Top Rated Restaurants & Cafes in New York

Chic and supremely popular, Gramercy Tavern is known among the Manhattan elite for its excellent service, superb food, plush interiors, and extensive wine list. The restaurant boasts two distinct dining options: you can enjoy a cozy, à la carte meal in the Tavern or indulge in the prix fixe experience in the Dining Room. Chef Michael Anthony proudly sources ingredients from local vendors, creating sensational dishes that change with the seasons. Whether you're snacking on treats like Wagyu pastrami and fluke tartare in the Tavern or reveling in courses like pork belly with peaches and strawberry brown butter cake for dessert in the Dining Room, you're sure to be amazed by Gramercy Tavern.

Owned by the legendary Chef Daniel Boulud, this award-winning French restaurant is considered by many to be the best dining experience in the city. The cuisine is contemporary, putting a fresh spin on traditional recipes and it is both expertly prepared and exquisitely plated. Enjoy divine dishes like rabbit saddle with chorizo and tarragon mustard or wasabi marinated hamachi with white sturgeon caviar and Meyer lemon coulis amid fine Italian Renaissance décor. Opt for the tasting menu or let the knowledgeable staff at Daniel help you create your perfect meal, complete with outstanding drink pairings.

Korea-based chef Jungsik Yim's eponymous restaurant has taken the city's dining scene by storm. On offer at Jungsik is a refreshing interpretation of Korean cuisine. Choose from a diverse menu that includes delectable creations like bibim, hae jang, Thai lobster and Gangnam chicken. The wine list is exhaustive and has offerings from pretty much all the wine producing regions around the world. There's a choice of sake as well. The dessert selection includes green tea cremeux, peach fro-yo and sweet potato tarts. Diners also have the option of a ten-course tasting menu. The dining room sports a refined ambiance, with deep brown walls and plush white banquettes making up the seating area. The large Korean-inspired wooden motifs adorning the walls add a nice touch.

Momofuku Ko has been called one of the greatest restaurants in the world. It is for this reason, and the fact that the restaurant only has a capacity of 12 diners at a time, that securing a seat can be particularly challenging to reserve a seat here. If you are lucky enough to do so, you will be treated to a ten-course meal of Asian fusion dishes that you won't soon forget. Diners sit at the kitchen counter and are served directly by the chefs who whip up delicacies as they serve. Trendy, exclusive and worthy of the hype, Momofuku Ko is a true New York City treasure.

While the East Village has long been a hip neighborhood, it was first known as an ethnic community. The Ukrainian restaurant Veselka is a remnant of that history. This combination luncheonette and sidewalk café with an Eastern European air features breakfast muffins, bagels, potato pancakes and egg sandwiches among other selections. For lunch, a hearty borscht and their famous pierogies should do the trick, while a dinner meal of kielbasa or veal goulash should leave you smiling and satisfied.

As with many sushi restaurants in Manhattan, this popular East Village spot does not accept reservations on Friday and Saturday nights. So take a place in the line outside and start anticipating that first bite of traditional Japanese entrées like sushi, sashimi and more. Kanoyama's T-shirts were designed by the late pop artist Keith Haring, who was a regular here. A small place with enormous fresh flowers and branches, Kanoyama's fresh and contemporary atmosphere only adds to the experience.