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Ferrara cheesecake
Photograph: courtesy of Ferrara

The best cheesecake in NYC

The best cheesecakes in NYC include favorites from Little Italy’s best pastry shops and new takes on the traditional treat.

Written by
Rachel Pelz
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New York cheesecake is an NYC institution. Take a bite of the fluffy, cream cheese-based treat—with or without a crumbly graham cracker crust—and find yourself transported back to the New York City of one hundred years ago. As the best desserts in NYC continue to change with the trends, a slice of creamy, classic cheesecake is always on the top of our list. Stop by one of the best bakeries in NYC for a slice, or make your way to one of New York's best delis, where they’re still serving up gigantic cheesecakes that taste the way they did in the 1930s. Whether you want the classic taste or a new take on the New York tradition, we’ve found the 16 best cheesecakes in all of NYC. 

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Best cheesecake in NYC

  • Restaurants
  • Steakhouse
  • Williamsburg
  • price 4 of 4

Peter Luger is famous for its steaks (naturally), its creamed spinach and its luscious, meal-ending cheesecake. While you might think you feel too full after a gigantic meal at this Brooklyn steakhouse, you’ll get a second wind when confronted with a slice. Made by Ferrara bakery in Manhattan's Little Italy, each slice is ever-so-slightly sweet, smooth and served with some of Luger’s famous schlag. 

  • Restaurants
  • Bakeries
  • Upper East Side
  • price 1 of 4

Known for its stunning mille crêpes cakes—in which 20 layers of crêpes and cream are stacked to create a truly impressive dessert—Lady M also offers a pumpkin Nuage cake. “Nuage” means cloud in French, and this cheesecake lives up to its name: here, a spiced pumpkin purée is folded into airy cream cheese and set atop a buttery graham cracker base. It’s not a traditional cheesecake, but it’s one of the best in all of NYC. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Delis
  • Murray Hill
  • price 2 of 4

Now, this is a classic slice of New York cheesecake. Absolutely gigantic (it’s over three inches high, and a full cheesecake weighs 7.5 lbs) and more sour than sweet from the cream cheese filling, it’s exactly the dessert you want from one of NYC’s best Jewish delis. You can get it topped with strawberries or made with crushed Oreos, but why mess with sweet success? 

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  • Restaurants
  • Nolita
  • price 1 of 4

Eileen Avezzano started slinging her namesake cheesecakes in 1975, using a traditional New York recipe passed down from her mother. Now at her award-winning Nolita storefront, there are over 20 flavors ranging from classics like cherry to unique twists like salted caramel and cookies and cream.

Junior’s Restaurant
  • Restaurants
  • American
  • Park Slope
  • price 2 of 4

The storied slice at Harry Rosen's Downtown Brooklyn mainstay has become synonymous with New York-style cheesecake itself. Made with humble Philadelphia cream cheese and a sponge cake base, each round is lovingly mixed and baked by hand to this day. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Bakeries
  • Chelsea
  • price 2 of 4

Dig into the countless delicate layers of rich cream cheese and sweet blueberries of the mille crêpes cake at this Japanese cafe and bakery for a unique cheesecake experience. With locations in both Soho and Chelsea, Harbs is a great place to refuel after a day spent shopping or exhibit-hopping; in addition to sweet treats, the menu offers light lunch bites like BLTs and avocado toast.

  • Restaurants
  • Bakeries
  • West Village
  • price 2 of 4

This 30-seat, blue-hued café is lined with gray banquettes and round tables facing the glass-encased treats on display, warmly lit by drop-down globe lights. While we love everything on the menu, including the flaky croissants and the heavenly chocolate cake, the cheesecake stands out, kissed with vanilla and lemon zest in a dark chocolate crust, with vanilla and lemon zest. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Steakhouse
  • Hell's Kitchen
  • price 2 of 4

Although not known primarily for cheesecake, K-Rico serves up one of the best slices in the city. Give yourself carte blanche to indulge when you visit this Hell’s Kitchen steakhouse—for a perfect meal, start with roasted oysters, then go for the skirt steak with chimichurri, and finish off the night with the strawberry cheesecake.

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