Best Restaurants in Manhattan
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – NYC is a city in which eating is often not something you do between activities, it is the activity.
New York City is home to some of the country’s most expensive restaurants and some of the very best restaurants – there is not necessarily a direct correlation between price and best tasting (there are many great values though).
NYC has one of the most competitive and diverse restaurant scenes anywhere in the world—one study from earlier in the decade found that 80 percent of restaurants in New York close in the first five years (though that also means new and exciting eateries are opening constantly).
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Whether you want a three Michelin star tasting menu, a big plate of comfort food or just a great slice of pizza or a dog, you can find it in New York City.
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Aquavit (MIDTOWN EAST)
65 East 55th Street (bet. Park & Madison Avenues)
New York, NY 10022
(212) 307-7311
www.aquavit.org
Located in Park Avenue Tower at 65 East 55th Street between Park and Madison Avenues in Midtown New York, Aquavit offers modern takes on modern Nordic Cuisine complemented by an extensive wine list and an Aquavit infusion and cocktail program.
Aquavit transforms Nordic cuisine with extraordinary care, mixing respect for tradition with a penchant for excellence and the conviction to try new techniques and ingredients.
Atera (TRIBECA)
77 Worth St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 226-1444
ateranyc.com
Atera is a two Michelin star restaurant serving tasting menus only and dining experiences last approximately three hours.
Chef Matt Lightner’s creative and playful market driven menus make Atera a unique dining experience.
With 20 plus courses and no printed menu (and no ala carte menu), you are encouraged to let your imaginations run wild and guess the ingredients and composition of each dish.
Atera’s menu is highly seasonal and continuously evolving.
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Bar Benno (MIDTOWN WEST)
7 East 27th Street
New York 10016
(212) 451-9557
bennorestaurant.com
Bar Benno in the Evelyn Hotel is intended as a casual companion to the reimagined Benno – Chef Jonathan Benno’s Michelin-starred Benno restaurant.
Chef Benno focuses on his foundation in French food and technique – traditional French cooking.
Opening menu items include a fruits de mer plateaux with oysters, jumbo shrimp, Maine lobster remoulade and tuna tartare, escargots, rotisserie chicken and steak au poivre.
Cocktails include the Death by Ramos (gin, absinthe, citrus, cream, egg white and Champagne).
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Blue Hill (VILLAGE)
75 Washington Place
New York, NY 10011
(212) 539-1776
bluehillfarm.com
This is the original Blue Hill restaurant in the heart of Greenwich Village, located three steps below street level in a landmark “speakeasy” just off of Washington Square Park.
The emphasis here is on local seasonal American produce, in particular the produce of the Hudson Valley.
The menu showcases local food and a wine list with producers who respect artisanal techniques.
Ingredients come from nearby farms, including Blue Hill Farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a forty-five minute drive from New York City.
Guests can choose from the regular menu or opt for the “Farmer’s Feast,” a five-course tasting inspired by the week’s harvest.
The menu is even more appealing in the covered outdoor seating garden.
Coqodaq (FLATIRON)
12 E 22nd St
New York, NY 10010
(212) 401-7986
coqodaq.com
Coqodaq is billed as a cathedral to fried chicken. Here, fried chicken is being elevated to the realm of fine dining with Champagne pairings that may have you popping a bottle at home next time you order some Popeyes delivery.
The star of the show is the prix fixe menu, Coqodaq’s Bucket List ($38 per person).
A bucket of gleaming fried chicken, which uses a gluten-free batter blend with rice flour, comes in both original flavors and your choice of soy sauce garlic glaze or gochujang glaze, along with signature sauces.
There’s also roasted chicken consommé to start, ban-chan and cold perilla seed noodles on the side, and soft-serve fro-yo for dessert.
Of course, you can also choose to order off the à la carte menu.
Appetizers like chicken liver paté and Caesar salad can be paired with tartare or caviar service from the raw bar.
Fried chicken is available in smaller amounts (nuggets, drumsticks, wings, etc.), while chicken jan-chi (Korean chicken noodle soup), chicken and curry, and even fish and chips give you options outside the traditional fried-chicken canon.
Classic sides like mac and cheese, fries, and coleslaw are rounded out by spicy Korean tteokbokki (rice cakes).
Cote Korean Steakhouse (FLATIRON)
16 W 22nd St (between Fifth and Sixth Aves)
New York, NY 10010
(212) 401-7986
cotenyc.com
Cote—a sleek and slightly soulless Flatiron District effort from Simon Kim of the Michelin-starred Piora—is the latest in the upswing.
Set 10 blocks south of K-Town proper, the restaurant is deliberately billed as a “Korean steakhouse,” a distinction felt in its swank decor (marble-topped bar, large horseshoe booths) and starters you’d more likely find at an all-American meat temple than at a bulgogi grill.
But chef David Shim—who gained experience in both meaty disciplines, at oddball Queens chophouse M. Wells Steakhouse and the upscale K-BBQ concept Kristalbelli.
Like any serious beef house, Cote boasts a downstairs dry-aging room stocked with hanging steaks and neon-red lighting, like a scene out of a Tarantino flick. Such steaks are available à la carte but more popularly as the starring Butcher’s Feast
Eleven Madison Park (FLATIRON)
11 Madison Ave (East 24th St.)
New York, NY 10010
(212) 889-0905
elevenmadisonpark.com
Eleven Madison Park expresses the spirit of grand New York dining with a contemporary accent.
Designed by architects Bentel & Bentel, with soaring 30-foot ceilings and windows overlooking beautiful Madison Square Park, the Art-Deco restaurant embodies an urbane sophistication that is at once relaxed and bustling.
General Manager Will Guidara’s obsessive attention to providing an exceptional dining experience has become a trademark of the ever-evolving restaurant, which aims to constantly innovate and update its own menu and service with a forward-thinking sensibility that defines modern dining.
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Gramercy Tavern (GRAMMERCY)
42 E 20th St (bet. Broadway & Park Ave. S.)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 477-0777
gramercytavern.com
One of America’s most beloved restaurants, Gramercy Tavern serves inventive American cuisine in a rustic yet elegant setting.
Opened in 1994 by legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer in a historic landmark building, the Tavern has welcomed guests to enjoy its contemporary American cuisine, warm hospitality, and unparalleled service for over two decades.
Chef Michael Anthony’s fiercely seasonal menu consists of elegant dishes with a rustic influence that showcase the restaurant’s relationships with local farms and purveyors.
Jean Georges (LOWER CENTRAL PARK)
1 Central Park West (at Columbus Circle and West 60th Sts.)
New York, NY 10026
(212) 299-3900
jean-georgesrestaurant.com/jean-georges
The eponymous crown jewel in Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s global culinary empire, Jean-Georges also one of the city’s greatest restaurants, with accolades from the James Beard Foundation and nearly everyone else, including four stars from the New York Times and three Michelin stars.
Chef Vongerichten brings a menu of finely crafted dishes to his sun-drenched, airy space using the best in contemporary French and American techniques, blending expertly with Asian influences and insights, for a seasonal menu that not only evolves with the trends but tends to set them.
Such a masterful chef would never leave too much control to the patrons, and Jean-Georges offers a perfectly curated pair of six-course tasting menus alongside a three-course prix fixe.
While the selections are ever-changing, they run a tasteful gamut that may include a ten mushroom soup, a crab risotto with nori and key lime, butter-poached lobster, parmesan-crusted organic chicken with black truffle, artichoke, basil and lemon butter, and crispy confit of suckling pig with baby beets and ginger vinaigrette.
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Kochi (HELLS KITCHEN)
652 10th Ave
New York, NY 10036
(646) 478-7308
kochinyc.com
Kochi, the name means skewer.
Kochi offers a Korean tasting menu restaurant with a menu built around grilled skewers.
Dinner at Kochi is tasting-menu-only: nine courses, most of them skewers, from the chef Sungchul Shim, who worked at Per Se and Neta.
Don’t miss the osetra caviar, black truffles, uni and Wagyu beef.
Highlights of the menu, served one by one, include saengseon-gui (binchotan-grilled Mackerel) and a slow-cooked chicken dish called andong jimdak, whose combination of beef and chicken stocks takes four days to prepare.
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Le Bernardin (THEATER DISTRICT)
787 7th Ave (bet. 6th & 7th Aves.)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 489-1515
le-bernardin.com
Le Bernardin, New York’s internationally acclaimed four star seafood restaurant, was born in Paris in 1972 by sibling duo Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze.
Dedicated entirely to the cuisine of Gilbert Le Coze, the self-taught seafood wizard, it only served fish: Fresh, simple and prepared with respect.
Le Bernardin was named after an order of monks who liked to eat and drink and a song about the monks that Gabriel Le Coze, Maguy’s and Gilbert’s father, kept singing to them.
La Grenouille (MIDTOWN EAST)
3 E 52nd StNew York, NY 10022
(212) 752-1495
la-grenouille.com
A staple of New York fine dining since 1962, La Grenouille epitomizes French cuisine and is often the standard against which other French restaurants are judged.
The fare is as authentic as one can find on this side of the Atlantic, and the decor—a warm, comfortable floral atmosphere—has helped make this one of the city’s most beautiful and romantic restaurants.
While owner Charles Masson has redone the look of La Grenouille recently, the place hasn’t lost its classic, timeless, and enchanting aura.
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Marea (MIDTOWN)
240 Central Park SouthNew York, NY 10019
(212) 582-5100
marearestaurant.com/new-york
Marea means tide in Italian, and aptly describes the sea change Chef Michael White presents with his interpretation of southern Italian coastal cuisine.
From his trademark handmade pastas to his fresh crudo and whole fish, Chef White and Owner Chris Cannon are committed to reinventing the notion of seafood in New York.
Located in one of Manhattan’s most storied addresses, Marea has won numerous accolades since opening in 2010.
To date, Marea has received two Michelin stars, the 2010 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant, three stars from The New York Times, named Best New Restaurant by Bon Apetit, Esquire, and GQ Magazine and also Best Italian Restaurant by Zagat.
Marea has also recently joined the family of Relais & Chateaux’s elite group of Grande Chef Gourmand.
Masa (CENTRAL PARK SOUTH)
10 Columbus Circle (West 60th Street)
New York, NY 10019
212-823-9800
masanyc.com
At Masa Takayama’s namesake restaurant, you won’t find standard menus any more than you’ll find the standard sushi chef.
While he’s been in the States since 1980, working at his craft in Los Angeles and New York, Takayama’s beginnings in Tokyo laid the foundations and set the course for the rest of his career.
The son of honest-to-goodness fishmongers, seafood and sushi are actually in Takayama’s DNA, and his early years after high school, when he worked at Tokyo’s renowned Ginza Sushi-ko, honed the artistry that would eventually earn Masa a four-star review from the New York Times and a coveted triplet of Michelin stars.
Best Restaurants in Manhattan -Momofuku Ko (GRAMMERCY)
8 Extra Place
New York, NY 10003
(212) 203-8095
ko.momofuku.com
With two Michelin stars the flagship of David Chang’s Momofuku empire, Ko, has grown out of its early tiny digs to much larger spot on Extra Place.
Many of the 40 seats are around the chef’s counter, with some table seating for those that don’t want to toast their good fortune to with the strangers next to them.
Per Se (COLUMBUS CIRCLE)
10 Columbus Circle, 4th Floor (In Time Warner Center Building)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 823-9335
thomaskeller.com/perseny
After per se opened in 2004 it quickly established itself as one of New York City’s top restaurants.
With per se, Thomas Keller brings his distinctive hands-on approach from Napa Valley’s French Laundry to New York City.
The restaurant reflects his intense focus on detail that extends to cuisine, presentation, mood and surroundings.
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Rezdôra (FLATIRON)
27 E 20th St
New York, NY 10003
(646) 692-9090
rezdora.nyc
Chef Stefano Secchi, an alum of famed Italy restaurant Osteria Francescana, has gifted New York with one of its most popular Italian restaurants in years, serving up hearty (but rarely heavy) a la carte specialties from the butter-and-cheese-loving region of Emilia-Romagna.
The $95 pasta tasting is a smart move, showing off rich preparations like tortellini en brodo, and a tagliatelle bolognese packing a profound, perception-altering meatiness. Indoor or outdoor seating is available.
Restaurant Daniel (CENTRAL PARK SOUTH)
60 E 65th St
New York, NY 10021
(212) 288-0033
danielnyc.com
Savor award-winning chef Daniel Boulud’s seasonal French cuisine inspired by the market in the sumptuous Venetian Renaissance style dining room or in the Bellecour Room, available for private parties.
To ensure the excellence of his cuisine, Daniel Boulud has established a kitchen brigade trained in the French tradition respecting the techniques, hierarchy and discipline of their trade.
American-born Executive Chef Alex Lee, with Daniel since 1993, directs a team of three devoted Sous Chefs: Cyrille Allannic, Olivier Reginensi, and Patrice Martineau as well as Bruno Bertin orchestrating Feast and Fêtes catering.
Together they orchestrate the efforts of 40 cooks representing a rich array of cultures and nationalities working together in 4000 square feet of state of the art kitchen designed by Daniel Boulud himself.
Best Restaurants in Manhattan – Scarpetta (FLATIRON)
88 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
(212) 691-0555
scarpettarestaurants.com/location/scarpetta-new-york-city
An Italian expression that means “little shoe” — or the shape bread takes when used to soak up a dish — Scarpetta represents the pure pleasure of savoring a meal down to the very last taste.
The restaurant’s seasonally-inspired Italian dishes offer farm-fresh ingredients and clean, earthy flavors that pay homage to Conant’s heritage and time in Italy.
SONA (FLATIRON)
36 E 20th St
New York, NY 10003
sona-nyc.com
Sona: Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s and chef Hari Nayak’s Flatiron restaurant is a sedate and luxurious counterpart to the excellent and more face-melting regional fare one will find at Dhamaka downtown.
Expect very good crab puri with caviar, creamy butter chicken, and a take on Floyd Cardoz’s spicy Goan fish curry.
