The 11 best restaurants in Chinatown right now

This Hong Kong-style cha chaan teng has been crowded since it first opened its doors last year. Modeled after casual Hong Kong cafes, then imported to the U.S. from a successful run in Toronto, the food is both adorable and delicious. The tables are made from mah jong tiles, the noodles are served purposely spilling out of their cups and the Ovaltine condensed milk French toast is an instant classic. Stop by for breakfast or lunch and, if you’re lucky enough to score a table, take a peek at the giant menu and choose what calls to you. Sweet and salty pork and maple syrup French toast? Baked spaghetti? A teddy bear floating in a cup of tea? They’ve got it all. 

Mapo tofu, that vibrant, tongue-numbing dish, is prepared exceptionally at this Sichuan spot on Pell Street. Made with fermented broad bean paste, chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns (from which the dish derives its signature tingle), this version of mapo tofu is silky, spicy and exactly the right amount of unctuousness. Famous Sichuan is one of the neighborhood’s restaurants that stays open until 2am, so you can get your mapo fix after stumbling in from a long night out on the town. (Spicy food is a hangover cure, so it’s good for you!)

This relative newcomer to the Chinatown scene serves up Cantonese food, family-style. It’s the perfect spot for big groups of family or friends, with lazy susan-equipped tables that were designed for sharing. Our favorites include the HK-style char siu lo mein and the half chenpi duck, with its slightly sweet, Mandarin-orange flavored sauce. The vibe, which can’t help but retain some of the bustle of other Cantonese destinations, is more laidback and a touch more modern than its also-beloved neighbors. 

A 32oz order of bingsoo—milk shaved ice with all manner of sweet toppings—is more than enough to feed your phone and your friends. Rising off of Sweet Moment’s table, the bingsoo is stacked so high that its top is nearly eye-height, simply begging to be photographed. Try it with black sesame sauce, red bean and rice cake; matcha, cheesecake pieces and green tea ice cream; or with fresh strawberries, mascarpone and white chocolate. Luckily for all of us, a sweet, icy bingsoo tastes just as good as it looks. 

When you’re feeling extremely hungry, this all-you-can-eat hot pot spot offers up quite the deal: $40 for 100 minutes of unlimited hot pot, soda and ice cream. Choose your soup base (you get to pick how spicy, but we recommend going all out), then drop your choice of meat, fish, dumplings, tofu and veg into the simmering stock. While you wait for it all to cook, try to map out a game plan for saving room for dessert. It’s included, so you gotta at least try the cookies and cream. 

Chinatown is filled with beautiful bakeries, their windows fogged with the warmth of steamed buns. One of the very best is Golden Steamer, which is best known for its pumpkin-filled treat. That’s not pumpkin spice, mind you, but a slightly sweet and super-creamy kabocha filling. The buns are $1.50 a pop, so you can try the fragrant egg custard and the BBQ pork, too, and still pay less than you would for most lattes. Golden Steamer is cash only; be sure to bring more than you think you’ll need to satisfy your steamed bun cravings. 

Peking duck, that crispy-skinned, red-hued bird that’s been prepared since the time of Imperial China, is the titular star of the show at this Chinatown destination. It’s presented whole, glistening and plump, to everyone at your white-clothed table before being carved right in front of you in a truly mouthwatering performance. Roll the sliced meat and crackly skin with pancakes and plum sauce, then pair them with whatever you’ve brought to drink, since Peking Duck House is BYOB. We like a Riesling, but you can never go wrong with a 6-pack of Tsingtao.

Chinatown has a few great Malaysian restaurants, but we’re partial to this crowded, convivial cafe. Stop in for snacks like nasi lemak—coconut rice served with a hard-boiled egg and sambal—hand-pulled noodles with anchovies and French toast made with Milo chocolate malt powder. If you don’t know what to eat, their handily-named “I Don’t Know What To Eat” menu makes all the decisions for you: $39 gets you a main course, two snacks, a dessert and a drink. Just place your order at the register and let them make your lunchtime dreams come true. 

Can you talk about Chinatown without talking about Wo Hop? We don’t think so. This downtown fixture has been serving up wontons and egg drop soup since 1938. Now in its third generation of family ownership, it’s still beloved by college students and locals who can’t stop craving that chop suey. Located in a basement papered with fading headshots, the food might not be the very best in the neighborhood, but Wo Hop is undeniably a New York institution. It’s managed to survive every single change in a neighborhood that’s now unrecognizable from 86 years ago—and we’ll be there bent over a bowl of noodles for the next century, too. 

Serving up food from the Hokkaido region of Japan, Dr. Clark’s vibe is, well, vibier than many of the classic Chinatown hotspots. Mood lighting and a cool crowd might give the space a feeling of exclusivity, but the food proves that all are welcome. Their jingisukan, a marinated, sliced lamb cooked on a tabletop grill, is a consistent crowd pleaser, as is their salmon jerky. Once you’ve had your fill, start your vocal warmups: Dr. Clark is a karaoke bar, too, and the people demand to hear your rendition of Rolling in the Deep. 

If you’re looking for the quintessential Chinatown Dim Sum spot, Nom Wah Tea Parlor is the oldest—having sat on its spot on crooked Doyers Street for 100 years—but Golden Unicorn might be the glitziest. Walk inside and be blown away by the escalators to the second floor, the extremely 80s golden brocade swagged curtains and the dim sum carts, which tempt you with steaming buns, dumplings and sweets as they trundle by. Bring your whole family or a group of friends for yum cha, to sit and linger over tea and dumplings as East Broadway bustles outside.