The best takeout and delivery restaurants in NYC

Hunky Dory is by far one of our all-time favorite brunch spots and a rare restaurant that offers comfort foods in equal measure as thoughtful, healthy dishes. You can cut the line by ordering delivery of perfect items such as the celery root or egg sandwiches, apple cider pancakes and the "Green Eggs and Ham." You can even purchase one of their cut, signature tote bags via Caviar, if you're too lazy to stop by the restaurant and pick it up yourself. 

The team behind the popular Glady's has opened a Japanese-Caribbean ramen joint in the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. Classic bowls of Japanese ramen are riffed upon with Caribbean touches.

Mexican dessert shop La Newyorkina now has some standout noodles on deck, too. Owner Fany Gerson, in collaboration with chef Danny Mena (of Brooklyn's La Lonchería restaurant), has introduced La Pozolería pop-up, a pozole-focused kiosk inside the store, available for delivery. Known for varying styles of broths punctuated by hominy, the stew is most often meat-laden with protein like pork or chicken; but, here, the Veracruz ($14) presents a vegetarian, corn-based broth prepared with springy ramen noodles, a brand of instant-ramen, known as Maruchan. The result is a very decadent soup that tastes like esquites, a popular street-food corn salad.

An East Asian general store with bites at the counter, the recently opened Maya Bed-Stuy serves experimental congee, updated with quinoa, avocado and other good additions you see in fashionable grain bowls. There's also the stand-out Porkduckin with Chinese century egg—a yolk that’s been preserved in salt, ash and clay over months, not 100 years—that is worth trying.

The Michelin-starred Thai restaurant Uncle Boons recently transitioned its takeout spin-off to delivery-only. The chef-owners Ann Redding and Matt Danzer are keeping the meals wallet-friendly, too: The homemade yellow curried lamb pastry with sweet chili sauce and cucumber vinegar is popular but we prefer the Phat Bai Horapha (Thai basil and chili stir fry with a fried egg).

Here, you’ll find West African–inspired dishes in a fast-casual café. Look no further than chef Pierre Thiam’s food to tell the story. The Senegal-born chef draws on influences from Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire and other African countries but imparts a break-the-rules approach. The fufu, a spongy ball of pounded plantain, is a stand-out that you’ll want to dip in the slightly sweet peanut sauce.

Amanda Cohen has been cooking some of the city’s most experimental vegan food—long before it was trendy—at Dirt Candy. Now, she’s debuting a fast-casual, plant-based burger spot that’s dishing out milkshakes, soft serve and even french fries that you can get delivered. 

The menu at Tamra Teahouse is initially hard to pin down to any particular cuisine: Chef-owner Yunha Moh is a first-generation immigrant by way of South Korea, and inspiration from his heritage appears throughout the menu. Meanwhile, there are also nods to the Caribbean food that’s endemic to Crown Heights, Latin cooking and Pan-Asian ingredients. In the wrong hands, the fusion could get muddled, but here it is both creative and ambitious.

A new fast-casual chain hailing from Cairo has opened in Nolita, bringing with a menu of Egyptian street food. Though their dishes may look like the hummus and falafel you know, what Zooba offers is entirely different. The chain has come to be known for its ta'ameya, swapping out balls of fried chickpeas for fava beans (in addition to the classic version, Zooba also offers versions with spicy pepper, eggplant and pickled lemon). Instead of hummus you'll find a fava bean dip called bessara.

Your bowl of perfectly al-dente noodles sits in a bowl of broth that took hours to cook, but you’d slurp all the noodles between bites of the tender beef within minutes if you could. Our advice is to savor every bit while you also snack on the other small dishes of delicate tofu and hearty bowl of minced pork over rice. It's worth the wait for one of the city’s best bowls of Taiwanese beef noodle soup (or any soup for that matter).

Korean soup meets Japanese noodles at this Chelsea Market slurp shop, where steaming ramen bowls (pork, miso, tofu) come spiked with artisanal kimchi. We recommend the Chicken "Ssamgyetang" outfitted with a roasted ginger chicken broth, delicate pulled chicken, cucumber and a garlic chive kimchi.

What began as a modest cart is now upgraded to a sit-down restaurant specializing in arepas and other Colombian bites in Jackson Heights. The kitchen is run by Maria Piedad Cano and her family. Order for some of the best South American corn cakes found in New York.

A vegetarian Indian food haven in Floral Park, Queens specializing in fast casual bites, savory snacks and colorful desserts. Usha is one of the best vegetarian destinations for generous portions, combo platters that allow you to try a little bit of everything and a menu that strongly demonstrates you don't need meat to have one of the city's most satisfying meals. 

Chinese hot pot, customarily stewed with thinly sliced meats, vegetables and stock, gets a brothless showcase with this East Village eatery from owner Ning Amelie Kang and chef Qilong Zhao. Named after the Chinese phenomenon of ma la (literally “numbing and spicy”), the restaurant’s starring dish is a variation on Chongqing-hailing dry pot, a stir-fry-like spread built with a choice of 52 add-ins—which means lots of options for delivery. 

Pizza might just be the ultimate delivery meal, so why not up the ante a bit? This powerhouse pizzerias by Matt and Emily Hyland offers delivery of pies such as the Vodka (with vodka sauce, the Emily (mozzarella, pistachios, truffle sottocenere, and honey) and the top-seller The Colony (sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, pickled chilli and honey). Caviar also lists a "secret" and exclusive option for its cusotmers: vodka sauce pizza with banana peppers, onion and ranch.  

It doesn’t matter if you can’t read the Thai menu here. Pick any bowl of noodles (we’d recommend the boat noodles) and you’re sure to be satisfied.

Known for his fiery Szechuan food and salty tongue, Taiwan native Han Chiang earned a cult following in the City of Brotherly Love before he marched into NYC. Everyone is there for stellar food like spiced chicken wings, batter fried until sublimely crunchy; chilled chunks of bone-in rabbit with peanuts, and delicate pork wontons. Enjoy it in the comfort of your living room on an unbearably cold night.

The Malaysian café is now bigger and (arguably) better with an all-day menu of affordable small plates and snacks like nasi lemak in a new location down the block.

For Crown Heights locals looking for delivery options: Chavela's has long been a Time Out favorite. Don't sleep on their mole!

This Bed-Stuy stalwart specializes in two things: bake and (you guessed it) doubles. The former is a handheld fried dough bun stuffed with salt fish or fried sand shark and topped with a tangy-sweet tamarind sauce. And the latter? Well, let’s just say doubles are the best buck-fifty you’ll ever spend. These Trinidadian snacks are built on a base of deep fried dough, or bara, wrapped around a savory potato-channa curry. Don’t forget a side of extra napkins.

What Noods n’ Chill lacks in space (there are only 12 seats in this self-serve restaurant), it makes up in dynamic flavors. Fluffy brioche is topped with fragrant pork floss with a shiny spread of sweet chili paste. You’ll also find noodle soups (order the pork blood-enriched boat noodles) but there’s also a rarely seen Chinese-Thai rice porridge perfect for breakfast.

The Awkward Scone, a queer-and-woman-run bakery with stand-out New Mexican-style burritos opened its doors after a period as pop-up caterers. The Bushwick spot also serves carrot-cake donuts, fennel proscuitto pretzels and a slew of other unique treats (including one stand-out rainbow cookie). 

Sure, part of the charm of this family-owned, 127-year-old institution­ is that its employees carve horseradish-spiked pastrami and thick-cut corned beef by hand, right there in front of you. But now, you don’t have to worry about losing your ticket, having enough cash or careening through the throngs of tourists befuddled by the ordering system, and can scarf down that meat-stacked sammie at your leisure.

The vegan movement is expanding beyond just restaurants, as grocers, butchers and deli counters are starting to go meatless. Joya Carlton (the Butcher’s Daughter, Buvette) teams with Sara and Erica Kubersky (MooShoes, Modern Love Brooklyn) for this Lower East Side grocery store and delicatessen that’s exclusively stocked with vegan products. 

Fuku is the materialization of David Chang’s obsession with the fast-food chicken sandwich. There’s just one main dish on the menu (guess what it is), so the biggest decision you’ll face is whether you want a savory side or a Compost cookie for dessert. Chang’s oversize sammie, served on a steamed Martin’s potato roll with habanero puree, pickles and fermented-chickpea butter, is crispy, juicy and the perfect choice when you’re overwhelmed by all the other delivery options.

Inspired by 1960s Los Angeles, this California cool café in SoHo boasts a flavor-packed, health-driven menu that won’t leave you feeling guilty or lethargic. That said, the plates—named for neighborhoods and institutions around L.A.—don’t follow any strict nutritional rules, but rather a general ethos of wellness lead by owner and Golden State native Camilla Marcus. Don't sleep on the filling "mushreuben."