For many whose motto is "will travel for food," taking a bite out of the Big Apple is absolute life goals.
New York City is a reflection of global food culture and a trailblazer; not only does it have North America's most lauded chefs and restaurants that win prestigious awards and set trends, but it also has a gobsmacking amount of places to try foods from nations from every corner of the world.
There are dozens of iconic NYC foods, some made even more popular thanks to social media and pop culture, from bagels and schmears to pizza slices to pastrami sandwiches and street corner hot dog carts. There are three-strarred Michelin restaurants and acclaimed burger counters, viral chocolate chip cookies, and banana pudding you might wait in line for.
Like SNL's Stefon says: "This place has everything"
The latest numbers put over eight million residents in New York City with over 25,000 restaurants to choose from. It would take you over two years to try them all. I will in no way be able to offer you any kind of ultimate comprehensive exhaustive guide. I've got plenty of planning tips, though, and my rundown of everywhere I tried that I would recommend.
Tips for planning where to dine when visiting New York City
My first tip is to set realistic expectations. As a visitor, you're never going to try it all, whether you're there for a long weekend or a couple of weeks. Make your lists and flag your maps, but accept that you're going to run out of time, money, patience, or room in your stomach for everything your food-loving heart desires when it comes to eating and drinking in New York.
Next, my advice is to start planning early if places you are looking at take reservations because it is fiercely competitive in NYC. For example, popular West Village Italian restaurant Don Angie releases reservations a week in advance at 9 a.m., but even if you're on the Resy app refreshing it at 5:59:59 a.m. Vancouver time, you might never see a single slot open up (true story, I lived it). Be sure to note when reservations are released for any hot spot you've got your eye on and be ready...(likely for disappointment).
Some restaurants, on the other hand, don't take reservations at all, and how much time you're willing to carve out of your travel itinerary for landing a walk-in seat is up to you. Trendy Via Carota is walk-in only, and the recommendation is to show up ahead of opening and get your name on the list; they'll let you know when a table is free, which could be anytime that night. You'll have to plan on being in the area to take the table when it becomes available.
Alternatively, many places tend to be easier to get into the later it gets, so if you aren't one to doze off over a late dinner, consider showing up after 9:30 p.m. to try your luck. Platforms like Resy have a "notify" option that will email you if a reservation opens up during the desired time frame you indicate.
How I curated my food and drink experiences for NYC
When I travel, I am always in search of building what I consider a balanced food itinerary. That means I want to find balance when it comes to overall costs, styles of dining (casual, super casual, or fine dining), kinds of cuisines, and the size of the meal. On any given day of a trip I don't want to do a big breakfast followed by a big lunch followed by a fancy dinner; odds are by 3 p.m. I'd need a nap and a pit stop at the drugstore for some kind of digestive aid, and then dinner would be an absolute waste.
I also find it's important to balance nostalgia with iconic local eats, trendy items/places, and award-winning destinations. Often, there's a crossover among those categories. In places I've been to before, the nostalgia factor might be dialled up, because I want to try something I love again. Other times, the "I've had that before" experience is the first one to be sacrificed. Case in point: I didn't make it to Katz's Delicatessen on this trip. That's okay because I've been a few times. And that banana pudding? I've had it in L.A. and NY and I can do without it. But you bet I wanted a classic two-dogs-and-a-papaya-drink combo from Papaya King. It truly had been too long.
I'm also always going to lean heavily on choosing places that will have food superior to what I can get in Vancouver. I know there is great sushi to be had in New York, but it's going to be hard to match what we have at home on the West Coast.
In the end, I did pretty well curating my food choices for an extended long weekend in New York City. I'm sad that I never made it to Pop Up Bagels but I'm glad that when we couldn't swing tummy space or walking time to try Levain's chocolate chip cookies I splurged on getting a few dispatched to our hotel via an app. No regrets!
One last caveat: My eating companion was my 11-year-old son. He held up remarkably well for later dinners at nice places and he is why we made a couple of the more family-friendly stops. But he's also why you aren't going to see any kind of nightlife venues or booze-centric dining on the list. And while some places were particularly kid-friendly, only the Museum of Ice Cream was meant for kids; not a single kids menu crossed our path.
Here's everywhere I ate and other food-related spots I checked out in New York City.
Russ & Daughters Café
There are two Russ & Daughters locations in Manhattan's Lower East Side, and while they carry largely the same kinds of items, the operations are different. The café, located at 127 Orchard St, is the full-service sit-down restaurant branch of this revered "appetizing" spot known for its smoked fish, caviar, and delicatessen classics. The Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand restaurant, which opened a decade ago at Russ & Daughters' century mark, does not take reservations; give your name to the host and they'll log it in and text you when a table is ready.
Open from 8:30 a.m. through to mid-afternoon, Russ & Daughters Café's menu features several shareable, craveworthy dishes, from massive platters of lox with all the trimmings to their famous open-faced bagel boards, knishes, egg-centric breakfasts, and their line of house-made sodas. Feast on thick, golden-brown fried potato latkes with creme fraiche and briny wild salmon roe, Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and sauteed spinach atop thick Challah slices, or The Shtetl - a board of smoked sablefish, goat cream cheese, and your choice of bagel, bialy, pumpernickel, or rye bread.
📍 127 Orchard St (Lower East Side)
Sweet Pickle Books
Leave it to New York to have a bookstore that also deals in pickles. The Lower East Side's Sweet Pickle Books is a fantastic used bookstore and pickle emporium. On select days, Sweet Pickle happens to accept book donations (that meet their parameters) in trade for...you guessed it!...a jar of pickles. But you can also purchase their pickles and books anytime (as well as their adorable store merch).
While packing a glass jar of pickles home from a vacation in NYC is probably not practical, depending on your affinity for pickles and if where you're staying has a fridge, if you're looking to do more than browse the pickles, you could probably snack your way through a jar if you pick them up early on your trip.
📍 47 Orchard St (Lower East Side)
Museum of Ice Cream
What began as a pop-up in NYC's Meatpacking District in 2016 has grown into a multi-city empire of pink palaces dedicated to all things ice cream. A perfect indoor diversion for kids (and caregivers with high tolerances for sugar and shrieking), SoHo's Museum of Ice Cream is a lot of fun. Can you get better ice cream in NY? Certainly. But there's something to be said of the pure joy an attraction like this offers.
One of the main draws of the MOIC is the unlimited ice cream that comes with your (steep) admission, so if this is on your itinerary, be sure to come hungry. There are several stops through the one-way self-guided interactive homage to the treat where you can get a cup, scoop, treat, what have you, with your choice of flavours. From "Tiger Tail" dipping dots to scoops of a really great Cappuccino Chocolate Chunk ice cream, the treats are fantastic and come mixed with ice cream history, rooms for sitting down and engaging in crafts and games, or just plain silliness (a room full of dangling rubber bananas, for one). Play arcade games while eating massive orbs of cotton candy, or shoot hoops in a room with a help-yourself cooler of mini artisanal fruit popsicles.
The food highlight for me was the special Museum of Ice Cream collab with local legend Ess-a-Bagel: A mini pink bagel filled with cream cheese ice cream rolled in everything bagel seasoning. The activity highlights were the huge multi-level tube slide and the sprinkle pool (though the latter had me wishing they also dispensed unlimited ibuprofen).
📍 558 Broadway (SoHo)
Crown Shy
Awarded a Michelin star in its debut year (which it has maintained every year since), Crown Shy is a phenomenal cross-section of contemporary fine dining with no pretentiousness. The servers wear jeans (and so do some of the guests) and the brigade in the open kitchen, led by Executive Chef Jassimran Singh, operates like a fine-tuned ballet (complete with occasional command-response choruses). It's all beautiful to watch and experience, and the food reflects a lovely alignment of global flavours.
Standout dishes included a bowl of fluffy, tender ricotta gnocchi with thinly-sliced raw matsutake mushrooms and vin jaune - a rich white wine sauce - and the raw oysters with grapes and elderberry kombucha. Even the simple green salad, a romaine wedge with green goddess dressing and golden breadcrumbs, was a delight, as was the complimentary pull-apart bread filled with pistachios. For dessert, a stunning toasted marshmallow-topped and honeycomb-filled sphere of orange sherbet was the perfect end to a lovely meal.
Crown Shy's founding chef, James Kent, sadly passed away in June 2024 at age 45; it's clear he set a strong foundation, as the restaurant is flourishing and turning out fantastic fare in an elegant but relaxed environment.
📍 70 Pine St (Financial District)
Shelsky's of Brooklyn
If you don't have a bagel in New York, were you even there? Bagels are a way of life in the five boroughs, and there are bountiful options and fierce loyalties. Shelsky's landed on my radar thanks to two crucial factors: It came recommended by a trusted source and it happened to be near where I needed to be (the NY Transit Museum). And what a lucky find, as I am still dreaming about how good my bagel sandwich tasted.
Shelsky's in Park Slope is a modern "appetizing" shop and deli, with cases of smoked fish, half-sour pickles, and hand-rolled bagels and bialys galore. They have a massive menu of sandwich options, and, after deep contemplation, I chose "The Tribute," which has smoked whitefish salad, wasabi tobiko, and horseradish cream cheese, which I opted to have on a garlic bagel. (My son chose "The Member of the Tribe" aka "The Classic," which has smoked salmon (hand-sliced Eastern Gaspé Nova) with cream cheese on a bagel of your choice.) Paired with a Cel-Ray soda and you have the ultimate NYC breakfast of champions.
📍 141 Court St (Park Slope, Brooklyn)
L'Industrie Pizza
Don't panic when you see the massive line outside L'Industrie Pizza, because it moves at a decent clip. But do prepare to wait in line (and see folks emerge with their plates of glistening slices)...but I assure you, it's worth the wait. L'Industrie began in Brooklyn and now has a second shop in the West Village (which is the one I visited).
Considered home to some of the best slices in New York, the United States (and even the world), L'Industrie manages to deftly merge the ideals of New York and Neapolitan pizza, complete with pitch-perfect high-quality toppings. You're waiting because they are firing these thin-crust pies hot and fresh, topped with prosciutto and burrata or fig jam with ricotta, bacon, and mozzarella. It's standing room only in the shop where you can drizzle some hot honey and then fold your slices (like a New Yorker) to enjoy elbow to elbow.
📍 104 Christopher St (West Village)
Big Night
If you've done L'Industrie in the West Village, go around the block to Big Night on West 10th Street. Ideal for those who love to have friends over for boards of tinned fish and potato chips, this chic shop is the entertaining foodie's dream. Shop for kitchen linens and tableware, those gorgeous speckled colourful cutting boards (if you don't mind adding some serious weight to your luggage), bagged Swedish candy from New York's popular BonBon, and more. The space is designed to look like a house, so wander from the pantry to the bathroom and enjoy each nook and cranny of this vibrant shop.
📍 236 W 10th St (West Village)
Remi Flower & Coffee
There's somewhere to grab coffee at every turn in NYC, from the carts to the bodegas to the chains to the artisanal indies. This sweet shop in the Financial District is a cafe inside a florist, making for a cozy - and aesthetic - spot to stop for a cup. I tried the honey latte (I figured the maple latte was too close to home) but had order envy seeing someone's berry matcha with its pink foam heart in a sea of bright green land on the counter.
📍 906 2nd Ave (Financial District)
Freemans
After making your way down an alley splashed with bold and colourful street art (and perhaps passing a photoshoot or two), you'll find a space that has what is probably the absolute opposite aesthetic. Freemans is a cozy slice of old-fashioned Americana, with a rabbit warren of dimly lit rooms and elegant 19th-century decor.
The menu is also cozy and focuses on classic comfort eats. Omnivores should not skip the old-school Devils on Horseback starter: Sweet, plump dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in thick bacon slices. For mains, we split a juicy steak with crispy, salty fries and a kale Caesar salad (for health).
📍 End of Freeman Alley - off Rivington (LES)
Maison Pickle
There might be a big dose of French influence at the Upper West Side Maison Pickle, but this popular brunch spot is undeniably American. Here you can kick off a midday or morning feast with a plate of pickles (I went for the kosher dill and hot and sweet mix). The spears are all part of the restaurant's overarching branding; this is an off-shoot of the also popular Jacob's Pickles.
Maison's menu is about massive meals of their signature French Dip sandwich or waffle combos. The chicken and French Toast is enough to feed a small army, with two huge pieces of fried chicken and massive slabs of French Toast swimming in syrup and sprinkled with bacon. They also keep things French with items like the Croque Madame, a ham and cheese sandwich topped with rich, creamy Bechamel sauce and a sunny-side up egg.
📍 2315 Broadway (Upper West Side)
Zabar's
Some places just exude New York-ness, and one such spot for me is Zabar's. This legendary deli and specialty grocery store on the Upper West Side has been around for 90 years and its narrow aisles and network of rooms, each zoned for a certain kind of food product, from the coffee and bakery section to the seafood section or the deli itself. The other customers, by the way, have no time for your shenanigans. They are shopping at their pace and in their space!
Speaking of coffee, though there are many places in NY to enjoy a cup, I always leave with a bag of Zabar's beans in my suitcase. You can also get a great Black and White cookie at Zabar's. This is an iconic NY food: A circle of soft almost Madeleine-like cookie base has a half-circle each of white and "black" frosting. If you're bound for nearby Central Park and the weather is obliging, this would be an amazing spot to pick up picnic eats, or, if you're heading home, some packed foods that will pass security for in-flight enjoyment.
📍 2245 Broadway (Upper West Side)
Papaya King
When is a hot dog not just a hot dog? When it's New York's famous Papaya King it's just a little more, thanks to the business' nearly century-long legacy of serving up basic dogs with tropical fruit drinks for an approachable price and no frills.
If you've heard of some version of papaya and hot dog tied to NYC food history and are still a bit confused, it's okay. Papaya King started in 1932 on Third Avenue and East 86th Street, and 40 years later, one of the business partners split and started Gray's Papaya. In 2023, the original Papaya King was forced to close due to redevelopment, and over a year later reopened nearby in a new space.
The menu is the same: Hot dogs with simple toppings like raw onion, sauerkraut, or relish, best bought and enjoyed in a two-dog and one-drink combo. The drinks are tropical fruit flavours, like mango or the namesake papaya. It's standing tables only in the Papaya King, but if you walk your dogs up Third there's some outdoor table seating next to the Shake Shack that is open to anyone.
Including something like Papaya King in your NYC dining plan helps balance out your spending and allows you to have a smaller meal with a big nostalgia factor.
📍 206B E 86th St (Upper East Side)
Mercado Little Spain
Backed by some of the world's most famous Spanish food folks (José Andres, Ferran Adria), the luxury Hudson Yards shopping centre has one of New York's most niche - and exciting - food courts. Mercado Little Spain occupies the ground floor of the building and is a vibrant patchwork of all things Spanish fare, with kiosks, sit-down bars and restaurants, to grocery stalls. Launched in 2019, the Mercado reflects the essence of the Spanish market experience where you can pick up fresh seafood or pantry goods, sip wine, dunk hot sugar-dusted churros into bubbling caramel, or snack on patatas bravas.
📍 10 Hudson Yards - Lower level (Hudson Yards)
Chelsea Market
There is no better place to kick back and congratulate yourself for walking the incredibly cool and scenic High Line than inside Chelsea Market. Located within the onetime NBC (as in Nabisco) cookie factory, Chelsea Market was renovated in the 1990s and launched officially in 1997 and remains truly the standard-bearer for repurposed historic spaces that serve as thriving food halls. You'll even find some of its original tenants still running strong, like Amy's Bread, in this shopping, snacking, and dining paradise.
You can keep things as casual as picking up a take-out onigiri or sitting down to a feast of freshly-shucked oysters and decadent lobster rolls. Tuck into plates of dumplings or enjoy one of New York's most beloved brunch menus (at another original tenant, Sarabeth's). Be sure to stop and take a look at the historic photos of the building from its Oreo-making era - it's remarkable!
📍 75 9th Ave (Chelsea)
Hamburger America
This cozy luncheonette has 15 stools wrapped around a counter with a vista into a kitchen where burgers are coming out hot and fresh nonstop. The aroma of grilled beef and onions combined with the endless cycle of patties being smashed and sizzled and toasty buns getting a layer of butter is utterly hypnotic. Opened in 2023 by "burger scholar" George Motz, Hamburger America is a tribute to one of the U.S.'s most beloved foods, the burger.
There are two primary house offerings, an Oklahoma-style smashburger made with onions grilled with the beef and served with a slice of American cheese, and the classic smash burger, available with or without cheese, topped with mustard, diced onion, and dill pickle. Both are available as singles or doubles. But Motz keeps things fun with his monthly burger specials, drawing from burger lore and traditions, whether it's his take on the Krabby Patty or a true-to-form "steamed cheeseburg" from Ted's in Connecticut.
📍 51 MacDougal St (SoHo)
Levain Bakery
The chocolate chip cookie wars are fierce in New York, and Levain is considered by many the standard-bearer. Launched in the mid-90s by friends who shared a love of baking, the business has since expanded to have locations not just in New York City, but in several U.S. states. You can visit the original shop on West 74th near Central Park or any of the other seven NYC shops, but if your stomp through town and the timing of your hunger doesn't allow, Levain does happen to deliver on third-party apps.
I had heard so much over the past several years about Levain's chocolate chip cookies that I couldn't fathom leaving NYC without having one. Their signature is polarizing, because it's a choc chip cookie with walnuts (I'm cool with that) but they also have a "two-chip" cookie (no nuts) with semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips. Levain's cookies are thick and almost domed, packed with chocolate, crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.
To my absolute glee, when I cracked one open in my hotel room after collecting the weighty little bag from the delivery person, the cookie was still warm inside. I get the hype: Levain makes an incredible chocolate chip cookie. There might even be one in my freezer at home right now (they travel well!).
📍 Multiple NYC locations
Thai Diner
The hostess greets you from behind a sliding plexi window facing Mott Street in Nolita. Inside, the theoretically disparate worlds of the American diner and Thai cuisine integrate perfectly. This is the aptly named Thai Diner, a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand restaurant pick for NYC that opened just before the pandemic shut the world down in early 2020.
There is a lot of fluidity in the Thai Diner menu, both in how Thai food is interpreted through a diner lens (and vice versa) and which dishes are available when. The restaurant primarily functions as a walk-in spot, but you can nab reservations for weekend brunch, weekday breakfast, or daytime to late night visits up to a week in advance through Resy.
Many of Thai Diner's beloved morning dishes, like the Thai Babka French Toast or the roti-wrapped egg sandwich with sausage and Thai basil, are available all day, which is a boon for the indecisive. The Kai Soi is fantastic: Earthy, spicy, fragrant khao soi broth packed with baked eggs, mushrooms, and spinach topped with crispy noodles and served with flaky roti and chili jam.
📍186 Mott St (Nolita)
Grand Central Station and Market
Whether it's your transit hub or just a landmark on your sightseeing itinerary, once you've ogled the stunning concourse ceiling, save room to eat. There are a few approaches to eating at Grand Central (but not all involve sitting down). There are several food businesses on the main and lower floors (some in both), particularly grab-and-go operations where you can have everything from ice cream to tacos, or grab a cup of coffee (I loved the Orange Blossom Espresso Tonic from Joe's Coffee).
The Grand Central Oyster Bar is its own marvel and should be a stop if your schedule allows (they are not open on the weekend).
Within the Grand Central terminal, however, there is also an upscale food market that's worth a stroll through at the very least. Like a condensed version of Vancouver's Granville Island Public Market, the Grand Central Market has fresh produce, bread, seafood, pastries, and other gourmet goodies, like chocolates and cheese, along with packaged meals for folks on the go.
📍89 E 42nd St (Midtown)
Thanks to FlightHub for facilitating travel to New York City from Vancouver by hosting our flights and hotel stay.
None of the meals, snacks, or experiences above were hosted; the entire itinerary was self-curated and paid for by the author with no prior arrangement with any business.
All opinions and inclusions are those of the author and were based solely on personal experience. None of the businesses or entities featured were granted any previews of the story before publication or paid to be mentioned.
