Morgan Carter

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 extends 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: If you haven't heard, there's a new food pyramid in town. The most eye-catching part of the new edition, minus the fact that the pyramid is inverted, was the prioritization of meat and dairy, characterized by a drawing of a steak and a wedge of cheese. Its placement at the top is intentional after all, as the Trump Administration's Make America Healthy Again movement heavily emphasizes meat and its by-products, pushed even more by our Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a tendency to fry whole turkeys in beef tallow and chug raw milk. And as a whole, beef is clearly trending as Americans ate $45 billion of beef in 2025, up more than 10 percent from the previous year. This renewed emphasis on beef, in turn, has put a spotlight on plant-based movements. In the last year alone, The Atlantic said that "plant-based eating has meat lost its appeal," and New York Magazine wrote about the "fizzling" vegan movement with an article titled, "How Veg

New Yorkers treat brunch like a personality trait, and Manhattan has enough options for all of our personalities: the two-carafes-of-mimosas, the sip-a-coffee-solo-with-a-book and the we're-splitting-everything-and-still-getting-ice-cream-after. We've spent years working our way across the borough at brunchtime, so you can skip the guesswork and head straight for the good stuff at some of the best restaurants in NYC. Find red velvet cake in Harlem that rivals the city’s best bakeries, a French dip that has earned its place as one of NYC’s best sandwiches and the best cocktails for clinking glass from, say, ten a.m. to four p.m.  Updated April 2026: Just in time for patio season’s big comeback, a few new Manhattan brunch spots have made the cut. Grab a table and get ready for spring menus that lean hard into the season with bright citrus, asparagus and the briefly, sweetly omnipresent ramps.  RECOMMENDED: See more restaurants for the best brunch in NYC

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 catalogue 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 an exciting look at kaiseki: Anbā - Ambrely Ouimette's hidden tasting counter serves a modern taste of kaiseki cuisine (Lower East Side) For a spin on a classic diner: Thai Diner – Even five 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) Updated April 2026: I am likely preaching to the choir when I say this, but thank god spring is finally here. Our gray, blizzard-heavy winter was

A glazed doughnut with sprinkles from a cart with your morning coffee? A New York City classic. A $7 fancy-schmancy cruller from a Williamsburg pop-up? Also classic, in its own way. The doughnut scene in NYC is always frying up something delicious, from a beloved Greenpoint institution that’s been open for more than 70 years to brand-new shops doing numbers on TikTok.  Sweetened fried dough has roots all over the world, which means there are more kinds of doughnuts to eat than we can in a lifetime. But…let’s try. Pair one with a latte from one of the city's best coffee shops, grab a dozen on your way out of one of the city’s best bakeries or settle the great breakfast debate by picking up a doughnut and a BEC from one of the best bagel shops in NYC. Updated March 2026: Some of the most exciting new doughnut shops in NYC were started elsewhere, so you can take a tour of the global doughnut scene without ever leaving the city. RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in NYC

Brunch is competitive in New York City any time of year, and interest ticks up even higher on especially brunch-y holidays. On Easter Sunday in particular—which falls this year on April 5—demand for mimosas, bloody Marys, eggs Benedict and all manner of pancakes soars higher than the city’s rooftop bars.  Still in need of a reservation? These are our picks for the best Easter brunch offerings in NYC for 2026. So make sure to book now before you chance a walk-in on the big day.  RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Easter in NYC Updated March 2026: With the changing of the clocks, we can say that spring is finally here, baby! And with it comes one of the brunchiest holidays of the year, Easter. Whether you celebrate for religious reasons or are just an excuse to wear your biggest hat, the holiday offers good reason to gather with those who are closest to you. And getting together over eggs Benny and mimosas? It surely sweetens the deal.   To prepare, we've updated our guide of the best places to brunch in NYC for Easter. We've added Estiatorio Milos, ilil, Le Pavillon, Leonetta, Maison Passerelle, Melba's, Nubeluz and Temple Court. We removed Cathédrale, La Marchande, Tavern on the Green, The Garden at Four Seasons, The Fulton and Twenty Three Grand.

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 March 2026: I went on a bit of brunch hiatus this winter (devastating, I know). But I'll be honest, like many of you, I spent a good bit of this first half of the year avoiding the outside altogether, given our stretch of blizzards, packed snow and straight-up unpleasantness going on out there. But just that little sliver of fake spring earlier in the month gave me enough gusto to go out and spend my weekday mornings cruising for some AM eats. And reader: we found some good ones. We added West Village's Foursome to the list for its stellar Turkish breakfast spread. Apparently feeling a Mediterranean kick this season, we also added Hell's Kitchen Middle Eastern restaurant, Frena, to the listing for its seven (seriously, seven) styles of shakshuka. For this go around, we also removed B&H Dairy and Sailor from the list. 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 ge

New York City's brilliant Black community is constantly making this town one of the best places to live, creating incredible spaces for culture and art to flourish and opening expertly crafted restaurants and bars. If you're looking for a way to support Black-owned businesses, these amazing restaurants created, owned and run by Black New Yorkers are an excellent place to start.  Updated February 2026: Periodically, part of my job is to update our best of lists—sushi, pizza, what have you. Inevitably, as I review each list, I will see that a handful of restaurants have closed over the course of the year. But when I approached our best Black-owned restaurants list, I was surprised to learn that out of the 45 restaurants we previously listed, only seven restaurants have closed up shop (Freda's Caribbean & Soul Cuisine, Negril BK, Pig & Butter, Reverence, Seasoned Vegan, Snowdonia and Queen of Sheba) while two are temporarily closed (Ghenet Brooklyn and Sugarcane). Unfortunately, it seems to follow a trend, as Black-owned business owners face a set of different challenges in this industry, starting with less access to capital, coupled with systemic racism and stigma. For Black History Month, I implore you to visit your favorite Black-owned businesses (and often)—share their stories, uplift them, and most importantly, frequent their seats. As part of the update, we added Je T'aime Pattisserie and Hav & Mar. We also removed Angel of Harlem, Brown Butter Craft Bar & Kitchen, Cheryl

NYC's Japanese restaurant landscape is rich with ever-growing, ramen, izakaya and Michelin-starred sushi destinations, among many other offerings. The best include casual affairs, grand experiences and some that split the difference. Whatever your preference, these are the finest options for all of that and more right now.  RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in NYC to book right now added this para, do you want to give it a look over before i make it live? Updated March 2026: Narrowing down the best Japanese restaurants in NYC is a little like narrowing down the best American restaurants. Or the best Italian. Or best anything. Meaning there is so much nuance, technique and variety to be considered. And so we tried our best to include a little of everything. We started with New York's love of omakase and sushi by adding Sushi Nakazawa and Sushi Noz to the list. Since we are still in the thick of a good ol' fashioned New York chill, we updated our entry for Nakumura after a recent visit. As more styles emerged on the scene, we paid them a visit, and they too ended up on our list, including kaiseki restaurant Muku and French–Japanese restaurant Restaurant Yuu. But it isn't all fine dining, as we added our go-to midtown favorite, Katagiri Japanese Grocery, to this list. We removed Japan Village, Hi-Collar, Masa and Nami Nori. We also removed Sushi Ginza Onodera and Shuko as they closed. We also removed 69 Leonard Street as it is temporarily closed due to a fire.

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 50 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) Update

Whether it’s your first or your one-hundredth time in New York, you could do a lot worse than booking a hotel right in the middle of the concrete jungle. Manhattan’s Midtown neighborhood is perfectly placed for sightseeing and exploring all of the shops, bars and world-class restaurants right at your fingertips. You’ll find everything from luxury landmarks  plus more affordable boutiques, and to keep you up to date with all the very best places to stay, we’ve added brand-new reviews of Andaz 5th Avenue and Sofitel New York. Enjoy. Which area is best to stay in New York? Well, we’re obviously gonna make a strong case for Midtown, which is home to a shedload of any first-time visitors’ bucket list attractions. It’s also well connected to both the Upper West and East, Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and pretty much anywhere else you’d want to go. Have a read of all our guides to all NYC’s neighborhoods, to help you decide.  New York’s best Midtown hotels at a glance: 🌃 Best view: The Shelburne Sonesta  👙 Best pool: The Peninsula New York 👛 Best budget: voco Times Square South New York 💎 Most luxurious: Ritz-Carlton Central Park 🤩 Most iconic: The Knickerbocker 📍 Discover our ultimate guide to the best hotels in New York How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—new openings, old classics and everything in between—to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. We have reviewed many of the hotels featured

New York City doesn't follow breakfast rules. Pancakes at 3pm? Sure! A full dim sum spread in the middle of the night? Why not! It’s a dining scene that starts early, ends late and, in some cases, never stops. Within a few subway stops, you can grab a classic BEC, a big bowl of congee topped with golden sambal, a baguette spread with butter and radishes and a Malaysian spread of coconut rice that'll make you wonder why you ever settled for drip coffee and a protein bar.  RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in NYC The city's most beloved breakfast spots have long reflected their histories, as families turned morning staples into their neighborhood’s everyday rituals. Find your own favorite way to wake up with this list of the best-of-the-best breakfast spots in NYC, from Northern-Mexican style burritos to a classic bagel sandwich from a counter that’s been slinging lox for more than 100 years.  Updated February 2026: As winter finally loosens its grip, iced coffee season is coming sooner than you think. That means the lines for the city’s most viral spots will be getting longer, too, so grab breakfast at new L.A. import Croft Alley or Cafe Mulberry’s celeb-studded French restaurant before it’s too late. 

In New York City, “underground” is good: think speakeasy-themed bars, hidden streets, secret gardens, you know, the actual underground. But sometimes you want to soar above it all, sipping effervescent libations among the clouds like some kind of fancy bird with an expense account. You want to be uplifted.  In the city that never stops sprawling, upward expansion has also reached great heights. Many incredible eating and drinking destinations are poised in the sky like treehouses with cover charges. Among these NYC rooftop bars are old throwbacks, party destinations and seaside terraces practically fashioned for Instagram. They each offer booze, some kind of view and an invitation for you to get high.  Updated February 2026: I know, we are currently in the thick of winter, historic blizzards and bitingly cold weather included. So perhaps rooftops aren't the first thing on your mind, but we think they should be. Several of New York's best rooftops stay open year-round thanks to a winter transformation of vestibules and state-of-the-art shutters, or simply because a few key players built much of their spatial footprint indoors. Meaning you can get unobstructed views of the city below while still keeping nice and toasty, no matter the season. With that in mind, we updated our list with rooftops you can visit right now. You'll find a fresh review of Nubeluz following a recent visit, and a new entry for UNLISTED in the Lower East Side. Sadly, we removed The Panorama Room, as it h

Spring is officially here. And in Thailand, the changing seasons mark a new period altogether. In the Southeast Asian country, April marks Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year. As the new year approaches, one of New York's very own Thai restaurants is hosting an immersive celebration.  On Saturday, April 11, Union Square's Narkara is inviting you to Songkran Dinner Show for an evening of food, drink and culture. The night will begin with a water blessing ritual, known as Song Nam Phra, to symbolize renewal and good fortune. It will be followed by a full five-course prix-fixe menu inspired by traditional Songkran fare, in line with the restaurant's focus on northern and northeastern Thai cuisine. Starters include an amuse-bouche trio of coconut rice pancake with sweet corn and salted egg yolk, crispy rice cracker with jackfruit salad and a savory tapioca dumpling. Dinner follows with grilled spare ribs with northeastern jaew sauce for dipping, mushroom larb and tamarind duck confit. Alongside the meal, dancers and musicians playing traditional instruments will perform throughout the evening.  Narkara's Songkran Dinner Show is priced at $150 per guest. There are two seatings, 5:30om and 8:30pm.

Following in the maximalist footsteps of its sibling restaurants (namely Bad Roman and Twin Tails), Limusina is bringing a wow factor all its own. The tri-level addition to Hudson Yards adds even more razzle-dazzle to the area, as its mirrored, massive retro-futuristic dining hall seats a whopping 215. The food is just as camera-ready as the kitchen plays with a fusion of regional Mexican flavors, queued up for the corporate card-carrying crowds and the content creators among us. But for the rest of us, there are fun finds among the flash of it all—but it does come at a price.   The vibe: Dramatic is certainly one word used to describe Limusina. The parking garage turned restaurant sparkles with commanding chandeliers, glass and mirrored elements and a lower level, nicknamed the pool, that's fashioned in a marbled green. As massive as it is—the restaurant comes in at 5,000 square feet and takes up the entire corner of 34th and 9th—Limusina is shrouded in a sort of secrecy, entirely encased in drapes hand-dyed the color of the sunset.  The food: The food here is Mexican, peppered with influences from Texas and California. Favorites to order include the plump shrimp lashed with so much tart calamansi and blood orange it looks like a Rorschach painting, and a pork belly chicharron that hits all those meaty and crunchy notes, sidekicked with a peanut mole and a zip of jalapeño jelly. The whole red snapper ($95), prepped for tacos, is one of the many head-turners of the bunch. And

A semi-secret find, Anbā's hidden status in the Lower East Side is enough to gain some notoriety. But the real draw here is that Anbā is entirely run by women, and its chef, Ambreley Ouimette, serves as the only female kaiseki chef in New York City. And Ouimette’s prowess balancing classic techniques coupled with an exciting take on fermentation and a full dry-aged fish program is what will easily keep us coming back. The vibe: With a restaurant name that translates to her own in Japanese, Anbā is entirely a creation of Ouimette’s own making. Designing the counter all her own, Ouimette leaned on the natural and minimal wabi-sabi aesthetic, with a sandy marble bar and just ten seats tucked underneath it. Touches of her personality still shine through, including a full vinyl collection, flowers hanging from the ceiling and plenty of appearances from her favorite artist in song and in tchotchkes, Elvis. The mood at the counter is more familiar than formal compared to other counters, as it is easy to break the fourth wall and chat up the chef over her excellent batches of vinegars and sauces. The food: Ouimette’s fascination with fermentation and aging play quite well together throughout her 18-course menu. Her collection of dry-aged fish and proteins gets put to good use, from a six-day-aged seabream to Wagyu that’s been aged for three and a half weeks. It’s all matched with sauces unseen at other counters in town, including pinches of salsa verde, swipes of kumquat kosho and k

Love everything about sake? Then you are going to love this.   The world’s largest sake tasting outside of Japan, The Joy of Sake, is returning to New York on April 30. Over 492 varieties of competition-level sake will be available for the tasting, including 293 that are not available in the States. You’ll know you’ll be tasting the top of the top as each sake is personally blind tasted, rated and scored by the U.S. National Sake Appraisal, the oldest sake appraisal conducted outside Japan. Next to a stellar collection of Japanese-born spirits, local breweries will also be in attendance, including Brooklyn Kura and Hudson Valley's Dassai Blue. The festival will have plenty of bites to tide you over, all of them sake-themed, from top notch restaurants including Bond St., Insa, Sakagura and more. The Joy of Sake will be held on April 30 from 6:30-9:30pm. Tickets are $140 and are available now on The Joy of Sake website. 

Perhaps after indulging in some green beer on St. Patrick's Day, you're looking for a brunchy "hair of the dog" cocktail? Then The Bloody Mary Festival is just for you.  After a brief hiatus, The Bloody Mary Festival makes its grand return to New York on Saturday, March 21. The massive celebration will soon gather the city's best bars and restaurants that specialize in next-level Bloody Marys, from the incredibly zesty to those that have been garnished for the gods. A panel of expert judges will be on-site, crowning “The Best Bloody Mary in NYC” award alongside the coveted title of “Best Garnish." But everyone can put their taste buds to the test, as thirsty festival goers can participate in the People's Choice Award. Alongside the iconic cocktail, the festival will also house a line-up of vendors, including Fort Hamilton Distillery, Bronx Bull Tipsy Scoop, Smokehead and more. General admission tickets are priced at $59. VIP tickets are priced at $79 and include early entry and access to a New York City-style bagel bar. Reserve your tickets here.

Golden Steer is the longest-running steakhouse in Las Vegas since 1958. And now this golden cow has made its way out east. It's old Vegas charm pleases with all the nostalgia of steakhouses of yore, glammed up for the modern man with mahogany woods, mirrors ceilings and plenty and plenty of fringe. White-suited servers who wheel up to the table for a show of salad and dessert and a classic steakhouse menu of prime beef and seafood, with a side of character, completes the fantasy. Tableside service is certainly a feature here, as white-jacketed servers wheel up for a show of salad, steaks and seafood, all with a side of character.  The vibe: The Las Vegas haunt is certainly a charmer, from the fringe-heavy and mirrored bar to a hallway-sized dining hall, cheekily known as "The Strip," that leans on Western and cowboy-esque nostalgia. It all leads up to a moody dining room that dazzles all the same, blushing a deep red with tulip light fixtures. The food: Golden Steer is all about a dinner and a show, given the number of carts that move about the cabin. Server readily wheel and deal in tableside Caesars to a flaming finale of bananas foster and cherries jubilee. Naturally, steaks and seafood are also wheeled up, all you have to do is choose your choice of bone-in rib eye, prime rib or a shorthorn cut (aka a New York strip).   The drinks: Classic steakhouse means classic cocktails, from the dry martini to the sazerac. There's also plenty of wine by the glass and bottle to choos

Spades is so much more than a card game for the Black community. Found at every gathering from the cookout to the barbershop, the game is as competitive as it is connecting. Think you hold the title of the best spades player in the family? Prove it by winning the new title of "the best spades player in Brooklyn" at this all-out spades tournament. On March 22, Aunts et Uncles—Flatbush's home for all things vegan eats—hosts The Lunch Room, a digital and in-person spades tournament powered by Trickster Cards. To sign up, you'll need to create a free account on the Trickster app using this special link, which will lead you to The Lunch Room club room, where you can practice, compete, and hopefully qualify for the live round. Those who rank the highest will advance to the bracketed finals held at Aunts et Uncles on March 22. But even if you don't make it to the finals or if the sideline is more your speed, all are welcome to the in-person tournament to gather over music, stellar plant-based cuisine and Casamigos cocktails flowing all night long.   As of March 15, the digital qualifier is open; you can sign up to compete here. The live event on March 22 at Aunts et Uncles will run from 5pm to 9pm and is free to attend.

Last year, four friends decided to open a restaurant in the West Village. Fittingly, they named it Foursome. Personal touches from the tetrad themselves are found throughout the restaurant, including a black, white, and yellow mural of the group steering a ship and images of one of the owner's dogs, donning a crown on its head—as all good boys (and girls) deserve. But the restaurant has become a favorite of the neighborhood for its all-day menu of eats that flit across the Mediterranean, with special attention to the Turkish region, given that the kitchen is run by three Turkish chefs. Following the ethos that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the restaurant whips up an Aegean brunch option that really puts on the works—think a bread basket of sourdough and simit (a Turkish bagel), feta and halloumi cheeses, tiny bowls of olives, jams and fresh honeycomb and a hot pot of Turkish tea to split. 

The stretch of 10th Street that runs through Hell's Kitchen can feel a little like a no-man's land. It's just far enough from the train and just close enough to the water, which can give us a noticeable chill in the winter, that meeting here can be a trek. But the fire burning at Frena is reason enough to set your sights on the western side of the city. Frena is a bit of a second act, as it stands in the former location of the Moroccan-Israeli restaurant Taboon, which stood for almost two decades before a fire permanently shuttered its doors in 2021. However, the namesake Moroccan clay oven stunningly remained intact. Frena carries on its legacy, reviving familiar, fire-kissed breads brushed with olive oil and salt, as well as butterflied branzino that bubble with chimichurri. The oven goes into overtime during brunch, churning out seven (count em', seven!) varieties of shakshuka, from tried-and-true classic next to a halloumi version with chargrilled squares of cheese. And it all comes with a Jerusalem-style bagel stick so you can tear and sop up all the good bits at your leisure.

We admit it—we have a crush on orange wine. You too? Then check out this wine festival dedicated to the stuff that will surely make you blush. On April 19, the fifth annual Orange Glou Fair is back to celebrate, you guessed it, everything orange. This orange-only wine fest, founded by orange wine expert and sommelier Doreen Winkler, will feature a whopping 100 wines from around the world, including pours from China, Japan, Spain and the U.S. Only showcasing varietals from independent winemakers, the festival highlights a selection of natural, organic and biodynamic pours as well as rare bottlings and hard-to-find vintages.   Taking over Gallery Space LES for the day, the festival offers forur sessions to book: 11am-1pm, 1pm-3pm, 3pm-5pm and 5-7pm. Tickets are priced at $45, and all attendees will come home with a trinket-worthy wine glass. So, come meet the winemakers, schmooze with fellow oenophiles and drink to your heart's desire.

Peru’s Sacred Valley is awe-inducing in itself, as mist-covered peaks and fertile grounds house countless cultural sites that date back to the pre-Hispanic era, including one of the wonders of the world: Machu Picchu. Drawing inspiration from this natural splendor is Tambo del Inka Resort & Spa, a stunning destination that should be an an easy sell for travelers wishing to explore the lush beauty of the region in style. Situated in the heart of Urubamba, the 15-year-old property is a refuge among the mountainous landscape with luxe interiors, a world-class spa and a restaurant and bar that tout Andean cuisine. Not to mention, one of the wonders of the world is only a (private) train ride away. What are the rooms like at Tambo del Inka Resort & Spa? The Incan influence is alive and well at Tambo del Inka Resort & Spa. The lobby alone stuns with a soaring fireplace modeled after Incan-style stonework, hollowed-out baskets that hang as light fixtures and massive tapestries that spin down from the ceiling. Still, the hotel stays rooted in the present-day, as local makers share the lobby, selling wares made of sheep, alpaca and baby alpaca wool. It is common to find their baby alpaca companions close by, eating grass around the property or winding down in the lobby come nightfall. The artistry continues in the 128 rooms, including the grand deluxe terrace where I stayed. Tapestries hung in shadowboxes and the focal point of the room was a beautiful white and yellow interlocking

Murray’s Cheese has proven it is more than just a fine cheese company (though it does that quite well). Over the years, Murray's Cheese has hosted a series of panels, many led by women in food, who discuss their unique perspectives on the state of the industry and the future ahead. This month, they are doing it again with a truly stellar lineup.  On March 12, Murray's Cheese is bringing back its popular panel, Women Who Lead Series: The Entrepreneur Experience. Gathering leading female voices who are breaking barriers and building empires in the food industry, powerhouse panelists include Ali Chetkof Rhodes (founder of Moonrise Bagels), Abena Anim-Somuah (Your Friend in Food), Lauryn Bodden (founder of S’NOODS), Mariana Velasquez (Casa Velasquez, food stylist and author) and Jordana Blitz (founder of Little Gem Catering). Chief strategy officer of Murray’s Cheese, Elizabeth Chubbuck, will moderate the evening. Hear from these inspirational entrepreneurs on what it takes to lead, innovate and thrive in today’s competitive culinary world. Come early to sip and shop; ticketholders will receive a 20 percent discount. Post discussion, mingle and meet with the panelists over a selection of wine and cheeses from Murray's.   The event will be held at Murray's Cheese's Bleecker Street location (254 Bleecker St) starting at 6pm. Tickets are $40 plus tax. A portion of the evening's proceeds will benefit Wellness in the Schools.

Who says you can’t find the best BBQ in New York? While Southern states generally get all the praise for things charred and burnt, New York’s barbecue scene is similarly smoking, whether you have a hankering for ribs, pulled pork or those glorious burnt ends. But what really sets us apart is how various cultures have brought their flair (and flavor) to the art form. As a result of our diverse landscape, New York’s barbecue scene is home to combinations like brisket with maduros and mofongo (Bark Barbecue) and Puerto Rican-style lechón asado served out of a trailer in the Bronx (La Piraña Lechonera).  A Caribbean-style spin on the cuisine? Yeah, we've got that too, thanks to Jase Franklyn of Jase BBQ. Learning how to barbecue alongside his mother while growing up in Tobago, Franklyn’s resulting barbecue is infused with island flavors, including his curled pig tails and jerk wings, which have gained traction at his pop-ups in the Rockaways and at his tent at Smorgasboard. This month, Franklyn pops up in Union Square.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out Market Union Square (@timeoutmarketunionsquare) Starting today, Jase BBQ will be taking over Time Out Market New York, Union Square, for a month-long residency. That’s right, Franklyn will be taking over one of the Market stalls, bringing his Caribbean-style barbecue to Manhattan for select days in April. So what’s on the menu? Franklyn will be bringing his 12-hour, slow-smoked brisket and his

What links the Quality Branded restaurants? A commitment to the wow factor—think pinwheel lasagnas at Don Angie or the bold, head-on shrimp parm at San Sabino. Then there’s the campy maximalism of Bad Roman and the mirrored ‘80s glam of Twin Tails. The hospitality group is placing even greater emphasis on looks for their latest, Limusina, a fun, luxurious Mexican restaurant at Hudson Yards that caters to corporate-card-carrying types and content creators looking for their next big social media hit. For the rest of us? It’s a relatively good time if you can afford it. (Read: fun doesn’t come cheap.)  The parking-garage-turned-restaurant hits a retro-futuristic vibe with commanding chandeliers, glass and mirrored accents and a green marble lower level, nicknamed the pool. Bits of its former self remain in the form of exposed concrete pillars with etched flowers. That and the name itself, Limusina, tips its hat to the various buses and limos that may have rolled in once upon a time. The service staff was as friendly as they come, despite the restaurant’s exclusivity: the 5,000-square-foot space is hidden behind thick orange-hued drapes.   The food here is Mexican, much of it flashy and careful not to commit itself to a particular region. The sweet, plump shrimp, sliced open with head and antennae still attached, are splattered in a wonderfully puckery mix of calamansi and blood orange, so much so that it looks like a Rorschach painting. The pork belly chicharron curl hits all th

At beginning of the year, the James Beard Foundation kicked off the 2026 James Beard Awards by releasing its list of semifinalists. In February, the foundation announced the America’s Classic Awards winners, which recognize long-standing, independently owned restaurants, and Kingston's Eng’s was one of the five restaurants across the country to receive the honor. Easing closer to the live awards ceremony in Chicago on June 15, we now have the list of nominees.  RECOMMENDED: Here are the 2026 James Beard Awards Restaurant and Chef semifinalists for NYC Out of twenty semifinalists, five chefs have moved to vie for the title of Best Chef: New York State. Nominees include Fidel Caballero of Corima, Giovanni Cervantes of Carnitas Ramirez, Hooni Kim of Meju, Ayesha Nurdjaja of Shukette and Joshua Pinsky of Claud.  Rasheeda Purdie, behind the quaint ramen counter in the East Village, Ramen by Rā, will represent New York under the Emerging Chefs category, while Chinatown’s Lei is still in the running for Best New Restaurant. As for Outstanding Restaurant, Brooklyn’s long-standing natural wine bar and restaurant, Four Horsemen, was nominated.  Meanwhile, Tribeca’s Chambers will move forward as a nominee for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. Lee Campbell of Nomad's Borgo received a nomination for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, while Ivy Mix of Brooklyn’s Whoopsie Daisy received a nomination for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.  The 2026 James Bea

Cocktail Kingdom Hospitality Group has a knack for teaming up with talented bartenders and letting them shine, starting with Nicolas de Soto's spice-forward cocktail bar, Mace, Masahiro Urushido’s split-level and spirited izakaya, Katana Kitten, and Ignacio "Nacho" Jimenez’s super good time, Superbueno. Now, the hospitality group has partnered with a world-class set of bartenders all the way from Japan for an omakase cocktail experience. Opening its doors tonight on the Lower East Side is Cocktail Omakase. As made clear by its name, the bar trades sushi for spirits, inviting thirsty crowds to leave it all up to the mixologist instead of the chef. A collaborative effort, the hospitality group worked alongside Yujiro “Kiyo” Kiyosaki and manager Kazuaki “Kazu” Nagao, the owners of Tokyo's Bar LIBRE, one of Asia’s 50 Best Bars, to carry the vision forward. The bar follows a growing trend of cocktail-forward tastings, including Brooklyn's “smartbar,” F&F Bar, that cycles through 12 different drink courses and Atomix's bar-only tasting menu.  Photograph: Courtesy of Cocktail Omakase| Inside of Cocktail Omakase The bar resides in the former LES sushi and kaiseki counter, Uchū and Bar at Uchū, respectively. The old bones were exactly what the team was looking for, as the blond-wood counter and skylight still exist in the front, as does the walnut counter in the back. Beyond replastering and breaking down walls, new additions include shoji screens handcrafted by Miya Shoji, the olde

Picture an omakase counter in your head. What do you see? If you were to ask me, the space itself would be the first to come to mind: the counter, blond and likely made of hinoki wood. Chefs would materialize soon after, wearing crisp whites and quietly grating wasabi and slicing fish in one deft swipe. But if you were to ask, those figures behind the counter, were they male or female? You’d likely know the answer.   As saturated as New York is with sushi counters, it is men who overwhelmingly hold the knives. It isn’t entirely surprising, as when it comes to the restaurant industry as a whole, men dominate lead positions while only 19% of head cooks are women. And when it comes to sushi, the gap is even wider. It also comes coupled with a layer of good ol’ misogyny, as women were left out of the profession due to ongoing myths that include warmer hands and even fluctuations in hormones that can affect taste (both debunked). But over the last few years, counters led by women have started to come to the forefront. In 2024, Morgan Adamson took over Hōseki, a six-seat counter hidden inside the basement of Saks Fifth Avenue. Nikki Zheng opened Sushi Akira in the Upper East Side in 2025, now recognized by the Michelin Guide. Ambrely Ouimette is the latest to add her name to the roster of the few, but her arrival marks a new title altogether, as she is the only female kaiseki chef in New York City. RECOMMENDED: Two female sushi chefs on leading counters within the male-dominated

Harlem has always been a cultural and culinary epicenter and chef Charles Gabriel has certainly been at its center. Cooking in the kitchens of Harlem since the '90s, chef Gabriel has long been a fixture of the neighborhood for his expertly pan-fried chicken and soulful cuisine, earning him a James Beard semifinalist nod along the way. Even in his late seventies, you can still find the chef behind the counter at one of his many Charles Pan Fried Chicken locations, frying up his birds with the best of them. As a standard bearer of Black excellence, chef Gabriel has opened up his kitchen for a series of pop-ups to celebrate the next generation of talent. Charles Pan Fried Chicken is hosting the Guest Chef Series, a year-long pop-up that invites critically acclaimed Black culinary talent to Harlem. For one weekend a month, a new chef will visit the Harlem location to create a one-of-a-kind collaborative meal inspired by global flavors.   View this post on Instagram A post shared by Harlem's Finest Soul-Food (@charlespanfriedchicken) Kicking off the series are chef Camari Mick and chef Brittney “Stikxz” Williams of the coming Afro-Caribbean brasserie, L’Atelier Ébène. Taking over the kitchen from March 27 to March 29, the duo will be serving a special cornbread bread pudding topped with mascarpone and plantain caramel. To pair, chef Gabriel and chef Quie have created a Sweet Heat Yard Bowl with pan-fried plantains and chopped jerk chicken, finished with a rich j

After months on the road, Cardi B is finally coming back to her hometown for the New York leg of her headlining tour, the Little Miss Drama Tour. But before she hits the stage for a two-night run at Madison Square Garden (March 25 and March 26) and another show at Newark’s Prudential Center (March 26), she’ll be heading up to the Bronx to offer folks an exclusive first look at her upcoming beauty line. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cardi B (@iamcardib) On Tuesday, March 24, Cardi B will be popping up in the Bronx to promote her new haircare line, Grow-Good Beauty. Powered by Shopify, the Grow-Good Beauty Supply Bus will be hosting a beauty bodega right in front of the still-under-construction Hip Hop Museum from 11am to 6pm. This event marks the first stop of the Grow-Good Beauty Supply Bus, which is soon to be a part of a cross-country tour. While more locations are yet to be announced, the rapper made it clear that the very first stop would be going down in the Bronx.  The beauty line developed with Revolve Group incorporates the rapper's Dominican roots and DIY haircare routines she’s perfected over the years. While products for Grow-Good Beauty will officially be on sale on April 14, the pre-sale window will open on March 24, conveniently coinciding with the Bronx pop-up.  While it is unclear as to what time the rapper will be making an appearance or what products will be available, if it is anything like her massive “Bodega Baddie” pop-u

When it comes to marketing the sparkling, new class of steakhouses, I've been beaten over the head with the phrase, "This ain't your dad's steakhouse!" But, I have to ask, was there really anything wrong with Pop's choice? Of course, that's not to say that there isn't something completely exciting about the crop of restaurants that have deviated from dear old dad's pick, as contemporary options include prime rib trolleys that zoom around the dining room (Daniel Boulud's La Tete d'Or) to the koji-rubbed and Korean-inflected creations (chef Sungchul Shim's GUI Steakhouse). But to me, there is nothing quite as transformative as an old haunt of place, pleasing the eye with a delicious collection of cherrywoods and curved booths, as well as the stomach with prime cuts of the good stuff, pierced and strung on metal skewers. Golden Steer, an import from Sin City, certainly scratches that old-timey itch. Photograph: Courtesy of Alex Staniloff| The bar at Golden Steer NYC Golden Steer's arrival marks a first for the storied Las Vegas institution. Established in 1958, Golden Steer holds the title of the longest-running steakhouse in Las Vegas. A relic of its time, the dark and moody hall once hosted the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali and the entirety of The Rat Pack, as golden plaques still proudly hang near their favorite booths. Its mob-esque interior even served as a backdrop for the 1995 film "Casino," boosting its notoriety even further. Its January introduction has now b

Almost 10 years ago, Giselle Burgess and her five children found themselves entering the New York City shelter system. Her landlord had sold her building to make way for condos, and she wasn't able to rely on family for support. But, like a third of New Yorkers facing homelessness, she too had a job, working as a community development specialist for Girl Scouts of Greater New York. However, her circumstances combined to lead to a simple idea: starting a Girl Scout troop for girls in the shelter system. And so what started as an initial meetup of seven girls in a Queens shelter led to a movement across the country.  Officially started in 2017, Troop 6000 serves girls in New York City who are experiencing homelessness and living in temporary shelters. Today, the troop has served in 20 different shelters across all five boroughs, reaching thousands of girls in the process. Similar groups have sprouted up around the country, welcoming girls of all backgrounds.  But working with kids who are handling the stressors of homelessness creates its own challenges. Marissa Stranieri, director of social work services, and her team of interns engage with Troop 6000 every week to provide essential support.  RECOMMENDED: The Girl Scouts just added this decadent cookie to this year's lineup  “We want to be intentional in Girl Scouting about how we as adults show up for them,” she said, as her staff trains troop leaders about trauma-informed care and driving home the importance of structure. In

Despite his accolades, award-winning restaurants and TV hosting prowess, Marcus Samuelsson is always ready to share the spotlight. Just last year, Samuelsson launched "Subway Series,” a monthly pop-up where up-and-coming BIPOC chefs took over his glittering FiDi restaurant, Metropolis by Marcus Samuelsson, for a night. Since its inception, the kitchen has seen the likes of Chino-Latino cuisine to Caribbean-infused BBQ. This month he is doing it yet again, but this time, the marquee showcases an impressive lineup of female chefs.  For the spring rendition of Subway Series, four stellar female chefs will be popping up at Metropolis, in celebration of Women’s History Month. Each Friday beginning at 5pm, a different chef will take the lead, cooking up a menu that reflects their individual heritage, experience and cookery.  And who better to kick off the series on Friday, March 6, than Fariyal Abdullahi? A finalist for 2024 “Emerging Chef” from the James Beard Foundation and a current 2026 semifinalist for Best Chef: New York, Abdullahi currently runs the kitchen at Samuelsson’s seasonal seafood hall in Chelsea, Hav & Mar, where she incorporates Swedish cuisine with her Ethiopian background.   Following on Friday, March 13, chef Mavis-Jay Sanders will take over. Passionate about food and social justice, Sanders won a James Beard Leadership Award in 2022 for fostering career pathways for formerly incarcerated youth. Continuing the work, last year Sanders served as the culinary dire

One of our best new restaurants of 2025, Pitt’s, has sadly closed for good. The Southern spot in Red Hook, which earned the top honor for its whimsical take on food from the Carolinas and a stunning pancake soufflé, had been on a winter hiatus since the beginning of the new year but owner Jeremy Salamon took to Instagram to announce the official closure today.  According to the post, Salamon intended to fully bring Pitt’s back in the spring, but the slow lead-up of fall and winter seasons in conjunction with splitting his time between two restaurants, Pitt's and Crown Heights’ Agi’s Counter, proved to be difficult. “When we closed temporarily, the full intention was to reopen in the spring. At the time, it felt like the responsible pause,” Salamon wrote on the social media platform. “At the same time, I was trying to divide myself between two restaurants, flying two planes while fixing them midair, and that wasn’t fair to the businesses, the teams, or to myself.”  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jeremy Salamon (@jeremycooks) Per Eater, Salamon also pointed to the restaurant's location, far-out in Red Hook, as a reason behind slow business.  “I love Red Hook — it’s such a great, strong community,” he said to the outlet. “But it’s very hard to get to, unless you have a really big name like Red Hook Tavern, your draw is limited.”  This isn't the first time that Salamon has been candid about the realities of operating a restaurant. In October of las

February was a big month for Nomad’s Park South Hotel. On February 3, Stone & Soil opened, stirring and shaking up 22 cocktails that follow the ethos and precision of Japanese bartending. Less than a week later, another concept made its grand debut on the ground floor. And the story here is all about skewers.   On February 9, Skëwr Mediterranean Grille officially opened, following a soft opening run in December. Similar to the bar around the corner, the restaurant is also backed by JK Park Hospitality, founded by industry veterans Jimmy Rizvi (co-founder of Bungalow and GupShup) and Kanvar Singh (founder of Elsie Rooftop and Elsie Penthouse). But unlike the dim and sultry Japanese bar down the hallway, the restaurant channels the glow of the Mediterranean with a white tufted banquette that curves around the entire dining room, deep sage dining chairs and planters that sprout with all types of greenery. It all faces the stretch of the open kitchen where it is easy to glean chefs stoking the flames of the live-fire grill. Manning the grill is executive chef Austin Torsiello, whose decade plus of experience include time spent at Michelin-starred Junoon, The Breslin and Masa. At Skëwr, chef Torsiello touts a clean, “guilt-free” Mediterranean menu, one that eschews seed oils and avoids processed, refined and/or artificial ingredients.   You can find all of the usual suspects of Mediterranean fare here—dips, spreads and, naturally, as the name implies, skewers of all kinds. A meal