177 Best Restaurants in New York City, New York

The second generation operating this legendary, traditional kosher Jewish deli moved its enormous corned beef and pastrami sandwiches and buckets of pickles uptown from the original longtime location on 2nd Avenue in the East Village, keeping the name and the menu. That also includes hearty soups, wursts, blintzes, and potato pancakes. Upstairs is an upscale cocktail lounge that opens at 5 pm daily and has a limited bar menu. A deli-only location is in Midtown East.

The Arepa Lady, originally known for slinging cheesy, golden arepas (stuffed corn cakes) from her famed street-cart on Roosevelt Avenue has since established three stand-alone restaurants across New York City. The Jackson Heights location is the original “mother restaurant” and keeps to the classics like arepa de queso (freshly ground corn flour mixed with cheese) and arepa de choclo, served with your choice of meat. Try the popular chichiron (smoked pork belly) or Colombian chorizo (which is sliced, rather than ground up). Expect to find Manhattanites, locals, and tourists alike sipping sangria and margs while getting their fill of savory cakes at this charming eatery.

Since 1908, this local landmark has been known for brusque waiters serving stellar platters of smoked salmon, sturgeon, whitefish, and pickled herring to a happy crowd packed to the gills at small Formica tables. Split a fish platter with bagels, cream cheese, and other fixings, or get your velvety nova scrambled with eggs and buttery caramelized onions. If still hungry, go for a plate of cheese blintzes or the to-die-for chopped liver. Be warned that the weekend brunch wait can exceed an hour, so you may want to get food to go or come during the week.

In the Neue Galerie, this stately coffeehouse—open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—offers a Viennese café experience, with art deco furnishings; a selection of daily newspapers; and cases with cakes and strudels. The menu of heartier sandwiches and goulash or sausage dishes is under the direction of German-born executive chef Christopher Engel, who worked at Wallsé and Aureole, earning Michelin stars. Prix-fixe dinners are occasionally followed by a cabaret performance. Museumgoers and locals love to linger over coffee—it's sometimes a challenge to find a seat (a less aesthetically pleasing outpost of the café is in the basement). 

The all-American junk-food staple is elevated to high art here, with fresh seasonal ingredients, real fruit, and imported chocolate mixed into the batter. Traditionalists croon over the vanilla-bean doughnut, but there are plenty of exotic flavors to tempt taste buds: the dense, fudgy Blackout is covered in crumb topping; carrot-cake doughnuts have a cream-cheese filling. Choosing is the difficult part: options include cake doughnuts and yeast doughnuts, as well as "doughseeds." There are other locations around the five boroughs.

If you're feeling peckish in this hurried neighborhood, slip into a favorite Manhattan café and bagel bakery that has been serving authentic family-style comfort since 1976. There's a selection of jumbo, kosher bagels onto which toppings are piled high, or choose from a variety of salads, sandwiches, and fresh-baked treats available all day.

Despite the Gallic-sounding name, this bakery is all Swedish. There's nearly always a line out the door, and it's worth queuing up. The bread produced here is some of the best this side of the Atlantic. Baguettes, whole loaves, pastries—everything that comes out of the oven here is edible gold: the cardamom bun has become legendary. There's a small seating area in the back or get some goodies for take away and eat them at the tables scattered around the Meatpacking District. 

This family-friendly burger joint on the bustling, brownstone-lined corner of 124th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard has a retro malt-shop interior adorned with headshots of Black entertainers and vintage Jet magazine covers. The eatery's name is a clever take on the world-famous Harlem Shake dance made popular by Harlem resident Al B, and also gives a nod to its rich organic milkshakes—such as the decadent Red Velvet, locally made with real cake and Blue Marble ice cream. Creative burgers include the award-winning Hot Mess, which is topped with pickled cherry pepper and bacon relish, American cheese, and smoky chipotle mayo. Tasty nonbeef alternatives, like the house-made veggie burger, the Hot Honey Chick sandwich (dark meat fried chicken drizzled with Mike's Hot Honey), or the simple, yet satisfying cheese fries are staples of the reasonably priced menu. There's happy hour on beer and wine during the weekdays 4--8 pm or go booze-free with a myriad of old-fashioned soda options, like the cherry-flavored Cheerwine or Earp's Sarsaparilla. Find even more seating out on the covered patio and during the summer months expect live jazz on Sunday, adding to the energetic vibe.

The self-described “saloon with food” has been serving hearty drinks, hefty burgers, thick sandwiches, and its famous cottage fries to a local crowd since 1972. Its decor is warm and woody, the tablecloths are checkered and the tables are packed close together (so it’s noisy when crowded), and there’s an everybody-knows-your-name vibe. Save room for dessert, because the chocolate chip cake and pecan pie are worth the calories. This place also is known for its late hours—the kitchen is open until after midnight daily.

One of the best pizza joints on the Upper West Side offers both traditional pie-shape slices and thicker square slices known as Sicilian style. There's often a long wait, whether you're there for takeout or for one of the few tables, so order online to save time.

With its green-and-white-striped awning, this place looks like a vintage grocery store, but don't let that fool you. This a buzzy bistro from restaurateur Andrew Tarlow is a destination for in-the-know foodies, featuring locavore cuisine on two different menus. The grab-and-go daytime menu includes pastries, gourmet sandwiches, and salads, while the sit-down night menu features creative plates celebrating the bounties of local fishermen and farmers. 

A quaint, whitewashed facade highlighted by a colorful vegetable mural gives a hint of what lies within at this sustainability-minded and kosher café: produce-forward dishes, including farm-sourced grain bowls, shakshuka (eggs in a spicy tomato sauce), salads, and sandwiches like the tasty tofu banh mi, plus homemade baked goods. Indoor seating is limited, but outdoor seating is on a relatively quiet and picturesque side street.

Nathan Handwerker, a Polish immigrant with a $300 loan and his wife Ida's secret spice recipe, founded this Coney Island hot dog stand in 1916. Fast forward over a century, and this New York City institution has endured with a cultlike following among celebrities and heads of state, paving the way for international franchises. While Nathan's may be synonymous with hot dogs and fries, they also offer burgers and other sandwiches. At this original location (not to be confused with the one a block away on the boardwalk), you can also get seafood—even fried frog legs.  The biggest day of the year at Nathan's is always July 4, when competitive eaters and fans converge on Surf Avenue to crown that year's hot-dog-eating champion.