The Best Places in the United States

Honor Bar is a Hillstone-run American restaurant on the Del Mar stretch of the coast highway, where the old Bully's North held court for decades. It took nine years to open, so the underground parking garage feels earned. Expect booths, a long bar, a patio, a burger, a pressed-sushi counter, and a gin-and-Sauvignon Blanc martini. The smart casual dress code is enforced, so leave the board shorts in the car.

House of Mandi is a Yemeni restaurant in the Gaslamp where you eat on red-and-black floor sofas at low tables, under murals of Sana's brick towers. It's the San Diego branch of an Anaheim original from Little Arabia, and the halal menu runs on slow-cooked lamb, including a haneeth that's traditionally cooked underground. Wear socks you're proud of, and bring people who'll share a platter.

The Strip's most surreal fast-food experience: an In-N-Out Burger on a rooftop terrace three stories above Las Vegas Boulevard, with no drive-thru in sight. Same Double-Doubles, same divisive fries, same prices as every other location, just with a view that most chains can't manage. The company store inside sells branded gear for anyone who needs a hat to remember the occasion.

A twelve-course tasting menu on Melrose where each course somehow feels like a different restaurant made it, in the best possible, wait, a genuinely different key. Daniel Patterson, who built his name at Coi in San Francisco, is back in fine dining here alongside a former music producer and a pastry chef whose desserts read as slightly unhinged in the most compelling way. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List, and the room earns the attention quietly.

A juice-and-smoothie cafe on Coast Highway 101 that borrows its name from the Appalachian word for a valley where neighbors gather, which is a lot of heritage for something that also serves bee pollen. Bright murals of butterflies, mountains, and waves cover the walls, and there's seating inside and out. Expect bone broth, matcha lattes, and smoothie bowls, plus Eater's October 2026 list of new San Diego-area restaurants.

Kirkwood is a steakhouse on the Katy Freeway that doubles as a love letter to a former Oilers receiver turned car dealership king, complete with a replica of the Astrodome's ceiling overhead. Expect leather and velvet booths, prime rib, a tenderloin carved tableside, and a gin cocktail that arrives by bar cart. Eater put it on its September 2026 list of Houston's best new restaurants.

The flaming saganaki arrives tableside, and in Niles, Illinois, that feels correct and necessary. Kouklas is a big, boisterous Greek eatery in Chicago's inner-ring suburbs, with a menu to match: wood-fire grilled octopus, spicy tirokafteri, souvlaki, and a Greek salad that makes you wonder about the lamb's provenance. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List, which tracks for a place this mission-driven about making suburban Greek food something people drive for.

La Rosa is a tiny East End sandwich counter with a menu short enough to memorize on the walk in: two fixed panini and a rotating special. It exists because the team behind Mimo missed their own lunch sandwiches after the restaurant went dinner-only, which is a relatable reason to open a shop. The bread comes from El Bolillo, gelato is on hand for dessert, and Eater named it a Best New Restaurant in Houston.

A French-Cajun bistro built around a sub-basement that nobody knew existed until construction crews found it, two levels below the street with old stonework still intact. The team leaned in rather than filling it with concrete, so you can eat your way through a Cajun-and-French-inspired menu deep underground like some kind of delicious urban spelunking. Ground level is technically the third floor, which is a good conversation starter if the food leaves you speechless.

Eagle Harbor sits at the doorstep, Lake Michigan looming in the mist beyond. This 22-seat tasting menu restaurant in a town of roughly 400 is where Carlos Salgado, who ran the celebrated Taco María in Orange County, relocated with his wife to reorient that kitchen's ethos around Wisconsin's seasonal harvest. Sweet corn, sour cherries, and morels meet heirloom corn from Salgado's native Mexico. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List.

The menu is written in Tagalog, and the owner will happily talk you through it. Lasang Pinoy is a Filipino family restaurant in Rogers where the chef in the kitchen learned to cook from his mother, who still stops by. Lumpia, lechon kawali, chicken adobo, and whole fried snapper on the specials board all land on lazy susans for big groups. The New York Times named it to their 2026 Restaurant List. Karaoke is available, if you need the full evening.

A dark-roux gumbo the color of old leather opens the case for this coastal Southern restaurant in a light-filled two-story house in artsy Fairhope. The kitchen leans into Louisiana Cajun tradition rather than the tomato-stewed Mobile Bay norm, and the crowd that fills it knows the difference. The New York Times put Little Bird on its 2026 Restaurant List, which tracks with the technically minded cooking on offer.

Little Kiki is a new katsu restaurant in a Carlsbad strip-mall suite, from the group behind Harumama and Blue Ocean Sushi Bar. The pork, chicken, salmon, and cod are all dry-aged on the premises, which is a lot of patience to invest in something you then bread and fry. Hot stone steaks get cooked at the table, so dinner doubles as supervised cooking. Right now it's dinner only, with lunch and takeout promised. Eater named it a Best New Restaurant for October 2026.

Long Weekend is a Western-themed restaurant in Lazybrook/Timbergrove with a big backyard playground, so the kids run themselves ragged while adults hold fire-pit custody with a cocktail. Steaks come off an oak-fired grill, buttery rolls and beer-battered onion rings fill the gaps, and the pizza list swings from braised rabbit to pepperoni with hot honey. Evenings get crowded, so the daytime cafe is the calmer play.

The roof collapsed, the years passed, and Lotus of Siam finally came back to its original Commercial Center address. This is the Thai restaurant that Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, once called the finest Thai meal he had ever eaten, citing its sweep across regional dishes rather than the usual Americanized playbook. The room has been modernized and the menu refreshed, but the classics that built the reputation are still on it.

Make Cafe is a daytime café in Normal Heights run by a nonprofit that trains refugee and immigrant women for hospitality jobs, which means the person pouring your coffee is also, on paper, a graduate. The space is big, with a patio and a garden out back that supplies a lot of the kitchen, so the salads come with an unusually short commute. Order at the counter, take a seat outside, and consider the mandazis.

A milkshake loaded with broken toffee, whipped cream, and a cherry is the move after a sandwich here, and the sandwich earns it. This Southern Highlands sandwich shop serves thick-cut heritage ham on country bread with hot honey, smash burgers with ghost sauce, and a croissant chicken salad, all casual-counter pricing. The shakes run a dozen options and trend toward maximalist. Good for a neighborhood lunch that doesn't make you feel like you're in a suburb.

Za'atar buns and feta-filled croissants are the draws at this Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired bakery on South Lamar, which started as a viral pop-up before finding a permanent home. The leap from online orders to a brick-and-mortar is a big one, and plenty of pop-ups don't make it, so the line out front tells you something. Pastries, breads, and cakes round out the case.

Six tables, one hanging cactus, and a mole that traces the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade. Mesa Agricola is a counter-service taco and burrito spot in Escondido where the chef grows most of his corn about 12 miles away and mills it for the handmade tortillas. The menu looks spare until you read it carefully. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List, which for a six-table lunch spot feels like a pleasant plot twist.

A fast-casual slice shop where the menu changes on a whim and a world pizza champion gets to stop being responsible. John Arena, who runs the more traditional Metro Pizza locations around town, opened this spot at the Bend to experiment: Sicilian slices piled with meatballs and ricotta, Grandma-style chicken pesto squares, even a macaroni and cheese slice if you're committed to the bit. Whole pies, calzones, and gelato round things out.

Modern Kabob is a casual counter-service spot in Linda Vista, run by an Iraqi-American mother and her four sons, which means nobody is getting away with a lazy hummus. You order at the counter and carry your own tray, so wear whatever you like. The menu covers falafel, shawarma, kabobs, small lahmacun pizzas, and a smoothie list long enough to need its own tab. The baklava comes from a family recipe.

Mr. Charlie's is a fast-casual vegan burger counter in Hillcrest, part-owned by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, which explains the name on the wall and possibly the volume of the playlist. The menu is burgers, cheeseburgers, fries, and Tindle plant-based chicken, with jalapeño-cilantro, chipotle, and barbecue sauces doing the heavy lifting. Order at the counter, expect a quick, cheap-ish meal, and bring zero interest in whether it's real beef.

Slushy machines churn Technicolor drinks behind the bar, which sets the tone for this Northern Thai restaurant occupying the storied space where Pok Pok once stood. Earl Ninsom runs the room and the kitchen turns out gai yang chicken with a chargrilled, fish-sauce funk and a khao soi that makes you keep reaching for the bowl. It landed on the New York Times Restaurant List in 2026.

One of Us is a sports gastropub in North Park where the screens default to women's games, with soccer, basketball, hockey, and softball running daily and the men's games allowed in for the big occasions. The kitchen leans on a coal-fired oven for pizza and smoked wings, and the cocktails are named for penalties and goals, so ordering a Yellow Card is a bit you'll commit to. Eater listed it among San Diego's best new restaurants in October 2026.

Pali Wine is a winery tasting room with a real kitchen attached, now in Hillcrest after a rent hike pushed it out of Little Italy. The pours come on tap or by the bottle, and the menu leans casual in a way that suits sipping: battered cornichons with ranch, a smoky fish dip, and a shaved roast beef sandwich with an au jus that apparently simmers for three days. Eater put it on its new restaurants roundup for October 2026.

Johnny Spero, who earned a Michelin star at his D.C. restaurant Reverie, traded the capital for Whidbey Island and opened this intimate seafood tasting menu spot on the water. The menu shifts constantly but keeps pulling from the cold Pacific just outside, and the New York Times named it to their 2026 Restaurant List. After dinner, whales occasionally cruise through Saratoga Passage, which is either a coincidence or very good branding.

An avocado-green century-old house in Cloverdale with purple tablecloths and an empty birdcage or two sets the mood for this plant-forward Southern dinner spot run by a local nutrition professor. The menu leans hard on Alabama ingredients and zero-waste cooking, so your steak might be squash, and the chimichurri is made from carrot tops. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List. Go easy on the 124-proof Judge Roy Bean.

This is a Brazilian churrascaria in the Gaslamp Quarter, the all-you-can-eat kind where meat arrives on skewers and gets sliced at your table until you surrender. It's been a fixture here forever, and after a fire during Comic-Con shut it down for two years, it has reopened over mesquite charcoal. Pace yourself at the salad bar, wear pants with give, and bring someone who can keep up with the pork ribs.

A wood-fire grill is the kitchen's only heat source at this New American dinner spot on Church Ave, which means nearly everything carries a thread of smoke. The chef Vinnie Cimino draws loosely from the Istrian Peninsula, an ancestral touchstone for many Ohioans, and the seasonal menu shifts accordingly. Grab a communal table near the garage door, which swings open in warmer months. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List.

Sugarfish is the sushi spot where you stop making decisions, since the Trust Me omakase sends out a set procession and the kitchen does the thinking. It's a casual, mid-priced room in Little Italy, with a sushi counter in the back and tables filling the rest. The rice is loosely packed and still warm, and the Los Angeles original's following means a line is a plausible plan.

The two-story honeycomb dining cubes and a lantern-lit alleyway of themed rooms give this Chinatown ramen and izakaya spot the feel of a Tokyo side street you stumbled onto by accident. Ramen bowls anchor the menu, but the kitchen also sends out dumplings, takoyaki, bao buns, and yakitori alongside sake, Japanese beer, and a full bar. It's a lot of fun for a Tuesday.

Swells is a sourdough bakery on India Street in Little Italy, where a window into the dough room lets you watch strangers' future toast get kneaded. It's a takeout counter, so no seating and no dress code beyond shoes. The loaves ferment for a day and a half or longer, and the sourdough cookies exist for anyone who finds bread too responsible. They still work the farmers markets where this all began.

The al pastor here is sliced while partially frozen so every cut hits the trompo at the same thickness, the tips charring and crisping while the center stays fat-slicked and juicy. It's a strip-mall taquería from the team behind Elemi, and the tortillas never sit more than a few hours off the comal. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List, which is a lot of attention for a place that opened quietly and just makes very good tacos.

This is a Spanish restaurant inside the Westfield UTC mall, which is a sentence that sounds like a dare until the paella arrives. It's a sit-down, mid-priced spot built around shareable rice, with a crisp socarrat bottom for those who fight over the burnt parts. Jamón gets sliced by hand at the table, the wine list leans heavily Catalan, and a family-run Barcelona operation is somehow doing this between a department store and a Cheesecake Factory.

A boardwalk over Waller Creek, three new bridges, and 13 acres of bike and pedestrian paths threading from Fourth Street down to Lady Bird Lake: The Confluence is the second phase of a long-running project to stitch a green corridor through downtown Austin. It replaced a stretch of concrete with actual breathing room, which in this city counts as a civic event. Bring a bike or just walk it; either way, Lady Bird Lake is the payoff.

A Southern California pastrami institution, been around forever, finally opened its first outpost outside the state on Rainbow Boulevard, drive-thru included. The move took six years from announcement to first sandwich, which is either very Vegas or very deli. Pastrami dips are the draw, though the pastrami chili cheese fries have their own following. A casual counter spot where nobody is pretending it's anything other than a great pastrami sandwich.

Throne Room is a medieval-themed cocktail bar in South Park, tucked behind a chain-mail curtain at the back of Kindred, which is the sort of sentence that used to require a very specific kind of birthday party. There's an indoor waterfall, a menu that arrives as a scroll, and Dungeons and Dragons-inspired drinks, plus tapas to keep the quest going. Reserve ahead, since dragons are apparently not required to wait.

A Cuban-French bistro tucked into Little Havana, Tin Tin landed on the New York Times Restaurant List for 2026. The team comes out of a family Cuban sandwich shop nearby, which makes the leap to ropa vieja tortellini and yellowtail crudo in coconut leche de tigre feel both surprising and somehow inevitable. The room sits well outside the Brickell velvet-rope circuit, and the food makes that feel like the whole point.

Named for the chef's great-grandfather and shaped by her Hungarian grandmother's kitchen, Titusz is a Central European restaurant in Lawrenceville that makes paprika and smoked sausage feel like spring. The room runs to gold letter-pressed menus and vases stuffed with wildflowers, which tells you something about the sensibility. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List. Come for the lángos, a deep-fried potato flatbread piled with tangy spreadable cheese and lemony herbs.