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New York’s dining scene just pulled off its favorite party trick: dominating yet another national ranking. This year’s Restaurant List 2025, published by the New York Times, dropped with 50 picks across the country and four fresh-faced New York spots muscled their way in.
The most high-profile debut is Borgo, the long-awaited Manhattan outpost from Brooklyn restaurateur Andrew Tarlow. Known for Williamsburg institutions like Diner and Marlow & Sons, Tarlow’s pivot downtown feels like an old-world fever dream crossed with a Roman holiday. Expect paper-thin focaccia oozing molten fontina, Sungold-swaddled ravioli and whole branzino so striking you might apologize before digging in. Add a martini cart and candlelit rooms buzzing with energy and Borgo already feels like a forever fixture.
On the Lower East Side, Ha’s Snack Bar proves that big flavors can come in tiny packages. The duo behind the French-Vietnamese bistro, Anthony Ha and Sadie Mae Burns-Ha, deliver dishes that rewrite the rules of comfort food. Vol-au-vent with tripe? Yes, and it’s glorious. Head cheese with chile crisp? Even better. The menu is a dare to trust their instincts—and a larger version of the restaurant is reportedly on the way.
Meanwhile, chef Paul Carmichael brings Caribbean swagger to the Momofuku empire with Kabawa, a three-course prix fixe that doubles as a love letter to Barbados and beyond. Bammy bread turns chewy as mochi, pepper shrimp gets reinvented as crudo and goat in a habanero blaze arrives regal and surrendering at the bone. Next door, Bar Kabawa keeps things rowdier with patties and shave-ice daiquiris, all proof you can raise the volume without lowering the bar.
Rounding out the quartet is Smithereens, a seafood den that skips beachy vibes in favor of deep-sea mystery. Chef Nicholas Tamburo revels in the underloved catch: bluefish, whiting, mackerel. Bones and scraps find second life in broths and foams, while chowder arrives with creamy rice and quahogs hiding like treasure. And just when you think you’ve got its number, Smithereens drops a cider doughnut that might ruin you for all others.
Across the U.S., more than half the list went to newcomers, but New York once again proves why it’s still the heavyweight champ of American dining. Whether it’s Brooklyn royalty flexing downtown or LES upstarts rewriting the rules, the city keeps serving what the rest of the country craves: a meal to remember.