Food is not just a combination of certain ingredients but it is the full course of love, passion and care from the chosen Chefs who head the best restaurants in New York. As we know New York is not just famous for its sites, and historical monuments, but the finest dining experiences as well. Whether you are looking forward to best places to eat in NYC on a budget or the Michelin Guide list, in this blog piece we have complied the exemplary cuisine that you must taste to create unforgettable experiences.
1. The Modern
This restaurant is located at the Museum of Modern Art, and something which surprises everyone here is the food, which is beautifully crafted under the tutelage of Head chef Abram Bissell.
You may find the menu here is the medley of contemporary dishes but with seasonal ingredients. Also the mouth-watering desserts from a dedicated pastry chef and an award-winning wine program, just change the game of food experience here.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- Two Michelin stars
- Three-star review in the New York Times
- Four James Beard Awards
- Grand Award from Wine Spectator.
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2. Le Bernardin
For the seafood lovers, this restaurant is nothing less than a paradise where Chef Eric Ripert ensures to create dishes which reflect the best of emotions and flavors of Europe and East Asia.
The interiors are selectively chosen and give a feel of enjoying food in an art gallery rather than in a restaurant and you can go ahead to enjoy opentable restaurant week.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- Triple-star rating
- James Beard Award in 2012
- Outstanding Restaurateur award in 2013
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3. Jean-Georges
It’s not just the incredible food but also the ambiance of this restaurant that gives it a place on this list. If you are willing to explore the world-class food experience from the renowned chef Jean-Georges, then heading straight to one of the best places you must eat in NYC, would really help you a lot.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- Two Michelin stars
- Four New York Times stars
- Five diamonds from AAA
- In the list of Les Grandes Tables du Monde.
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4. Marea
If you are willing to savor the seasonal seafood cuisine, Marea should be your choice. Marea means ‘tide’ in Italian, and it is eventually bringing a tide of flavors.
The menu includes fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow and grilled Mediterranean cuttlefish, and everything gets prepared by Chef Michael White. You should also try pasta, wines, and cocktails.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- Two Michelin stars
- 2010 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant
- Three stars from The New York Times
- Best New Restaurant by Bon Appetit, Esquire, and GQ Magazines
- NYC’s Best Italian Restaurant by Zagat.
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5. Per Se
The perfection of a chef’s vision is better crafted at this restaurant where the exotic food with the rare blend of open space, just takes the experience to a new level.
Here you get the luxury to be cherished at its best, you can nook the 64-seat dining room or one of the two private dining rooms.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- Three Michelin stars annually since 2006
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6. Eleven Madison Park
You can enjoy the best of French dishes from the hands of Swiss chef Daniel Humm, who ensues to combine his passion, love for food in the cooking, and creates the master dishes. You can also enjoy a range of beverages from an inspired cocktail menu in the restaurant’s bar area.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- 2 Michelin star
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7. Daniel
The passion for food and taste from Chef Daniel Boulud can be seen in the food offered at Daniel. You get a tasteful menu with delectable cocktails, which together turn your evening into a memorable experience forever.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- Two Michelin star
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8. Masa
If you want to explore the purity of food and the passion of a chef then head straight to Masa. Here Chef Masa Takayama creates dishes and serves guests as he pleases, you can enjoy the exclusive wide variety of exotic ingredients, which are brought from Japan.
Chef Masa, bring the authenticity of flavor and the plating that makes you stick to your plate longer than ever.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- 3 Michelin Stars Awarded
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9. Momofuku Ko
Get ready to be on a journey of flavors and exotic taste at Momofuku Ko, here you are being served with multi-course tasting menu along a kitchen counter. The Head Chef Sean Gray ensures to use the seasonal ingredients to bring the freshness and this is what brings a change in their menu very frequently.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- Two Michelin stars
- Awarded three stars by the New York Times.
- Ranked No. 76 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list
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10. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare
As the name suggests this restaurant is the chef’s selected cuisine. The Chef Cesar Ramirez has brought the 20-plus customized courses and is highly popular among the foodies.
The diners can directly look into the kitchen from their seats along a U-shaped stainless steel counter. You can enjoy the king crab with yuzu marmalade, fried monkfish liver with sansho, and some more authentic Japanese-influenced sea-food delights.
Reviews, Ratings & Awards:
- Three-Michelin-starred restaurant
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Food evokes emotion, and good food takes this to a next level, maybe that’s why food bloggers travel across the world to get the gourmet dishes prepared by some of the best restaurants in times square.
I am sure this post would help you to increase our hunger and you must be willing to try the culinary skills offered by the 5 star Michelin chef at the top 10 luxury hotels in New York.
So just glued to this space and don’t forget to share some of the most exciting food journeys you have been to, I the comments section below.
Other Best Restaurants in New York
11. LE COUCOU
You’ll see chefs in tall hats the color of cream, chandeliers sparkling along the length of the ceiling, and a gorgeous bar you can lean against as if you were in Paris. The air here smells of butter, onion, and seared steak. It’s a French restaurant of the old school, which might entail Lyon’s famous quenelle de brochet (ethereally light pike in a creamy lobster bisque) or rabbit cooked three ways. Look for the halibut in beurre blanc, sweetbreads with tarragon, or the divine filet de boeuf with bone marrow.
12. ROBERTA’S
Arguably the originator of the Brooklyn hipster restaurant oeuvre, Roberta’s and its famous pizza cemented Bushwick’s spot on the culinary destination map. You can feel the buzz when you walk into the slightly ramshackle space, all shared picnic tables and white-washed brick. Walking in though, can take a little doing: Roberta’s doesn’t take reservations and during primetime waits can top an hour. The main room, with its giant woodfired oven in the corner, sees most of the action—take it from the gorgeous pizza. But Roberta’s prides itself on its veggies and entrées, too: Romaine is laced with garlic breadcrumbs, pecorino and mint. Entrées like braised Roman-style tripe and steak served with a tangy horseradish soup are also well worth investigating.
13. BUVETTE
You’re back in that one Paris café you particularly loved, right down to the tiny tables, soft lighting, and rare mix of rare, half-and-half mix of tourists and locals. Your most important move is to order the anchovies on warm toast slicked with cold butter. Go for hearty mains like gigot d’agneau (leg of lamb) or one of the croque monsieurs, and maybe skip the buzzed-about chocolate mousse—it was lackluster on a recent visit—in favor of sweet tarte tatin. Also, you’re drinking wine. Chef-owner Jody Williams takes a lot of pride in her list: go for rosé with friends over brunch or open a well-priced bottle of something from the Loire Valley to sip with charcuterie in the evening.
14. MERCADO LITTLE SPAIN
Mercado Little Spain is New York’s most ambitious ode to Spain, and most recent entrant to the NYC food hall wars. It comes courtesy of founders Jose Andres and brothers Albert and Ferran Adria and like a growing number of food markets that have followed the Eataly model, there are several restaurants in this 35,000-square-foot space, as well as bars, a churro stand, and a supermarket. Andres worked to bring specialists from Spain to run each kiosk, meaning the churros are crisp, the paella is properly cooked, and the jamon is sliced by an expert hand.
15. THE FOUR HORSEMEN
A chirpy staff and flattering lighting help it feel cozy—as does the knowledge that James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem) runs the joint. Come by with the LCD Soundsystem fan who somehow doesn’t know about this place, or the wine fan who can’t tolerate non-natural wines. They’ll be over the moon. Bless the owners, too, for the always-changing $32 per person set lunch on weekends that might include fried squash blossom, yellow wax beans, Montauk bluefish with chervil, and Rainier cherry sorbet.
16. UPLAND
A scenery spot with big wraparound booths, tasty Californian cuisine, and a chef who knows his way around meat and pasta. Chef Justin Smillie made a name for himself with the short ribs at downtown favorite Il Buco, so look for anything beefy if you’re in the mood. Among the must-orders: crispy duck wings with yuzu kosho and a whole fried hen-of-the-woods mushroom, ridiculously tasty with fresh herbs and soft cheese. Smillie is also a real pasta and vegetable talent, so order accordingly. If you’re planning to drink, note that this is a wine-focused restaurant, with a beautifully curated list featuring a number of bottles around the 50-buck mark. Look for obscure Chenin Blancs alongside some powerful Bordeauxs.
17. WILDAIR
Peer into this narrow space, with tall stools, high tables, and a dearth of walkabout rooms, and be forgiven for thinking, “All this excitement…for a wine bar?” It is, in a sense, but before visions of big bills and dreadful food dance in your head, know that this food is some of the best around. You might find yourself elbow-to-elbow with a visiting chef from North Carolina, also speechless about the tartare, both of you gaping as chefs plate perfect tiny dishes in the open kitchen. Come here with that friend who also loves to eat her way through a menu; lots of dishes are small enough that you can try several different little things. Just try to embrace the slight chaos.
18. POLO BAR
Live up your equestrian fantasies among paintings of famous horses and all the saddle-leather banquettes, plaid pillows, and stained pine you could shake a riding crop at. Cozy, golden-hued, and comfy for a Midtown restaurant, this Ralph Lauren establishment is something to see, particularly for those who dream in hunter green. Ralph hails from the Bronx, of all places, and grew up wolfing down corned beef sandwiches around town. Now, he’s having his cooks serve a mighty good one. Steaks and burgers are also juicy, but skip the chicken. And have the brownie sundae for dessert—it’s great.
19. LE BERNARDIN
Fish lovers worship Le Bernardin, and it’s graced New Yorkers with its presence for decades. What you want to do here is go all in for superstar Eric Ripert’s tasting menu. The fish that dominates his prix fixe is largely untouched, save for the best flourishes, so you put yourself in the very capable hands of his sauciers. And don’t skip dessert—not at a restaurant the New York Times has awarded four-stars consistently since it opened in 1986. (Pro tip: If you’re on a budget, the City Harvest menu in the Lounge at lunch is a steal at $57 for three courses, and $5 goes to charity.)
20. AGERN
Run by Claus Meyer, the man who co-founded Noma, it has the nerve-soothing atmosphere but not the esoteric food of its Copenhagen forefather. Light wood, charcoal banquettes, and slightly Deco-ish tiled walls and columns mingle in a striking palette. The menu changes all the time, and the chef is remarkably multitalented: A bright lemon cucumber salad sprinkled with salmon roe tends to be as impressive as the beef heart with garlic scapes and green strawberries. And don’t skip desserts; though they might be outside your usual wheelhouse—rose petals; sorrel; rhubarb—they’re divine.
