I spent 10 of the best years of my life in New York, and have found a way to revisit 1-4 times every year for the past 7 years since relocating to Hong Kong. There’s something about walking down the street that fills you with a unique energy – a sense that you never know what you’re going to stumble upon next, whether it’s who you might run into or most often, what cool restaurant you’re going to discover.
Based on the latest statistic you can go to a different NYC eating establishment for 3 meals a day for ~20 years without repeating. With that many choices, it can be hard to pick a restaurant, especially if you’re only in town for a short amount of time. So I’ve narrowed it down to this list of my absolute favorite places to eat, as well as NYC institutions that are worth going to. I’ve actually revisited many of these places during my short trips back to NYC since moving to Hong Kong, so you know these are truly worth prioritizing.
You can take a peek at #IndulgentEatsGreatestHits on Instagram to see more photos of my favorite dishes in NYC, some of which are not on this short list. I’ve also linked many of my Instagram posts here, so definitely “Save” them to a NYC collection so you can keep track of the dishes you want to try!
Visiting NYC? Check out my Hotel Guide
Price key (including 1 drink, before tax & tip, per person in USD):
- $$$$ – $100 and up
- $$$ – $50-100
- $$ – $10-50
- $ – Less than $10
Where to Eat in New York City
(Alphabetical Order)
Apollo Bagels
$$ – For new school bagels with the crispiest crust and chewy, air bubble-filled sourdough centers. Served plain (it’s great with butter and jam!) or as open-faced sandwiches with 3 incredible topping combinations: traditional smoked salmon with all the fixings, whitefish salad with pepperoncini and cucumber, and a mind-blowing seasoned tomato with cream cheese.
Eat this: tomato and cream cheese if you can only have 1, but find a way to try everything
Artichoke Basille’s Pizza
$. For gut-busting creamy artichoke slices and one of the best vodka slices in the game, ideal for drunk food after a night out in the East Village, Greenwich Village or Meatpacking as they have a location in each neighborhood (featured in my NYC pizza guide)
Eat this: vodka slice, artichoke slice
Bowery Meat Company
$$$$. For a party steakhouse helmed by a celebrity chef, complete with a table side butcher block of steaks to choose from. Come with a group so you can share their excellent starters and epic tray of duck lasagna to go with your steak. Reservations recommended.
Eat this: duck lasagna, chicken liver mousse, baked oysters, wagyu meatballs, tomahawk ribeye
Breads Bakery
$ – For their iconic chocolate babka and rugelach, plus other delicious pastries, sandwiches and more.
Eat this: chocolate babka, chocolate rugelach, feta bureka, challah, parmesan cookies
Clinton Street Baking Company
$$. For some of the city’s best pancakes and solid brunch items in a bright diner-style space in the Lower East Side, though be prepared for up to 2 hour waits at peak times or visit their location at Timeout Market for no wait and rooftop views of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Eat this: blueberry pancakes with maple butter, smoked salmon latkes, eggs benedict on biscuits, sugar cured bacon
Doughnut Plant
$. For the widest variety of inventive and utterly decadent yeast and cake doughnuts with locations all across the city.
Eat this: creme brulee doughnut, tres leches doughnut, coconut creme doughnut, really all the doughnuts
Eileen’s Special Cheesecake
$. For the best New York cheesecake from a small NoLita corner shop, available in a variety of sizes and flavors
Eat this: salted caramel cheesecake, oreo cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake, really any cheesecake 🙂
Emilio’s Ballato
$$$-$$$$. For an old school, red sauce joint with fresh pastas and classic Italian dishes. It’s also a celebrity favorite (even Barack Obama has dined here). Walk-ins only so be prepared to wait during peak times.
Eat this: chicken or veal antonio (off-menu special), tagliatelle bolognese, baked clams, cacio e pepe (off menu special), daily specials
Empanada Mama
$-$$. For dozens of delicious varieties of fried and baked empanadas and other Latin fare in a lively 24/7 restaurant.
Eat this: empanadas – my favorite are the desayuno Americano (eggs, steak, onions, and cheese), Viagra (mixed seafood), spicy chicken, and Reggaeton (mojo marinated pork with yellow rice); guacamole with plantain chips
Fish Cheeks
$$-$$$ – For seriously satisfying authentic Thai food designed for sharing family-style in their bright, festive dining room.
Eat this: coconut crab curry, crab fried rice, zaab wings, crispy rice salad with pork, grilled pork cheeks, steamed fish with Thai herbs
Gotham Burger Social Club
$-$$. For my favorite smashed burger in NYC (yes, better than Hamburger America & 7th Street Burger!) and awesome sides in a fun, western-themed space in the Lower East Side.
Eat this: Gotham Smash, fried pickles, onion rings
Grand Banks / Pilot
$$-$$$. For fresh oysters, seafood, and cocktails on boats docked in the Hudson River / East River with epic sunset views. Reservations recommended for a table, though walk-ins are accepted.
Eat this: oysters, lobster roll, french fries
Read more: Top NYC Summer Activities
Halal Guys
$. For the best street meat in the city, great for dinner or drunk food since it’s open until 4AM.
Eat this: combo platter (lamb gyro/chicken and rice) with lots of white sauce, a little bit of BBQ sauce, and their killer hot sauce based on how spicy you want it
Hometown Hot Pot & BBQ
$$. For all you can eat hot pot, with a wide selection of meat, seafood, veggies, and more to cook in your own personal pot of boiling broth. They also have a sauce bar so you can make your own varieties of dipping sauce. All you can eat Korean BBQ is also an option, but I have never gotten this since hot pot is already so much food.
Eat this: all you can eat hot pot
Ippudo
$$. For some of the city’s best tonkotsu ramen and pork buns from a famous Japanese ramen chain, also famous for its long wait times.
Eat this: akamaru modern ramen with a soft boiled seasoned egg, hirata pork buns, fried shishito peppers
Jacob’s Pickles
$$. For the most decadent and delicious brunch items and mac and cheese in the Upper West Side (as featured in my guide to NYC’s best mac and cheese). They also have a massive new location in South Norwalk for those commuting to the city from Connecticut.
Eat this: mac and cheese (with or without buffalo chicken), jalapeno cornbread, poutine, croque madame with fried chicken, anything served with/on a biscuit
Jongro BBQ
$$-$$$. For a lively, soju-fueled Korean BBQ experience with high quality meats at a good value, plus a beer cart to help with the long waits during peak times. Go with a group so you can get better value with their meat platters.
Eat this: large beef platter, steak tartare, pork belly, haemul paejon (seafood pancake), japchae
Katz’s Delicatessen
$$. For stacked, juicy pastrami sandwiches in an iconic Lower East Side corner diner. Open late so you can stop in after a night of drinking.
Read more about Katz’s Delicatessen
Eat this: pastrami on rye with sour pickles (ask for a fattier cut of pastrami), matzo ball soup, latkes
Keens Steakhouse
$$$$. For an old-school steakhouse experience with an amazing porterhouse, mutton chop, and cocktails.
Eat this: prime porterhouse for two/three (my photos used to be SO BAD lol), mutton chop, thick-cut smoked bacon, creamed spinach, sauteed mushrooms
Lilia
$$$. For unique housemade (and highly Instagrammable) pastas and wood-fired Italian dishes in a cool, converted Williamsburg auto-body shop.
Eat this: mafaldini with pink peppercorn and Parmigiano, sheep’s milk cheese filled agnolotti, grilled clams, whole artichoke, cacio e pepe fritelle
Los Tacos No. 1
$. For the best tacos in NYC inside one of the city’s busiest indoor markets (also with an outpost near Times Square). They also have a solid seafood taco spot called Los Mariscos down the hall inside Chelsea Market.
Eat this: pork adobada tacos with housemade salsas and hot sauces
Mama’s Too
$. For my favorite square slices in the city on bubbly focaccia-style dough with crispy cheese edges helmed by the nicest owner Frank (as featured in my guide to NYC pizza).
Eat this: Really everything, but my favorites in no particular order (since it changes by the day) are the vodka, pepperoni, cacio e pepe, caramelized onion & mushroom, and house slice, plus their rotating sandwich special
🎥 Watch how Mama’s Too pizzas are made
Marea
$$$-$$$$. For some of the city’s best pastas paired with crudos and other seafood in a refined setting by Central Park.
Eat this: fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow, strozapretti with jumbo lump crab meat and calabrian chili, astice (lobster with burrata and basil), seasonal fish
Mei Lai Wah
$. For a Chinatown institution serving up Cantonese baked goods, including an incredible Hong Kong pineapple bun filled with char siu for just $2.30.
Nami Nori
$$-$$$. For creative, crispy temaki aka hand rolls and Japanese snacks in a sleek, laid back environment.
Eat this: signature temaki set, potato salad, furikake fries, nori chips
Nowon
$$. For crave-worthy Korean-American menu items in a fun, soju-fueled environment, including one of the city’s best burgers with roasted kimchi special sauce and honey butter tater tots. Visit their Bushwick location for unique wood-fired pizzas with kimchi and rice cakes
Eat this: legendary or dry aged burger, honey butter tater tots, chopped cheese rice cakes, whipped ricotta toast
Parisi Bakery
$-$$. For giant Italian sandwiches made on freshly baked bread in a tiny, old-school NoLita deli with consistent lines out the door.
Eat this: the Dennis (chicken cutlet, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, basil spread, ask for roasted peppers instead of tomato), Italian combo with basil spread
Pig & Khao
$$-$$$. For inventive Southeast Asian and Filipino flavors by a Top Chef alum in a graffitied, hip-hop soundtracked dining room. Add $21 for unlimited mimosas or beer to fuel possibly the best boozy brunch in town. Plus you can check out their sister venue Piggyback if you’re ever around Madison Square Garden
Eat this: sizzling sisig, garlic rice, khao soi, BBQ baby back ribs, powdered sugar donuts with pandan syrup (brunch only), chef’s dinner tasting menu with seasonal rotating dishes
Pig Beach
$$. For one of the city’s best burgers, plus barbecue favorites in a massive, laidback indoor/outdoor Brooklyn space. A lot of their food, including that burger, is also available at their indoor Bleecker street location.
Eat this: double cheeseburger, hatch vinegar wings, ribs, smoked turkey breast with mustard sauce, mac and cheese with gold fish
Rubirosa
$$-$$$. For thin crust vodka pizza perfection and classic Italian dishes loved by locals and tourists alike (as featured in the first photo of this post and in my guide to NYC pizza).
Eat this: vodka pizza or tie-dye pizza (vodka pizza with pesto), braciole, arancini, cavatelli with broccoli rabe & sausage
Russ & Daughters
$-$$. For a classic New York experience, where patience rewards you with smoked fish and bagel sandwiches expertly served by staff in white jackets. Go here for the full experience and smoked fish as the bagels themselves are not the best
Eat this: Daughters Delight with Gaspe Nova and wild Alaskan salmon roe, smoked salmon on an everything bagel with tomato, capers, red onion, and scallion cream cheese
Spot Dessert Bar
$-$$. For delicious, innovative, and highly Instagrammable Asian-influenced desserts, plus fun coffee and tea drinks.
Eat this: matcha lava cake, golden toast, cookie camp (cookie skillet with marshmallow ice cream), the harvest (cheesecake shaped in a flower pot)
Sushi Nakazawa
$$$$. For a friendly omakase experience with an apprentice of Jiro, offering one of the best values for a high quality, upscale omakase and sake pairing.
Read my full review of Sushi Nakazawa here
Eat this: omakase with sake pairing at the sushi bar
Tadhana
$$$$. For an innovative, creative and satisfying 13 course contemporary Filipino tasting menu led by Top Chef alum Chef Frances Tariga that’s already been featured on the Michelin Guide. The entire dining room is served simultaneously with charismatic introductions to each course, taking you on a journey through Filipino flavors and regions. The $165 per person tasting menu changes seasonally with premium ingredients like uni and caviar and modern gastronomic techniques (like a liquid nitrogen halo halo in one bite) scattered between traditional proteins and cooking (like an entire course dedicated to inihaw or grilled items).
Eat this: tasting menu
Tuome
$$$. For some of the city’s best pork & noodle dishes and refined Chinese-inspired small plates in a hip-hop bumping East Village space. This is usually my answer for my favorite restaurant in NYC! Go with at least 4 people so you can order more than just the pig out for two since it’s amazing but filling.
Eat this: snow crab dashi butter noodles, pig out for two, crispy fried deviled egg, octopus with pork xo, quack on brioche, chicken liver mousse, beignets
Union Square Cafe
$$$. For the original Danny Meyer, feel-good experience, with stellar pastas and mains in an open duplex space.
Eat this: ricotta gnocchi, fritto misto, whatever seasonal pasta and main course the waiter recommends #trust
WenWen / 886
$$. For sister restaurants serving up creative, crave-worthy Taiwanese-American dishes. Go to WenWen for a slightly more refined dining room in Greenpoint and an egg and scallion pancake wrap stuffed with tater tots, and head to 886 for a more neon-lit, night market-inspired setting on St. Mark’s Place with a cheesy scallion pancake beef wrap.
Eat this: at both restaurants – beef noodle soup, lo ba beng (braised pork belly with egg and rice). at WenWen – BDSM chicken, tater tot dan bing. at 886 – chicken sandwich, scallion pancake beef wrap
Xi’an Famous Foods
$-$$. For super casual, spicy and delicious Chinese noodles and dumplings with locations all over NYC.
Eat this: spicy cumin lamb or spicy tingly beef noodles, liangpi cold skin noodles, spicy and sour lamb dumplings, spicy cumin lamb burger
🎥 Watch my top tips for eating at Xi’an Foods
What do you think are the best restaurants in NYC? Do you agree or disagree with my list? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
