The Resy Guide to New York City’s 2023 Michelin Winners

Blink and you might miss one of Greenpoint’s favorite drinking spots. Niftily hidden by Transmitter Park, 21 Greenpoint is one snug and welcoming haunt that’s anchored by a wood-burning oven spitting out pork chops and whole trout. Come for the serious cocktail program, stay for the ever-seasonal plates.

This high-spirited Lower East Side take on contemporary Korean dining, from the couple who ran the popular Pado in the East Village, serves a small menu of irresistible dishes, weaving Mexican, Italian, and other influences into the mix.

Chef Mitsunobu Nagae is a veteran of the Joël Robuchon empire, and it shows in his elegant Japanese-accented Gallic fare — whether his multi-course tasting menu or the short à la carte selection rich with luxury ingredients like foie gras, lobster, and caviar. 

Owner-chef Jeremy Salamon channels his Hungarian and Jewish grandmothers at this engaging all-day café and pastry shop, with its menu of Jewish deli and Hungarian specialties. While the restaurant has amassed a brunch following, they also have a standout dinner menu that’s not to be missed. Pro tip: Hit the bakery on Wednesdays and Thursdays for an exceptional New York-style cheesecake, on Fridays for sachertorte, or on Sundays for doughnuts.

This one was worth waiting for: part two of the remake of the old Del Posto space (part one was the wood-oven pizzeria Mel’s), with that onetime Italian destination’s executive chef, Melissa Rodriguez, in charge of the kitchen. The place looks different, but is no less elegant, and the food is better than ever. 

At Alta Calidad, chef Akhtar Nawab delivers truly creative Mexican cuisine. We may never stop thinking about the seasonal quesadilla, last served with pumpkin blossoms, or the crispy Brussels sprouts with guajillo chile honey and lemon. And the margaritas are also top tier, of course.

Upper West Siders flock to this gem of a French bistro where the moules frites and onion soup are known favorites. Unfussy, warm, and always reliable, Amelie is the kind of place that turns everyone that steps one foot in into a regular.

You’ll definitely want a seat on the brick-framed patio (or in the brick-lined dining room) at this warm Williamsburg Italian restaurant, where housemade pasta from veteran chef Gary Tackett is a specialty. Don’t leave without the eponymous ammazzacaffè, or coffee-killer — a shot of amaro or something equally spirited to soften the caffeine effect.

What happens when a fine dining chef opens a more casual spot? Hopefully for them, it’s something like Atla. Enrique Olvera’s take on the all-day genre is riveting, from the breakfast bites and light-drenched space to the mezcal selection. Plus, as Cosme’s little sister, it similarly wows in the simplest of ways (see the cheese quesadilla). Pro tip: When the chilaquiles are on the menu, run, don’t walk.

A Bowery standby for all things pasta, Bar Primi is as handsome as they come: moodily lit, well dressed, and with platefuls of Italian hits teetering on the tables.

Le Bernardin has consistently topped New York’s Michelin Guide for the past 17 years with a perfect three stars. Eric Ripert has stayed wildly ingenious throughout his tenure as executive chef, and nowhere else will you find seafood prepared with such thought and care. Add to that the restaurant’s outstanding service and a wine list curated by master sommelier Aldo Sohm, and toast to Le Bernardin’s three very well-deserved stars.

At this temple to caviar, the explosive briny pearls are closely dosed by the gram and range from $65 (for Pacific sturgeon) to $600 (that’d be the rare Almas Osetra). Elegant seafood dishes are the vehicle of choice, which you can sample à la carte or via the next-level tasting.

Everyone’s favorite contemporary Korean barbecue is known for their $64 Butcher’s Feast, but if you really want to go all out, you’ll want to order the steak omakase, aka the Grand Tour, which takes your carnivorous dining experience to another level with a focus on dry-aged cuts. Can’t seem to get a Resy? Here’s how to get in.

The beloved Cafe Frida is now Covacha, and here, owner Christina Castañeda showcases the food and culture of Western Mexico, especially from the state of Jalisco. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on ordering the signature guacamole and the aguachile. 

Daniel Boulud has completely revamped his flagship, in partnership with a host of luxury brands, to take diners on a trip to the south of France. But worry not, you’ll get the same high-touch service, world-class cellar, and a stellar prix fixe of Mediterranean-tinged classics like bouillabaisse and salt-baked fish.

Because if you can expect anything from the team behind Adda and Semma, it’s deliciously unapologetic Indian food. And Dhamaka follows suit, hopping from region to region to offer a taste of the everyday street food locals love. Simply put, New York hasn’t seen this particular facet of Indian cuisine just yet. Here’s how to get in. 

Leave it to Amanda Cohen to still be blowing to smithereens every preconceived notion about vegetarian dining. The chef-owner of Dirt Candy is a James Beard nominee, a pioneer of the vegetable-forward culinary movement, and a leader intent on building a better industry: Thanks to a no-tipping system, the entire team shares equally in the restaurant’s profits. Her layered plates elate, but they’re also a lot of fun.

This modern twist on sushi is your call if you’re down in the Village or Soho — and temaki in particular are the thing here (hint: spicy yellowtail), although if you have the time, don’t pass up their omakase, since hot dishes like scallop pasta are a strength, too.

When New York’s fine dining temple turned fully plant based, many were skeptical … But if anyone can do it, it’s Eleven Madison Park, whose kitchen team continues to push the boundaries of what food should look and taste like. Look no further than the bread course, whose dairy-free butter (of course) is a dazzling feat in and of itself.

Chef Christophe Bellanca’s Upper West Side gem is a destination for French-inspired food that’s both classically French but also contemporary and of the moment: think scallops with stuffed cabbage and black truffles; or Leo’s Favorite Burger, made with prime beef, fresh tomatoes, Vermont cheddar, and caramelized onions and served with crispy frites.

Ignacio Mattos has been tantalizing the Nolita crowds since his flagship’s opening in 2013. Mediterranean-influenced and brilliant, Estela is a gleaming example of a small plates restaurant, where Mattos’ inventive dishes like the endive salad (dotted with anchovies and walnuts) and ricotta dumplings (topped with paper-thin mushrooms and pecorino sardo) have earned cult followings.

Named for the communal meal that restaurant staffers share before a shift, this intimate, low-lit restaurant just off Washington Square Park is where you can experience the hyperlocal, seasonal cooking and ingredients of Blue Hill at Stone Barns without a trek upstate. No meal is ever exactly the same, and the four-course menu, served family-style, of course, changes daily.

A Greenpoint favorite with checkerboard-tiled floors and a live jazz soundtrack, Le Fanfare slings rustic and simple Italian plates that’ll warm you to the core. So, order a glass of wine (or two), and pore over the menu — the homemade pastas are always a surefire bet, as is the cannoli with fresh ricotta.

You can count on Emiliano Cammardella and Rossella Episcopo to make pasta sing at this light-filled, Park Slope haunt. Think fresh, ricotta-filled ravioli sauced in lemon and bottarga or gnocchi showered in truffle. The wine list’s a treasure trove of southern Italian bottles, and whatever you do, don’t skip dessert, imported weekly from an award-winning pastry chef based on the Amalfi Coast.

The Four Horsemen is the cherished neighborhood restaurant that everyone wished they had, but only Williamsburg does. And though LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy is behind this mainstay — explaining the über-cool patronage and excellent soundtrack — it’s what’s on the menu that has diners returning again and again. Funky glasses of natural wine dot every table (the all-natural list is dizzying), and the locavore plates are worth fighting over. 

A brasserie for the modern age, Francie is the glitzy labor of love of two industry vets. Housed in an old bank, Francie reimagines the usual suspects. You’re going to want to try the pastas, dry-aged crown of Rohan duck, and the sundae for two.

Gabriel Kreuther’s namesake restaurant in Midtown feels like a wonderful escape from the outside world, and the food — reflecting Kreuther’s French training and Alsatian heritage — is always on point.

This is one for date night — a low-key neighborhood favorite in a 19th-century building that once housed the Greenpoint Glass Works, with seductive cocktails, a bounty of natural wines, and a seasonal menu of Mediterranean specialties that will gladden your heart.

Considered the city’s quintessential American restaurant, Gramercy Tavern has been satisfying gourmets of all stripes for over 25 years. And that’s because this institution pairs Danny Meyer’s unparalleled sense of hospitality with Michael Anthony’s outstanding seasonal cuisine, for a result that is simply phenomenal.

Book the Tavern at Gramercy Tavern, too.

Jenny Kwak has been making New Yorkers fall in love with Korean food for a quarter-century, starting with her groundbreaking Dok Suni. Haenyeo’s menu leans toward the restaurant’s seafood-inspired origins — as with her Korean-inspired bouillabaisse. But her takes on kalbi, soondubu jigae (soft tofu soup), and of course the now famous rice cake fundido, make Haenyeo unforgettable.

Come with a group to this elegant Long Island City Sichuan restaurant and fill the table with a treasure trove of dishes, from dandan noodles and mouthwatering chicken to stewed fish filet in hot chile soup and dry-fried green beans. Whatever you order, you can’t go wrong, but do not sleep on the mapo tofu, which is considered one of the best in the entire city.

Exquisite, vegetable-centric cuisine shines at this aptly named fine-dining destination from culinary director Alain Verzeroli, a longtime protégé of Michelin-starred master Joël Robuchon.

Jean-Georges is the eponymous crown jewel of the Vongerichten empire, a New York icon 20-plus years in the making. A sumptuous dining room boasting outsized windows and overflowing floral arrangements sets the tone for an unforgettable meal, where Vongerichten flawlessly marries French technique with Asian flavor profiles. 

There are simple pleasures in life, and one of them is slurping through a steaming bowl of Jeju Noodle Bar’s ramyun. The Korean slurp shop is helmed by chef-owner Douglas Kim (Bouley, Per Se), who makes use of his fine-dining chops to bring South Korean comfort food to its purest and tastiest form. Expect flavor-rich broths and bouncy noodles, with a bevy of elegant pre-noodle bites.

Hidden below a staircase within the One Vanderbilt skyscraper, Jōji reunites George Ruan, Xiao Lin, and Wayne Cheng — three Masa vets who met at the prestigious sushi counter and became close friends. For their omakase experience (backed by Daniel Boulud), expect the same reverence for fish, a playlist that spans Biggie to French rap, and cocktails by Takuma Watanabe of Martiny’s fame.

Editor’s note: As of March 23, 2024, Joomak Banjum has rebranded into a new concept, Beut.

Right off the heels of a wildly successful pop-up, the dream team behind Joomak Banjum (a motley crew of fine dining alums from The Modern and Electric Lemon) has put down roots in K-Town. On the menu? A Korean-Chinese tasting menu you’re not going to want to miss, where the likes of Peking duck and a new take on jajangmyeon (with sourdough noodles, clams, and Parmesan) collide, deliciously. 

Dreamt up by Jungsik vet Ho Young Kim, this Hand Hospitality (Her Name Is Han, Atoboy and Atomix) venture tames a spectacular wood-fired grill in service of a tasting menu that spotlights classic Korean dishes with a New York edge.

Kochi is the first solo project from Per Se vet Sungchul Shim. The name is Korean for “skewer” and Shim presents a stunning tasting menu centered around skewered dishes and interpretations of traditional Korean cuisine.

When the chef-owner behind Fish Cheeks delves into what Thailand’s royalty and aristocracy feasted on, you pay attention. And such is the case with Kru, which will surprise you with its treasure trove of old Thai recipes you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in New York.

Named after the twisting alleyways that make up Shanghai, Little Alley is where expats cure homesickness one plate of Shanghainese comfort food at a time, with baskets of xiao long bao, honey kaofu, lion’s head meatballs, and more.

Chef Erik Ramirez’ deliciously complex and forward-thinking Peruvian cuisine would be enough, yet what’s more is that Llama Inn is a very fun restaurant, very worthy of a night on the town — a round of cocktails and an order of lomo saltado are required for each and every table.

Amelie Kang’s dry pots brought an entirely new Chinese eating habit to the city, and the DIY selections make for endless combinations: Sichuanese in spirit, but infused with a New York vitality. (Pro tip: The Bryant Park location is one of Midtown’s best lunch options.)

Book the Midtown East and Greenpoint locations and discover why author Andrea Long Chu is a regular.

Chef Sungchul Shim, who won a Michelin star for his tasting menu of skewered meats and seafood at Kochi, has gone in a different direction at Mari, with a tasting menu featuring hand rolls made with everything from snow crab to pork belly.

Mile End, whose founders hail from Montreal, describes itself as “the ultimate combination between Bubby’s comforting recipes and Montreal-style cuisine” and it shows. The menu lives at the intersection of the traditional New York and Montreal Jewish delis, with Montreal-style smoked meat as the star of the menu.

Mediterranean-inspired but clearly with Brooklyn on the brain, chef Tomer Blechman finds a way to channel both perfectly, through dishes like crispy cauliflower with parsley and silan; halloumi skewers; and both vegetarian and vegan shakshuka. Always start with the killer dips (get the muhammara) and add in a bottle of natural wine for effect.

It’s hard not to linger and smile at Danny Meyer’s two-Michelin-star restaurant, where chef Thomas Allan’s refined contemporary cuisine plays out in multiple courses. The Modern overlooks the MoMA’s sculpture garden, but it’s what arrives on the plate that might just steal the show.

Book the Kitchen Table and the Bar Room at The Modern, too.

Even as the David Chang empire continues to expand, the original that launched a thousand bao — and officially brought ramen into the roster of American eating — keeps going strong.

Book the Uptown location, too.

A Soho mainstay since 2013, The Musket Room is still one of the city’s best restaurants for incredible, thoughtful cooking. Under executive chef Mary Attea and pastry chef Camari Mick, it’s become an exemplary testament to what a fine dining restaurant can and should be.

The hands crafting these temaki hand rolls have spent over a decade training at the city’s most prestigious sushi counter. Taka Sakaeda is one of three Masa vets here, and the result is not only outstanding, but approachable and endlessly fun.

Book the Williamsburg location, too.

Chef-owner Brian Kim of Oiji brings his contemporary take on Korean cuisine to a stunning and larger Flatiron space, and you won’t want to miss the exquisitely fashioned, excitingly flavorful five-course menu on offer. 

Chef Austin Johnson, a veteran of Eleven Madison Park and Paris’ Frenchie, gives a whole new meaning to “farm to table.” Here, the tables are filled with produce from this vegetable-forward restaurant’s own farm in upstate New York, and Johnson decides what gets planted. Good to know: Downstairs offers an à la carte menu, while upstairs features a seasonal tasting menu. 

This welcoming neighborhood bistro started off as one of the best kept secrets in town, where chef-owner Nico Russell delivers an impeccable seasonal carte blanche menu. Five years later, the secret is out, but rest assured that the creative menu still delights and dazzles.

There’s magic brewing in Greenpoint, and you can find a lot of it at Oxomoco. The Mexican stunner is a taco-slinging joint that’s as lively as it is delicious, where barbacoa steals the spotlight — slow-cooked over a wooden grill, the lamb is tenderly wrapped in a bona fide corn tortilla, and melts in the mouth.

Named in homage to Henri Soulé’s iconic restaurant (which defined the culture of haute French dining in Gotham as far back as 1941) Daniel Boulud’s Le Pavillon celebrates the tradition of the grand restaurant with an impeccable land-to-sea menu in a floral-edged oasis that will instantly make you forget you’re in Midtown. (10,000 pounds of lush black olive trees imported from Florida will certainly do the trick.)

Expect plenty of flavor and spice at this fast-casual Bryant Park Sichuan place, with its minimalist decor and its deeply satisfying menu (chicken with taro, anyone?). Pro tip: Whatever else you order, go for the “noodle of the day” special.

A kitchen team led by a Din Tai Fung veteran means that some of the most delicate xiao long bao in town can be found here — as well as a Peking duck service that’s outstanding (don’t forget to order in advance). Match that to the remarkable talents of wine director Miguel de Leon, winner of Michelin’s inaugural sommelier award in New York, and you have one of the most thoroughly enjoyable Chinese dining experiences around.

Chefs (and brothers) Zhan Chen and Peter Chen have devised a Cantonese American menu that’s both familiar and also unexpected: Think Southern-style scallion biscuits paired with salt-and-pepper chicken, and tiger shrimp with walnuts, tossed in a Calabrian chile aioli.

Pranakhon brings the street food found in Bangkok’s small alleyways right to Union Square. Even the beautiful and sprawling space winks and nods to Thai street culture, but it’s the food that’ll take your breath away — go with a group to try as much of the menu as possible (and trust us, you’re not going to want to skip the namesake pad Thai).

You can add Red Paper Clip to New York’s list of buzzy Taiwanese American destinations. Helmed by a Blue Hill alum of Taiwanese descent, Red Paper Clip is a clever mashup of cultures and cuisines, serving up playful fine dining hits like xiao long bao agnolotti, everything brioche, and lobster three ways.

Pasta reigns supreme at this Flatiron hot spot from chef Stefano Secchi and David Switzer. The menu is based on the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna and centers around the freshly-made pasta, but don’t sleep on the vegetable dishes either. Here’s how to get in.

The pies remain as great as ever (as always, don’t miss the Bee Sting, its chile-and-honey combo now widely imitated) and wine director Kirk Sutherland has tapped the best from the cellar at sister restaurant Blanca to make Roberta’s as much a pleasure as it ever was. Simply put: This Bushwick OG remains undefeated.

Book the Domino Park location, oo.

A corner fixture with flair, Rolo’s delivers the sort of unfussy wood-fired cooking that Brooklyn always needs more of. A restaurant, bar and grill, and bakery piled into one, this Ridgewood spot fires pizza-like focaccia, homemade pasta, and cinnamon buns, courtesy of chefs who worked and met at Gramercy Tavern, then became good friends 

Small plates from Tabla vets that channel the vegetable-beautiful spirit of Floyd Cardoz’s cooking, matched to a wonderfully eclectic set of naturalish wines predominantly from central and eastern Europe. Ruffian has mastered this improbable mix, and we can’t get enough.

If you open a second place after scoring with a restaurant and bakery called Winner, what’s a better name than Runner Up? This small, mostly-outdoor Park Slope wine bar is the work of chef Daniel Eddy — whose Michelin-starred Rebelle in Manhattan closed in 2017 — so you know the food is going to be something special. 

From slinging schmaltz herring out of a barrel to launching a celebrated brick-and-mortar store on Houston, Joel Russ made history not only by cementing Jewish food into the canon of New York dining, but by making his three daughters, Hattie, Ida, and Anne, full partners in the 1930’s of this still-family-owned operation. And it’s been one of the most fulfilling places for a proper New York brunch ever since.

New York restaurant powerhouse James Kent, of Michelin-starred Crown Shy fame, soars toward the stratosphere with his latest effort on the 63rd floor of an historic Financial District skyscraper. Dinners are multi-course tasting menus with a focus on seafood, and the stunning views are as opulent as a billionaire’s penthouse. 

This charming bistro from tapas masters Alex Raij and Eder Montero draws inspiration from ports of calls from around the world with a menu featuring dishes like perfectly cooked octopus and a cod pot pie with sweet and hot pepper sofrito. Pro tip: They’ve also got a great selection of natural wines, too.

Because Sami & Susu is a very fun restaurant helmed by two friends in complete reign of their small but mighty domain. Owners Amir Nathan and chef Jordan Anderson remix the Jewish and Middle Eastern food of their youth for the electrifying menu here — at nighttime, come for the wines and the excellent shared plates; at lunch, you’re here for the beef tongue sandwich, a rollover from their much-followed pop-up. 

From the same team behind Adda and Dhamaka comes Semma, where chef Vijay Kumar (formerly of Michelin-starred Rasa in Burlingame, Calif.) showcases a menu entirely devoted to the regions of Southern India, a rarity among Indian restaurants in America. Pro tip: Pre-order the Kanyakumari nandu masala, a unique feast of Dungeness crab, parotta flatbread, and coconut rice for two. 

Shalom Japan is the fusion cuisine you didn’t know you needed — but will be so grateful for once you’ve tried it. It serves up a blend of Ashkenazi Jewish and Japanese culinary traditions (think matzoh ball ramen, a lox bowl, or Wagyu beef hot pot) that’s hard to find anywhere else, and it will leave you exceedingly satisfied.

One of the city’s premier sushi institutions has turned a new leaf: 69 Leonard Street has a new sushi chef in tow, and not just any — Shion Uino of Tokyo’s esteemed three Michelin-starred Sushi Saito, who brings an intimate Edomae-style experience to Leonard’s stone counter, going so far as to source rare fish from the islands that make up his hometown of Amakusa.

Read Michelin-starred chef Douglas Kim’s ode to the restaurant.

Dive into contemporary Israeli cuisine at this Greenwich Village beauty from chef Eyal Shani (HaSalon, Miznon). The offbeat dish names on the ever-changing menu (“stretchy stracciatella Pyrex lasagna”) will bring a smile to your face, and you’ll keep on smiling when you dig in.

After working together at Brooklyn Fare and Bar Uchū, friends and former high school classmates chef Samuel Clonts and restaurateur Raymond Trinh decided to venture out on their own. The result is Sixty Three Clinton, where a whimsical tasting menu is ruled by the seasons and pulls from their personal histories. Think a breakfast taco with an ajitama ramen egg, salsa verde, and smoked trout roe — a wink to their Southwest upbringing and years of Japanese cooking. 

Diana and Zach Wangeman are on a mission: to bring forth the true flavors of Mexico, via corn. But not just any corn, heirloom varieties from small Mexican farmers, whose unique aroma is deeply embedded in the masa they nixtamalize in house for not just their restaurant, but others in the city, too. Pro tip: Do not skip any of the sweets here — the couple are both trained pastry chefs, after all.   

Picture a moody wine bar where natural wines are sipped alongside platefuls of handmade pasta. Now picture it again, but make it vegan. Not convinced? Then you haven’t been to a Ravi DeRossi venture. The restaurateur, known for his chorus of vegan restaurants in the East Village, turns everything he touches into meat-free gold, and Soda Club is not one to miss. 

The pies invoke St. Louis — crispy thin, round in shape, cut in squares — and the toppings are always a bit off-kilter in the best way, as with the St. Louie itself — which factors in soppressata, sweet sausage, and pickled chiles.

Some say the purest expression of Tokyo-style sushi can be found at this minimalist counter, hidden in the basement of another restaurant. Expect a decadent 18-course omakase from Tokyo-trained sushi master Tomoyuki Hayashi in an up-close-and-personal, wooden-walled spot.

If you want quality sushi omakase, you might as well go right to the master, none other than Eiji Ichimura, known for his precision, craft, and dedication to dry-aged fish. Everything here is intentional, from the 400-year-old screen painting adorning the space to the curated sake, wine, beer, and Japanese chilled tea list.

Training under Jiro Ono is as close to sushi consecration as you can get, and Daisuke Nakazawa checks that box. The chef trained for a decade under the man who stunned the world in “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” and the apprentice-turned-frontman at his very own New York counter will similarly leave you breathless. Get ready for omakase done with the utmost care, featuring mature yellowtail, big fin reef squid, and a trio of tuna, upping in both fattiness and creaminess.

With time comes grace, and this old sushi-ya still stands as one of the city’s preeminent sushi destinations. Sushi Yasuda entered the dining scene in 1999, and its reputation has only soared since. Amid a serene space clad in honeyed bamboo, the chefs at Sushi Yasuda prepare a classic omakase for the books, favoring tradition instead of trends, and shaping a crescendo in texture, flavor, and taste that’ll leave your taste buds singing.

You’re heading to Bay Ridge (and preferably, with a group) for the ways that mother and daughter Rawia and Jumana Bishara interpret Palestinian cooking. That starts with appetizers like silken labaneh, moves through skewers and starters like musakhan, the sumac-dusted chicken flatbread that might well be the fundamental Palestinian dish, and always save room for specials like the fish stew known as sayadiyya.

The diner is dead, long live the diner! An all-day restaurant dreamt up by the married chef-owners behind Uncle Boons, Thai Diner takes your greasy spoon classics and reimagines them with Thailand in mind. The result? Ingenious and delicious bicultural plates (Thai tea babka French toast, anyone?) and a couple of Uncle Boons favorites for those still in mourning. We see you, crab fried rice.

Tomiño sings of the coastal Spanish town it’s named after, and the three brothers behind this Galician restaurant intend to do their hometown proud. You’ll want to order heavily from the tapas section of the menu: The croquetas and runny tortilla de Betanzos are executed to the nines.

You can add Tonchin to the city’s best ramen roll call. A Tokyo-based chain, Tonchin knows its tonkotsu very well, studding its complex and layered broth with housemade noodles. It is not often that a noodle chain gets a Michelin nod, but this one deservedly does.

Book the Williamsburg location, too.

Get ready to rethink chicken. A Japanese legend has descended upon the New York dining scene, and he’s bringing yakitori in 13 courses. Yoshiteru Ikegawa — of Tokyo’s iconic Torishiki — uses a binchotan charcoal grill straight out of Japan to carefully cook everything from the neck skin to the heart. Simply put, Torien’s counter-only omakase experience is mesmerizing. 

Nestled deep in the East Village is a restaurant that lays on the umami. Tuome was dreamt up by Thomas Chen, who, fresh out of Eleven Madison Park, invoked his fine-dining training with the flavors of his Asian upbringing. Chinese elements tinge the plates, and the result is quietly thrilling: quail arrives splattered in soy sauce, luscious noodles come slicked with snow crab and dashi butter, and the “pig out for two” is a sight to behold.

It is and has always been all about the dough at Anthony Mangieri’s riveting pizza spot. Puffy and blistered, the pies stun in their delicious simplicity. They might fool you into thinking you’re in Naples — except that Mangieri’s talents are unique, and you know you could be nowhere else but in his restaurant.

This female-led enterprise ventures into Vietnamese specialties less explored, with enough panache to earn kudos all around. There’s the royal cuisine of Huê and the street food of Hanôi, and if you’re to become a regular, you should definitely know this: Van Đa translates to “warrior woman.”

Tucked off a quiet street in East Williamsburg, Win Son is a bombastic ode to the flavor-packed foods of Taiwan, revisiting everything from night market treats to treasured classics, all within a buzzy neighborly space.

Come for the revelatory bean-and-cheese tacos, made with housemade flour tortillas, stay for the buttermilk brioche donuts dipped in chocolate or hominy-sugar (weekends only), frozen margaritas, and vegan queso and chips — or well, nearly everything on the menu at this buzzy Tex-Mex spot in the East Village. 

The original Zaab Zaab wowed diners and critics alike with its undiluted and offal-y vision of Thailand’s northeastern Isan cuisine, and the trek to Elmhurst (if you live far) is still absolutely worth it, in case you were wondering. There’s a reason why everyone waxes poetic about the larb ped udon with duck, but don’t sleep on the hor mok (sticky rice dumplings filled with catfish or pork belly) and “crying tiger” sliced rib-eye either.

Book the Williamsburg and Flushing locations, too.