122 Editors' Choice
From our late-night drunk bites to Michelin-star breakfasts, this is a guide to our household's fav spots
Wag wan my slimes. We like to eat and we love to give unsolicited advice about where to do so. Below is the official, evolving list of great spots in NYC. Our credentials include a) We are both Level 9 Google Review Local Guides (if you know anything about that you know how deeply, deeply nerdy that is); b) We spend considerable passtime debating the quality of the food we eat in this city with each other.
The finest Korean barbecue in the city — pristine cuts of meat, impeccable banchan, and a dining room that hums with the energy of a place that knows exactly what it is.
Danny Meyer's MoMA-adjacent bar room is one of the city's great overlooked pleasures: elegant small plates, a serious wine list, and Modernist art visible through the glass.
Frank DeCarlo's wood-burning oven has been the heart of this rustic Nolita room since 1999. The cooking is simple, confident, and deeply satisfying in the way only wood-fired food can be.
The sit-down sister of the legendary appetizing shop. Lox platters, bagels, smoked fish, and rugelach in a room that feels like the best version of your grandmother's kitchen.
Ignacio Mattos's small-plates restaurant has been one of the city's most exciting destinations since 2013. The burrata with salsa verde and sunflower seeds remains revelatory.
The croissants here have a shattering, laminated crust and a buttery interior that has made Radio Bakery one of Brooklyn's most beloved morning destinations since it opened.
Deeply flavored tacos built on housemade tortillas, with fillings that respect the traditions of Mexican street food while feeling entirely at home in New York.
The burrata slice — fresh burrata draped over a crispy, perfectly charred base — sparked a citywide obsession when it arrived and remains the benchmark of the form.
A newer entry making serious noise in the city's ever-competitive pizza conversation, with pies that are confident, well-sourced, and immediately craveable.
A Chinatown institution serving pork buns, turnip cake, and milk tea to generations of New Yorkers. The kind of place that reminds you why you live here.
Hulking, sesame-crusted bagels that have earned a devoted following since opening. The everything with scallion cream cheese is the move.
The rainbow bagel put this East Village shop on the map, but the everything bagels and elaborate cream cheese spreads are the real reason regulars return constantly.
The birria taco — dipped, griddled, stuffed with beef, and served with a consommé for dunking — reaches its New York apex at this beloved Queens truck.
The Detroit-style square pie — thick, caramelized at the edges, sauced on top — is the best of its kind in the city. The Le Big Matt burger is equally serious.
Vibrant, season-driven Latin American cooking with a natural wine list that feels genuinely considered. A neighborhood gem that punches well above its weight.
An intimate East Village Korean spot with a menu of refined, vegetable-forward dishes that rewards careful attention and multiple visits.
A market-café hybrid with outstanding prepared foods, sandwiches, and pastries that make it one of the best quick-stop options in the West Village.
Chintan Pandya's menu of bold, regional Indian cooking — dishes rarely seen in American restaurants — is one of the most exciting things happening in the city right now.
Bánh mì built with care and exceptional ingredients: the lemongrass chicken and the classic cold cut are both superb on perfectly crisp baguettes.
A city institution in miniature: Irish soda bread baked to a centuries-old recipe, dense and slightly sweet, best eaten still warm with a slab of butter.
Warmly spiced Middle Eastern cooking with the kind of generous hospitality that makes you want to linger long after the plates are cleared.
A stunningly designed all-day café in the Financial District with outstanding pastries, excellent coffee, and food that far exceeds what you'd expect from its surroundings.
Hand-made fish balls and noodle soups from a Chinatown counter that has been feeding the neighborhood for decades with zero fanfare and total consistency.
A lively West Village spot with a crowd-pleasing menu of elevated American classics, a terrific cocktail program, and a room that manages to feel both casual and special.
Alex Raij and Eder Montero's Chelsea Basque restaurant remains one of the most distinctive in the city — pintxos, cod, and Iberian wines in a room that transports you to San Sebastián.
The handmade tofu, prepared fresh daily, is the reason to visit this Midtown Korean institution. The sundubu jjigae is the city's finest version of the dish.
A smash burger counter that has ignited genuine passion in the East Village: thin patties, American cheese, and a secret sauce on a Martin's potato roll. Perfection in its simplicity.
Brooks Headley's tiny East Village counter serves the city's best vegetarian burger — crispy, savory, and satisfying in ways that make the meat question entirely moot.
Our researchers are still eating. Please hold.
We went to too many of the above restaurants. Send help.
Actively searching. Will update this entry upon success.
Tuesday nights are non-negotiable. The list will resume when Boot Scootin' Boogie concludes.
Something is going here. We feel strongly about this.
A GoFundMe is in progress. In the meantime, enjoy entries 1–28.
We have been on the Resy waitlist since February. The app has not called back.
Still loading. This is not a metaphor. We are broke.
The first financial search was inconclusive. A second expedition has been launched.
The search continues. Criteria have been lowered slightly. Must simply exist and own a credit card.
Line dancing has expanded to Thursdays. The list has contracted accordingly.
Unlike entry 34, this one has a real candidate. We just haven't gone yet. Or made a reservation. Or checked if it's still open.
We are pitching investors on the concept of 'eating at nice restaurants.' Slide deck available upon request.
Resy says 3–4 weeks. That was 3–4 months ago. We remain optimistic.
Progress: 29%. The bar tab from #27 is still being processed.
Someone mentioned it. It sounded incredible. We have no other information. The person has not responded to our follow-up texts.
We have been told this is the last volume. We are not so sure.
If the rent goes up again, this entry will be replaced by 'Home Cooking.'
The spreadsheet has been consulted. The spreadsheet said no.
The choreography for 'Cowboy in Me' is not going to learn itself.
Our best engineers are on it. By engineers we mean one of us is Googling.
It always looks busy. We always say 'next time.' This is the forty-third next time.
They don't take reservations. We don't have the patience to wait 90 minutes. An impasse.
Tax season has intervened. The restaurant fund has been redirected to the government.
Standards have been fully abandoned. He must simply be willing to open the app and click 'pay.'
There are too many restaurants. We have become paralyzed. This is a known risk of making a Top 100 list when you've only been to 28 restaurants.
If you refresh, we lose our place in line. We have been in this line for a very long time.
We qualified. We are not sorry. The list will resume after the trophy situation is resolved.
Resy has sent a notification. The notification was for a restaurant we did not want. We wept briefly and moved on.
We are visualizing the reservation. We are speaking it into existence. We are also checking OpenTable every four minutes.
We looked it up. It might be gone. New York giveth and New York taketh away.
We are open to sponsorships, inheritances, and winning the lottery. All inquiries welcome.
The line dancing has a showcase in June. After the showcase, we eat.
We are tuned in ourselves. We are tuning constantly. Nothing has come through yet.
Willing to negotiate on all other qualities.
We are two people. There are approximately 27,000 restaurants. We are doing our best.
A high-interest personal loan is on the table. The restaurant we want is also on the table, just further away.
We want to go. We are waiting for social permission. No one has suggested it. The standoff continues.
This one is urgent. We have heard things about this restaurant. Very good things. The financial situation has not kept pace with the hype.
Not the Resy waitlist. Not the email list. Some other list. We're not sure which one. But we're on it.
We are calling 'research' the act of reading the menu online and then closing the tab when we see the prices.
Veto power has been exercised. Negotiations are ongoing.
The footwork for this week's routine is particularly demanding. Tuesdays and Thursdays are now fully committed.
A second reminder that we are working on it. The work is slow. The eating will be good, eventually.
We received a bonus. Briefly. It has been allocated to the restaurant fund. The fund now contains $47.
We are looking for a sign. Several restaurants have literal signs. That is not what we mean.
Two schedules, one city, zero available Saturday nights. The math does not currently work.
We have been told there will be no more volumes after this one. We are in discussions.
We are so close to 100. We are also so far from 100. This is the condition of the list and also of life.
We are standing. We have been standing for some time. Physically, because there are no seats available.
One hundred restaurants. Two girls. Zero dollars left. It has been an honor. Please tip your servers.