The Top 100 Restaurants Near The Garden
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Rank 2. 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 3. Hutong
Chinese
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Rank 4. Caviar Russe
Contemporary French
A marble staircase ascends to this Madison Avenue perch where caviar—from modest Pacific Sturgeon to thousand-dollar Osetra tins—anchors a French-inflected menu of classical refinement. Agnolotti stuffed with chestnuts yields to truffle foam; Dover sole arrives delicately mousse-filled and dressed in curry cream. The experience traffics entirely in luxe.
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Rank 5. The Grill
American
The dining room gleams with the burnished confidence of old money and new ambition. Crab cakes arrive topped with pan-fried potatoes; duck skin crackles under the knife, yielding to silky fat beneath. This is American comfort as theater—tableside ceremony, lemon chiffon cake—for those accustomed to getting what they want.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater 2026 · The Best Steakhouses in New York City
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Rank 6. Four Twenty Five
Contemporary
Benno and Vongerichten's Park Avenue dining room floods with daylight and restraint, a glamorous stage for cooking that roams Italy, France, and Asia without apology. A foie gras arrives with blood orange and warm spiced madeleines; even asparagus reads as a statement, while the chocolate tart at meal's end—layered with black cardamom and tonka—justifies its prominence.
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Grub Street 2025 · The 43 Best Restaurants in New York
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Rank 7. Majorelle
French
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Rank 9. Le Jardinier
French
Chef Alain Verzeroli's dining room glows with olive velvet and trailing plants, a verdant setting that mirrors his vegetables-first approach to the plate. Grilled octopus arrives with green olives and romesco; salmon is coaxed with smoked chili and pak choi; the lemon tart carries a whisper of tarragon.
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Rank 10. 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 11. Le Rock
Brasserie French
Dim Art Deco glamour at street level in Rockefeller Center, where the Frenchette team serves a brasserie menu of seafood platters, duck confit with lentils, and profiteroles glossed in buckwheat honey fudge with genuine French technique and tableside theatricality. The bar moves at a clip; the crowds haven't stopped.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Winner · Outstanding Restaurateur · Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants in Midtown
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Simon Kim's three-station bar splits its ambitions neatly: wine, whiskey, martinis, each corner staked out with focused intent. The martini station feels like the declaration of purpose, where technique and clarity matter more than theater.
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Rank 13. Stretch Pizza
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 14. Oceana
Modern Seafood
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Rank 15. Aretsky's Patroon
New American
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Rank 16. COTE 550
Korean
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Rank 17. 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 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Kwame Onwuachi
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
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Rank 18. Beyond Sushi
Vegan Sushi
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Rank 19. Gallaghers
Steakhouse
A Midtown steakhouse since the late 1920s, Gallaghers grilss USDA Prime beef over hickory while its wood-paneled room hums with the rhythms of New York theatre-goers and regulars. Bone-in ribeyes arrive tender and charred; the dry-aged meat locker gleams behind glass like an artifact of steakhouse faith.
- World's 101 Best #87 · World's Best Steak Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater 2026 · The Best Steakhouses in New York City
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Rank 21. Tán
Mexican
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · World's Best Brunch Venue
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · United States' Best Restaurant
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Winner · North America's Best Brunch Venue
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Rank 23. Armani/Ristorante
Italian
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Rank 24. Sushi Yasuda
Sushi
At Sushi Yasuda, honey-toned wood and bamboo offer the only warmth in a deliberately austere room where punctuality is non-negotiable. The itamae controls your meal from behind the counter, assembling classical nigiri—bluefin, uni, sayori with shiso—with deliberate care that lets each piece's robust flavor speak. The place ignores fashion and rewards those willing to submit to its rhythms.
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Rank 25. Ai Fiori
Italian
Fifth Avenue views and a marble bar set the stage for polished Italian cooking—Hiramasa crudo with sunflower cream, handmade pasta with braised rabbit. Service and linens match the formal room's marble and leather restraint.
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Rank 26. Lungi
Sri Lankan Indian
At Lungi, chef Albin Vincent channels his grandmother's kitchen in Kanyakumari and Sri Lanka through dishes like pan-fried kingfish on banana leaf with fried makrut lime, and kothu roti—roti chopped and scrambled with meat and egg. The Upper East Side room hums with energy, and a carrot halwa spiked with warming spices closes the meal with grace.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Grub Street 2025 · The 43 Best Restaurants in New York
- The New York Times 2026 · #59 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 27. Santi
Contemporary Italian
Michael White's Mediterranean vision inhabits a Midtown space that somehow feels intimate despite its scale. Orecchiette with blue crab and sea urchin, pan-roasted veal chop with charred radicchio, and Delizie al Limone—a limoncello-soaked sponge cake—trace a line from the Amalfi Coast to your table. The cooking is assured, unhurried, made for lingering.
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Rank 28. The Leopard at des Artistes
Traditional Italian
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Rank 29. Lobster Club
Japanese
The old Four Seasons room has become a mod Japanese brasserie with white onyx bar and hot-pink walls lined with art. Murakami's teppanyaki—scallops brushed with savory glaze and sesame, charred king oyster mushrooms—shares the menu with delicate black bass in yuzu sauce. The bar stocks over thirty Japanese whiskeys, each bottle a small argument about what elegance should taste like.
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Rank 30. The Lambs Club
Steakhouse
A limestone fireplace anchors black walls and scarlet booths in this Midtown steakhouse where power brokers gather before the theater district lights up. Dry-aged beef arrives with an arsenal of sauces, but the kitchen also excels at seared scallops in clam chowder broth and lamb saddle with chanterelles. Chrome and red leather conspire to make excess feel inevitable, even necessary.
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants Around Times Square
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Rank 31. Don Antonio
Neapolitan Pizza
A wood-fired outpost of a Neapolitan institution, Don Antonio channels four generations of pizza-making into dishes like the Montanara Starita—fried dough topped with house tomato sauce, smoked mozzarella, and basil—and frittatine, where fried spaghetti scraps meet ham and Buffalo mozzarella. The kitchen's lineage shows in every char and fold.
- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · #7 · 50 Top Pizza USA
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants Around Times Square
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Rank 32. Ánimo!
Mexican
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Rank 33. Xi'an Famous Foods
Xi'an-Style
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Rank 34. Cuerno
Mexican
- Eater 2026 · The Best Steakhouses in New York City
- The New York Times 2025 · Taco Richi · Our New York Restaurant Critic Names Her Favorite Dishes This Year
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Rank 35. Xi'an Famous Foods
Xi'an-Style
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Rank 36. hakubai
Japanese
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Rank 37. Épicerie Boulud
French
- International Baking Industry Expo 2025 · Winner: Baguette · World Bread Awards USA · Jeremy Canut
- Eater The Best Croissants in NYC
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- Eater 2026 · The Best Classic Restaurants in NYC
- Eater 2026 · The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants in Midtown
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Rank 39. HWARO
Korean
An unmarked counter on the second floor of a Midtown steakhouse, where Chef Sungchul Shim orchestrates a twenty-two-seat fusion of Korean flavor and French precision across a composed, unhurried evening. The brown butter miso opens into wild amberjack, abalone, and white soy custard with caviar, each plate a small study in restraint and technique.
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Rank 40. Benoit
Bistro French
The dining room glows with red velvet and mirrors, oak panels holding decades of appetite; Alain Ducasse's bistro settles into cassoulet and pâté en croûte like an old argument finally resolved. The rum baba arrives fluffy and drenched, a dessert that tastes less like nostalgia than like proof that some pleasures need no reinvention.
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Rank 41. Keens Steakhouse
Steakhouse
Dark paneled rooms and bow-tied waiters define this 1905 steakhouse where the mutton chop and porterhouse arrive with the weight of old New York still clinging to them. The wedge salad alone—blue cheese funk meeting fresh crunch and lardons—suggests a kitchen that understands restraint and satisfaction in equal measure.
- World's 101 Best #68 · World's Best Steak Restaurants
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Winner · Timeless U.S. Award
- Eater 2026 · The Best Steakhouses in New York City
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Rank 42. Chalong
Southern Thai
A narrow Hell's Kitchen counter lined with dark wood and rattan fixtures draws the pre-show crowd for Southern Thai shared plates. The kitchen moves confidently through curries and noodles, but the real argument is between the coconut-crusted shrimp and the garlic-braised ribs—both best followed by mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream, a dessert that justifies skipping the appetizers.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Nate Limwong
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants Around Times Square
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Rank 43. Chola
Southern Indian
Chola's dining room—polished wood, cream walls, attentive service—frames southern Indian coastal cooking with particular grace. A Goan fish curry perfumed with coconut and tamarind, paired with Chettinad chicken and curry-leaf rice, reveals both restraint and confidence.
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Rank 44. Cafe Commerce
Contemporary New American
A revived neighborhood classic transplanted to the Upper East Side, where Harold Moore plates contemporary American cooking with French and Italian traces—sea scallops, beef carpaccio, steak Diane alongside returning signatures like sweet potato tortellini. The room carries an easy glamour suited to weeknight dining, and the four-layer coconut cake alone justifies the trip.
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Rank 48. The View
American
- Grub Street 2026 · The 40 Best Restaurants for Kids (and Parents!)
- The New York Times 2025 · Chocolate Cake · Our New York Restaurant Critic Names Her Favorite Dishes This Year
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants in Midtown
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Rank 49. Hyderabadi Zaiqa
Hyderabadi Indian
A sliver of a dining room in the Theater District where Mohammad Tarique Khan and Jayesh Naik execute Hyderabadi cooking with understated precision—samosas arrive golden and crisp, their potato filling properly spiced, while the goat fry biryani builds layers of fragrance across bone-in meat and long-grain rice. Service moves with rare grace through the tight quarters; arrive solo or in pairs.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- 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 50. 53
Pan-Asian Chinese
A soaring dining room of burnished wood and sleek angles—designed to match the ambition of its MoMA neighbor—houses a Pan-Asian kitchen that executes soup dumplings with black truffle and clay-pot rice with the precision of haute technique. The housemade ice creams arrive as the final proof that this Altamarea Group venture understands New York polish down to its sweetest detail.
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Tucked into a subway station, See No Evil serves pizza with the casual irreverence of a place that shouldn't exist. The Hell pie—thin crust charred and topped with spicy meat—arrives alongside sardine toast and seasonal beans in walnut sauce, while black-and-white checkered floors and 80s soundtracks anchor the scene. It's the kind of New York anomaly where the commute becomes an excuse to linger.
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Rank 52. JoJo
Contemporary
Vongerichten's flagship townhouse pairs classical French technique with pristine seasonal ingredients in a refined Upper East Side setting. Roast chicken and seared fish anchor a menu of studied simplicity that rewards careful execution over innovation.
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Rank 53. Joe Allen
American
- Eater 2026 · The Best Classic Restaurants in NYC
- Grub Street 2026 · The 40 Best Restaurants for Kids (and Parents!)
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants Around Times Square
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Rank 55. Grand Brasserie
French
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Rank 56. Casa Tua
Italian
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Rank 57. Jupiter
Italian
The team behind SoHo's King moves uptown to Rockefeller Center with a bright room of green lacquered chairs and open kitchen. Mozzarella arrives with crushed chickpeas and roasted radicchio; spaghetti alle vongole and paccheri verdi with pork, sage, and lemon follow with restrained precision. The kitchen understands that clarity and ingredient quality matter more than complexity.
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Rank 58. Tempura Matsui
Tempura Japanese
A counter-only tempura specialist where the chef's restrained batter and mixed-oil technique elevate humble ingredients into delicate, seasonal revelations. The progression from shrimp legs through tender squid and scallop to mellow tencha broth unfolds with the precision of ritual.
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Rank 59. Fasano
Northern Italian
The São Paulo hospitality group's Midtown outpost inhabits a serene, handsomely appointed room that hums with quiet luxury. Pasta arrives with the precision of a jeweler—cappellacci di granseola cradling King crab in squid-ink pockets, ossobuco falling from the bone—each plate a statement of northern Italian refinement executed without fanfare or pretense.
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Rank 60. Gui Steakhouse
Korean Steakhouse
- Eater 2026 · The Best Steakhouses in New York City
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants Around Times Square
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Rank 61. Bayon
Cambodian
Minh and Mandy Truong's Upper East Side kitchen unfolds traditional Cambodian cooking with quiet sophistication: chive dumplings arrive golden and sharp with ginger soy, while thick rice noodles swim in red curry built on ground fish and fresh vegetables. The banh chao crepe—crisp, half-moon, studded with shrimp and chicken—begs to be wrapped in lettuce leaf by leaf.
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Rank 62. Mari
Korean
Chef Sungchul Shim takes the handroll counter and reimagines it as tasting menu theater, where Scottish salmon, cured mackerel, and mushrooms nestle into rice and seaweed with Korean inflection. The kitchen is exposed on all sides, chefs moving with visible precision from one roll to the next. It's a narrow, high-wire act that pays off.
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Rank 63. The Mark Restaurant
French
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Rank 64. Uncle Ray's
Singaporean Chinese
A narrow storefront on Ninth Avenue serves chicken rice descended from a Singapore original, where the bird yields to the knife and proper gelatin sheathes the skin. The rice, bloated with broth and ginger, is the real draw—a side dish so composed it needs no company.
- The New York Times 2026 · #85 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
- The New York Times 2025 · Poached Chicken Rice · Our New York Restaurant Critic Names Her Favorite Dishes This Year
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Rank 66. JG Melon
American
A corner saloon in a 1920s building draws crowds for its burger, though the kitchen acquits itself across the board—the chili cup arrives heaped with meat and cheese, the turkey club holds its own. Green-and-white checked cloths, a dark wood bar, and staff who seem genuinely glad you're here create the kind of timeless comfort that makes institutions.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation Cheeseburger · 25 Iconic Dishes That Define New York
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Rank 67. Los Tacos No. 1
Tijuana-Style
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- Eater 2026 · The Best Steakhouses in New York City
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants Around Times Square
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Rank 69. Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen
Chinese Noodles
The neon-lit Theater District steams with hand-pulled noodles and soup dumplings that rival anything in Flushing. Wonton broth arrives herbaceous and rich; pan-fried Peking duck bundles and mushroom buns follow with equal precision. A packed noodle house where the cooking never wavers.
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Rank 70. Cho Dang Gol
Homestyle Korean
In Koreatown's barbecue-heavy corridor, Cho Dang Gol pivots toward the rustic and comforting: silken tofu in bubbling stews, cod roe omelets, and a sautéed tofu trio that braids pork belly with sweet potato noodles and kimchi in a bright red pepper sauce. The wood tables are close and the room unadorned, built for eating, not posing.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Infatuation #8 · The 25 Best Restaurants In NYC
- Roadbook The Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 71. 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 72. Veerays
Indian
A 1920s speakeasy clad in burgundy velvet and dark wood houses a menu of contemporary Indian cooking, where cocktails named for bootleggers sit alongside rogan josh—braised lamb shanks glossed with Kashmiri heat—and silken daal makhani. The kitsch is deliberate, the food genuine.
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Rank 73. Javitri Indian Cuisine
Northern Indian
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Rank 76. Izakaya Futago
Japanese
Lunch brings a crush of office workers chasing homemade soba in dashi, while dinner settles into a quieter rhythm of beer and sake with yakitori and spicy fried chicken. The soba totto gozen set and the various rice bowls—sea urchin, salmon roe, marinated tuna—justify the crowds either way.
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Rank 77. Xi'an Famous Foods
Xi'an-Style
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Rank 79. Gui
Steakhouse
A steakhouse in Times Square that justifies its location: wagyu and USDA Prime aged to a deep char, finished with nothing but salt, in a sleek room equally suited to pre-theater crowds and serious eaters. The menu ventures beyond beef into dan dan noodles and wagyu fried rice, small gestures toward Korean influence that never distract from what Gui does best.
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Rank 81. Peppercorn Station
Sichuan Chinese
Bright and efficient Sichuan spot along Bryant Park where the kitchen calibrates heat with precision rather than aggression. Fish fillet in numbing broth and mapo tofu spiked with fermented black beans arrive golden and balanced, built for sharing among friends nursing tingling lips and satisfied grins.
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Rank 84. Chez Fifi
French
Wood paneling and white tablecloths set the stage for classical French cooking at this intimate Upper East Side room. Escargots arrive swimming in garlic-parsley butter, lamb comes settled atop carrot puree and wine-dark lentils, and the baba au rhum—finished tableside with a dramatic pour—arrives as the evening's rightful climax. A restaurant content to execute tradition without apology.
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Rank 86. Mission Ceviche
Peruvian
Chef José Luis Chávez's first sit-down restaurant brings the energy of his market stalls into a clean, modern space where Peruvian ceviche—both traditional and Nikkei-inflected—justifies a visit alone. The pulpo al olivo, its tender octopus dressed in olive-forward tiger's milk with avocado and fried capers, suggests a kitchen that understands restraint.
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Rank 87. Beyond Sushi
Vegan Sushi
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Rank 88. Marcel
French
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Rank 90. Persepolis
Persian
Linen-draped tables and big windows set a composed stage for silky spreads, fragrant stews, and grilled meats that define Persian cooking in the city. The eggplant halim—a creamy roasted dip layered with lentils and yogurt—and saffron chicken kebab served over cherry-studded rice confirm the kitchen's command.
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Rank 91. KJUN
Korean
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Rank 92. Sky Pavilion
Sichuan Chinese
- Eater 2026 · The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants Around Times Square
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Rank 93. Orsay
Brasserie French
Art nouveau panels and brass fixtures transport you to a Paris of thirty years past—a brasserie where chicken liver mousse and artichokes vinaigrette arrive with unselfconscious mastery, the kitchen content to honor tradition rather than interrogate it. Service glides with the ease of a room that knows exactly what it is, which is comfort and competence, nothing more or less necessary.
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Rank 94. FIELDTRIP Rockefeller Center
NY Comfort Food
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · JJ Johnson
- James Beard Awards 2023 · 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 95. Szechuan Gourmet
Sichuan Chinese
A Midtown institution that survived fire and emerged sharper, Szechuan Gourmet delivers the numbing heat of Sichuan peppercorns and chili oil with undiminished precision. Scallion pancakes arrive crispy, fish braises in silken bean curd, and the remodeled dining room finally matches the kitchen's ambitions.
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Rank 97. Eli Zabar
Bakery
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Rank 98. Café Carmellini
Italian
Andrew Carmellini's fine-dining return occupies the Fifth Avenue Hotel with sapphire velvet booths and an open kitchen turning out Mediterranean-leaning dishes. A crab mille-feuille of delicate wafers and sweet meat in Meyer lemon sauce, or scallops in coconut-turmeric broth, suggest a chef working in layers of restraint and indulgence at once.
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
- 50 Best 2025 · #39 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 99. Little Alley
Shanghai Chinese
Chef Yuchun Cheung's Shanghai cooking arrives unadorned at a narrow Murray Hill spot with dark wood and a front bar. Crispy eel offers impossible-to-resist sweetness and crunch; mapo tofu achieves a silken, custardy texture beneath its spice; stir-fried cauliflower snaps with numbing heat. Serious regional cooking that satisfies on appetizers alone.
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Rank 100. Tonchin
Tonkotsu Noodles
The tonkotsu broth here carries the weight of slow-cooked pork without the heaviness—clean, deeply flavored, and braced by house-made noodles with genuine spring. Gyoza arrive blistered and crackling; steamed buns hold juicy pork and chicken beneath bright vegetable crunch. A Tokyo chain that executes the fundamentals with precision.