The Best Restaurants & Bars in NYC
The Best Restaurants & Bars in NYC
Writing about the best restaurants in NYC is a lofty under taking so we created this guide with our city wide favorites, go-to neighborhood haunts, recommended vegan and vegetarian eateries, places for fine dining and celebrations, speakeasies and rooftop bars.
Long Island City Favorites
These neighborhood favorites keep us coming back time and time again. Having lived in Long Island City for over 7 years, we’ve grown to love these neighborhood eateries.
Tournesol
A classic French bistro where the meals and vibes are always magnifique! This neighborhood hole in the wall transports diners to Paris. The owner, chef and servers are all French expats providing an appetizing and welcoming experience. The menu consists of homestyle dishes and desserts often paired with a bottle of French wine or gin martini. As lovers of seafood, we often order staple dishes from their menu including: the moule frites, pan seared skate, seared trout or roasted hake. Some frequent specials include the poisson en papillote and bouillabaisse.
The restaurant is recognizable by its mural of a woman with a tournesol (French for sunflower) on the side of the building and a tiny red car parked out front. The dimly lit interior with white table cloths, bistro chairs, a tin ceiling and antique tiled floor provides a cozy ambiance.
Skinny’s Cantina
One tequila. Two tequila. Three tequila. Floor! Skinny’s frozen margaritas are enough to get you buzzing or further. In addition, we regularly come here for their extremely well made fish tacos, veggie burrito and sizzling fajitas. Though more expensive than a typical tacoria, it’s worth every dollar and that’s not the tequila talking.
Sweet Chick
Tastes like chicken! We come here for their vegetarian chicken and waffles! A personal favorite is the spicy Nashville chicken and waffles. They also offer Southern sides like hush puppies, baked man-n-cheese, shrimp and grits. It’s a usual go to for brunch with friends! We even hosted our 40 person engagement party here in their Jazz Room.
Slice LIC
We’re not going to be so bold as to claim it’s the best pizza in NYC but it’s surly the best pizza in Long Island City! Walk up window with a spread of NY style pizzas by the slice. We often order an assortment of slices to share including their margarita, vodka, white pie and pesto slices!
Jora
A Peruvian restaurant with traditional Peruvian dishes like ceviche, corn causas, arroz con mariscos and empanadas. Their Pisco bar offers Pisco forward cocktails including the classic Pisco Sour among other libations made with Peruvian ingredients.
New York City Favorites
New York City is a food lovers paradise with every cuisine and type of food imaginable. With over 10,000 restaurants across the city, it would be impossible to try them all but we’ve curated a list of a few of our favorites.
Kokomo
Everyone knows a place like Kokomo! This extravagant Caribbean restaurant in the heart of Brooklyn offers tropical vibes, rum cocktails and traditional dishes from the West Indies like whole fried red snapper, vegan curries and goat stew.
Petit Boucherie
One of our favorite restaurants in NYC is Petit Boucherie. It’s an intimate French Restaurant in the heart of Greenwich Village with an old world ambiance. We love coming here for their traditional absinthe drip cocktails.
The Haab
A hole in the wall for authentic Mexican dishes. We often come for weekend brunch ordering chilaquiles, huevos rancheros and conchas. We’ve been to both locations in Sunnyside Queens and East Williamsburg. The East Williamsburg has a large vegan menu including dishes like seitan mole enchiladas, spicy tempe tacos, black bean tamales and more.
Tea and Sympathy
Did someone say tea time? An English style restaurant for afternoon tea complete with mismatched tea cups and a tiered tower of tea sandwiches and authentic sweets like scones, sticky toffee pudding and rhubarb crumple. With English owners and staff, this tea house feels like a piece of merry ole London in the West Village. Stop into their next door businesses, Carry On, for English teas and A Salt & Battery for fish and chips.
St. Mazie Bar & Supper Club
A genuine gem of a restaurant tucked away in Williamsburg with nightly Jazz performances. The historic and warmly lit interior provides an intimate setting for a romantic date night of evening with friends. Order a spread of snacks and appetizers for the table with a bottle of wine or absinthe cocktails.
Socarrat
One of the few paella restaurants we’ve been to that makes genuine paella! Paella is prepared in a traditional pan and scraped out of the dish by the server, revealing the crunchy rice (aka socarrat) beneath. Our personal favorite is the seafood paella made with squid ink rice, scallops, shrimp and oysters. Enjoy a carafe of red, white or rose sangria on the side.
Fine Dining
NYC has countless fine dining restaurants worth your top dollar. Whether celebrating a birthday, anniversary, promotion or simply having a date night, these are some of our favorites. Just make sure to secure a reservation weeks ahead of time.
The River Cafe
An iconic restaurant on a barge below the Brooklyn Bridge with contemporary American cuisine. It is a popular location for proposals and has a very strict dress code.
Le Coucou
A contemporary French restaurant with a refined yet unpretentious atmosphere. The menu features dishes like rabbit, duck, lobster, sea bass and our favorite, the dover sole. A interior is illuminated with dimly lit candle style chandeliers, features an open kitchen and comfortable velvet furniture. Located in SoHo, it’s popular among celebrities and boasts a Michelin Star.
One if Land, Two if by Sea
A romantic restaurant with fine American cuisine served in multi-course menus with changing dishes. The dim interior glimmers with the light from candle lit chandeliers reflected off the warmth of the red brick walls and American style artwork as a pianist serenades diners throughout the night. Come during the holidays for a festive ambiance when the walls are decorated in evergreen garland.
Omakase room by Maaser
A simple 12 seat omakase room offering a 12 and 17 course tasting menus and sake pairings. The Itamae (sushi chef) will individually prepare an assortment of sea life as pieces of sushi, sashimi, nigiri and oyster at the counter. Some pieces served are raw while others are flamed and all are balanced with the perfect level of umami flavor.
Le Crocodile
An elevated French restaurant in an upscale area of Williamsburg. It has a slightly relaxed vibe and an antiqued interior with high ceilings, brick walls, wood paneling and warm lighting. Come for the dinner service and order the mushroom pate with black truffle, summer ratatouille, almond encrusted trout and chocolate mousse.
Marseille
A higher end southern French restaurant specializing in Bouillabaisse, the traditional seafood stew created in Marseille, France. Come here on a romantic date night and share the Bouillabaisse between two. Sit indoors and enjoy the French styled interior with elegant decor, leather banquettes and warmly lit lighting.
Vegan and Vegetarian Cuisine
Restaurants across NYC cater to every palette and cuisine, as mostly plant based we’ve frequented several vegan and vegetarian restaurants over the years. These are some of the best we’ve been to.
Delice & Sarrasin
An inventive French restaurant with vegan versions of classic French dishes like escargot, boeuf bourguignon, steak tartare, foie gras and French onion soup. Using pea protein, traditional preparations and a bit of ‘je ne sais quoi,’ the chef is able to create delectable dishes that elevate vegan cuisine.
Ja Ja Ja Mexicana
A restaurant with multiple locations across NYC known for their vegan Mexican dishes including tacos, quesadillas, burritos, tamales and enchiladas. For their base, each dish is made with veggies or vegan meats like chorizo, pollo, pescado and carnitas. At the bar, order from a range of mezcal and tequila forward cocktails with citric and floral notes. Each location has a colorfully tiled and textured interior with plants and wicker decor.
Anixi
A high end vegan restaurant with Turkish influences both in its food and interior. Try the mezze dips, pide flatbreads and vegan meats grilled on 14” swords. A palace like restaurant has tall ceilings, stone covered walls, a large fireplace, velvet curtains and crystal chandeliers.
Bunna Cafe
Head to Bushwick for plant based Ethiopian cuisine at Bunna Cafe. We come here for their injera and a combination of plant based dishes like cremini mushrooms, steamed collared greens, spiced and pureed chickpeas, berbere seasoned lentils, seasoned yellow lentils, vegetables with cabbage and sautéed beets
Beyond Sushi
If you like sushi, you’ll like Beyond Sushi. This restaurant creates convincingly flavorful and artful vegan sushi rolls. Seafood is made from vegetables like marinated carrot and radish, jackfruit and mushroom.
Vegan on the Fly
A fast food style vegan restaurant in the heart of Midtown with shaved seitan gyros, vegan drumsticks, chicken sandwiches and milkshakes.
Speakeasies
In a city where something new lingers around every corner, some of the best surprises remain truly hidden. A few of these hidden gems are speakeasies. Here are a few of our favorites and how to get in.
Please Don’t Tell
The entrance is located through a phone booth inside Criff Dogs on St. Marks Place. After 6pm, enter the phone booth, pick up the receiver and dial 1. The other side of the phone booth will open leading into the bar. The bar itself is known for its mixologists, often crafting custom cocktails to your taste.
Basement Chinatown
Located in Chinatown down a flight of stairs on Mott St is a Coca Cola refrigerator door. Behind the door is a basement bar with a subtle carnival theme, emphasized by a self serve popcorn machine.
Employees Only
The entrance, hidden behind the curtains of a fortune teller’s shop in Chelsea, leads to this classy cocktail bar. The speakeasy is known for its experimental drinks and prohibition era vibes.
Fig. 19
A speakeasy in the Lower East Side disguised as a white box art gallery. Once inside, behind a hidden door is a cozy cocktail lounge. Friday nights and weekends can get surprisingly busy.
Rooftop Bars
A swanky NYC night out involves cocktails at a rooftop bar or lounge. We’ve gone to numerous across the city, each with a different vibe and unique view. Here’s a shortlist of some of our favorites.
The Broken Shaker
Located on the roof of the Freehand Hotel, this 70s style tiki themed rooftop features multiple bars, tropical drinks and tasty small plates.
Spyglass Rooftop
This intimate rooftop cocktail bar has some of the best views of the Empire State Building. As its name suggests, it even has a viewing periscope pointed directly at the building.
The Boom Boom Room
Located at the top of the Standard Hotel, this iconic and ultra glitzy spot embodies the glamour of NYC. Come for the high end cocktails, live music and make sure to check out the restrooms.
Bookmarks
A cozy cocktail lounge with charcuterie, an outdoor patio (covered during the winter) a fireplace, velvet furniture and the smell of books.
Ophelia Lounge
A cocktail bar and restaurant at the top of the Art Deco style Beekman Tower with 360 city and East River views.
The MET Roof Garden Bar
Located on the rooftop of the MET, this seasonal bar features outdoor art installations, skyline views and overlooks the treetops of Central Park.
Other rooftop bars worth visiting are: Bar Blondeau, Westlight, RT60 Rooftop, PHD Dream Rooftop & Apotheke Nomad.
Eclectic Bars Across the City
There are a lot of eclectic and viby cocktail bars across the city. These are a few that we’ve found ourselves returning to when we’re in the area.
Dutch Kills Bar
An old school cocktail bar only open after 5pm with a dimly lit interior and a wide range of spirits. Mixologists are known for inventing drinks based of your spirit and flavor preferences.
Surf Bar
A beach like dive bar with a sand covered floor, surfboards on the ceiling, stings of colorful bulb lights and walls covered in natural decor and accessories. Come here for the tropical cocktails and tiki drinks.
Joy Face
This is one of those funky NYC bars. It’s decorated like the 1970s complete with a disco ball, water bed and vintage furniture. After a couple of cocktails, we seemingly get lost in time.
Analogue
Try a Manhattan in Manhattan! Mixologists stir, shake and serve up sipping cocktails made from strong spirits like whisky, scotch, bourbon, rye, gin and mezcal. This dimly lit bar has a cozy feeling with leather sofas, Edison bulbs and framed black and white photos.
Russian Samovar
A Russian vodka and piano bar with a range of house infused vodkas steeped with dill, cucumber, horseradish, pepper, ginger, lemon, basil and more. Our personal favorite drink is the horseradish martini. Their food menu has plenty of Eastern European classics like pierogi, cured lox and Russian salads.
Tips for Dining Out in NYC
Reservations. Making reservations ahead of time is necessary whenever dining out in NYC. Call the restaurant directly or book online with Open Table. Some places require a refundable deposit to hold your reservation.
Dress Codes. Double check restaurant websites and reviews for any dress code requirements before arriving. Generally only fine dining restaurants or exclusive bars have set dress codes.
Tipping. A 20% tip is standard for service across restaurants and bars in NYC. Always double check that the gratuity is not included in the final bill to avoid double tipping.
Cash vs Card. Most restaurants and bars accept credit and debit cards while the occasional business will be cash only. Carry cash for street food.
