Best restaurants on the Lower East Side: Where to eat now
Our critic-approved roundup points you to the best restaurants on the Lower East Side, including trusty favorites and the latest hot spots.
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Best restaurants on the Lower East Side: Where to eat now
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Best brunch places on the Lower East Side: The weekend starts here
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Cheap eats on the Lower East Side: Best nosh on a budget
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Best bars on the Lower East Side: The essential drinking spots
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Best shops on the Lower East Side for fashion, vintage and more
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Best nightlife on the Lower East Side: Hot clubs and music venues
Lower East Side guide: The best of the neighborhood
Lower East Side pioneers wd~50 and Freemans paved the way for many a hot table in the neighborhood—San Francisco import Mission Chinese Food has joined the list of best restaurants on the Lower East Side. But don’t dismiss classic eateries from the pre-hipster era, including one of the city’s best Jewish delis.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Lower East Side
Frankies Spuntino 17 Clinton Street
- Price band: 1/4
The Manhattan outpost of Frankies is as beloved as the Brooklyn original. The no-reservations policy keeps a steady crowd angling for a table most evenings, and though there are just 26 seats, the restaurant feels cozy—not cramped. Nibble on cheeses, cured meats and salads, including a stellar combo of watercress, caramelized apple and Gorgonzola, while sipping one of 12 wines by the glass. If grazing isn’t your thing, more filling fare includes fork-tender porchetta with gigante
- 17 Clinton St, (between Houston and Stanton Sts)
Freemans
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
This Lower East Side restaurant has come to be regarded as the tastemaking cabin-in-the-’hood at the end of the now-legendary alley. In the oft-copied taxidermied environs, the hearty menu additions include a charred tender quail atop buttery grits, and a generous rabbit roulade entrée of boneless bacon-wrapped bunny (the signature bar snacks remain—there wasn’t even a question of tampering with the cult artichoke dip). Simple desserts—caramel-soaked bananas Foster, toasted
- Freeman Alley off Rivington St, (between Bowery and Chrystie St)
Georgia’s Eastside BBQ
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
There’s no smoker here—owner Alan Natkiel believes in oven-roasting his meat with beer and finishing it on the grill. The unorthodox technique works just fine. Quality ’cue staples served in this small, wood-paneled space include the huge rack of pork ribs—tender flesh with a spicy rub needed little coaxing to be separated from the bone. Fried chicken was spectacular—crunchy, salty crust, the meat oozing with moisture. There’s no dessert menu to speak of, but sugary glasses of
- 192 Orchard St, (between Houston and Stanton Sts)
Katz’s Delicatessen
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
This cavernous cafeteria is a repository of New York history—glossies of celebs spanning the past century crowd the walls, and the classic Jewish deli offerings are nonpareil. Start with a crisp-skinned, all-beef hot dog for just $3.10. Then flag down a meat cutter and order a legendary sandwich. The brisket sings with horseradish, and the thick-cut pastrami stacked high between slices of rye is the stuff of dreams. Everything tastes better with a glass of the hoppy house lager;
- 205 E Houston St, (at Ludlow St), 10002
Les Enfants Terribles
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
If the Discovery Channel ever wanted to record the rituals of downtown wildlife, this remote Afro-Euro bar-restaurant would be the place to do it. The ivory, brown and gold room is enhanced with pony skins, zebra-pattern ironwork and African masks. From framed wall photos, Picasso looks on at the lively, bohemian hang, which revels in its own artiness, echoed by the suave waitstaff. Although the menu claims French-African influences, the best items come straight from the bistro,
- 37 Canal St, (at Ludlow St), 10002-63
The Meatball Shop
- Critics choice
Despite its self-effacing moniker, the Meatball Shop is not a hole-in-the-wall, but a full-fledged restaurant offering serious cooking that masquerades as junk food. The menu is cleverly constructed so you can place your mix-and-match order (pair your choice of meatballs with sauces and sides) by ticking off boxes. With three breads, two cheeses, 12 sides and four sauces, the possibilities are virtually endless. The spheres themselves—we liked the spicy pork, classic beef and
- 84 Stanton St, (between Allen and Orchard Sts)
Mission Chinese Food
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Some of the hottest restaurants in the country these days came from the most humble beginnings, sprung from trucks, carts and fleeting pop-ups. San Francisco’s Mission Chinese Food, for example, can trace its roots to a different concept called Mission Street Food. That venture started on four wheels before occupying a cheap Chinese restaurant—a temporary shell that eventually became a permanent home for Mission Chinese Food in 2010. There, behind a run-down facade, head chef
- 154 Orchard St, (between Rivington and Stanton Sts)
Schiller’s Liquor Bar
- Price band: 2/4
The drink menu famously hawks a down-to-earth hierarchy of wines: Good, Decent, Cheap. Not one of them will run you more than seven bucks a glass. As at Balthazar and Pastis, folks pack in for the scene, triple-parking at the bar and sipping elaborate cocktails. Views are star-studded: Sightings may include Gandolfini and Wintour. Whether you’re downing white sangria or scarfing steak frites, you can’t help thinking that the vicar of vibe, Keith McNally, has triumphed once again.
- 131 Rivington St, (at Norfolk St), 10002-24
Sorella
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Piedmont—Italy’s northwestern region—is a gastronome’s dream, boasting a French-Italian cuisine with hallmarks like white truffles and some of the world’s best wines. Despite its culinary significance, few of New York’s Italian restaurants spotlight the region. Sorella—opened by two friends who fell for Piedmont—is a small, sleek eatery with spunky renditions of traditional dishes that do justice to the region’s pedigree, and then some. Sorella’s commitment is evident from the
- 95 Allen St, (between Broome and Delancey Sts)
wd~50
- Price band: 4/4
- Critics choice
Obviously, Wylie Dufresne’s parents never scolded him for playing with his food. His far-fetched innovations can be found in riffs on the humble (air-puffed pizza pebbles) and the exalted (a creamy ribbon of foie gras slips down the throat with barely a twitch of the jaw). Although the 12-course tasting menu could be pared down (it’s possible to become blasé by the time the coffee-coated chicory ice cream arrives), you’ll still end the meal grateful Dufresne’s caprices were
- 50 Clinton St, (between Rivington and Stanton Sts), 10002-24
