ABC Kitchen
35 East 18th Street
jean-georges.com
New York City’s go-to establishment for exquisite meals made from fresh, organic ingredients sourced from local, sustainable farms. The seasonal menu evolves with legendary chef Jean-Georges at the helm.
Bar Bolonat
611 Hudson Street
barbolonatny.com
This West Village gem is the vision of Chef Einat Admony. Featuring a bold, flavorful mix of modern Mediterranean and Israeli dishes, the menu—known for its small plates—encourages a playful, sharing environment.
Bar Primi
325 Bowery
barprimi.com
A fresh Italian pasta shop—fresh being the operative word—found on the border of the East Village and NoHo. Run by chefs Andrew Carmellini and Sal Lamoglia, who only use specialty “00” flour, non-GMO semolina’s and organic eggs.
Betony
41 West 57th Street
betony-nyc.com
A modern American restaurant with a grand, yet chic ambience. High vaulted ceilings, dark wood tones and photographs of contemporary New York scenes set the stage for a savory menu created by Executive Chef Bryce Shuman (formerly of Eleven Madison Park).
Le Bernardin
Blanca
261 Moore Street
blancanyc.com
This 12-seat, reservation-only tasting-menu restaurant serves meals Wednesday through Saturdays on the grounds of the famed Bushwick pizza eatery Roberta’s. The restaurant is the brainchild of Roberta’s chef Carlo Mirarchi.
Carbone
181 Thompson Street
carbonenewyork.com
A creative nod to the archetypal Italian-American restaurants of mid-20th century New York City, Carbone is the highly lauded but modest conception of Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick. At Carbone, tradition meets the future of Italian food.
Cherche Midi
282 Bowery
cherchemidiny.com
With red leather banquettes, tile touches, ivory walls and softly lit globes hanging from the ceiling, Cherche Midi is a contemporary take on a traditional French dream—and named for the street in Paris where the owner, Keith McNally, once lived.
Estela
47 East Houston Street
estelanyc.com
This small, unfussy bar-restaurant is a cocktail-lover’s dream, with Mediterranean Spanish-style plates that compliment the establishment’s accomplished cocktail list. The mussels escabeche and the grapefruit sorbet will have you hooked.
Lafayette
380 Lafayette Street
lafayetteny.com
A French spot at Lafayette and Great Jones streets helmed by Andrew Carmellini (of Locanda Verde and the Dutch). The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night dining, as well as a front-of-house bakery. “I want to have this culture of people stopping by for a bite—a place to go at 10:30 at night and sit at the bar,” says Carmellini.
Le Bernardin
155 West 51st Street
le-bernardin.com
According to many critics, there is no better place in New York to eat fish than at a table at Le Bernardin. A highly rated establishment since 1986, the regal restaurant continues to outshine itself with Executive Chef Eric Rupert in motion—creating surprising new dishes at every turn.
RedFarm
529 Hudson Street
redfarmnyc.com
Ed Schoenfeld and Joe Ng’s wildly popular West Village Chinese-food stalwart RedFarm has perfected a successful formula of an evolved, rustic setting with an inventive approach to the kitchen. Schoenfeld has a long-standing love affair with Chinese cooking—first as a Chinatown habitué, then as a columnist for a Brooklyn newspaper covering exiled Chinese chefs, before finally running his own eatery.
Sushi Nakazawa
23 Commerce Street
sushinakazawa.com
The king of sushi, Chef Daisuke Nakazawa, continues to impress with his 20-course meals at this chic West Village restaurant. Crafted in the Edomae Sushi style, Nakazawa’s tasting menu is prepared with penultimate freshness in mind.
Toro
Toro
85 10th Avenue
toro-nyc.com
If you’ve been saying, “Take me to the land of Tapas!” then Toro, the Chelsea reincarnation of the beloved Boston establishment, may be just the place for you. The huge, industrial-chic factory space has a prodigious Barcelona-style menu to go along with it, but the quality of the food certainly does not suffer at the hands of so many options.
