The Resy Hit List: Where In New York You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

Cynthia, helmed by chef Sherry Cardoso, is not your typical tasting-menu restaurant, although it certainly possesses an elegance and, importantly, excellent cooking. It’s an intimate space where the former “Top Chef” finalist and Per Se alum fashions a memorable menu (six courses, $165; seven courses, $205) of dishes, each informed by the seasons and a commitment to low-waste cooking. The result is one of the city’s most thrilling tasting menu experiences. Cardoso will often “sweep” you with clusters of small dishes that make up a single course, and wow you with engaging, interactive courses like her clever take bread service, made from repurposed vegetable scraps and accompanied with an ever-changing assortment of pickles and preserved vegetables and zero-waste butter. Pro tip: If you’re not inclined to opt for the full tasting menu experience here, do try to walk-in for a seat at the bar and a chance to try the à la carte menu, which features everything from grilled oysters and fluke tostadas to brisket ravioli and a steak tartare sandwich.

Burmese Bites has been a fixture of New York’s dining scene in one form or another since 2014, but it wasn’t until this year that Myo Lin Thway and his wife and business partner Rebecca Nant finally opened their first brick-and-mortar location to call their own. Located in Astoria, this much-loved purveyor of everything from keema palata (flatbread stuffed with ground chicken) and mohinga (catfish noodle soup) to ah meh tha hin (beef curry) and ngashint chaut sat (crispy eels tossed in a spicy chile mix) never disappoints with their signature flair for balancing spice, heat, sweetness, and textures with aplomb. So, grab a crew and order as much of the menu as you can, including the lahpet thoke (fermented tea-leaf salad), tohu kyaw (crispy chickpea tofu), and nga hin (fish curry), and do leave some room for a slice of shwe kyi (semolina and coconut cake), too.

Walk-ins only.

No doubt there were some New Yorkers who shed tears of joy upon learning that the much-adored Ugly Baby was returning, after closing its original doors in Carroll Gardens in 2024. Now that day has finally come, this time in Williamsburg and with the same chef, Sirichai Sreparplarn. While it’s hard to capture the exact same essence of the original location, this new location does, more or less, feel a lot like the original: vibrant and buzzing and filled with all kinds of stimuli to attract your senses. And while Ugly Baby does indeed maintain its reputation for fiery dishes (see the whole section of the menu listed simply as “ugly”), it also offers dishes that are bit milder, too (see the “laughs” and “cries” portions of the menu). At Ugly Baby, though, as always, the spice isn’t just there to see how much pain one can endure in Scoville units; it adds depth and complexity to the dishes. The menu isn’t exactly as it once was, either, but it’s refreshing to see a slew of new and creative plates, from strawberries topped with dried shrimp, fish sauce, and chiles to a satisfying bowl of omelet soup with pork meatballs and an excellent whole fried fish redolent with herbs and spices.

Mariscos are indeed having a moment nationwide, including here in New York, and El Camarón Peludo is yet the latest delicious example of it. Born from the dynamic duo behind Taqueria Ramírez, Carnitas Ramírez, and Socceria, Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar, in partnership with chef Carlos Barrera, it’s a charming wine bar in the West Village right on Cornelia Street, complete with an ice-cold raw bar and wine list filled with low-intervention standouts. Dishes range from a sublime tuna tostada studded with tobiko and an ultra-crispy mackerel filet served simply with lime and Valentina hot sauce to a spectacular sardine taco (trust us) and grilled, butterflied shrimp with guajillo mayonnaise. Oysters assume the flavors of a michelada, bread gets baked to order, and caviar dots a red raw shrimp carpaccio dressed in extra-virgin olive oil.

Walk-ins only. More info here.

From Derek Wu, one of the original managers of famed Chinatown staple Wu’s Wonton King, comes this sprawling Cantonese restaurant on the Upper West Side, ready and eager to serve up to 200 diners at a time with elegant takes on classics like lobster stir fried in ginger and scallions, and Peking duck; plus a massive variety of dim sum specialties (more than 50) served daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s a more than welcome taste of Manhattan Chinatown, conveniently located on 70th Street, just a few blocks north of Lincoln Center, complete with fish tanks filled with live Alaskan king crabs and grouper fish. You’ll likely find us here for a weekday dim sum brunch, and celebrating on weekends with a veritable feast. Good to know: Wu’s Dynasty does not accept online reservations for weekends.

New York has had the extremely good fortune of welcoming several excellent Thai restaurants in recent years — Ugly Baby included — and while some skew toward more traditional recipes (like Soothr or Zaab Zaab, for example) or more toward the contemporary (like Narkara), Hommali is a happy, lovely medium of the two paths, with a more or less traditional food menu and an adventurous cocktail list, all set within a sleek, serene bi-level setting in the West Village. Crispy battered vegetables get dipped into a creamy fermented soybean and coconut dip; a tom yum seafood cocktail showcases razor clams, shrimps, and scallops in a beautiful half shell; and dry-aged sirloin and beef hearts make for a fiery beef tartare served with crackers of tripe. Mains are satisfying, especially the Panang curry beef cheeks and the hommali five spice duck. For dessert, the toasted rice ice cream is a must and — if they have it — do inquire about their take on faktong sangkaya, a rich and creamy coconut and egg custard served in a baked mini pumpkin.

For nearly four decades, this Scandinavian stalwart has been one of the city’s great fine dining institutions, serving as a standard bearer, of sorts, for what Nordic cuisine in New York could be. And for the past 16 years, the immeasurable talents of chef Emma Bengtsson have imbued its kitchen with the discipline, precision, and artistry that has come to define an experience at Aquavit. Bengtsson’s signature Arctic Bird’s Nest dessert remains a delectable classic. Whether you stop by for lunch or a few bites at the bar, or opt for one of their tasting menus, you won’t leave disappointed, and don’t forget to order one of their exquisite princess cakes if they’re available, too.

Book on

There is no shortage of excellent French restaurants in New York, but there’s something truly special about Zimmi’s that makes it stand out among the crowd. Maybe it’s the warm service, or the careful attention to detail, down to the floral check presenters. Or maybe it’s the fact that this is French fare that’s not your usual: At Zimmi’s, chef Maxime Pradié cooks Gallic standards on his own terms. The result, with its focus on time-honored techniques, is a joy to experience. While the menu changes all the time with the seasons, autumn is an especially lovely time to visit. What could be more comforting than tucking into tripes à la Nicoise with panisse, black olives, and herbs de Provence? Or devouring a luscious plate of tagliatelle with chicken ragout and sage? Regardless of season, however, never miss a chance to try the kitchen’s exceptional housemade charcuterie. P.S. Do stop by Bar à Part, their bar next door, for a pre- and/or post-dinner glass of wine, too.

It’s a splurge, for sure, but if you seek one of the city’s most exceptional sushi omakase experiences, you’ll most certainly find it at the hinoki wood counter of veteran chef Tadashi “Edowan” Yoshida. Having made New York his home after leaving Tokyo in 2021, he arrived here already with a glittering reputation for excellence, and reverence for his craft has only grown since. No detail here is left unattended, and occupying a seat at Yoshida’s counter is akin to watching a maestro at the podium.

Book on

Trust us when you say that you could very well make the case for needing a serving of Tin’s juicy, piping-hot sheng jian bao (crispy pork soup dumplings), along with an order of their Lao Gan Ma popcorn, and cong you ban mian (noodles slicked with scallion and soy). Each one, among their other dishes, is a delight to savor in this relatively new Lower East Side space. Tin’s, short for “Things I Need,” is a multi-level diner and cocktail bar with creative cocktails and a food menu that just as easily satisfies an evening snack as it does a heartier supper. The upstairs diner menu, reserved mostly for walk-ins, has drinks that range from a frozen rum-based Mango Pinacolassi to a Near Death Experience martini made with a heady blend of gin, vermouth, sherry, mezcal, Genever, and absinthe. The downstairs bar menu where they take reservations features a lemongrass-laced Dako-Ri with rum and dako tea, while a Shaoxing Sherry Cobbler includes 18-year-aged Shaoxing wine, a blend of sherry, and salted plums.

Following a barbecue renaissance in the early aughts, New York finds itself once again in the midst of a barbecue resurgence, only this time the barbecue has become that much more regional, creative, and specific — unafraid to riff on the standards and do its own thing. Two strong examples: Bark Barbecue out in Bushwick, where Ruben Santana puts his own spin on Dominican and Texan barbecue, and Kirbee’s, the result of two former Texas pitmasters finding themselves in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, armed with smoker ovens and serving up sides of spaghetti slicked in a green poblano sauce. Kirbee’s menu is compact — just four set plates — or you can order by the pound. Our advice? Opt for either the Jonny’s Plate (prime brisket, sweet and tangy pork ribs, succulent smoked turkey, creamy potato salad, crisp coleslaw) or the Chuck’s Plate (prime brisket, Molotov pork ribs, snappy housemade sausage, green spaghetti, charro beans with queso fresco), and finish it all off with one of their puddings (your choice of chocolate or banana).

Walk-ins only. More info here.

Nostalgia is on full blast at this East Village all-you-can-eat (yes, truly) Southern buffet from the same team behind C as in Charlie and Kisa, all for the price of just $26.99 per person. At Good Time Country Buffet, the floors are covered in forest green carpet, the buffet has everything from sawmill gravy and ketchup-slicked meatloaf to Georgia cracker salad and rosé pasta, and the playlist is a never-ending Millennial fever dream: It’s something you likely never thought could exist in New York, especially in Manhattan, but somehow it does and, as the name suggests, it’s a good time indeed. Not everything at the buffet is spectacular, but there are some standouts worth getting seconds and thirds of, namely the fried chicken, collard greens, braised cabbage, and Salisbury steak. And if you want the good times to continue at home, you’re also encouraged to purchase a takeout container ($9.99 for a small, $19.99 for a large) that you can fill to your heart’s content. The only catch? The lid has to close.

The evolution of the New York City steakhouse continues, and Elder is just the latest example of how steakhouses or, in this case — British chop houses — are refashioning these tried-and-true establishments into new and thrilling experiences. At this British Indian chop house from acclaimed chef Sujan Sarkar of Chicago’s Indienne and Nadu, the beans on toast get served over a sourdough kulcha, the Wellington consists of roasted beets and celeriac, stuffed with a mushroom and goat cheese cream, and the Berkshire pork chop is served with Vindaloo masala. You’ll also find dishes like a tandoori chicken roulade, chicken and leek gustaba, duck seekh kebabs, and masala fries, side by side with pommes puree and quail scotch eggs. In short, it’s a refreshing and pitch-perfect take on a classic dining institution.

Next to the city’s oldest Chinese restaurant is one of the most exemplary, and the most recent recipient of a Beard honor for best new restaurant. What King and Dean’s co-owner Annie Shi has created is something truly special: a jewel box where the food is distinctly Chinese American, while the wines span the globe. Chef Patty Lee’s menu is not composed of “traditional” Chinese American classics, instead offering new favorites, like Lady Edison Jinhua ham with thinly sliced seasonal fruit; chilled celtuce with kombu jelly in a pool of bright red vinegar; 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. But it’s also one where you can stop in for a quick bite of salted mustard greens with green chickpeas and fresh rice cakes, paired with a glass of dry Jurançon, and an order of the mango shaved ice to finish.

The nostalgic Old World spirit that infuses Anton’s is indeed a comforting balm, and seven years after its first opened in New York, Anton’s has become a beloved city mainstay for classic New York fare with an Eastern European influence. Few dishes are as satisfying as a bowl of their housemade, hand-cut angel hair Francese — a heartfelt ode to Gene’s on 11th Street — or an order of their olive-oil whipped potatoes. You’ll never see us saying no to an order of the mixed chicories, dotted with chunks of Stilton, or the warm apple crisp à la mode. It’s the kind of place fit for any occasion, and for any meal (weekday lunch is an especially strong draw thanks to their $14 pasta specials, we must note), and the warm, generous service only makes it that much sweeter. (This is especially the case if you happen to be served by none other than Dennis Mullally, who’s worked at the restaurant since it opened, and has been serving in city restaurants for more than 50 years.) So, what are you waiting for?

There’s not much that can improve upon an early evening spent at Zig Zag Oyster Bar with the doors flung wide open, a Bloody Mary in hand, and a tower of oysters, littleneck clams, and Bang’s Island mussels by your side. Add some peel-and-eat shrimp, creamy crab dip paired with buttery Ritz crackers, and some boiled potatoes topped with slivers of horseradish and you’re all set. This oyster bar from the same team behind spots seafood-centric spots like Cervo’s and Eel Bar doesn’t disappoint, and their mastery of shellfish, bivalves, and fish is on full display here: You see it in the subtle pepper notes in the cooked clams, the flavor packed into those peel-and-eat shrimp, and the sublime seasonal salads that might pair summer-ripe golden tomatoes with meaty tuna. Don’t forget to end your meal with either the lemon torte, olive oil ice cream, or both.