New York City's Best Neighborhoods for Eating, Ranked

“ A metropolis of neighborhood . ” That ’s the shibboleth , anyway . Across its five boroughs , New York has hundreds of individual communities , each with its own unique characteristics . And while you could find something dependable to eat in virtually any one of them , not every one is deserving the schlep when you likely have something corresponding in your own part of town .

So , we ranked 18 of the most popular dining neighborhood in New York City , have into account a assortment of things : an abundance of restaurant ( obviously ) , both high- and low-toned - brow transportation , a various ambit of culinary art ( sometimes even cuisines within cuisine ) , and , overall , whether or not they ’re exciting , fun places to visit , eat , and explore .

18. Sunset Park

Essential eating place : Ba Xuyen , Pacificana , Tacos El Bronco , Peng Shun Spicy Pot , Yun Nan Flavour Garden

citizenry head to Sunset Park for two matter , really : greaser and dumplings . The diverse South Brooklyn community , sandwich between Greenwood Cemetery and Bay Ridge , is split into a brace of eat zones : on the west side , you ’ll find Latin American solid food , and on the east side , Asiatic food . Dim sum , in exceptional , is the locality ’s strong suit , with several of the urban center ’s best Hong Kong - elan banquet hall , including the freshly remodeled Pacificana , the first place that arrest people thinking of Sunset Park as a dim - total address to set about with . But while all the affordable solid food merit a day trip , there ’s still not a fate go on here in the way of dinner spots .

17. Jackson Heights

crucial eating place : Arepa Lady , Jackson Diner , Lhasa Fast Food , Samudra

While Curry Hill is still a haven for a with child Indian food , some of the very best can be found in Second Earl of Guilford - key Queens . Jackson Heights is house to the venerable Jackson Diner , which offers a vast ( and screwball cheap ! ) buffet of curries , biryanis , and the comparable . You ’ve also dumbfound vegetable - focused South Amerindic specializer like Dosa Delight and Samudra ; Tibetan dumpling from Lhasa Fast Food , which operate out of the back of a cell telephone computer memory ; and arepas from the neighborhood ’s renowned Arepa Lady , who parlayed her democratic food pushcart into a bonafide brick - and - howitzer placement . Chef Tony Liu ( formerly of Morandi and Pulino ’s ) is also set to spread his new American bistro the Queensboro later this wintertime . But , as with Sunset Park , Jackson Heights is still growing as a dining neighbourhood , and is n’t as heavy as other destination .

16. Chinatown

Essential restaurants : Nom Wah Tea Parlor , Peking Duck House , Fung Tu , Great New York Noodletown , Big Wong , Lam Zhou Handmade Noodles

If you ’re count for the urban center ’s honest Chinese food , you ’re not going to encounter it in Manhattan . While redden declare oneself a much more diverse selection of regional Chinese food for thought ( and thus a higher ranking on this inclination ) , Manhattan ’s Chinatown is a highly hard area of great , affordable chuck – perhaps the best representation of that in the entire borough . The good path to have a solid Sunday is to pass on that Lower East Side boozy brunch and head west to wander Mott and its surround streets : grab plates of vague substance at Nom Wah , potstickers and noodles at Lam Zhou , and Peking duck’s egg at Peking Duck House . And then head to Flushing the next weekend for even better Chinese .

15. West Village

indispensable eatery : Spotted Pig , Corner Bistro , Minetta Tavern , Sushi Nakazawa , Barbuto

The West Village will always be the neighborhood that answer the question “ Where should we go for dinner ? Somewhere unruffled and cunning . ” Whether you ’re eating April Bloomfield ’s famed Roquefort burger at the Spotted Pig at 5:30pm because that ’s the only time you could get in , or spend your life preservation on the best sushi of your biography at Sushi Nakazawa , your dinner will be “ quiet and cute . ” That ’s not to say it wo n’t be noisy inside many West Village eating house , or that the Interior wo n’t sometimes be a small unappealing , but there ’s something inherently tranquil and serene about the region , so that when you spill out onto the sidewalk after use up a $ 32 Black Label Burger at Minetta Tavern , or a $ 10.75 Bistro Burger at Corner Bistro , you ca n’t help oneself but have one of those exceptionally cheesy but secretly profoundly gratifying “ ah , this is why I bonk New York ” moments . And then a puke will probably run over your foot and the moment will be over .

14. Astoria

Essential restaurants : HinoMaru , MP Taverna , Mothership , Taverna Kyclades , Queens Comfort

This leafy Queens community has always been the metropolis ’s go - to spot for Greek cuisine , with places like Agnanti , Taverna Kyclades , and chef Michael Psilakis ’ modish MP Taverna . But there ’s a lot more to the area than just gyro and grilled bronzino . The locality now offers ramen at HinoMaru , Thai intellectual nourishment at Pye Boat Noodle , Cajun sweetheart at Sugar Freak , reefer - to - your - arteries American classics at Queens Comfort , as well as one of the buzziest new barbecue joints in townsfolk , pitmaster Josh Bowen ’s Texas - theme Mothership . you’re able to even examine a kangaroo Warren Burger at at Australian - inspired Thirsty Koala . As varied as the options may be , there are often enceinte disruption in between the popular place , preserve for a small concentrated part along Ditmars Blvd , which do hopping around from place to localise difficult .

13. SoHo

all-important restaurants : Mimi , Charlie Bird , Le Coucou , Cafe Altro Paradiso , Alidoro , Navy , Blue Ribbon Brasserie , Raoul ’s

It ’s not often someone suggests deplete in SoHo , unless they flew in from Germany or Minnesota that morning time and spend the following three time of day inside Zara buying gemmed knitwear . But the fact of the affair is , tourer or not , SoHo is a dining destination , albeit a generally expensive and almost entirely westerly - Europe - influenced one . That ’s most of what you ’ve got here : restaurants like Charlie Bird , for trendy , date - night Italian and ‘ 90s articulatio coxae - record hop ; or the Estela team ’s new Cafe Altro Paradiso , also for some more trendy , date Nox - Italian ( minus the ‘ XC hip - hop ) ; or , just 10 minute off , Daniel Rose ’s still newfangled but applaud Le Coucou , which formally gives Balthazar a run for its money as the reigning neighborhood fancy French food for thought destination . In addition to the fact that the solid food scene really is n’t that diverse , SoHo ’s major fall will always be the fact that there is n’t enough space to walk down the street , let alone grab a arse at a board .

12. Harlem

all important restaurants : The Cecil , B2,Jin Ramen , Mountain Bird , Rao’s , Red Rooster

Beyond Rao ’s , the famous Italian restaurant that could make even a Goldman Sachs exec feel like a peasant with its notoriously impossible - to - break up door policy in town , Uptown Manhattan is traditionally known for its soul solid food , exemplified by longstanding institutions like Sylvia ’s and Melba ’s . A decade ago , celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson add up a contemporaneous semblance to this comforting style of cook with the opening of Red Rooster , which still draws bunch to the neighbourhood . Over the retiring few years , Harlem has go a fresh injectant of cooking gift , most notably at The Cecil , where chef JJ Johnson is doing fantastically interesting African - inspired dishes like tamarindo oxtails , and Mountain Bird , which need the art of poultry preparedness to unprecedented heights . Newer addition B2 , with its slick surroundings and reinvigorated seafood , keeps the momentum going . It ’s no doubt a dining area on the wage hike , but Harlem still very much lack the critical mess of some of its neighbour Downtown .

11. Carroll Gardens

substantive eatery : Battersby , Buttermilk Channel , Lucali , Frankies 457

What put Carroll Gardens apart from its virtually undistinguishable leafy , brownstone - lined South Brooklyn neighbors is the higher denseness of address - suitable eatery . Among these are a dyad of places where you’re able to get southerly - dash fried wimp at northeasterly - trend Price – Buttermilk Channel and Wilma Jean – as well as a highly honored pizzeria , Lucali , known for attracting local mogul twosome Jay Z and Beyonce . But perchance the single most defining location is Frankies 457 , a quintessential neighborhood eating place that hints at the domain ’s past as a operate - class Italian - American enclave while also allow for all the modern refinement of its present - sidereal day bourgeois - Rommany reality .

10. Koreatown

crucial restaurants : Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong , Muk Eun Ji , Shilla , Her Name Is Han

Korean food , peculiarly KBBQ , has never been more popular in New York . Flushing is home to some of the very best ( are you sensing a trend here ? ) , but Manhattan ’s Koreatown is still its own distinct ( however small ) dining terminus . The heart of the region is the very tiny strip of W 32nd between Broadway and 5th Ave , where you ’ll line up places like Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong , the exceedingly democratic South Korean mini - chain that started in Flushing and has another location in LA ( and was , until recently , helmed by Momofuku veterinary surgeon chef Deuki Hong ) . The rest of the comic strip is mostly made up of no - frills 24 - minute spot , like Muk Eun Ji , which is known for its kimchee , and Shilla , which touts some of the best pork barrel belly in the urban center . For more modern Korean fare , there ’s Her Name Is Han , just around the corner . Of course , the very proficient clock time to wipe out in the neighbourhood is post - karaoke , sooner around 2 or 3 am . ( Late - night spot Pocha 32 is heavy for this . ) Though dense with dining places , Koreatown lose points for being so small , and for lacking the belt of first-class Korean supermarket and ( like Manhattan ’s Chinatown ) the greater diversity that Flushing go .

9. Nolita

Essential restaurants : Pasquale Jones , Uncle Boons , Estela , Prince Street Pizza , Parm , Rubirosa

Nolita is a pizza neighbourhood . That makes sensory faculty , give that 20 age ago , before Realtor tried to capitalize on an inflow of trendy computer memory and restaurants by giving the sphere a flashy portmanteau , it was still view part of Little Italy ; it ’s that history that gives the region a adequate high- and dispirited - brow mix . Prince Street Pizza is arguably New York ’s good slice spliff ( in the main because of that Spicy Spring public square ) , while Pasquale Jones holds it down on the trendy / expensive front with its remarkably good clam pie . Mulberry Street itself could make up the area as a dining destination – particularly the occlusion between Prince and Spring where you ’ll encounter Major Food Group ’s Parm doing dressed - up Italian - American , more pizza pie ( this clip of the thin - crust variety ) at Rubirosa , and several other solid luncheon spots ( Ruby ’s for burgers , Grey Dog for coffee and sandwiches ) . While it ’s easy to rope Nolita in with SoHo , the sliver of a ' hood is truly its own distinct food neighborhood , and there ’s something kind of courteous about the fact that it remain ( middling ) lawful to its Italian - American roots .

8. Chelsea

all important eating house : Cookshop , Del Posto , Dizgenoff , L’Amico , La Sirena , Lupulo , Momofuku Nishi

Chelsea is a big neighborhood full of bad - name chefs doing adult - time stuff . Between the first non - Philly frontier settlement of Michael Solomonov ’s Israeli spot Dizgenoff ( located inside Chelsea Market ) , Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich ’s long - awaited Del Posto take after - up , La Sirena , and David Chang ’s Korean - inspired Nishi , the neighborhood is hardly lack in star power – but it still feel less exciting and diverse than more fresh - faced parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn , and the sudden expiration of Tom Colicchio ’s eminent - remnant Colicchio & Sons a few calendar month back does n’t help oneself .

7. Park Slope/Prospect Heights

Essential eating house : Al Di La , Bricolage , Chuko , Franny’s , Olmsted , Stone Park Cafe

There ’s a mountain to like about these adjoin - twin communities abutting Brooklyn ’s scenic Prospect Park . Down in the Slope , you ’ll chance beloved stalwarts Al Di La and Stone Park Cafe – both of which continue to crowd the sidewalk with waiting customers despite their veteran condition – as well as newer standouts like the Vietnamese - inspired Bricolage , with its lavish backyard , knavish wine-coloured list , and brightly spiced dishes . Meanwhile , up in the Heights , the borough ’s most critically applaud restaurant in age , Olmsted , casts a spotlight on the surging vibrancy of Vanderbilt Ave . The anchor merge both sides of Flatbush Ave remains Franny ’s , the pioneering farm - to - table pizza shop that reopened in 2013 just a light walk away from its original jibe . Together , the combined domain is swimming in ramen , sushi , and every Americanized spin on Mexican food imaginable . The principal job here is the bedtime . This is a household - well-disposed , clayey baby carriage - traffic area , and eating place tend to follow suit . tardy - night eats are few and far between .

6. Gramercy/Flatiron

Essential restaurants : Upland , Maialino , Joe Junior , Gramercy Tavern , Eleven Madison Park , Shake Shack , Le Coq Rico

Gramercy / Flatiron is Danny Meyer ’s townspeople , really , with the Union Square Hospitality Group CEO behind the rustic Italian trattoria Maialino and Michelin - starred Gramercy Tavern , not to mention Michelin - starred Eleven Madison Park ( also the No . 3 best eating house in North America ) , which USHG sold to chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara in 2011 . There are also dependable newcomers – places like Upland and Le Coq Rico , which also tout upscale menus ( one California - inspired , the other , very French ) but are more or less more within budget . The area would honestly be mellow up on the list if it was n’t so hard to incur somewhere you could go to for function other than your parent ’ annual visit to town or your former roommate ’s thirty-fifth birthday dinner . The one saving good will ? Two of the city ’s best , and cheapest , burgers : the double-dyed diner burger at Joe Junior , and the pure fast - nutrient burger at Shake Shack ( also from Meyer , obviously ) .

5. Williamsburg

Essential restaurants : Lilia , Peter Luger , Fette Sau , Lighthouse , top executive County Imperial , St. Anselm , Bamonte ’s

It ’s obvious , trusted . The hype around Williamsburg is far from dying down , but that does n’t mean it ’s all undeserving . The super popular Brooklyn region is dwelling house to two of the city ’s absolute best places for steak : Peter Luger ( manifestly ) , and the slenderly - less obvious St. Anselm , which does steak that ’s arguably as good as Luger ’s for far less . On top of that , Williamsburg grade high for its full variety of cuisines and cost item – from some of the urban center ’s best BBQ at Fette Sau , to old - school red - sauce dishes at Bamonte ’s , to definitely not honest-to-god - school red sauce pastas at Missy Robbins ’ Lilia . In fact , the only thing keeping Williamsburg from climbing higher up on this lean is the fact that just about everywhere you go still feels like it ’s trying firmly to be “ Williamsburg , ” or at least , what we take that to mean in 2016 .

4. Lower East Side

Essential restaurant : Katz’s , Wildair , Contra , Russ & Daughters Cafe , Ivan Ramen , unsporting French , Mission Chinese Food , Pig & Khao , Dirt Candy

Like a lot of New York vicinity , the Lower East Side is n’t quite what it used to be ( i.e. a gritty , politically radical , artist- and immigrant - dominate residential district ) but it ’s still a neighbourhood that thrive on history – see in particular in its longstanding Jewish dining brass , Katz ’s Delicatessen and Russ & Daughters ( the latter of which dumbfound a spinoff sitdown restaurant a few blocks away in 2014 ) .

In addition to the best pastrami sandwich and best bagel with lox – which locals and tourist likewise are still bully on hold back an unthinkably long clip for – the neighborhood is also home to a craw of new places that have had a hired hand in defining ( or reshaping ) NYC ’s dining cultivation . Fabian von Hauske and Jeremiah Stone ’s Contra and Wildair deform the traditional ideas of try menu and wine parallel bars on their straits with menus that are voguish and imaginative , but wo n’t fix you back hundreds of clam . Danny Bowien ’s Mission Chinese Food – a San Francisco import – change everything New Yorkers thought they make out about the scope of modernistic , Americanized Chinese cookery . And Amanda Cohen ’s Dirt Candy , which relocate from the East Village to a large LES locating just last year , has entirely revolutionized vegetarian cuisine in the city and beyond .

Best Eating Neighborhoods NYC

Nom Wah|PAUL WAGTOUICZ

3. Arthur Avenue (Belmont)

substantive restaurants : Tra Di Noi , Mario’s , Zero Otto Nove , Casa Della Mozzarella , Randazzo ’s Seafood , Artuso ’s

As much as your Aunt Shelly from Jersey might render to convert you that the moth-eaten cannolis and nearly sauceless spaghetti in Little Italy are “ just like nonna ’s , ” everyone knows the real classical red - sauce roast are found up in the Bronx on Arthur Ave .

Arthur Ave is n’t just a place to go have a attractively messy crustal plate of old - schooling lasagna Bolognese ( though that ’s something you absolutely should do , specifically at Tra Di Noi ) – it ’s a fashion - right - than - Eataly meat , high mallow , bread , alimentary paste , afters , and espresso paradise . you may easily spend a day poke around this reach of Belmont , stoke up on poppycock to take home from places like Mike ’s Deli in the Arthur Avenue Retail Market ( heal meats and cheese ) ; Tino ’s Deli ( imported anchovies , olive oils , and pastas ) ; Casa Della Mozzarella ( fresh mozzarella and burrata ) ; Madonia Brothers Bakery ( olive bread ) ; and Calabria Pork Store ( the undecomposed sausages in the metropolis ) . Once all that food shopping has properly tired you out , then you should go sit down at a red - checkered board at Tra Di Noi for that lasagna . Or at Zero Otto Nove for some Salerno - style pizza . Or at Artuso ’s for New York ’s best cannoli and a coffee berry . Arthur Ave is a place to take your metre , and set yourself up for a calendar week ’s Charles Frederick Worth of remnant .

2. East Village

indispensable restaurants : Narcissa , Oiji , Jeepney , Momofuku Ko , Ducks Eatery , Babu Ji , Noreetuh , Brindle Room , Tuome , Motorino

In the last few year , the East Village has conk out through something of a Murray Hill - ification , which is to say , it got a sudden inflow of former frat bros ( for lack of a near condition ) who work on Wall Street and spend their nights drinking along the fratty flight strip of Second and Third Ave ( The 13th measure , Professor Thom ’s , Penny Farthing ) . There ’s not A LOT wrong with wassail cheap beer and bragging about how many little girl you catch some Z’s with in college , but it ’s fair to say some may happen it off - putting . Then again , some people also found it off - putt when a once gritty , Polish - heavy neighbourhood was penetrate by gamy - ending eating house and expensive co - ops . The point is : New York is constantly change , and the East Village may not be the “ cool ” neighbourhood anymore , but that has no bearing on whether or not it has great food – and this remain true : East Village still has great food .

The cause the East Village gets ranked so eminent on this tilt is because of its sheer diverseness , density , and the fact that virtually all of its wildly acclaim restaurants negociate to keep the pretension levels low . From the furor - favorite dear butter chipping at Oiji , to the fat brisket at Ducks Eatery , to the clever yogurt kebabs at Babu Ji , to what is arguably the metropolis ’s very good Warren Burger at Brindle Room , to quite literally anything you could get at Momofuku Ko ( assuming you’re able to get in ) , the East Village is rife with dining option , about all of which merit your time . As with any ultra - democratic dining region , it may take a little while to get a mesa at these establishments , but it ’s prosperous to kill time people watching and roaming the blocks that still tout old Polish and Ukrainian restaurants alongside Nipponese dessert shop and Neapolitan pizza pie joints .

sunset park

Ruth Tobias/Thrillist

1. Flushing

Essential restaurants : Dumpling Galaxy , Fu Ran , Joe ’s Shanghai , Mapo BBQ , New World Mall Food Court , Szechuan Mountain House , White Bear

San Francisco lays call to America ’s first Chinatown , but NYC presently boasts the most telling one . And it ’s not in Manhattan . Downtown scour is home to one of the largest Chinese populations on this side of the world . As such , it boast some of the best Chinese food anywhere . By that , we mean all kinds : from Greco-Roman Cantonese and hot Sichuan to lesser known regional cuisines like Uighur . And dining here is by no means limit to the many influences of mainland China alone . Take a quick look around the New World Mall nutrient court and you ’ll quickly get a gumption of the continental Asian scope : dumpling , noodle , shabu shabu , teriyaki , takoyaki , oh my !

Nearby , White Bear on Roosevelt Ave dish up up the most incredible wontons in chili oil , while Fu Run , just around the niche on Prince St , offers delicious Northeastern - style cumin - covered Muslim lamb , and the original Joe ’s Shanghai , on 37th St , keep cranking out thoroughgoing soup dumplings like it has since 1995 . In fact , there ’s a dizzying array of speciality throughout the surrounding street , likeexcellent Amerindic dosasat Ganesh Temple Canteen and honorable Korean - fashion grill meats at Mapo BBQ .

Dosa Delight

Dosa Delight|Flickr/Garrett Ziegler

Flushing is also the place of origin of one of the metropolis ’s most addictive and fastest - develop restaurant chains , Xi’an Famous Foods , household of the spit - tingle hand - ripped racy dear bonce , which could soon reach juice bar - level ubiquity in the city . With 11 localisation ( and count ) there ’s a little bite of even now in both Manhattan and Brooklyn , but near nothing of Manhattan and Brooklyn in Flushing . Not foodwise anyway .

You could spend an entire day here eat up up the neighborhood ’s external smorgasbord and still spend less than a individual repast at some Michelin - star restaurant in Midtown . It ’s the image of address dining in New York City , and the closest you ’ll come to Hong Kong without shelling out for the 16 - hour trajectory . All you need is a underground card . And a tremendous appetite .

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Chinatown