During the acclaimed NYC Restaurant Week, dining destinations across all five boroughs of New York City offer exclusive prix fixe menus and drink specials to celebrate the delicious creativity you won’t find anywhere else. From exceptional eateries led by celebrity chefs to award-winning restaurants the internet won’t stop raving about, our go-to list highlights NYC Restaurant Week hot spots that are absolutely worth the hype.
Celebrity Chef Restaurants
Bar Boulud. Photo: Melissa Horn
Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway, Upper West Side, Manhattan
If NYC had a Mount Rushmore of culinary titans, chef Daniel Boulud’s profile would be up there. His meticulous French fare has won numerous prestigious food awards, and recently, Boulud was immortalized in appearances on the Emmy-nominated hit show The Bear. His empire of restaurants includes Bar Boulud, the quintessential spot for a bite before or after Lincoln Center. Drop by during NYC Restaurant Week for lunch or dinner to luxuriate in seasonal dishes that are inspired by Boulud’s childhood in the French countryside. Savor a summer evening on the terrace with a glass of chilled wine alongside the heavenly pâté de campagne (a rustic pork pâté) or a half-dozen garlicky escargots; both appetizers are on the NYC Restaurant Week dinner menu.
Courtesy, The Seaport
Carne Mare
89 South St., The Seaport, Manhattan
Chef Daniel Boulud's enduring legacy in NYC also includes launching the next generation of top culinary talent. Chef and cookbook author Andrew Carmellini catapulted into stardom after the opening of Café Boulud, where he was the award-winning chef de cuisine. Now he leads his own flourishing empire of beloved restaurants. One of Carmellini’s crown jewels is Carne Mare, a luxe waterfront Italian chophouse in The Seaport. During NYC Restaurant Week, revel in the warm ambiance at Carne Mare while enjoying lunch dishes like octopus carpaccio with sweet drop peppers and crispy pepperoni or the famous prime rib sandwich with porcini aioli.
Hearth. Photo: Daniel Krieger
Hearth
403 E. 12th St., East Village, Manhattan
When a restaurant has survived in NYC for more than two decades, you know the hype is very real. Chef Marco Canora, who has appeared on Top Chef, Iron Chef America and Chopped, launched a bone broth movement when he started selling cups of it from the takeout window at Hearth, his Tuscan American spot in the East Village. Dive into the $45 three-course NYC Restaurant Week dinner, which pairs peak summer produce with comforting main courses like grass-fed beef and ricotta meatballs served with cacio e pepe polenta. The dessert menu pays homage to the season with a whimsical popsicle lineup, which includes a chocolate mezcal selection that’s downright delightful.
Red Rooster. Photo: Brittany Petronella
Red Rooster Harlem
310 Lenox Ave., Harlem, Manhattan
At 24, Marcus Samuelsson was the youngest chef to win a three-star review from The New York Times. Ever since, he’s been lighting up the world with his magnetic smile while collecting a long list of accolades, including an Emmy, eight James Beard Awards and several victories on cooking competitions like Top Chef Masters and Chopped All-Stars. Red Rooster Harlem, Samuelsson’s lively resto in the heart of the neighborhood, is another winner, especially if you’re looking for comfort food. During NYC Restaurant Week, satisfy your soul with the $30 weekday lunch, which includes the signature fried chicken with garlic mash and collards.
Award-Winning Hits That Don’t Skip a Beat
Ci Siamo. Photo: Giada Paoloni
Ci Siamo
385 Ninth Ave., Manhattan
Ci Siamo scaled to the #13 spot on The New York Times’ list of the 100 best restaurants in NYC, and you'll consider yourself very lucky after feasting on house-made pastas and fire-kissed dishes at this phenomenal spot near Hudson Yards. Chef Hillary Sterling, a James Beard Award semifinalist for best chef in New York two years in a row, knows how to coax deep flavors out of everything with Ci Siamo’s impressive live-fire setup. Make a lunchtime date for the NYC Restaurant Week specials, spotlighting mouthwatering antipasti like crispy arancini made with bulgur, eggplant and provolone and main courses like spaghetti with shrimp, garlic and chiles.
Frenchette. Photo: Melanie Dunea
Frenchette
241 West Broadway, Tribeca, Manhattan
If you want to get dressed up and need a place to go, look no further than Frenchette. This stylish bistro was given the best new restaurant award by the James Beard Foundation in 2019 and has been reliably leading lists ever since. Helmed by veteran chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, Frenchette serves seductive French classics with flawless NYC flair. It’s très parfait for special occasions, with decadent dishes and an impressive list of natural wines. Easily one of the most coveted reservations during NYC Restaurant Week, Frenchette presents a $60 weekday dinner that spoils your taste buds with pillowy gnocchi Parisienne with ham and comte cheese, along with an indulgent duck confit entrée with gigante beans and lacinato kale.
Courtesy, Nami Nori
Nami Nori
236 N. 12th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn 33 Carmine St, West Village, Manhattan
Nami Nori doesn't just win awards, it launched a temaki revolution with its bold, open-style hand rolls. Founded by sushi savants who met at Masa, chefs Taka Sakaeda and Jihan Lee, along with partner Lisa Limb, this Michelin Bib Gourmand award-winning hot spot delights with addictive rolls perched on custom-crafted wooden pedestals. Celebrate summer with a (super-Instagrammable) corn rib appetizer—it’s a featured appetizer option on the $30 NYC Restaurant Week lunch at Nami Nori’s Williamsburg outpost. For your main course, choose between three tempting temaki sets, including one showcasing some of the restaurant’s greatest hits, like their tuna poke, salmon serrano and cucumber black sesame. Vegans can rejoice in their own signature set, which highlights Nami Nori’s famous avocado toast roll, a crunchy-creamy delight.
Tribeca Grill. Photo: Evan Sung
Tribeca Grill
375 Greenwich Street, Tribeca, Manhattan
Actor Robert De Niro is a real deal New Yorker—and so is the restaurant he owns with Drew Nieporent, Tribeca Grill. Nestled below the Tribeca Film Center, this classic downtown destination delivers market-driven fare along with a blockbuster wine list that has won the Wine Spectator Grand Award 23 years in a row. For more than 30 years, Tribeca Grill has been headquarters for starry soirees and premiere parties that have hosted legends like Martin Scorsese, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Joel. One of our favorite details of this timeless restaurant is the artwork by De Niro’s late father that adorns the walls. Grilled mahi-mahi with a ginger soy vinaigrette is just one of the stars on their $45 three-course NYC Restaurant Week dinner.
8282
84 Stanton St., Lower East Side, Manhattan
A surefire way to shake off the summer doldrums is a night out at the restaurant 8282. Playfully remixing Korean flavors with global influences, the restaurant hits all the right notes in dishes like their perfectly seared Chilean seabass with a shishito radish kimchi chimichurri. Wife-and-husband duo Jee Kim and chef Bong Le Jo (who trained at Perry Street and Dovetail) lead this Michelin Bib Gourmand gem, which boasts a creative cocktail collection of premium Korean spirits, nostalgic boozy riffs on banana milk and jasmine tea, and innovative nonalchoholic concoctions. 8282’s NYC Restaurant Week dinner goes all out, with a special canapé of makgeolli sool-tteok, a type of rice cake that’s served with seaweed butter, along with your choice of appetizer and main course, including 8282’s best-selling soy-marinated steak and a new summery lobster corn noodle dish. A favorite and must-have is the injeolmi dessert: Parmesan-topped vanilla ice cream, laced with honey and Korean multigrain powder. Yesss.
Secret Spots No One Can Keep Secret
The Clocktower. Photo: Lanna Apisukh
The Clocktower
5 Madison Ave., Madison Square Park, Manhattan
Immerse yourself in clubby British vibes at The Clocktower. This enticing restaurant by renowned restaurateur Stephen Starr is tucked into the second floor of the New York Edition hotel, next to Madison Square Park. The Clocktower’s plush interiors will instantly charm you. There’s a purple billiards table for a friendly game or two and a stunning bar made with 24-karat gold leaf that’s a perfect perch for sipping a cocktail. The Clocktower’s three-course NYC Restaurant Week menu offers tastes of tartare with egg yolk jam and warm sticky toffee pudding with crystallized pecans.
Freemans. Photo: Amy Lombard
Freemans
End of Freeman’s Alley (off Rivington St. between Chrystie St. and Bowery), Lower East Side, Manhattan
Not every NYC alleyway has a secret restaurant like Freemans—look for the iconic blue door down Freeman’s Alley, around the corner from the New Museum. Cozy country vibes await along with comforting plates of artichoke dip, macaroni and cheese, and a golden half-chicken. This sweet, secluded spot is one of the lucky restos that Taylor Swift and girlfriends have graced with their presence. You too can experience the magic of Freemans’ twinkling lights during NYC Restaurant Week, when it will offer a prix fixe lunch and dinner, with options like fried chicken with a cheddar waffle and chipotle honey during lunch and pan-roasted striped bass with summer squash, sun gold tomatoes and saffron broth for dinner.
Naro. Photo: Dan Ahn
Naro
610 Fifth Ave., #4, Rink Level, Rockefeller Center, Manhattan
Amid the bustling crowds of Rockefeller Center, Naro stands as a serene oasis of calm. Every plate of its exquisite modern Korean cuisine is a stunner, visually and flavorwise. Don’t rush your bites; you’ll want to take your time, maybe even meditate, on the harmonious blend of seasonal Korean ingredients, like pine-cone ssamjang (a savory condiment that sparks with flavor). Naro is part of the trove of acclaimed dining destinations dreamt up by power couple JP and Ellia Park, who also own Atomix, which was recently placed atop the World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ list. For NYC Restaurant Week, Naro is introducing a $60 prix fixe dinner, featuring snow crab with pine nut milk to start and red snapper with soybean and squid for a main course.
Courtesy, Tong
Tong
321 Starr St., Bushwick, Brooklyn
Tong’s fiery Thai dishes will make you feel alive. This welcoming Bushwick spot leans hard into heat and is known for its annual spicy wing showdown, along with its array of small plates that beg to be consumed with a cold beer. Tong also excels at authentic noodles and curries. Sample Thai street foods like grilled pork skewers as part of the $30 NYC Restaurant Week lunch, or try the fried branzino with black bean sauce during dinner, which gives you three-courses for $45.
