The Best Restaurants in New York City City Guide & Map

The Big Apple. The city that never sleeps. In its eight-mile radius, New York houses over 26,000 thousand restaurants. It’s one of the most international cities in the world, and it has always set a high bar for cuisine. It’s a melting pot, famous for its pizza, its bagels, its cheesecake, and, of course, its fine dining. It’s one of our favorite cities in the world.

Together we have compiled all our New York favorites in this foodie map. You’ll find lots of pizza, natural wine bars, high-end restaurants, and, of course, the best bagels in town. Navigate the map easily either by scrolling through the list on the right or by clicking the points on the map. Places are listed in geographical order.

Pizza joint Mama’s Too stole our hearts with its incredible square pizza slices. The toppings change seasonally – most recently, we were obsessed with the elote pizza, but our other two favorites are the cacio e pepe and the vodka slice, with a rich tomato sauce. These squares are almost like focaccia – doughy, crispy, and with a caramelized crust. Everything is made fresh and served until it runs out. You don’t wanna miss this spot – it’s home to our favorite pizza slice in NYC! In addition to the original Upper West Side location, Mama’s Too has opened another shop in the West Village.

You’ve probably seen them on Instagram: the enormous chocolate chip cookies, crispy on the outside with a gooey cookie dough center. They might be Insta-famous, but Levain Bakery is so much more than a social media fad – these gigantic sweet treats are really the best cookies in the world. The chocolate chip walnut cookie is the most popular, but don’t sleep on the dark chocolate peanut butter or the oatmeal raisin. The original location is on the Upper West Side on 74th street, but Levain has multiple locations around NYC.

Two-Michelin-starred Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare is our favorite fine dining restaurant in NYC. The luxurious chef’s counter hidden inside a grocery store got a complete overhaul when two new head chefs took over in 2023. Max Natmessnig and Marco Prins completely revamped the menu; now it’s more modern, more European-inspired, and much punchier in flavor. The menu is decadent, with tons of caviar, foie gras, wagyu, uni, and truffles, but the creative combinations were what really wowed us. The dishes are playful, innovative, and bold – every bite is a flavor bomb. Amidst many marvelous dishes, there was one we never wanted to finish: a Maine diver scallop with a vin jaune sauce, fig leaf oil, and kaluga caviar. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare is better than ever!

One of the toughest tables to snag in New York is the Korean fine dining concept Atomix, from chef Junghyun Park and restaurant manager Ellia Park. The husband and wife duo put so much heart into their restaurant, proudly introducing their culture to America in a way we’ve never seen it before. Gone are the days when Korean food is constrained to KBBQ joints or strip malls – this is thoughtful, refined cooking on a very high level. In 2019, Atomix was awarded two Michelin stars, and is no. 6 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024. We’re excited to watch them climb the list in the years to come – this is one of our favorite restaurants in NYC!

Atoboy, the casual little brother to Michelin-starred Atomix, serves a four-course Korean-inspired tasting menu in a modern cafeteria setting. Our favorite dish from the menu was the deep-fried butternut squash "gangjeong," served in a sticky caramel sauce with a foamy fontina cheese sauce, garam masala, and cayenne pepper. It’s crispy, candied, complex, sweet, and spicy – almost like pumpkin pie, but with a hint of heat. But you can’t visit Atoboy without ordering the signature twice-fried chicken. We’ve never had such crispy chicken – the light, brittle batter shatters in your mouth with each bite, and the tender, fatty chicken inside oozes juice. The chicken comes with two sauces: spicy peanut and a gochujang-based "yangyummy" sauce (our favorite). This is truly a happy meal for adults – it’s some of the best fried chicken we’ve ever had.

Our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant in NYC is Shukette, from chef Ayesha Nurdjaja. A meal here should center around the “rips and dips,” especially the frena, an extremely bouncy, fluffy Moroccan-style bread topped with huge chunks of roasted garlic, za’atar, and fresh herbs. This bread was so good we ordered it three times! As for the dips, we loved the hummus with Shukette’s house-made hot sauce, the labneh with fig, fennel seed, and thyme, and the spicy whipped feta with charred jalapeño, dill, and basil. Don’t miss the Turkish kebab – smoked paprika-spiced lamb and beef with halloumi, white harissa, and parsley, rolled in a flatbread and cooked on a skewer. And be sure to save room for a soft serve – on our visit, the seasonal swirl was tahini and blueberry sorbet topped with halva floss.

High-end Korean barbecue restaurant Cote is the place to go if you’re craving Michelin-starred meat. Every table has its own grill, where the meat is expertly cooked in front of your eyes. All cuts of beef are top-quality: USDA Prime and Japanese A5 wagyu. Opt for the Butcher’s Feast, a selection of meats and Korean accompaniments, but be sure to try some of the à la carte dishes. The “Steak & Eggs” is a playful serving of filet mignon tartare and caviar, and the Korean “bacon” (thick strips of crispy pork belly) is not to be missed. Venture down into the basement and you will discover Undercote, one of our favorite cocktail bars in New York. If it’s fried chicken and caviar you’re after, head down the street to their sister restaurant, Coqodaq.

After working for years as the pastry chef of Jungsik, Eunji Lee branched out to open her own pastry-focused “confection gallery.” Here, dessert is not an afterthought, but the main event. Lee serves extremely unique flavor combinations that resemble works of art. The signature Lysée cake is a can’t-miss item, with Korean toasted brown rice mousse, pecans, and caramel. The Corn cake (which resembles corn on the cob) filled with crunchy sablé, mousse, and grilled corn cream is another must-try from the patisserie section. To drink, we recommend the signature milk steeped with vanilla and brown rice, and the herbed calamansi juice, with lemongrass, Thai basil, and lime. Reservations are required if you want to dine-in, but if you want to buy take-away pastries, we recommend going early before things sell out.

Danny Meyer’s all-day café serves some of our favorite breakfast items in New York. The cruller donuts are a signature here – an eggy donut similar to Yorkshire pudding in consistency with a signature swirly shape. Our favorite flavor is maple: try it on its own or as the vehicle for the “Lumberjack” sandwich, a decked-out bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with the perfect sweet and savory balance. Daily Provisions has a handful of locations around the city.

One of New York’s best ice cream shops is from restaurateur Danny Meyer’s daughter, Hallie Meyer. Her love of Italy inspired her to open a gelato shop, serving creative and constantly rotating flavors. Each scoop comes with your choice of ice cream, panna (whipped cream), drizzle, and topping. Our favorite combos were the Cookies ‘n’ Panna (Oreo-infused ice cream with housemade Oreo brittle), topped with hot fudge and panna; and the Honey Roasted Almond (brown butter honey ice cream with toasted almonds), finished with a caramel drizzle and graham cracker crunch. Caffé Panna also has a location in Greenpoint.

Claud is a wine bar and restaurant from Joshua Pinsky and Chase Sinzer, who met while working together at Momofuku Ko. They created the kind of restaurant they’d want to visit themselves: a relaxed eatery with great food and a serious wine list. The open kitchen makes you feel like you’re dining in someone’s home, and the food is decadent yet informal comfort food – it’s what buttery dreams are made of. The chicken liver agnolotti is a mainstay on the frequently rotating menu (with good reason), and we also loved the peekytoe crab bread and the cheesy mushroom mille-feuille. End your meal with a slice of the sinfully rich Devil’s Food Cake for two.

While one staircase leads downstairs to Claud, another leads up to Penny, the raw bar and seafood counter from Joshua Pinsky and Chase Sinzer. At a place like this, you simply must start with raw seafood – order the ice box, filled with the day’s selection of shellfish (on our visit: shrimp, oysters, mussels, clams, and scallops) and condiments. Every bite was so fresh and so clean – we could really feel the high quality of the seafood. Other highlights from our meal included the tuna carpaccio, the harissa squid stuffed with tuna and chard, the trout with lovage and a butter sauce, and, of course, Penny’s signature sesame brioche. We loved this fluffy bread slathered with salty butter, but it was equally delicious as a vehicle for an ice cream sandwich.

Foxface Natural serves organic, sustainable, and wild food alongside natural wine. The wine list is chock-full of our favorite producers like Gut Oggau, Claus Preisinger, and Vinas Mora, at extremely reasonable prices. The menu might sound a little intimidating as it’s filled with ingredients you may not have tried before, but the food is genuinely delicious. We loved the famous kangaroo tartare: flavorful loin meat chopped to order, seasoned with a South African-inspired spice blend and served with charred eggplant purée and a thin, snappy flatbread. Everything is made in-house – all the curing, smoking, baking, and pickling is done by the team themselves. Foxface has a fast-paced, rock and roll vibe and a fresh, vibrant energy. The dishes change every week, so we’d be regulars here if we lived in NYC!

Superiority Burger is so much more than the signature veggie burger that made them famous. This vegetarian eatery expanded its menu when it relocated to a bigger venue in the East Village. The collard greens sandwich is rightfully beloved, with a healthy amount of soft, tender greens and sharp cheese on spongy focaccia. Hearty, Southern-inspired sides include a roasted sweet potato with labneh and salsa verde, and spicy lentils with charred cabbage and cornbread. And don’t stop there – we would visit Superiority Burger for the pastry program alone. With almost as many desserts on the menu as savory items, it’s hard to choose. We loved the cinnamon-studded graham cracker ice cream, the cloud-like coconut cake with salty buttermilk frosting, the sour cherry and coconut cream pie, and the bouncy mochi cake with rice pudding and market fruit.

Nowon might be famous for their burger, but that’s just one of the many must-order dishes at this playful Korean American hotspot. Their dry-aged, thick patty cheeseburger is easily one of the best in New York. The delicious meat is perfectly cooked, and served with a tangy Korean kimchi sauce, American cheese, pickles, and onions. But don’t stop there! Our favorite dish on the menu is actually the honey butter tater tots. These are insanely addicting – a sweet and salty heaven. Nowon’s gochujang fried chicken is up there with the best Korean fried chicken we’ve had; it’s spicy and tangy, with a great crunch. The chopped cheese rice cakes (tteokbokki) are also ridiculously good, with all the flavors of a burger served on spongey rice cakes.

Librae is a female-owned bakery featuring Middle Eastern-inspired flavors in exquisitely layered pastries. You’ll find many tempting treats on the counter, but the signature pistachio rose croissant is the must-order here. A perfectly laminated croissant is sliced in half and filled with a nutty, floral pistachio frangipane, with added aromatics from a delicate rose syrup and dried rose petals. Another Librae staple is the Loomi babka, a doughy bun filled with lemon curd and flecks of black lime. Pastry offerings rotate seasonally – you might find savory caraway-seeded pastries with gruyère, gouda, and harissa, roasted honeynut squash bread pudding with molasses syrup and walnuts, or even buttery, crisp morning buns with swirls of za’atar and labneh.

The finest ice cream in New York can be found at Morgenstern’s. All of their ice creams are made in extremely small batches, and stored in small, individual tubs. The texture is perfectly creamy, and the toppings are mixed in after you order. Morgenstern’s has really creative yet focused flavors, simple combinations that are unique without being over-the-top or gimmicky. Try the burnt sage, lavender agave vanilla, banana curry, the vanilla almond roca, or chocolate oat (Kaitlin's personal favorite).

A lot of people assume you have to be a tasting menu restaurant to make it onto The World’s 50 Best list or get a Michelin star. While a lot of top chefs choose to showcase their creativity in a formal setting, some chefs like Ignacio Mattos flaunt their culinary skills at simple wine bars. Although you probably should still make a reservation at Estela, it’s a place where you can usually walk in and sit at the bar. Estela serves seemingly simple dishes packed with punchy flavors. The deconstructed endive salad with orange juice, walnuts, bread crumbs, anchovy vinaigrette, and ubriaco rosso cheese is a classic for a reason – this dish HAS to be on your table. We also love the fluffy, spongy ricotta dumplings with mushrooms and pecorino sardo. Other favorites over the years have included burrata with salsa verde and charred bread, and a warm dish of crab, celeriac slices, and a lemon sabayon. Wash it all down with a glass or two of natural wine.

Shortly after opening, Superbueno soared to the top of lists and rankings, even climbing to no. 2 on North America’s 50 Best Bars. The drinks at this Mexican-American bar are fun and unique, with cocktails like mole negronis, mushroom margaritas, salted plum punches, and mezcal pineapple slushies on the menu alongside tacos, nachos, ceviche, and other snacks. The vibe is playful and fun, with vibrant Latin music and swinging pendant lights above the bar.

I’ll have what she’s having! Katz’s Deli’s legendary reuben with pastrami (made famous by the movie “When Harry Met Sally”) is so good you’ll moan. Stacks of heavenly, delicious, freshly-cooked pastrami slices, sauerkraut, and melted cheese are served on rye bread. Although Katz’s is extremely popular with visitors, it’s so much more than a tourist spot – it’s actually the best pastrami in town. Of course, we sat where Harry met Sally.

Pizzaiolo Anthony Mangieri started his pizza career with a shop in the East Village, relocated it to San Francisco, and then moved it back home to New York City. There’s no mistaking that it’s some of the best Neapolitan pizza you can find in the world, and that’s simply the result of an extremely dedicated chef. Mangieri himself has committed to making every pie until the dough runs out each day. The co-owners of Wildair invested in the latest version of the restaurant and added some small plates, desserts, and a killer natural wine list.

For a cool Lower East Side hangout, check out Wildair. While the restaurant has a fantastic natural wine list and really tasty small plates, it’s the desserts that are on another level here. The chocolate hazelnut tart is one of the most memorable desserts we've tried: a velvety soft mousse with a sprinkle of sea salt to balance the sweetness. But don’t skip the panna cotta with grape granita, or the almond mille-feuille – order all the desserts!

One of the best bars in the world, frequently featured on The World's 50 Best Bars list, is located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. This speakeasy has no menu – instead, you simply describe what kind of drink you’re in the mood for to your bartender, and they whip up a riff on a classic cocktail, made especially for you. Kaitlin asked for something fresh and sour and received a bright yellow drink called “The Sunflower,” a cocktail with citrus, rum, and a touch of saffron. We also enjoyed variations of the classic cocktails The Silver Fox, The Jalisco Lion, and the Isle of Martinique.

The beloved Uncle Boon’s is now Thai Diner, serving lots of the same signature dishes in Nolita. Brunch is served until 5pm – and the must-order dish is the Thai Diner egg sandwich. Scrambled eggs, sai oua (herbal sausage), American cheese, and Thai basil are wrapped together in a homemade roti and served with roasted chili nam jim. It's the perfect blend of modern Thai and American cuisines. We also love the disco fries (crinkle cut fries topped with massaman curry, red onion, peanuts, and coconut cream) and the phat thai (rice noodles with peanuts, radish, and crispy dried shrimp in a tamarind sauce). Although it’s usually difficult to book a table online, there are typically seats available for walk-in. They have a small wine list, but it’s chock-full of our favorite natural producers.

This street food stall in Chinatown is famous for their pork buns. The signature items are the baked roast pork buns, where a fluffy milk bun is filled with chopped pieces of roasted pork (including bits of fat!) in a rich, sweet sauce. The pineapple bun with roast pork is another must-order. This bun combines two popular Cantonese bakery items: the pork bun and the pineapple bun. (There is no pineapple in the bun – this treat gets its name because its yellow color and pattern resemble a pineapple.) It’s the same fluffy milk bun, with a sugary, crispy exterior. It cracks and crumbles as you bite into it, and has the same delicious pork filling. The buns are about $2 each, and you can use credit cards at the kiosk outside, or order ahead online (a great way to skip the line!).

Three-Michelin-starred Jungsik is a Korean fine dining restaurant named after chef Jungsik Yim, who opened his eponymous restaurant in Seoul in 2009, and an NYC location in 2011. Jungsik NYC received one star in 2013, a second star in 2014, and a third star in 2024. The menus are similarly rooted, but not identical; the NYC menu plays to a more international audience. Highlights from our meal included the signature fried octopus with gochujang aioli, the sea urchin bibimbap with seaweed rice, kimchi, and crispy quinoa, and, our personal favorite, the yellowtail kimbap with a deep-fried seaweed wrap, truffle rice, and kimchi. The sleek TriBeCa dining room has a formal feel with white tablecloths, but the service is personal and friendly. In fact, it was the best fine dining service we’ve had in NYC.

Set 64 floors up in New York’s Financial District is Overstory, a cocktail bar with one of the best views of the NYC skyline. The venue is stunning and intimate, with only eight seats at the bar, and a smattering of small tables around the perimeter of the room. But if the weather allows, you’ll want to enjoy your drinks on the outdoor terrace, which has heated benches, blankets, and a 360-degree view of Manhattan. Our favorite drinks here are the Mad Graff (strawberry, lime, rum, curry leaf soda, and egg white) and the Easy Money (vodka, yuzu, coconut, lime leaf, and soda). You might be familiar with the address, 70 Pine. This building also houses the Michelin-starred restaurant Crown Shy and the tasting menu restaurant, SAGA, from the same team as Overstory. Note: reservations are recommended, walk-ins are limited.

Ilis is a fine dining restaurant from chef Mads Refslund, the co-founder of Noma. The name loosely translates to “fire and ice” in Danish, and the Nordic-inspired dining room centers around a huge open kitchen where seasonal North American produce is cooked over a wood fire. The chefs go to the market and get fresh ingredients every day, resulting in inventive, delicious, and sometimes experimental servings. A standout from our meal was the bigeye tuna from Montauk, prepared two ways. First, it was served raw with gooseberries, oxalis leaves, and a rose petal pesto, and we were instructed to scrape the sashimi off the fish bones. After we finished one side, the bones were taken back to the kitchen and the meat on the other side was cooked over the fire before returning to our table, this time covered in an orange romesco sauce, sesame seeds, plum, and yuzu. Ilis is unlike anything else in New York, and a fun, unique addition to the city.

New York’s buzziest bakery serves some of the most creative pastries in town. Arrive early – the best items hit the counter at 7:30 a.m. and sell out. The seasonal stone fruit and custard croissant was our favorite pastry, and we also loved the laminated Earl Grey morning bun and the cheesy pretzel bear claw. The brown butter corn cake was another surprising hit, with a crispy edge, a super moist center, and a caramelized butter sweetness. But Radio’s best item, by far, is their heavenly focaccia. The top is like an eggy popover and the bottom is caramelized like a pizza crust; it’s so spongy, so airy, so crispy, and oily in a good way. In the morning, the focaccia is used as a vehicle for breakfast sandwiches, while during lunchtime, it’s filled with cheese and charcuterie, like burrata, prosciutto, and basil.

Taku Sando is a Greenpoint hotspot specializing in Japanese-style sandos. The limited menu has a few sandwich options, including tonkatsu (pork), chicken katsu, korokke (potato croquettes), and tamago (egg salad). We tried the tonkatsu and tamago and highly recommend both. The breading on the pork was excellent, with a crispy edge and a juicy center, generously slathered with tonkatsu sauce. The egg salad was soft and creamy, sandwiched between pillowy slices of bread. What sets Taku Sando apart is the exceptional house-made shokupan; this is the best milk bread we’ve had outside of Japan. Get a bag of the ribbon fries to share – these spiralized potatoes are a textural wonderland, with soft and crunchy bits, and an addicting dashi furikake seasoning. Taku Sando serves natural wine and refreshing soft drinks, like ginger ale with a housemade yuzu syrup.

Pancakes are an item we rarely order at restaurants. We make a mean buttermilk pancake at home, so when we go out to eat we usually opt for other menu items. The opposite is true in this scenario – Instagram photos of these buttery hotcakes led us to book a reservation at Chez Ma Tante. And, excuse our French, but holy sh*t – these are the best restaurant pancakes we’ve ever had. They are thick and fluffy, absolutely soaked in butter (and maybe maple syrup, too), with a crispy ring around the edge. These pancakes lived up to the hype and then some – this is breakfast food for the gods.

Japanese-style sandos have been all over menus the last few years, but Rule of Thirds’ tamago sando is one of our all-time favorites. A fluffy Japanese omelette is served on toasted milk bread, with miso mayo, and yuzu cucumbers. Creamy and fresh, with wonderful textures – this was a breakfast dream come true. Other must-order dishes here include the karaage (fried chicken with ginger, soy, and tartar sauce) and the hottokeki (a Japanese souffle pancake with honey maple butter, sesame, and soft serve). This is the perfect place for a sunny Sunday brunch in Brooklyn.

When in New York, trying a classic BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese) is essential. Although you can find these iconic breakfast sandwiches on the menu at every corner bodega, Frankel’s Deli in Greenpoint serves one of the city’s best. They also have a variation with pastrami in place of the bacon, if you’re looking for a smokier, heartier protein. All sandwiches are served on a challah roll or a bagel of your choice.

Bonnie's is a Cantonese American restaurant in Williamsburg from chef Calvin Eng (formerly of Win Son). The legendary char siu "McRib" is delicious, with an extremely juicy pork rib served on a fluffy milk bun with Chinese hot mustard. But our favorite dishes were the dao gok (Chinese long beans), the hup to ha (shrimp, candied walnuts, honey, and mayonnaise), and the jiew yeem yao yu (salt and pepper squid). Save room for the chow nai sundae with malted fried milk, ovaltine hot fudge, vanilla ice cream, buttered peanuts, and optional pork floss.

Esse Taco from chef Enrique Olvera (Pujol, Cosme) serves our favorite tacos in New York. The menu is small, with just a few varieties on offer. We loved the pork adobado with chopped pieces of meat and tangy pineapple butter, the thinly sliced ribeye topped with cilantro and onion, and the Yucatán-style grilled chicken with pickled onions. Such juicy, high-quality meat! You can order any taco “gringa-style” on a flour tortilla with cheese – just how we like it! For dessert, try the corn husk meringue sundae, a play on the iconic Cosme dessert.

Sunday in Brooklyn is one of the best brunch spots in New York and the home of the malted pancakes with hazelnut praline and brown butter. When given the option to order 1, 2, or 3 pancakes, we obviously went for the triple stack. But don’t leave without ordering the maple cheddar biscuit – it’s sweet, salty, and our favorite thing on the menu.

Chef Missy Robbins' latest pasta endeavors are happening on the trendy Williamsburg waterfront. Misi serves some of the best pasta we’ve had, and it’s one of our favorite restaurants in NYC. Our two favorite pastas were the occhi, cute little pillows of perfection filled with ricotta and topped with bottarga and lemon, and the brown butter tortelli filled with spinach and mascarpone. Don’t leave without ordering the whipped ricotta crostini and the slow roasted tomatoes topped with hot honey. We washed down our pasta with a bottle of “Orange” – one of our favorite natural wines, from Pantelleria, Italy.

We can’t stay away from Scandinavian cooking, even when we’re in the U.S.! Swedish chef Fredrik Berselius’ tasting menu showcases innovative twists on Nordic classics, such as langoustine with violets, potato pancake with pommes soufflé and a roe emulsion, and their signature mushroom fudge-filled æbleskiver with woodruff syrup. There’s so much “hygge” at this cozy Brooklyn restaurant, as well as a focus on sustainability and great natural wines. Aska has had two Michelin stars since 2016.

Feeling fancy? Go to Francie! This buzzy Williamsburg restaurant has an easygoing brasserie feel, with a nice blend of American and French cuisines.The duck might be the hyped main course, but the prime côte de boeuf is the absolute necessity on your table. Perfectly cooked meat, with melt-in-your-mouth marbling – this was one of the best steaks we’ve had in our entire life. It’s a steep $200 for this dish, but we would argue that it’s worth every penny. The steak is served with a light-as-air, fluffy maple hollandaise, a sweet and salty magical sauce that elevated this dish to world-class. The triple-cooked fries didn’t hurt, either. Other menu highlights: the handmade pasta, and the seasonal bombolini (doughnuts) – ours were filled with honeynut squash, and topped with parmesan fonduta, pancetta, chives, and truffle shavings.

A trendy Williamsburg natural wine bar with a Michelin star? Trust us, we were just as skeptical as you, but the food here absolutely blew us away. We ordered practically every dish on chef Nick Curtola's concise à la carte menu, and each bite was so good that we were very close to ordering them all again. From the braised leek toast with whipped ricotta and Cantabrian anchovies, to the crispy potato cubes with crème fraîche, chives and Japanese curry, to the fried chicken with black maitake mushrooms, cipollini onions, and marsala, every bite was a banger, and left us craving more.

For comforting Italian dishes and natural wine, visit Leo, an easygoing neighborhood in Williamsburg. The vibe at the restaurant is relaxed, the service friendly, and the wine list overflowing with the likes of Momento Mori, Julie Balagny, and Le Coste. The menu sports Italian staples like focaccia with whipped ricotta, hearty meatballs in tomato sauce, pastas like mafaldine with short rib ragu, and, of course, sourdough pizza – one of their specialties. For dessert, Leo offers a seasonal soft serve swirl. On our visit, the ice cream flavors were kabocha squash and salted caramel.

Edith’s is a must-try breakfast sandwich hotspot, taking Jewish deli classics and modernizing them. Their BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese) has a latke (potato pancake) inside the bagel sandwich, which adds a really nice crispy texture to the soft eggs and cheese. Our favorite item here was the Sephardi Breakfast Wrap, which stuffs a malawach (a flaky layered bread) with chicken sausage, cheesy scrambled eggs, pickled Fresno peppers, herbs, and harissa mayo. We also loved the Middle Eastern breakfast sandwich, which combines an omelette-style egg with house-made tomato jam, Israeli farmers cheese, aleppo, and herbs, served on a bagel. Don’t miss the coffee slushie, made with oat milk and tahini. Edith's has opened a second location in the West Village.

One of our favorite bites in NYC is the scallion pancake egg sandwich at Win Son Bakery. It reminds us of a cheesy quesadilla on a flour tortilla, but with the wonderful addition of scallion. (Big fans of alliums here!) This dish was so good that we ordered seconds immediately after finishing our first sandwich. On the side is their signature Ginger Deluxe sauce (a blend of kewpie mayo, ginger, scallion, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, garlic), which was so delicious we bought a bottle to bring home with us. We also adore the Fan Tuan (the rice roll with the fried dough and pork floss inside) and the mochi donut.

This iconic Bushwick pizzeria looks like a grungy dive bar on the outside – the entrance is wallpapered with stickers and graffiti, and the building itself feels like an abandoned warehouse, with shipping containers as makeshift walls. But the space has charm, in a rock-and-roll sort of way, and, despite the no-frills venue, Roberta’s can still draw a long line for their pizza. Once you snag a seat, order the signature “Bee Sting” pizza, topped with mozzarella, large slices of soppressata, and a drizzle of hot honey. In the summer, the big backyard with communal tables and a bar is a great spot to hang outside with a glass of natural wine. Now, Roberta’s has become an international chain with locations all over the world, but the original Bushwick location will always be a piece of New York pizza history.

Founded in 2013, Sey is a Brooklyn-based coffee roaster with a café in Bushwick. Sey believes that a good cup of coffee starts at the source, so they exclusively partner with small farmers who are as dedicated as they are to sustainability and transparency. They roast in the Nordic style, light and delicate, to highlight the natural flavors and acidity of the beans. You might pay an above average price for a cup here (on our last visit the pour-overs ranged from $9-18), but you can be sure that this coffee is worth every penny.

There’s no shortage of pizza and natural wine joints in Brooklyn, but Ops Pizza happens to make our favorite pie in New York. The pizza here leans Neapolitan, with a very fluffy sourdough base and modern, creative toppings. The potato, ricotta, and broccoli rabe pie was a standout, and we also loved the one with oyster mushrooms, guanciale, gouda, and Brussels sprouts. Ops’ insane wine list includes bottles from Partida Creus, Lammidia, Christian Tschida, Matassa, Le Coste, Escoda-Sanahuja, and Anders Fredrik Steen. This is well worth the trek to Bushwick!

One of our favorite burgers in the world is found at a pizza restaurant in Brooklyn. What makes it so perfect? The Emmy Burger is made with extremely high quality meat (dry-aged and perfectly cooked medium rare) in one big, juicy patty; a healthy amount of melted cheddar cheese; sweet, caramelized onions; a fluffy yet sturdy bun that tastes like a brioche and pretzel bun hybrid; and a slightly spicy sauce that brings all the flavors together. It’s sweet, it’s salty, it’s an umami bomb exploding in your mouth. It’s not a cheap burger (it costs $31 USD), but it’s worth every penny. Emily has become a nationwide chain and expanded with another concept called Emmy Squared, but only the original Emily in Clinton Hill serves this EXACT version of the Emmy Burger.

Sailor, the latest venture from April Bloomfield, is the perfect place for a sunny summer brunch in Brooklyn. Naturally, the burger has become a signature here, a thick patty cooked to your preference with melted onions and cheddar on a crispy bun. It’s easily one of the best burgers in the city, with a hearty, umami flavor and some funk. We also loved the Turkish eggs, a total garlic bomb that comes with a bubbly, deep-fried flatbread for saucy scooping. But best of all was the French toast – and this dish is worth a visit alone. The spice-soaked polenta bread is super moist with a rustic, toothy texture, served in a pool of maple syrup and topped with a deliciously salty vanilla cream. It’s one of the best French toasts we’ve ever had.

You can find some of NYC’s best ice cream at Malai, a woman-owned, Brooklyn-born ice cream shop. The name "malai" means "cream of the crop" and refers to the high butterfat content in Indian desserts. All of the spice-forward flavors are inspired by the South Asian flavors of the founder’s childhood. Our favorite was the rose with cinnamon-roasted almonds, which we paired with the masala chai – an extremely aromatic combination. We also sampled lemon cardamom, saffron pistachio, pumpkin garam masala crumble, orange fennel, pineapple pink peppercorn, and coffee cardamom. These are some of the best and most unique ice creams we’ve tried. Malai also has two rotating soft-serve flavors. During our visit, mango and coconut were on offer. When swirled together, they tasted like mango sticky rice, with the flavors enhanced by the contrasting textures of the silky mango soft-serve and its chunky, coconut-flake-studded counterpart.

It’s well worth the trek out to Red Hook and the long wait in line to get your hands on NYC’s best barbecue. As live music plays and the smell of smoked meat permeates the neighborhood, it’s easy to forget you’re not in Texas. Of course, the brisket is the true test of every great barbecue joint, and Hometown’s is up there with the best of them. It’s exceptionally fatty and melts on the tongue. But our favorite item here is the beef rib, with meat so tender it falls off the bone. Other must-orders include a slice of the thick-slab pastrami bacon and both the brisket and pastrami sandwiches. Hometown Bar-B-Que serves some of the best barbecue we’ve had, even rivaling some of the Texas greats.