The Best Places to Eat and Drink in New York

A tempura omakase on the Lower East Side where the chef trained in French kitchens and uses mostly Japanese-sourced ingredients, which sounds like a concept pitch but unfolds as something quietly focused. The batter is sheer, the shrimp and anago are treated like they cost what they cost, and the meal opens and closes with dishes that have nothing to do with tempura. Small room, loyal regulars, not much signage.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

A sunny corner restaurant at the base of a grand Bronx building, Seis Vecinos pulls from El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico without trying to smooth everything into a unified thesis. Papusas, baleadas, and enchiladas share the menu without apology. The guacamole arrives in a molcajete and gets finished at the table, which is exactly the right way to start. The staff is warm and the room follows suit.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Warehouse floors, gunmetal grey walls, and neon accents give this Koreatown restaurant the feel of an arcade that grew up and got a liquor license. It comes from the group behind Atomix, though the vibe here runs considerably looser: Korean rice cakes meet stracciatella, mala pork belly arrives looking puzzling and tasting great, and the bar pairs peanut butter cachaça with passionfruit like it's obvious.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Ten seats at a counter in LES, where a shabu shabu omakase runs at whatever pace you set. The team swishes prime pork belly and A5 wagyu through boiling broth before finishing each piece in sweet soy, ponzu, or miso, and the volume of wagyu is such that you'd expect to feel pinned down by it, yet the lighter pairings keep everything moving. Spanish and Italian touches appear occasionally, and somehow they fit.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Whitewashed brick printed with animal silhouettes, polished concrete floors, and an open kitchen loud enough to compete with the table next to you set the tone at this casual Southern restaurant in Pleasantville. The menu runs the expected classics, fried green tomatoes, cornbread, shrimp jambalaya, and a buttermilk chicken sandwich stacked with bacon and cheese. Come hungry and bring people; the place is built for a crowd.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The signature pancake, a single skillet-sized round finished with hazelnut-maple praline and brown butter, is reason enough to plan a Saturday night around getting here Sunday morning. This all-day Williamsburg spot runs two floors with very different personalities: a rustic bar downstairs and a palm-dotted, whitewashed dining room above. Everything is baked in-house, and the sourdough with beer butter makes a strong case for arriving hungry before brunch even starts.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Twelve seats along the Upper East Side, with a chef who trained at Masa and Sushi Nakazawa before opening her own room. Sushi Akira runs an 18-course omakase at a price point that won't require a second mortgage, moving through chilled appetizers, nigiri, and dessert in a calm, unhurried sequence. The Michelin Guide has it listed. For a format that can tip toward ceremony, the atmosphere here stays quietly focused on the fish.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

An L-shaped counter wraps around the chef at this modest sushiya in SoHo, where an omakase at a price that won't require a sit-down conversation with your accountant moves through a long parade of nigiri and small courses. The kitchen leans classic, with the occasional flourish, caviar on shima-aji, say, landing without fanfare. The mango sorbet at the end beats the green tea ice cream every time, but nobody told you that.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

A Sichuan restaurant tucked along a quiet block near Bryant Park, where Midtown office workers have been eating around the secret for years. The kitchen runs on chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns, the kind that leave your lips buzzing pleasantly long after the bill arrives. Scallion pancakes, pork dumplings, braised fish with bean curd, and the spicy hot and sour noodles all make a case for themselves. The Michelin Guide has it listed.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

A cozy vintage tavern on a quiet West Village side street, The Commerce Inn does the American canon with a light touch: potted shrimp, roasted and grilled things, and a ribeye that arrives buried under a drift of fried onion rings. The patty melt earned a spot on the New York Times's top dishes list, which tells you something. Linen tables, wooden floors, and servers who seem genuinely glad you showed up.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. The New York Times 2024 · Patty Melt · Hungry for the Best? Here Are Our Top New York Dishes of 2024.

The dining room inside RH Guesthouse looks exactly like the catalog, which is either reassuring or a little on the nose depending on your tolerance for branded environments. It's a fine dining room in the Meatpacking District where the menu is short and the live-fire cooking keeps things from feeling precious. The tab is not small, but the kitchen doesn't waver on execution.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

White clapboard, manicured gardens, and a valet line that reads the room before you even step inside. This is a fine dining destination in a Victorian inn north of the city, where Jean-Georges Vongerichten's kitchen sends out contemporary New American cooking with a country-weekend ease. The menu pulls from his greatest hits, reworked for the setting, which suits the crowd who drove out from Manhattan pretending they live like this.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The white onyx bar alone signals that someone spent serious money on this room, and the pink-and-chartreuse upholstery inside the landmarked Seagram Building does the rest. It's a mod Japanese brasserie where the menu circles back to Japan at every turn: teppanyaki, yuzu-sauced seafood, charred vegetables. The bar pours over thirty Japanese whiskies, which is either a reason to come early or a reason to stay very late.

1. The New York Times 2018 · 1 star · Restaurant Review
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

You receive an electronic letter with a coded cipher before you even find the door, which sets the mood for this East Village omakase counter built around the fictionalized office of a 19th-century world traveler. The fish runs from crowd-pleasing shima aji to less common black throat sea perch, and after the last bite, the downstairs library is there for a drink if you're willing to stay in character.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The first question your server asks is how you feel about heat, and you should answer carefully. This sleek Bushwick Thai restaurant occupies a concrete-and-metal warehouse space dressed up with gold accents, where the menu of small sharing plates builds around chilies that show up in every corner. The khao soi has its regulars, and the crispy rice with fermented pork sausage is the kind of thing people order twice.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Red-checkered tablecloths and crimson walls set the tone at this old-school Bronx trattoria just off Arthur Avenue, where the name translates to "between us" and the room feels like it was designed to keep the secret. The chef runs the floor with the energy of someone who takes your dinner personally, and the night's menu lives on a blackboard. Cash-and-chianti regulars fill it early, so book ahead.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The pasta is made in-house, and the menu reads like a tour of the Italian regions with a Sardinian leaning. This cozy trattoria on 28th Street is the kind of place where the aperitivo list gets taken seriously and the wood-fired dishes reflect a chef who grew up eating this way, not studying it. The room fills with people who know what they're ordering before they open the menu.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The flour tortillas are made in-house, and watching them come together at the counter is half the reason to show up early. This is a daytime tortilleria and counter-order burrito spot in Park Slope, from the team behind Corima. The tortillas are precise and pliable in a way that makes the whole thing feel different. Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting and sea salt finish the job if you're still hungry, which you probably aren't.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Red velvet banquettes and dark wooden walls set the scene at this speakeasy-style Indian restaurant near Grand Central, where the menu sections have names like "swanky starters" and "jazzy breads" in case the decor leaves any doubt. Cocktails tip their hat to Prohibition-era gangsters, and Bollywood hits share the playlist with jazz. Contemporary Indian cooking fills the menu, from braised lamb with Kashmiri chilis to daal makhani done with genuine richness.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

White walls, communal tables, and a daytime-only pace that makes Long Island City feel like it has a neighborhood café worth leaving the subway for. Vert Frais is a Japanese noodle and rice bowl spot backed by the chef behind Kanoyama, which means the cooking is more assured than the casual room suggests. The shio ramen runs clean and lightly fatty, and the soufflé pancakes are the kind of tall, jiggly thing people photograph before they eat it in about four minutes.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar

1. Difford's Guide 4 stars · Difford's Guide
2. The 50 The 50 Discovery
3. Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. East

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery

The chef at this Brooklyn Vietnamese spot trained at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and it shows, though not in a pretentious farm-to-table way. Falansai is a tasting-menu restaurant where seasonal thinking meets recipes passed down from Saigon, the two pulling in different directions in ways that tend to be interesting. The New York Times gave it two stars and a Critic's Pick in 2026.

1. The New York Times 2026 · 2 stars, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. The New York Times 2021 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery

1. Punch Tomate o Tomaté · Our Favorite Cocktails

1. The New York Times 2012 · 2 stars, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. Time Out #4 · NYC’s 11 best barbecue spots

1. Grub Street The 43 Best Restaurants in New York
2. Eater The Best Lower East Side Restaurants

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
2. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Eater Pad Cha Clam Toast · The 8 Best Meals I Ate This Year, 2024

1. Grub Street The 43 Best Restaurants in New York
2. Eater The Best Places to Eat in Chinatown

A wood-fired pizzeria on Mulberry Street where the margherita is the argument: light, airy dough with a properly blistered crust and ingredients that don't try to do too much. The room runs contemporary and lively, and on mild nights the outdoor patio makes the whole thing feel like a small favor from the city. The wine list is surprisingly deep for a pizza spot. Save room for the montebianco.

1. 50 Top Pizza #39 · 50 Top Pizza USA
2. The New York Times 2016 · 2 stars · Restaurant Review

1. Food & Wine The Top 10 Hotel Bars in the US

1. The New York Times 2022 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
3. Eater The Best Places to Eat in Chinatown

The poached chicken arrives slippery and silky, its fat shocked into a jelly under the skin, but the fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth is what keeps Singaporeans texting each other excitedly. This is a no-frills chicken rice shop on Ninth Avenue doing a very specific thing very carefully, rooted in a family recipe that traces back to a legendary Singapore original. The New York Times named it among the 100 best restaurants in the city.

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. The New York Times #85 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
3. The New York Times 2025 · Poached Chicken Rice · Our New York Restaurant Critic Names Her Favorite Dishes This Year

1. NJ.com #9 · New Jersey’s 99 greatest restaurants, ranked

1. Difford's Guide 5 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Eater The Best Breakfasts in New York
2. Eater Where to Eat Brunch in New York City

1. The New York Times 2021 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. Eater The Best Upper West Side Restaurants

1. The New York Times 2026 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star · Restaurant Review
2. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
3. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Queens Right Now

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Renata Ameni

1. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City

Floor-to-ceiling shelves lined with bottles replace the books here, and the ladders are real. This TriBeCa spirits bar has made brandy its organizing principle, stocking vintage Armagnacs, Cognacs, and plum brandies from corners of the world most bars have never considered. Whisky and rum fill the gaps, the cocktail list runs a hundred drinks deep, and the staff who climb those ladders to fetch your bottle know exactly what they're doing.

1. Difford's Guide 5 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Eater The Best Breakfasts in New York
2. Eater The Best Croissants in NYC

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City

1. The New York Times 2026 · 2 stars, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. NJ.com #6 · New Jersey’s 99 greatest restaurants, ranked

1. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City

The original Dear Irving on Irving Place is a cocktail bar that commits hard to the speakeasy aesthetic, complete with dim lighting, velvet, and the sense that someone might ask for a password. The menu roams across classics, seasonal builds, and aperitivo riffs, so there's always a reason to linger past the first round. A Spirited Awards Regional Honoree, it draws a dressed-up crowd that takes its evening seriously without taking itself too seriously.

1. The 50 The 50 Discovery
2. Spirited Awards 2023 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
3. Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East

1. Punch Best New Bartenders · Benjamin Zapien

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Brooklyn Right Now

The $12 daily daiquiri sets the tone at this Williamsburg rum bar, where the menu runs from a lager-and-rum shot combo to oysters with tepache mignonette. The couple behind it know their way around spirits, one having run the editorial side of Punch, the other having shaped Chicago's beloved tropical bar scene. A basement rum bar called Undercurrent adds another layer for anyone who shows up and doesn't want to leave.

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City
3. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
2. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: New York State · Luis Herrera

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Brooklyn Right Now

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Brooklyn Right Now

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

The cocktail bar on the second floor of the landmark Metropolitan Life building, where the ceilings are tall enough to make you feel like you should order something serious. The drinks program travels with the restaurant group globally, which keeps the bar from feeling like an afterthought to the dining room below. A polished crowd in no hurry fills the seats most evenings, and the room does most of the work before the first drink arrives.

1. Difford's Guide 5 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Brooklyn Right Now

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. The Pinnacle Guide 1 Pin

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Brooklyn Right Now

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service · Amy Racine

1. The Infatuation The Best Bakeries in NYC
2. The Infatuation The Best Asian Dessert Spots In NYC

1. The New York Times 2013 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. Eater The Best Croissants in NYC

The looming white-domed oven is the centerpiece of this tiny Astoria storefront, which has the brisk pace of a slice shop but the latticed oriel windows and warm arabesques of a Cairo street. It specializes in feteer, flaky layered pies pressed with ghee and folded around fillings, the basturma version packed with heavily garlicked air-dried beef. The New York Times named it among New York's 100 best restaurants. Steinway Street already has its Little Egypt; now it has a destination.

1. The New York Times 2024 · 2 stars, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. The New York Times 2024 · New York’s 14 Best New Restaurants of 2024
3. The New York Times #25 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City

1. The Pinnacle Guide 1 Pin

1. Wine Enthusiast Top 50 New Restaurants

1. The New York Times 2026 · 2 stars, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Queens Right Now

1. Difford's Guide 5 stars · Difford's Guide

The menu lists a spicy margarita riff called The Party Lobster, which tells you most of what you need to know about the vibe. Mister Paradise is a cocktail bar in the East Village where the drinks are built with serious technique, clarification, sous-vide, the works, but presented with enough wit and noise that you'd never call it stuffy. Locals land here and stop leaving, which is either a warning or a recommendation depending on your Thursday.

1. The 50 The 50 Discovery
2. Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
3. Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. East

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Queens Right Now

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Queens Right Now

1. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City

A doorbell on an unassuming Chinatown hallway lined with charred cedar is your only cue you've found this ten-seat omakase counter. Inside, chef Kunihide Nakajima runs an Edomae-style sushi experience that leans hard into traditional Japanese rhythms, from the tsumami courses to the seasonal fruit that closes the meal. The seafood comes from Japan, the aesthetic is spare, and the room does not reward fidgeting.

1. The New York Times 2021 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. Eater The Best Sushi Restaurants in Manhattan

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. NJ.com #10 · New Jersey’s 99 greatest restaurants, ranked

1. Difford's Guide 5 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Time Out #1 · The 21 very best coffee shops in NYC

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Queens Right Now

1. The New York Times 2026 · 2 stars, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Jennifer Vitagliano and Nicole Vitagliano - Elizabeth Street Hospitality

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Brooklyn Right Now

1. The New York Times The 17 Best Bagels in New York City Right Now

A second-floor cocktail bar on Avenue B where the team came up through Death & Company and it shows. The bartenders here are the kind who can build a Jack Rose, hold a real conversation, and remember what you ordered last time, all without breaking stride. Classic cocktails done with the focus of people who treat the work seriously but aren't precious about it.

1. Difford's Guide 5 stars · Difford's Guide

1. The New York Times 2026 · 2 stars, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

You order at the door, grab a table, and the pizza shows up without ceremony, which is exactly the point at this Greenpoint slice shop. The dough is soft and light in the way Neapolitan purists get worked up about, and the toppings stay out of each other's way. The bruschetta with honey and ricotta is a small, sweet detour worth taking. Ranked 32nd on 50 Top Pizza USA, Salsa keeps things casual enough that nobody feels underdressed.

1. 50 Top Pizza #32 · 50 Top Pizza USA

1. The New York Times 2026 · 1 star · Restaurant Review

1. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City

1. NJ.com #8 · New Jersey’s 99 greatest restaurants, ranked