Whether you are an eager visitor or a seasoned New Yorker, the city's vast culinary landscape can be daunting, perhaps even intimidating. But don't shy away from checking out the country's best food! With more famous chefs per square mile than anywhere else in the world, NYC represents your chance to explore the wide world of food and flavors. But where to start? What's new? What's hot? What's affordable? What's the dress code?
We have some suggestions to help you find what you crave:
First, check our easy to use & informative
restaurant guide. You can search by:
1.
TOP REVIEWS: Just leave the search fields blank, and you'll automatically be guided to our top-ranked restaurants! Don't forget, at most of New York's top restaurants reservations are mandatory. Fortunately, you can make reservations at hundreds of restaurants directly from our restaurant pages!
2. NEIGHBORHOOD: If you're looking for the hottest scene, check out neighborhoods like the
Meatpacking District, famous for hot spots like
Pastis,
Buddakan,
Morimoto and
Craftsteak. If you prefer urban hip, then check out
Williamsburg and Long Island City. If you just want to explore, check out our list of
restaurants.
3. CUISINE: Food is all about mood. Need curry, sushi, bouillabaisse or a burger? Search by cuisine and see what our staff and users have to say about the city's
best Italian food or
great steak, or whatever it is you crave.
4. PRICE RANGE: Looking for the best
French Bistro at the best price? We can help. Our guide helps you narrow down the options by price, cuisine and neighborhood. Also, check out our "Cheap Eats" choices for great food in any economy.
5. SPECIAL FEATURES: Concerned about taking the family out in the city? Thinking of proposing to that special someone? You can search by special terms, such as
family friendly or
romantic to help you find the place you are looking for.
You can also see what our gurus
Adanna and
Chef Pierre have to say. Check their blogs for the latest on the ever changing food scene and hottest trends. We send them out to the restaurants to gather the information that you need to make the right choice. Still need help? Use the
Ask feature to query our gurus and users, or send a message to a guru.
Always Remember:
• Some restaurants have a dress code, whether stated or not. Call ahead to inquire about the required attire.
• Tipping is customary and expected. 15% is average for most patrons, 20% is quite normal in New York. For the math impaired, employ the New Yorker method, which is to double to tax that appears on your check.
• Reservations are always a good idea. There's nothing worse than an hour-long wait. Why wait? You can book hundreds of restaurants instantly from our restaurant pages.
Some Hot Tips (you can further explore on our
tags page):
VEGAN: New York is very vegetarian friendly. There are hundreds of options. Try out
Zen Burger, a purely vegetarian fast-food joint, offering some of the best meat-free burgers in town.
LOCAVORE: The "Eat Local" movement is firmly rooted in NYC. Check out the many Green Markets around town, or restaurants like
Blue Hill and
Savoy, where local is golden.
OLD NEW YORK: Looking for a place that inspires the Old New York, a la Scorsese? Check out
City Hall Restaurant,
Eleven Madison Park, or
Five Points. Or check out
Il Buco, a treasure housed in the building that inspired some of Edgar Allen Poe's scariest stories.
STAR GAZING: Looking for those places you've seen in the movies or on TV? Check out
Isabella's on the
Upper West Side,
Tribeca Grill in
Tribeca,
Ono and
Plunge at
Hotel Gansevoort in the
Meatpacking District, or just about any sidewalk café in
SoHo.
CHOCOLATE: We are proud of our
chocolatiers and
bakeries like
Teuscher,
Chocolate Bar,
Jacques Torres,
La Bergamote,
Belgian Neuhaus,
Lindt, and
Max Brenner. Find out more by checking out our
chocolate lover's tour.
GOURMET TO GO: Make your own picnic or gift basket. When in
SoHo, visit
Dean & DeLuca,
Balthazar Bakery, and
Sur La Table for the finest raw ingredients, prepared foods, bakery items, sandwiches, kitchen equipment and cookbooks. Or, visit
Kitchen Arts & Letters on the
Upper East Side, a store devoted to cookbooks, and don't forget Eli Zabar's
Vinegar Factory and
E.A.T.. In
Chelsea, visit both the huge
Balducci's on Eighth Avenue or the castle-like
Chelsea Market. On the
Upper West Side, you will find two of NYC's most famous food-institutions:
Fairway and
Zabar's.
MEATPACKING HOTSPOTS: Take your six-inch
Jimmy Choo's down to the cobblestone streets of the
Meatpacking District and check out
Spice Market,
Fig & Olive,
Ono, and a host of other vibrant spots where the fashionable hang out late night & on weekends.
UNDER 30 CROWDS: For
posers and people-watchers alike, check out the spots where the under 30's tend to congregate, like
Peep in
SoHo,
Buddha Bar in the
Meatpacking District, or
Butter in the
East Village. If you want something more urban, check out
Enid's in
Greenpoint/
Williamsburg.
WILLIAMSBURG HOTSPOTS: Catch the L train to Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn and check out the more affordable, hipper and roomier restos in this
bustling neighborhood. You can find affordable French bistro fare (
Juliette), crazy Thai food (
Sea Thai), taco carts, falafels and more!