Morgan Carter

Every drink seems ideal when you're at the perfect bar. Your dive’s beer is frosty, rooftops send you soaring toward the clouds and cocktail destinations shake and stir myriad ingredients into ideally calibrated glassware—leaps above what you try to craft at home. The options are unending, the ice is nicer and you aren’t just drinking, you’re at the spot.  Whether you're dabbling in low-ABV libations, making your way through dedicated martini menus or collecting passwords for pseudo speakeasies, there is an ideal location for every taste, tolerance and occasion. Find them among the best bars in NYC right now. Best NYC bars at a glance: For a taste of old New York - The Dead Rabbit - One of New York's best cocktail bars continues to serve up the smoothest pours of Guinness and one of the best Irish Coffees, period. (Financial District) For a boozin' and a bite: Bar Snack - Excellently fun cocktails with snacks like pickled dusted cheese curds and spice bags (Chelsea) For a late-night croon and swoon: Saint Tuesday - A well-hidden bar found several flights underneath the Walker Hotel Tribeca (Tribeca) For Korean snacks, sips n' such: Sunn's – Sunny Lee's banchan-based bar is a welcome find in Chinatown for natty wines and close quarters. (Chinatown) For tiki anytime of year: Sunken Harbor Club - The speakeasy above Gage & Tollner didn't stay secret for long. And how could it? Their range of tiki cocktails makes for some seriously boozy nights. (Downtown Brooklyn) Updated J

Choosing a favorite restaurant in New York City is a joyful task with myriad possibilities depending on the occasion, mood and even the time of year. Your favorite dive, fine dining destination and neighborhood favorite might all occupy top spots on your personal best list in spite of their disparate qualities.  Our list of NYC’s 45 best restaurants is the same, spanning each of those categories and more to comprise a catalog of all the places we wish we were at right now. They don’t have to be the newest or the most recently reviewed, just places that we’ve been to and want to return to again and again, and that we think that you will, too.  Best NYC restaurants at a glance: For an excellent slice: L'Industrie - The New York slice shop that made us fall in love with Burrata slices, now has a new locale in Little Italy (Little Italy, West Village and Williamsburg) For a spin on a classic diner: Thai Diner – Even six years later, crowds line up for Thai tea babka, French toast, and disco fries from this Thai diner. (NoMad) For killer tacos: Carnitas Ramirez – The taqueria is home to nose-to-tail pork cookery, just in taco form, and it all goes down in a laid-back setting (Lower East Side) For a classic steak: The Dynamo Room - The throwback steakhouse offers prime cuts of steaks and classic cocktails right off of Madison Square Garden (Penn Station) Updated June 2026: It is June, and it is certainly a good time to be a New Yorker. The Knicks are in the finals (and are

I often get the question: What's your new favorite restaurant on the scene? And oftentimes, that question alone is enough to make my head spin. Not for lack of trying, but attempting to stay up-to-date with the rotating door of restaurants debuting month after month can be quite an endeavor. So, we've decided to collect some of the latest and greatest on this list of the best new restaurants in New York, for my peace of mind, and so that you, the reader, can get out there and try it yourself. And who knows, maybe a few of these might make it to our best restaurants list by the end of the year. June 2026: And just like that, we are halfway through 2026! Despite blizzardy conditions that defined the start of this year, I spent a good majority of it wrapped in a puffy and bearing it anyway, crisscrossing the boroughs to check out New York's latest and greatest. And I was rewarded, handsomely, with excellent, line-generating breakfast burritos, casual kaiseki and Malaysian food lensed through a New Yorker's eyes. And now that we have turned a corner on spring, we say it is best to give these new restaurants a spin. 

New York City has an abundance of excellent Italian restaurants, and we still can’t get enough. Our red sauce staples, fancy white tablecloth throwbacks, buzzy newcomers and slick high-concept ventures make it so that we can sample myriad regions’ cuisine almost every night of the week and never run out of options. You can but don’t need to go to Little Italy for the best!  These are only the best to get you started and keep you coming back. (Psst…if you want a taste of Italian pies, check out our list of pizza parlors and slice shops.) RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best restaurants in NYC Updated May 2026: There's never a bad time for a bowl of pasta. We also added F&F Restaurant for its neighborhood feel (both in decor and comforting food). And for a fine affair, we added Andrew Carmellini's Café Carmellini and Michael White's Santi. Following a visit to one of the pasta OG's over the winter, we zhuzhed up our entries for Lilia and Rubirosa. For this go around, we removed Frankies 457 and Zero Otto Nove. We also removed Velma's as it closed.  For more on our editorial policies and ethics, feel free to check out how we review at Time Out.

Is there a more satisfying bite than the salty, smoky hit of a really, really good burger? The answer is obviously: of course not. Restaurants all over the world are crafting and griddling their own take on the classic beef burger, with homemade sauces, whacky buns, and specialty meats elevating these patties to entirely new levels. We wanted to find out where, exactly, one can find the tastiest, juiciest, most decadent and inventive burgers out there right now. So we grilled Time Out’s global team of food and drink editors about the very best burgers they’ve sunk their teeth into – then ranked them all according to the venues with the strongest star ratings on Google. The result? Fourteen lip-smacking burgers, found across some of the world’s best cities. From smashed wagyu to a ‘kitschy’ surf and turf and everything in between, these are the greatest burgers on the planet right now, each tried and tested by us. Tuck in. RECOMMENDED:🍕 The best pizzas in the world🥪 The best sandwiches in the world🥩 The best steaks in the world This list was edited by Liv Kelly, Time Out’s travel writer. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

We’re convinced there’s a sushi restaurant for just about every occasion, and each one serves a purpose. Take the family-owned neighborhood spot, for example. Perfect for a reliable bowl of miso soup and chirashi on a random Tuesday night when even heating up ramen means getting your life together in some impossible way. Then there’s the date-night stunner with a rare sake list and gold-flaked nigiri that costs more than your car payment, but will make a hell of an impression on an important occasion. And we’d be remiss in excluding the refrigerated cases at the local gas station or supermarket for quick—and gastrointestinally regrettable—lunches on the run. Classic.  But then there’s the Mount Olympus of sushi restaurants. God-tier establishments doling out bites of thinly sliced fish and delicately padded rice that would make Poseidon weep (perhaps, even, quite literally). That’s what we have on this list. Restaurants that’ve elevated sushi to its purest art form and have won their fair share of awards and accolades along the way. From a sleek, minimalist counter manned by a protege of Jiro Ono (yes, that Jiro) to a speakeasy-style den of omakase in Nashville (yes, we’re serious), here are some of the best sushi restaurants in America.   May 2026: We’ve updated this list to reflect some of Time Out’s recent reviews of sushi restaurants around the country, along with current pricing, hours and menu offerings for some of our favorites. This guide will be periodically updated

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 10—have you booked a brunch reservation yet? In addition to treating her to a massage and a facial during a relaxing spa day, a night spent in absolute peace and quiet at one of the best hotels in NYC or a beautiful bouquet of delivered flowers to her doorstep, make sure to take her out for mimosas and a mile-high stack of pancakes at one of the best brunch spots in NYC.  Whether your mom likes to keep it casual with cheap eats or go all out with a fine dining experience to remember, she’ll appreciate being celebrated by you and the rest of the fam. From scenic rooftop restaurants to elegant, mom-approved French restaurants, these are some of the best prix fixe and à la carte brunches in NYC for Mother’s Day 2026. All you have to do is make a reservation and pick up a box of chocolates on your way to keep the title of “Best Kid Ever” for another year. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Mother’s Day in NYC.

The best brunch in NYC can be found every day of the week. Saturday brunch is the best time to gear up for the night ahead, Sundays are perfect for relaxing and a weekday brunch is a rarefied treat designated for ad hoc time off—we would know. We make brunch our business. It doesn’t matter so much when you do it, but where you do it. And whether you skew more toward the breakfast or lunch ends of the portmanteau’s spectrum, toward coffee or mimosas, these are the best brunch destinations in NYC.  Updated May 2026: Springtime calls for more outings and finally making good on those brunch plans. Our recent update added two more Brooklyn locales to the list, Fort Greene's Strange Delight for morning buns and muffuletta sandwiches, and Dolores, our new number one spot to get brunch in this town, for stellar drinks and a seriously incredible French toast. For this go around, we removed Melba's and Kopitiam. For more on our editorial policies and ethics, feel free to check out How we review at Time Out.  Stay in the Loop: Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get the latest in New York City news, culture and dining. 

Some cities have more sprawl, sure, but we’re partial to the ones that surge upward. And thankfully for all of us, New York City stretches sky-high, from elevated parks like the High Line, to rooftop bars that pair tasty drinks with dizzying views, to beautiful buildings that skim the clouds. But instead of just serving up some of the best views in NYC, the city’s best rooftop restaurants do all that as well as offering some of the finest food and drink options at any elevation. So ready your Instagram filters and get ready for your most scenic foodie snap yet—these spots are your ticket to the top.  RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in NYC right now Updated April 2026: While the chill has certainly lingered these past few months, we are here to remind you that rooftop weather is coming. So far, we have spent the majority of spring in one of our favorite neighborhoods, Red Hook, cracking crabs and drinking frozen margs at Brooklyn Crab and admiring the views with a margarita at Alma, which we've updated below. We also brought back the Hudson Yards gem with an electric view, Electric Lemon. That and we highly recommend a lobster roll and oyster party at The Yacht Club, the latest from the team behind some of our favorite waterfront restaurants. For this update, we removed The Fulton and The View as they technically have great views, but no dedicated rooftop. For more on our editorial policies and ethics, feel free to check out how we review at Time Out.

Few dining daydreams capture a corner of New York City’s culinary appeal as keenly as the notion of the classic steakhouse. Bustling dining rooms lined with big, plush booths. Moody lights. Tables topped with frigid martinis. And perfectly paired sides and cuts you just can’t quite recreate at home. But as much as New Yorkers appreciate an old haunt whose walls are peppered with history and lore, the city has been more than happy to welcome modern-day halls that honor a good cut. All this to say, a New York City steakhouse can turn any occasion special, significant or quietly distinguished. And while we have plenty to choose from, some are simply better than the rest. So sharpen those knives for a slice of Gotham at its prime.  RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best restaurants in NYC Updated April 2026: New York has seen a slew of contemporary takes on the steakhouse genre, as Korean flavors have found footing and French inflections have taken hold. Cuerno, a Mexican take on the genre, also adds to the conversation and is now on the list. But what's old is also new again, as classic steakhouses such as The Dynamo Room and Golden Steer have charmed us and made their way into the ranking. For more on our editorial policies and ethics, feel free to check out how we review at Time Out.

There’s something about warm weather and drinking. Maybe it’s some of that Lost Generation romance, a life affirmation, a sense of being in rather than of the world. Maybe it’s just a nice change of pace from the long, dark, cold season.  RECOMMENDED: The best bars in NYC But New York City is tricky when it comes to all that. It’s super dense with strict laws governing what goes on in shared space, which, considering the aforementioned human congestion, is basically everywhere. Many blocks in the city—especially downtown and in Brooklyn—are built around a central open atrium, allowing light and air into the back ends of buildings. That, in effect, means that you can’t always tell from a bar’s front what it’s got going on in the back. Covid outdoor seating saw revelry spill out onto the street, much to the delight of many young, hip, recently christened New Yorkers. But for better or worse, those days are behind us. What’s a person to do? Simple: find bars that feature dedicated outdoor spaces.We have a few here, but there’s a whole other rundown focusing entirely on rooftop bars, so we’re trying to keep this strictly terrestrial. To that end, what you have before you is a smattering of different experiences. Backyards, piers, parks, a freaking boat–we’ve tried to cover all the bases and present options. Are they the best bars, period? These are the best bars that offer a discrete outdoor area, which precludes curbside huts and sidewalk tables.So without further ado, here are

It has never been easier to find enticing plant-based dishes in NYC. Our vegan and vegetarian options go beyond veggie burgers, although NYC has plenty of those, too, and extend to special occasion destinations, exciting new spots, and some of the best overall restaurants in the city. Sure, restaurants all over the ingredient spectrum have broadened their nutrient horizons over the years, but these are your best bets for a meat-free guarantee. RECOMMENDED: See more of the best restaurants in NYC April 2026: Haven't you heard? Veganism is cooked. Or so they say. We admit that several vegan restaurants have closed their doors as of late, and that the Impossible Beef vs Beyond Meat "beef" boom has slowed. Despite this, it has never been easier to be vegan or vegetarian in this town. Our plant-based chefs have continued to excite us with vegetables alone, and their perspectives on sustainability on the plate and the food industry as a whole are leading the future of food. Simply put, there's never been a more exciting time to explore plant-based dining, whether you subscribe to the lifestyle or not.   With that said, our veggie-forward list was due for an update this spring. We added the fine dining vegan tasting restaurant, HAGS, to the list, as well as Superiority Burger for its signature veggie burger and roster of desserts. We also added Flatbush's Aunts et Uncles and Williamsburg's HAAM Caribbean Plant Based Cuisine for their respective ability to veganize Caribbean and Dom

A runner-up of one of USA Today's “Best Cultural Festivals” returns to Brooklyn. On Thursday, June 19, the fifth annual Juneteenth Food Festival takes place. A collaborative event co-hosted by the digital publication Black-Owned Brooklyn and the Weeksville Heritage Center, the festival will be held at the historic Weeksville site, which was home to one of the largest free Black communities in the United States before the Civil War. The day will honor the Texas-born holiday with food, entertainment and music, done the Brooklyn way.   Over 30 food vendors and artisans will be participating this year, spanning the African-American, Caribbean, Latin American and African diaspora. Returning on the food front is Nigerian eats from Bed-Stuy's Brooklyn Suya, Ethiopian-Eritrean cuisine from Makina Cafe and jerk brisket from Jase's BBQ. Somethin' a little sweet comes in the form of goodies from BKLYN Blend, Brooklyn Tea and Brownstone Cheesecakes. Brooklyn's BEM | Books & more, one of the first Black-owned, food-centric bookstores in the country, will be on-site, as will the competitive double-dutch performers, Jazzy Jumpers. As for tunes, the lineup is stacked with Saint James Joy, DJ Tara, Donwill and DJ Monday Blue providing tunes all afternoon long.  The event starts at noon and goes until 8pm. Entry is free. Keep an eye on Black-Owned Brooklyn's Instagram for more announcements. 

Everyone watches women’s sports. And those who do, do so at Athena Keke’s. Co-founders and couple Claudia “Clau” Capriles and Alexandra “Al” Murray have created a Clinton Hill sports haven that’s as charming as it is welcoming, looking more like a retro-futuristic diner than a classic dive bar. But Athena Keke’s is every bit as serious about sports, broadcasting women’s games across its TVs and projectors. That commitment—along with excellent cocktails and globally inspired bites—gives even those of us who may be lacking in the sports department a reason to celebrate. The vibe: The inside of Athena Keke's is as if a posh diner started vibing with the '80s synthwave aesthetic, with neon lights that glow pink at dusk, marble countertops and blue and blush velvet booths that curve and kiss the walls. There are countless cat motifs here—the bar is named after the couple's tabby—as well as sparkly sports paraphernalia, with bedazzled soccer and tennis disco balls and basketball hoops that dangle necklaces over the nets. TVs constantly stream women's sports (and men's, given whose playing) and can get quite crowded during game time. But standing room is a thing, and there are plenty of TVs along each wall, plus a drop-down projector to catch all the action.  The food: Burgers, sad wings and beer? Out. Bolivian cheesy bites and crisp pork belly sandwiches? In. Leaning on her hometown of La Paz, Bolivia, paired with a little finesse from time spent at down-the-street neighboring wine

One of the world's most celebrated pizzas now has a New York address. Pizza Studio Tamaki (PST) is now open in the East Village inside Moody Tongue Pizzeria's former address. World-renowned pizzaolo Tsubasa Tamaki is behind the venture, introducing his chewy, salty and blistered Tokyo-style Neapolitan pies to the masses, which are guaranteed to soon factor in to every New Yorker's pizza ranking. The vibe: Did you ever visit Moody Tongue Pizza? Then you might get a bit of déjà vu as much of the restaurant's former "dark and moody" design remains, with a black and white color palette, including the speckled bar near the front. But new additions include a brand spanking new pizza oven that blasts pies at 900 degrees. It's viewable if you've gotten a booth in the back or lucked out at one of the stools in front of the kitchen, arguably one of the best seats in the house. The food: So what is Tokyo Neapolitan pizza, anyway? For Tamaki, it all starts with the flour. Milled in Japan, Tamaki's tightly guarded recipe starts with a flour blend of American, Canadian and Japanese wheat, of which he took 18 years to perfect. Once made into dough, it is fermented for 30 hours before being stretched and almost pinched to form a crust. It's finished with a quick scorch in the oven, which has been coated in Okinawan salt and a fire that burns with Japanese cedar shavings. What results is a noticeably saltier bite, a sturdier middle compared to the soupier centers that are associated with Nea

The whiskey highball is a simple yet satisfying cocktail. Only needing three ingredients—whiskey, soda water or ginger ale and a few ice cubes—the effervescent drink is classic in its preparation and its complexity. If this whiskey cocktail is your drink of choice, then this week-long celebration is made for you.  The House of Suntory proudly announces the return of Toki Highball Week. From June 1-7, the ode to the classic cocktail will take place in six cities this year: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Seven bars across NYC are joining in on the festivities, each housing the Toki Highball Machine that brings precision and consistency to each pour. Participating bars include two Japanese-style bars, Katana Kitten and Bar Moga, Soho's neighborhood cocktail bar, SoSo’s and Koreatown's seafood bar, Musaek. Thirsty? All you have to do is plan a visit, order a highball and sip into the tradition of Tokyo. Check out the full lineup of bars here.

How did chef Ayesha Nurdjaja follow up to her wildly popular Shuka? With another banger like Shukette. At her Chelsea locale, Nurdjaja lets it rip, speed running through the Levantine region with an excellent spread of, er, spreads with all the charred and puffed breads to sop it up with. The sizzles of the charcoal fire and smoke remixed with a playlist of Janet and Jackson and T-Pain wafting through the room, only adds to the energy of it all. Some may call it loud. Rather, I'd call it lively, vibrant and simply just part of the exciting delight that is visiting Shukette.  The vibe: You wouldn't guess Shukette has been around for almost five years, as any given day mimics the buzz of opening night. Even a casual weekday visit spawns groups of folks patiently waiting by the hostess stand, eyeing tables inside the sidewalk dining shed and on the purple patio that wraps around the back. But to truly get the full Shukette experience is to be at the counter or at one of the booths that line the back, really anything close to the magnetic energy of the charcoal grill and the chefs who tease dishes from its fire. The food: Ripping and dipping is part of the calling card of Shukette. Pick one (or many) of Nurdjaja's housemade breads, such as the puffed frena with charred pockets and golden garlic cloves to mash in, or the grilled lafa, slick in a greenish garlicky butter. Use them to swoosh through thick swirls of labneh that hold macerated strawberries and pickled pops of fennel

With America celebrating its 250th birthday, you know that 4th of July celebrations are going to go all out this year. One of the most luxe blowouts of them all? That has to go to Manhatta.  Ringing in the holiday right, Manhatta is hosting its Sky-High 4th of July celebration. The skyline view restaurant is pulling out all of the stops for a lively cookout, albeit 60 floors up in the sky. Expect over-the-top BBQ favorites—pulled pork and hot dogs included—as well as boozy snow cones and desserts. Naturally, the open bar will be in full force, shaking up house cocktails, wine and beer alongside non-alcoholic beverages. There will be plenty of lawn and arcade games about, or you can always groove to the music courtesy of the live band. And now that the Macy's 4th of July fireworks are showing at three locations across NYC, the Lower East River, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Hudson River where Manhatta overlooks, the views are bound to be sensational.  Manhatta's Sky-High 4th of July will be held on the Fourth of July from 6-10pm. Tickets are $250 and are all-inclusive. Reserve your ticket here. 

New York fans—we've waited a lifetime for this. And at Time Out Market, we are here to make sure you don't miss a moment of the action.  Catch the Finals at Time Out Market New York, Dumbo. We will be showing the games on all of our screens across both floors, so you don't miss a single second. Cheers to every swoosh with all-day beer specials and a lineup of cocktails inspired by love of the game, including The Brunson Burner, The Slam Dunk Sour and The Madison Square Mule. Plus, all of our amazing food vendors will be on deck, from smashed burgers to full pizzas, all available to be delivered right to your table.  Entry is free, and seating is first-come, first-served.  Game Schedule Game 1: Wednesday, June 3rd at 8:30pm Game 2: Friday, June 5th at 8:30pm Game 3: Monday, June 8th at 8:30pm Game 4: Wednesday, June 10th at 8:30pm Game 5*: Saturday, June 13th at 8:30pm GAME 6*: Tuesday, June 16th at 8:30pm GAME 7*: Friday, June 19th at 8:30pm * If necessary

Italian aperitivo culture has arrived in Dumbo. Centered around vibrant spritz moments, shared experiences and golden hour gatherings, The Spritz Bar, in collaboration with Aperol, captures the feeling of summer in the city. Refresh yourself with our curated collection of spritzes, from bold and bright to soft and floral. Plus, nothing spells summer more sipper with the New York City skyline in tow, don't you think? Cheers to that.  

After a shift at the high-pressure, Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, chef Antonio Barbieri would often find himself at his local bodega, craving a late-night sandwich. And when the pandemic put his fine-dining aspirations on hold, he turned back to that comfort meal for his next move. In September 2024, Barbieri partnered with Gilli Rozynek to launch Brown Bag Sandwich Co. in Greenwich Village, followed by a second location in Flatiron about a year later. Chopped sandwiches are the name of the game here, with riffs on classics like the spicy tuna melt, Buffalo chicken and, naturally, the chopped cheese. Yes, Barbieri understands the comparisons to Farmer in the Deli, the famous Fort Greene sandwich shop that’s been chopping sandwiches since the ’50s. But he doesn’t mind, as his versions tweak the deli classics with housemade sauces and locally sourced ingredients, including bread from Parisi Bakery. Their biggest calling card to date? The chicken Caesar wrap, a well-dressed number with roasted chicken, housemade croutons and a touch of anchovy that’s still racking up views on TikTok. But the pastrami Reuben (available only at the Flatiron location), we think, should be next up in the feed. Starting with the brisket alone, the meat is brined for seven days before being steamed and cold-smoked over six hours. The end result is tender, peppery shreds that play well with tangles of tart sauerkraut and gooey Swiss cheese. It’s all encased in a caraway-studded rye hero made sp

This month, one of the world's best bars is coming through for a special takeover.  On June 10, London's Three Sheets will be taking over New York's very own British steakhouse, Hawksmoor. The bar from owners/brothers Max and Noel Venning is a "citywide favorite," according to our UK contributor, known for "the inventiveness and quality of its drinks, which often play on established classics." And it seems the bar is a worldwide favorite, too, as it currently ranks 80th on the "The World's 50 Best Bars" list from 50 Best.   Taking over the Hawkmoor's front bar from 5-8pm, the bar will be shaking up its iconic dirty martini, with Grey Goose vodka, olive oil and koseret tea, which lends a "gentler take on the OG." The menu continues with more house favorites, the Raspberry Marg (Patron 100, fermented raspberry, guajillo and raspberry leaf), Bramble (Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru, blackberry, framboise, Blaufränkisch and beetroot) and Kashmir Old Fashioned (Aberfeldy 12 y.o, rice malt butter, miso, apricot and kashmir tea) included. The pop-up will be hosted on June 10 from 5-8pm. Walk-ins are welcome. 

Andrew Carmellini's return to the world of fine dining is definitely a glorious one. Leaning on a pedigree that includes time spent in the kitchens of Paris and New York’s fine-dining circuit (including Le Cirque and Café Boulud), tied together with a family history in Tuscany, Café Carmellini stands as an embodiment of the chef's story, distilled into a fine-dining package straight out of the Gilded Age. The vibe: Glamorous is certainly one word to describe the interior of Café Carmellini. Located inside NoMad's Fifth Avenue Hotel, the dual-level restaurant leans grand, with white tablecloths, stunning three-ringed chandeliers and towering trees at its center. You can take in golden views from the balcony above, but we don't mind the ground level, which peers into the inner workings of the blue-tiled open kitchen. The food: An amalgamation of chef Carmellini's experiences, the menu is described as a "marriage of Italian and French cooking with a classic New York sensibility." In a sense, it is a bit hard to put your finger on what Café Carmellini is. But in practice, you'll find dishes of the French persuasion, like oysters à la pomme with horseradish and frozen, spherical balls of green apple sorbet that explode in the mouth, and a delicate two-tiered mille-feuille layered with chunks of sweet crab and a pool of yuzu. More classic Italian dishes show up by way of the risotto del giorno, which looked a bit like a Pollock painting, and the beef brasato ‘classico,’ featuring h

You know how the story goes: five Italians walk into a bar, or something like that. In Balera's case, five Italian hospitality veterans walked into a restaurant in Williamsburg and made it entirely their own. Thus, Balera was born, an Italian pizzeria and good time hang that taps into the disco culture of Italy.  The vibe: The team of five (Lourenço de Almeida, Tancredi Bareti, Oliviero Lucchetti, Lorenzo Rubini and Luca Pelliccioni) set out to create a space where they'd all like to eat and hang out. Named after an Italian dance hall, Balera is made for a little groove while you eat, given the DJ stand that's planted by the bar and the disco ball that gets some play in the dining room come the weekend. But the space reads entirely cool and coastal (the five dreamt up the restaurant on a beach trip) with pale blue and red tiles, terrazzo floors and an upper deck that looks down upon it all. The food: New York has a new thin-crust pizza in town. Rolled out with a mattarello or rolling pin (which is also the name of the Roman pie style), the pizza here is paper-thin but not delicate in the slightest, with crispy, crackery edges and blistered patches on the bottom. The plus side: it's easy to order and eat your way through two pies without feeling like you overindulged. The downside: the pies, such as the Diavolo, freckled with plenty of Calabrian soppressata, can get weighed down and greasy by the last bite. The menu is rounded out by fritto misto with pops of fried bits of pin

In 2017, Pervaiz Shallwani hosted a friendly hot dog cookout competition in his backyard. Drawing on his Pakistani roots and his love of a good Chicago dog, Shallwani’s (winning) combination was stacked with bhel puri, a type of chaat with puffed rice, tamarind-cherry chutney and a mint-cilantro green sauce. The name? Ring My Bhel. Five years later, while working as a law enforcement editor at CNN, he was still thinking about it. Shallwani had long juggled both of his passions, journalism and food, over his 30-year professional stretch, at times, simultaneously. As a result, his resume ping-ponged from covering the restaurant beat at Time Out New York and hosting Feed Me, an Emmy-award-winning TV show produced by Newsday, to breaking news stories about crime and policing at The Daily Beast and the Wall Street Journal. But while at CNN, he finally came up with a business name for the Desi hot dog he had created all those years ago: Chaat Dog. Post parting ways with CNN, Shallwani decided to go full steam ahead into the hot dog business. “You know what I'm not doing at 45 years old?" he thought at the time. "Taking another full-time job doing something I don't want."  Shallwani began freelancing as a writer by day and R&D-ing his hot dogs by night, testing them on friends in Chicago and New York. In 2022, Chaat Dog made its debut at Brooklyn's Endless Life Brewing, popping up with Vienna beef dogs nestled in ghee-slicked hot dog buns, stacked with tangy, sweet and sour chaat, c

Nothing signals summertime quite like a spritz in hand. The most iconic of all time? It has to be the Aperol spritz. Balancing something a little bitter and a little sweet, the fizzy orange-hued drink has become the drink of the summer (whether you like it or not). And to usher in the start of the season, one of the world’s most iconic spirits is taking over these two bars in NYC.  This summer, Time Out Market New York's Union Square outdoor terrace becomes the Aperol Experience, a beachy getaway courtesy of Aperol. Painting the town orange, the iconic aperitif is taking over the hidden terrace, outfitting it with umbrellas, beach chairs and a photo wall to show off your summertime sip. Naturally, the brand brought the drinks with them as well, hitting on all the classics from the Aperol and Campari spritz, the Sbagliato (yes, with prosecco) and an Americano. For something a tad stronger, the bar will also be serving a riff on the classic Negroni dubbed the Kingston Negroni, with Jamaican rum, Campari and a splash of sweet vermouth. And just for the occasion, the bartenders at the Market are shaking up a special treat: Pepp in Your Step with bell pepper-infused Espolón tequila, Aperol, agave, lime, and crème de cassis. Come with a group that is ready to party? You can also get a Ti ‘Punch Bottle Service for four or more, which includes an entire bottle of Wray & Nephew and a tray of sugar cane, limes and ice, so you can dress up your punch, your way.  And when you get hungry

There’s been a lot of chicken talk in the city lately, including a little half-roasted birdie in Brooklyn with a $40 price tag that's gotten a whole lot of attention. But according to Mark Mendaros, understanding the breakdown behind the bird is where the conversation should start. “There's a lot that goes into a rotisserie chicken that people don't always see—sourcing quality birds, brining, seasoning, prep, the cook itself, plus rent, labor, and everything it takes to run a kitchen in New York,” he says. “The costs add up quickly.” You may be familiar with the name Mendaros, and if not, you definitely know the man's work. A burger king through and through, Mendaros and his chef, Fredy Cetina, made a massive mark on the burger scene with the namesake burgers at Smashed NYC and Smashed Express. And much like he revolutionized the burger by keeping things simple—using quality beef and housemade toppings—Mendaros now plans to do the same with rotisserie chicken. “Rotisserie has always appealed to me,” said Mendaros. “There's something honest about it—the slow spin, the fire, the crispy skin. You can't hide behind it, same as a smash burger. Just good ingredients, cooked with care.” RECOMMENDED: Here’s where you can find a killer $14 lunch deal in Union Square Now, Mendaros is launching The Rotisserie Haus at Time Out Market New York, Union Square. Describing it as simple, honest food done well, Mendaros and Cetina’s latest will all be about roasting chickens, steaks and other p

Chef Elias Popa has held onto a single brick for three years. He’s moved it around a few times, keeping it first at his now-closed Lower East Side Romanian restaurant, Oti, and later in the confines of his car. But this isn’t just any brick. Popa has spent the last several years transforming 55 Christopher Street with design partner Jun Qin of Wild Form Design Studio, the basement-level bar space that once housed the legendary 55 Bar jazz club before it shuttered in 2022. After sitting vacant for years and suffering damage from a fire in the building, the venue had fallen into serious disrepair. When Popa first toured it, the floor was little more than exposed beams. During demolition, he came across a loose brick from the exposed wall of the neighboring building: none other than The Stonewall Inn. He kept it, waiting for the right moment. Now, the brick has found a permanent home, proudly illuminated inside a new gathering space dedicated to community, connection and exceptionally crafted cocktails. Tonight, the West Village welcomes Love Thy Neighbor. Photography courtesy of Aichan Mama| G&T for Neighbors Taking inspiration from the queer-friendly neighborhood it calls home, the bar and all-day dining concept follows a simple design philosophy: “no straight lines.” The result is a futuristic, almost spaceship-like interior, with soft tan curves framing booths and tucked-away alcoves in the back. Hidden toward the rear is an especially stunning bathroom that feels as thou

In the summer of 2024, Charles and Shireen Kuykendoll hosted what they thought would be a small, family-friendly cookout competition at their home in Los Angeles. The challenge: who makes the best oxtail? During the pandemic, Charles had finally perfected his recipe, picking up techniques and tips from friends and Caribbean chefs along the way. Confident in his skills, he posted about an oxtail cook-off on social media, expecting only people from his Instagram “close friends” list to show up. Instead, word spread quickly. Soon, chefs began reaching out asking to compete. On the day of the event, 12 cooks arrived with Nigerian, Jamaican and Dominican interpretations of the dish. More unexpectedly, so did over 200 people. “My wife and I were a bit taken aback,” says Charles. “We invited about 120 people, and even that was probably too many for our house, but word of mouth spread. We looked up, and suddenly people were everywhere.” Perhaps the turnout wasn’t entirely surprising. The couple runs Charles Beloved Productions, an event company behind large-scale gatherings like RNBHouseParty, which later evolved into the Blavity House Party Music Festival. Still, the overwhelming response made one thing clear. “I looked at my wife and said, ‘We got one,’” Charles says. In 2025, the pair officially launched The Oxtail Off, a food competition bringing together chefs across the Afro-Caribbean diaspora to answer an age-old question: who makes the best oxtail? More than 2,000 people atte

There are many reasons to visit Governors Island this summer: QC Spa New York unveiled a full-service restaurant last month and is bringing a summertime DJ series to its outdoor garden, the Smorgasbord team, on the other hand, recently debuted Six Coasts, a seaside restaurant and bar that feels like the Caribbean. Now, one of Brooklyn’s best restaurants is also setting the island aflame: Theodora. RECOMMENDED: Luxury glamping is back on Governors Island for the summer Theodora is bringing its live fire cookery to Governors Island with Theodora Beach Club. Presented by Resy and media partner VinePair, the restaurant will be taking over the sandy taco shack, Taco Vista, all summer long, throwing weekend beach parties and swanky, late-night dinners. Of course, this isn’t the first time Theodora has taken their love of fire cooking on the road, as owner/chef Tomer Blechman and his staff teamed up with the immersive outdoor cooking experience, Terra Firma, to cook Caribbean snapper in Antigua. They have, however, been looking to recreate it on a larger scale.  “Our team has spent the past year exploring how live fire cooking can be brought to NYC diners in dynamic ways, beyond the walls of Theodora,” says a spokesperson for the restaurant. “We’re lucky to get to cook with wood-fire every day, and our team is always seeking new ways to push the techniques and the flavors. This is what led us to create this series as a way to share the style of cooking we love with people who are dr

You may not know the name Matthew Maddy outright, but it is more than likely that you’ve experienced his work. The designer has made his mark on restaurants about town, including Lilia, Public Records and Oxomoco, so much so that he earned a James Beard nomination for his rustic take on Brooklyn’s Colonia Verde. Maddy crossed paths with chef Jackie Carnesi along the way, which makes sense, as he led the build-out at Nura and the recent revamping of Kellogg’s Diner, both kitchens she helmed. And now that Maddy and his partner, Marisa Maddy Ripo, turned a new, industrial build in Williamsburg into something that’s entirely beautiful, feminine and warm, Carnesi has come along for the ride. Here are four things to know about Bar Susanne.  Photography courtesy of Lorenzo Bongiovanni| Bar Susanne The project comes from a personal place for the design team. Bar Susanne, and its sister cafe next door, Cafe Susanne, is named after one of Maddy’s mentors, Susanne Greene. A second mother to Maddy, Greene was also an artist and ceramicist in New York. Using her spirit as an energy for the place, Greene’s feminine and artistic influence is certainly felt as the space is defined by hand-grooved and textured walls, rust marble and a warming glow thanks to amber lighting. The logo takes from her, too, recreated from a sculpture she made, which she referred to as “a fish person.” Maddy also incorporated works from his mother, Barbara Chapman, who is also an artist, as her prints hang around

What can we say about Miami’s LPM Restaurant & Bar that we haven’t said before? According to our team down in South Beach, the European import is well known about town, starting with its warm welcome of “plump tomatoes” always fresh on the table, readily available for the slicing, followed up by its “parade of seafood,” be it “raw, grilled, pan-fried or delicately baked en papillote.” Oh, and the cocktail of the evening? It goes to the Tomatini that’s always “subtly savory, refreshing and bright.” But why am I telling this to you, dear reader, who is likely reading this from within the state lines of New York? Because the Mediterranean restaurant is coming our way for a two-day stretch, that’s why.  That’s right, LPM Restaurant & Bar will be taking over Accademia Dante for a limited time this May. For only two days, May 19 to May 20 from 8pm to 11pm, the restaurant will bring its French Riviera-like vibes to the aperitivo bar. Naturally, the Tomatini cocktail will make an appearance, a smooth and savory tippler made out of muddled Campari tomatoes and a splash of white balsamic vinegar. But a few drinks off the restaurant’s Déjà Vu menu will be coming along for the ride, with cocktails styled after the golden age of the French Riviera, such as the Birkin (Charentais melon, Bacardi añejo cuatro, vermouth, and tonic water), Bikini (cantaloupe, Bacardi añejo cuatro, Rinomato apertivo) and La Piscine (strawberry, yellow bell pepper soda, chili tincture and Don Julio blanco). And

The New York Times just debuted its annual ranking of the best 100 restaurants in NYC, crowning Paul Carmichael’s Kabawa as the top spot for 2026. The listicle, “The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City, 2026,” was released in two parts, with the final unveiling of the top ten dropping today. This marks the first curated ranking from newly appointed co-chief critic Ligaya Mishan, who stepped into the role last summer. Over the course of ten months, Mishan “scoured the city end to end,” eating her way through hundreds of restaurants across all five boroughs in an attempt to narrow down the city’s very best. Much like our own ranking of NYC’s top restaurants, the list doesn’t solely prioritize tasting menus or $500-per-head experiences. Instead, Mishan focused on the diversity and personality of the city’s dining scene, weighing “imagination, ambience, service, technique, passion, commitment and sheer deliciousness”—and perhaps most importantly, “New York-iness.” RECOMMENDED: The 45 best restaurants in NYC right now For 2026, a whopping 33 restaurants made their debut on the list. Queens was especially well represented, with inclusions like one of Zohran Mamdani’s favorite restaurants, Kabab King (100), streetside chalupa destination Chalupas Poblanas El Tlecuile (99) and the chicken and lamb tagines at Dar Lbahja (78). Other newcomers include Chinatown wine bar Lei (76), “Top Chef” winner Gregory Gourdet’s Maison Passerelle (75) and Fidel Caballero’s bold Mexican restaurant

Weekday lunches can quickly turn into a sad affair. Wilty desk salads, cold leftovers and slop bowls that still run you upwards of $20? Starting this week, leave it all behind and head to Union Square for a meal that won't disappoint.  Launching today at Time Out Market New York, Union Square—and available every Monday through Friday from 11:30am to 2 pm—you'll find a new killer $14 lunch deal, featuring filling and delicious food that's actually affordable. So what's on the menu? Think veggie-friendly packed bowls from Ivy Stark's BKLYN Wild, chicken tikka and egg paratha rolls from Kebabwala and chicken bowls with a Mexican spin from Tacos Fonda. Meanwhile, Fornino is bringing hearty Italian sandwiches packed with mortadella and prosciutto to the table, while Kam Rai Thai is honing in on its classics, selling pad Thai and its spicy, zingy zaab zaab wings. For a classic combo, try Smashed Express's smashburger-and-fries deal. And we aren’t telling you what to do, but if you happen to be a late luncher, you can always stay and nab a happy hour drink, think $10 cocktails, $9 wines and $5 beers, starting at 2pm. And there’s more! To celebrate the launch of our new $14 lunch program, we’re giving one lucky office the ultimate weekday lunch break. Enter for a chance to win lunch for up to 50 people and treat the whole office to a stellar spread. Enter here by May 31.  Check out the full lineup of $14 selections below. Happy lunching! BKLYN Wild Brussels Sprout CaesarFeliz BowlU

For over 40 years, chef Michael Ayoub has been feeding the people of New York, much of it pizza. And for the past 21 years (nearing 22 years come May 20), he has been doing so at his restaurant Fornino, a wood-fired pizzeria that deep dives into the art of flour and water. His footprint has grown since his early days, some of them skyward, with rooftop restaurants in Brooklyn Bridge Park and another at our very own Time Out Market New York, Dumbo. And last year, the chef made the move to Manhattan for the first time, arriving at Time Out Market New York, Union Square. On the cusp of his annual pizza party for charity, we caught up with chef Ayoub between shifts to talk about valuable lessons in the kitchen, his expansive tomato seed collection and where he likes to get a slice of pizza in the city.  What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from another chef? The most valuable lesson I learned was from Claude Bailles: don't serve anything I'm not proud of and something that I wouldn't eat myself. Where do you go to unwind in NYC?  I like The Met Museum. We live close to it, and it's always something new. Right now, there's an unbelievable Raphael show. If you could travel to any other city right now and dine out for a week, what city would you visit? I was just in Madrid last year, and the food was amazing. We had an opportunity to go to a restaurant, Diverxo, the number two restaurant in the world at the time, 26 courses, and I still remember every one of them.  What’s

Mark Mendaros didn’t always start in the burger business. But we think New York is all the better for his joining, as his expertly thin and griddled patties started a bit of a revolution here a few years back. If you haven’t guessed it already, Mendaros is behind Smashed NYC, a burger shop that specializes in all things caramelized, seared and smashed. Now the pandemic pivot has spawned multiple burger stands all around the city, including two in our very own market hall, Time Out Market New York, Dumbo, and Time Out Market New York, Union Square. And now that May marks #BurgerMonth, Mendaros is grilling up limited-time patties that mustn’t be missed.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by SMASHED NYC (@smashednyc) Available at Smashed Express at Time Out Market New York, Union Square, and Mendaros, and featuring his executive chef, Fredy Cetina, has launched two limited-edition burgers to celebrate the month. First up is the birria burger ($18), a creation that pays homage to Cetina’s Mexican heritage. Naturally, it all starts with the birrira. Chef Cetina keeps it traditional, slow-braising beef in a rich adobo of dried chilies, garlic, and warm Mexican spices until incredibly tender. A bit of a beef boom: the birria is layered over two smashed patties, slathered with salsa verde, and topped with red pickled onions. And that leftover braising liquid? That becomes the consommé, served on the side, ready for a dip and eat.  And to add a little luxury