaurant
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Rank 67. Cafe Sabarsky
Austrian Bakery
A Vienna transplant tucked into a Beaux Arts mansion on Museum Mile, all dark wood paneling and Otto Wagner textiles. The wiener schnitzel and Hungarian beef goulash anchor the menu, but the pastries—Linzer torte, Sachertorte, a layered feuilletine—are what justify the pilgrimage.
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Rank 68. Kunafa Bites
Dessert
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Rank 69. Café Boulud
Contemporary French
A corner room on the Upper East Side with Art Deco polish hosts classical French cooking refined through seasonal technique and global inflection. Black sea bass wrapped in potato, vegetables in delicate balance, a tarte Tatin that knows its purpose—Paumier's kitchen executes the fundamentals with quiet confidence.
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Rank 71. Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi
Pan-African
At Lincoln Center, Tatiana commands a room of dark wood and deliberate glamour where the pre-theater crowd mingles with the curious; Chef Kwame Onwuachi's West African-inflected menu—egusi dumplings, a towering pot of braised oxtail—reads like an edible autobiography, grounded and generous.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- The Infatuation Infatuation’s Highest-Rated Restaurants In America
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Rank 72. Artion Bakery Patisserie
Greek Bakery
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Rank 73. The Bar Room at the Modern
New American
The dining room floats within MoMA's architectural clarity, all clean lines and sculptural views. Here the kitchen constructs dishes of deliberate restraint—a seed cracker gilded with aged cheddar and butternut squash butter, turbot roasted on the bone in parmesan cream—each component audible in conversation. It is a place that understands that luxury, at its best, whispers.
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Rank 74. Xi'an Famous Foods
Xi'an-Style
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Rank 75. Between the Bagel
Bakery
- Eater The Best Bagels in New York City
- BagelUp #13 · The Definitive 30 Best Bagel Shops in New York City
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Rank 76. The Mark Restaurant
French
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- The Infatuation The Best Bakeries in NYC
- The Infatuation Black and White Cookie · 25 Iconic Dishes That Define New York
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- BagelUp #2 · The Definitive 30 Best Bagel Shops in New York City
- The New York Times The 16 Best Bagels in New York City Right Now
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Rank 79. Aquavit
Swedish, Scandinavian, Tasting
Emma Bengtsson orchestrates a lean, contemporary vision of Nordic cooking in a sleek dining room where every detail—from the slate platters to the torched North Sea cod with mussel foam—reads as deliberate. Duck breast and compressed leg meat arrive tableside with beet jus; dessert might pivot to green apple and fennel with smoked crème fraîche. Precision and restraint feel like the point.
- AAA Five Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Emma Bengtsson
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Rank 80. Casa Tua
Italian
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Rank 81. Gabriel Kreuther
Alsatian French
Chef Gabriel Kreuther's cavernous showroom near Bryant Park serves Alsatian cooking with French precision and global reach, from warm kugelhopf to smoked sturgeon tart. Cream banquettes, a roving cheese trolley and an armada of servers evoke old-world fine dining.
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Rank 82. Dagon
Middle Eastern
Light floods through corner windows into a teal-tinged room where an off-center bar and long counter invite lingering. Middle Eastern flavors emerge across fresh breads, chicken liver mousse with date syrup, and lamb-filled cigars that taste best with tahini.
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Rank 83. Al Badawi
Palestinian
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Rank 84. Dar Lbahja
Moroccan
- The New York Times 2026 · #78 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
- The New York Times 2025 · Chicken Bastilla · Our New York Restaurant Critic Names Her Favorite Dishes This Year
- The Infatuation 2025 · #12 · NYC’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 85. Chick Chick
Korean
Chef Jun Park's narrow Upper West Side corner showcases Korean fried chicken with crisp amber skin glazed in black pepper soy. Open kitchen views and wood-lined walls frame plates of fried rice studded with sausage, tobiko, and kimchi.
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Rank 86. The Leopard at des Artistes
Traditional Italian
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Rank 87. Le Veau d'Or
Classic French
Dark wood and red banquettes create a jewel-box intimacy where waiters glide between closely set tables as if conducting a ritual from 1937. Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr have restored this classic French bistro to its essentials—pâté en croûte, buttery poulet à l'estragon, warm chocolate gratin—with the confidence of men who know exactly what they're reviving.
- 50 Best 2025 · #10 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- Condé Nast Traveler 2024 · The best new restaurants in the world
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Winner · Outstanding Restaurateur · Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr
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Rank 88. Xi'an Famous Foods
Xi'an-Style
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Rank 89. Tal Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
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On Madison Avenue's quieter stretch, Glace proffers ice cream sandwiches built from house-made macarons and sundaes anchored by Nutella or hot chocolate, each a small architectural gesture toward indulgence. The operation extends to a roving truck, because ambition here means meeting the city wherever it goes.
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Rank 91. Tal Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
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Rank 92. YingTao
Chinese
In a modest Hell's Kitchen corner, Chef Emily Yuen executes Chinese cuisine with both precision and playfulness. Wontons swim in broth, black cod rests on silken tofu with mala heat, and playful riffs on fried chicken offset delicate finales like coconut nian gao. The curved counter frames an open kitchen where ambition and restraint move in careful balance.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Chinese Cuisine Restaurant
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Rank 93. Dubrovnik
Croatian
A Michelin-selected Croatian restaurant where custom woodwork matches the kitchen's precision—branzino from the wood-fired grill arrives with smoky vegetables and broccoli rabe risotto. Live music some nights adds to the appeal of this New Rochelle find.
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Rank 94. Marea
Seafood Italian
Central Park South's power crowd gathers in an airy rosewood dining room where the scene matches the ambition. Marea's seafood-focused Italian menu builds from raw fish—branzino scattered with pistachio and crispy garlic—through handmade pastas and delicate desserts that justify the elegance around you.
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Rank 95. Sandro’s
Italian
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Rank 97. Barney Greengrass
Deli, Appetizing, Breakfast
A venerable appetizing counter on the Upper West Side where smoked sturgeon—meaty yet buttery, cut with laser precision—is treated as the delicacy it has been for generations. The fish arrives the same way every time: a gesture of consistency that feels almost liturgical in a city that devours and discards.
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Rank 98. Peck Peck Korean Fried Chicken
Fried Chicken Korean
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Rank 99. Majorelle
French
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Rank 100. The Phraya
Contemporary Thai
Red lanterns cast the Upper East Side in Bangkok light at Tha Phraya, where regional Thai cooking moves beyond green curry into Northern sausage spring rolls and khao soi, Southern Phuket curries, and zabb hang—rice noodles tangled with pork and meatballs in house-made brown sauce. Cocktails named for temple festival games complete the immersion.