The 10 Restaurants That Defined New York Dining in 2025
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We asked our contributors to the Resy Hit List to share their top dining experiences in their cities this year — to choose 10 restaurants that define the state of great dining right now. Welcome back our Best of The Hit List for 2025.
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If there’s a common thread among New York’s standout restaurants this year, it’s that they were fearless. They possessed clear points of view, and didn’t waver. They did things their way. And we were all the better, and fuller, for it.
Some, like the pitch-perfect Lei, the thrilling Bong, and the revived Adda, pulled no punches when it came to celebrating the personal heritage and culture of their chefs and owners. Others, like Smithereens and I Cavallini, marched to a more conceptual beat, extolling the bounties of New England and Italy in their own unique ways. At Banh Anh Em and Schmuck, commitment to craft was always on full display, whether it revolved around bánh mì or cocktails. There was inspiration from across the Atlantic, a joyous Mexican twist on the steakhouse, and so much more.
With that, here’s a look at our 10 most memorable New York dining experiences of 2025, and here’s to many more in the year ahead.
1. Lei Chinatown
Photo by Matt Russell, courtesy of Lei
Next to the city’s oldest Chinese restaurant, Nom Wah Tea Parlor on Doyers Street, is one of the newest, and most exemplary. At a time when so many excellent wine bars with unique perspectives and exciting menus call New York home — places like Sunn’s or Lai Rai — Lei stands out. What King co-owner Annie Shi has created here is something truly special: a jewel box where the food is distinctly Chinese American, while the wines span the globe. Patty Lee’s menu is not composed of “traditional” Chinese American classics, instead offering new favorites to be embraced, like Lady Edison Jinhua ham with thinly sliced seasonal fruit; a Chinese omelette reminiscent of a tortilla Española, studded with aged white jade radish; and warm sesame shao bing with a cold pat of butter tucked inside. Lei is the kind of place where you could easily linger for a full meal, especially with dishes like sweet and sour braised short rib sweetened with strawberry jam. But it’s also one where you can stop in for a quick bite of fried whiting, dusted with tai tiao seaweed powder, paired with a glass of dry Jurançon, and an order of the sticky toffee rice pudding to finish. In short, it is the kind of place you can find yourself going to again and again. And we will.
Photo by Matt Russell, courtesy of Lei
2. Smithereens East Village
No other seafood restaurant in New York is quite like this subterranean spot from Claud alum Nicholas Tamburo and Momofuku Ko alum Nikita Malhotra. Once you go, you’ll find out exactly why and how. Smithereens is very much a celebration of New England-style seafood joints, from the housemade anadama bread served with seaweed butter (a must) to the iconic lobster roll, but it does all this in unexpected, unique ways. The potato roll for that lobster roll gets brushed in butter infused with roasted lobster shells, and chunks of freshly steamed lobster are tossed in mayonnaise made from reduced lobster stock. Tamburo cleverly crafts smoky abalone skewers with shitake mushrooms and pairs them with a cured egg yolk. His twist on clam chowder invokes the spirit of a brothy risotto. And he barbecues a whole mackerel with allspice, lime and tamarind. And if you love white wine, Malhotra’s fondness for riesling puts you in good company — but whatever you’re in the mood for, you’re bound to find it here.
3. Bong Crown Heights
Bong encapsulates deeply personal cooking in the city right now, perhaps more than any other newcomer. Helmed by partners in life and business, Chakriya “Cha” Un and Alexander “Chapi” Chaparro, it’s an exciting, vibrant exploration of Khmer food that you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else, certain in New York. Dishes draw their bold tastes from a variety of sources, including fragrant lemongrass, galangal, and fiery chiles grown by Un’s parents in South Carolina. There’s a showstopping whole lobster — named for Un’s mom, Kim Mann, who sometimes cooks in the kitchen, too — slicked with shallots and ginger, as well as a juicy heritage pork chop whose fattiness is tempered by a sauce of tomatillos, mustard seeds, and curry leaves. Cha kapiek, a spicy shrimp and peanut dip served with crudite, packs a punch, and clams machew, swathed in a sour broth of tamarind and lemongrass, is sublime. The art-filled space is tiny, with just 20 seats inside and a few scattered on the patio in good weather, but you never feel quite cramped; Bong’s uniquely Khmer flavors, and warm hospitality, make sure of that.
4. Bánh Anh Em East Village
If New York’s Vietnamese food scene seemed limited a decade ago, that’s certainly not the case anymore, especially with restaurants like Ha’s Snack Bar and Mắm. From day one, Bánh Anh Em has been a sensation, drawing lines outside the door, with diners across the city eager to order their warming bowls of phở, platters of bouncy bánh cuốn, and freshly baked bánh mì, stuffed with everything from tender, charcoal-grilled ribeye and housemade pâté to fried tofu. The hype is more than deserved; following their success with Com Tam Ninh Kieu in the Bronx, and Bánh Vietnamese Shop House on the Upper West Side, chef Nhu Ton and restaurateur John Nguyen, ambitiously embark on making nearly everything here in house, from the crackly baguettes for the bánh mì to the smooth and silky rice flour sheets Ton makes — a weeklong process — for the bánh cuốn. This isn’t so much a reinvention or reinterpretation of Vietnamese food as much as it is a declaration of its craft, and care — and it’s a difference you can taste.
Walk-ins only. More info here.
5. ADDA East Village
This was also the year that showmanship in hospitality took center stage, and Adda’s much-talked-about butter chicken experience is a tableside endeavor that lives up to the hype: Taking a humble dish some chefs might write off as an embarrassment, they’ve reclaimed it and made it their own. But beyond the theatrics, Adda remains one of the city’s essential restaurants for its devotion to heritage, and claiming pride in it. The new location in the East Village doesn’t bear much resemblance to the original one that chef Chintan Pandya and restaurateur Roni Mazumdar first opened in a tiny storefront in Queens, but its spirit of warmth and honest, creative cooking remains. You’ll still find favorites like the bheja (goat brain) masala and the goat biryani, but they’ve also expanded the menu handsomely to include even more, like Nagaland pork fry and a vegetarian pulao studded with morels. And together with chef de cuisine Neel Kajale, they’ve continued their quest to make diners reconsider what Indian food can be.
6. schmuck. East Village
Another spot in the East Village drawing lines outside its doors was this cocktail bar from the duo behind one of Barcelona’s most beloved bars, Two Schmucks. In New York, they’ve created a bar that truly feels like your favorite laid-back house party, in a setting that’s best described as “mid-century-modern-meets-space-age-meets-1970’s basement chic.” Schmuck is comprised of two distinct spaces and menus: the Living Room, which has limited reservations, and the walk-in-only Kitchen Table. Vibes aside, what you’re really here for are the drinks, and the irreverent, expertly crafted cocktails more than deliver, as do the highly snackable bites, like crushed potatoes and a deeply satisfying chocolate mousse drizzled with olive oil and flakes of sea salt. You can’t go wrong with whatever drink you order, but the Bread With Tomatoes and Larb Gai are a good place to start.
7. Crevette West Village
There’s no shortage of restaurants here or elsewhere that like to say they dabble in the cuisines of coastal Spain and France, but few do it as successfully or delightfully as chef Ed Szymanski and restaurateur Patricia Howard (Dame, Lord’s) do at their third restaurant. Crevette is certainly an homage to the region, but it never takes itself too seriously, or too literally in the process. The result is a crowdpleasing menu with something for everyone: The martinis are served ice cold, the raw bar selection is on point, the Spanish tortilla gets topped with a generous portion of padrón peppers, and the grilled golden chicken is served with a heaping pile of the most perfectly crisp fries. The grilled wild mushrooms, dotted with lardo and topped with the sunniest of egg yolks, are rich and bursting with flavor. And then, of course, there are the desserts, like rhum cake with grilled pineapple and butterscotch, or churros with fig leaf custard and plum compote. What more could you ask for?
8. I Cavallini Williamsburg
New York has had a longstanding love affair with Italian restaurants. But this year in particular there seemed to be a renaissance of sorts, with newcomers like Osteria Radisa and JR & Son eager to do things a bit differently, whether zeroing in on a specific region, or playing within the confines of a nostalgic red-sauce restaurant. At the forefront of this movement, however, is this second restaurant from the supremely talented team behind The Four Horsemen. I Cavallini (“little horses”) builds on the foundation established by chef and partner Nick Curtola just across the street at the Horsemen, and while the menu is more Italian, it remains an expression of Curtola’s culinary leanings: unafraid to break with traditions and deeply rooted in local ingredients. Risina beans from Umbria make a perfect landing pad for a juicy steak of bluefin tuna belly. Swiss Belper Knolle cheese blankets delicate strands of trofie slicked with pesto. Housemade foccaccia gets paired with whipped ricotta and roasted cherry tomatoes. Housemade lamb sausage comes with chanterelles, dates, and koginut squash. It’s Italian food, as only Curtola and his team could do it.
9. Cuerno Midtown
The New York steakhouse continued to thrive this year, with new entrants like Daniel Boulud’s La Tête d’Or and Sam Yoo’s Golden Hof putting their own unique twists on the category (drawing inspiration from France and Korea, respectively). At this spot near Rockefeller Center, the inspiration comes from Mexico: Ribeyes are crusted salt with from Colima, or served with a side of salsa piquin limón. Skirt steak is served with chiltepin butter, garlic chips, and avocado salsa. Slow-roasted short ribs are glazed with tamarind and pickled onions. And then there are the tacos, filled with everything from ribeye and chicharron to Baja-styled fried branzino to crispy pork belly with avocado crema, or portobello mushrooms with Chihuahua cheese — all with handmade tortillas. If you really want to splurge, opt for the skirt steak tacos paired with fire-roasted bone marrow, prepared tableside. In short, Cuerno is a refreshing and pitch-perfect take on a New York City dining institution, and yet another example of the depth and breadth of Mexican cooking to be found here.
10. Maison Passerelle Financial District
Photo courtesy of Maison Passerelle
New Yorkers have always had a thing for French restaurants, and while the Italian brigade saw a resurgence this year, Team Gaul continued to flourish, as seen with Alexia Duchene’s Le Chêne. Maison Passerelle, from chef Gregory Gourdet, is particularly special, however, and especially worth your attention. While it hews to classic French brasserie standards like steak frites, roast chicken, and duck confit, every dish possesses a novel, subversive twist that nods to Gourdet’s thoughtful ways: 30-day-aged New York strip gets rubbed in Haitian coffee; roast chicken is accompanied by soubise and a harissa jus; and duck confit gets glazed in cane syrup and accented with a tamarind jus. By drawing from the diaspora of cultures impacted by French colonization, Gourdet masterfully weaves a menu that feels wholly French — the restaurant is inside the Printemps department store, after all — but also uniquely one of a kind. Whatever you do, don’t overlook the warm plantain bread and butter, or the coconut chiboust, a delightful dessert take on chaud-froid.
Photo courtesy of Maison Passerelle
