9 Best Restaurants in New York City, New York

This innovative food hall opened in Spring 2023 to great fanfare. Run by the James Beard Foundation and set on historic Pier 57, the market boasts a lineup of 15 food stalls from James Beard Award–winning chefs. Some standouts include Bessou, a modern take on Japanese home cooking; Due Madre by Butcher Girls, serving up meaty sandwiches with an Italian accent; Lolo's on the Water, a New England and Caribbean seafood mashup; and Zaab Zaab, an outpost of the celebrated Thai spot in Queens. 

Smorgasburg, the acclaimed open-air food market, is the portmanteau of smorgasbord and Williamsburg, its founding location at Marsha P. Johnson State Park. Here, vetted food vendors serve delicious treats to foodies (and provide photogenic content for food influencers), from arepas to yakitori. Even with the Smorgasburg branded concept dispersing crowds of foodies across other locations across New York, Jersey City, LA, Miami, Toronto, and Sao Paolo, the original Williamsburg location still draws close to 30,000 people each Saturday in the summer, so get there before noon if you don't want to spend most of your time there in queues. The original Smorgasburg is open from April through October, but check the website for details of the other locations in Brooklyn Manhattan.

Subterranean Fedora was an ancient, little-patronized restaurant until 2011, when the old Italian owner left the building and restaurateur Gabe Stulman took over, revamping the place to attract a younger, hip crowd. The kitchen now churns out French Canadian–accented fare like garlic-cream-topped duck breast and scallops paired with bone marrow. Creative cocktails give the space a buzzy, almost clubby vibe. Fedora (the restaurant) will never be the same, and that might be a good thing.

Helmed by celeb-chef Marcus Samuelsson, Hav & Mar means "ocean" in Swedish and "honey" in Amharic, the majority language in Ethiopia, reflecting the chef's personal background. The food, artwork, and experience at this 125-seat spot is meant to evoke Black cuisine in New York City. The spacious interior, with Black-mermaid-bedecked walls and Noguchi-style chandeliers, creates a fun atmosphere to tuck into dishes like the Lobster Bird—a flavorful concoction of fried chicken, scallops, and lobster in a shallow pool of shellfish broth—and buttery shrimp-and-crab-laced cavatelli pasta. 

New York has seen a proliferation of food halls in the past few years, but few are as sleek and modern as this LIC space. Fitting for its borough, JACX&CO offers a wide range of global flavors from independent chefs, including refreshing, vegetable-forward Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare from taïm, pastries from a James Beard award-winning chef at Ghaya, and Cantonese-style barbecue with create-your-own-bowl rice and noodle dishes from Lotus + Cleaver. Industrial lighting, exposed brick, and a plant-filled seating area make for a tranquil vibe that’s a far cry from your average food court, and the stylish bar allows you to pair your nibbles with a well-crafted cocktail.

At this food hall in the basement of the Plaza Hotel, celeb-chef Todd English oversees a series of mini restaurants, each with its own counter and seating ideal for a quick snack or a full-fledged meal. Though the place is made up of individual food concepts, you are seated by a hostess at any available counter and then, once settled, you can get up and survey your choices before sitting down and ordering from your waiter. There's a glistening raw bar, a burger joint, and a wood-fired pizza station where you can sample some of English's iconic pies, such as fig and prosciutto. It's one of the most varied and affordable daytime food options in the area.

Since the 1990s, this popular neighborhood outpost has been serving homemade Greek and Italian specialties in a simple, casual setting. The menu is large, and it’s always a tough choice between the moussaka and spanakopita (spinach pie), lamb kebabs, and chicken Marsala. There's live music several evenings a week by local musicians.

From the team that brought the West Village the Little Owl comes this all-day spot, offering a menu that combines culinary elements of Japan, California, and the Mediterranean. Think hamachi crudo with Tokyo turnips and charred avocado, braised chicken cacciatore ravioli, and roasted tilefish served with forbidden rice. The bar program has a similar philosophy, shaking up classic and signature cocktails using liquor and other ingredients from Japan and the Mediterranean.