Daniel Boulud’s namesake restaurant is destination dining, a full-on fancy affair at the flagship spot that started it all for one of the most prolific chefs and restaurateurs in New York City. There’s a three- and five-course prix-fixe ($195, $235), a seven-course tasting ($295), and the a la carte (more affordable) lounge menu. Dishes range from seasonal, with a Provence white asparagus dish for spring, to classic, such as the pan-seared John Dory.

Howoo is a newly opened 250-seat restaurant, one of three to debut in this location. Order from various options, including the elite package ($385 for four), which includes six cuts and banchan. The non-Korean cuts like rib-eye and A5 Miyazaki wagyu start the progression, and it ends with a traditional Korean spread of galbi, stews (doenjang or kimchi), kettle-pot rice, and naengmyeon made with lotus leaf noodles that are unusual for New York. The room is sprawling, the bar is grand, and there are options to check out the kitchen, such as the area reserved for making tofu.

Midtown’s Hutong is distinct from many of the dim sum parlors. For one, this Hong Kong-based chain is serving an impressive variety of dishes from Sichuan, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong, each with a modern twist. The yu xiang crispy pork mochi dumplings, for example, are dyed jet black, and the roast Peking duck is served in half or whole portions. The Art Deco space is grand and quiet, with a glamorous walk-through wine cellar that the restaurant has nicknamed its “Champagne runway.”

The focus at this two-Michelin-starred spot is on local and sustainable ingredients, with an emphasis on seafood, but chef Emma Bengtsson’s Arctic Bird’s Nest — a stunningly realistic-looking creation incorporating a honey nest, chocolate twigs, freeze-dried raspberries, brownie dirt, and shredded halvah — is worth the trip on its own. Though it’s possible to splurge with the $275 chef tasting, several price points are available, including a $175 tasting menu, an a la carte bar menu, and two-course ($75) or three-course ($85) lunch menus. 

The Midtown power spot from Jean-Georges Vongerichten features dramatic architecture, designed by Lord Norman Foster, whose firm is behind big projects like London’s City Hall; and Lusail Stadium in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. An intimate dining room sits on a floating balcony accessed by a dramatic staircase, and the downstairs bar area has 45-foot ceilings and a large Larry Poons painting. It’s the first time chefs Jonathan Benno and Vongerichten have worked together, with Benno bringing his Italian and New American sensibilities to the menu and Vongerichten infusing elements of Asian cuisines. There’s both a tasting menu and a la carte dining. There’s now a weekday power breakfast option that starts at 7 a.m.

This is a family-run affair for media and politicos run by the Scotto family who’ve helmed this Italian American restaurant since 1993. Marion had long been the matriarch at the front of the house, though it’s now run her daughter Rosanna Scotto, a host of “Good Day New York,” on Fox 5, and Rosanna’s family, Jenna and LJ Ruggiero. Get the potato and zucchini chips with gorgonzola, the chopped salad, and the linguine vongole. Maybe the meatball with whipped ricotta, too. If you end up dining on the late side, don’t be surprised by a DJ and an impromptu conga line.

Major Food Group’s takeover of the landmark Four Seasons space remains a citywide destination for expensive a la carte fine dining — all in the form of a throwback chophouse. In the stunning midcentury room, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, patrons gather for Dover sole, red meat, and martinis, with the same level of glitz and theatrics as the team’s Carbone.

This Second Avenue staple remains a fantastically reliable institution for quality Sichuan fare. Expect all the usual players: tender and spicy cumin lamb, silky mapo tofu, meaty dan dan, tingly Sichuan cold noodles, slippery mung bean noodles with chile sauce, and gelatinous beef tendon.

The 400-seat, 16,000 square-foot, all-day restaurant in Grand Central is the kind of restaurant everyone craves. It’s open an astonishing seven days a week, 365 days a year, from 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for brunch — incorporating breakfast and lunch menus — and from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. for dinner and late-night dining. The place is so big, you probably don’t need a reservation, so maybe you don’t have to wrestle with Resy or OpenTable. What’s more, its multiple transportation linkages make it ultra-accessible. Brunch fare is a safe bet, with items like a lobster omelet or buttermilk pancakes.

The iconic seafood destination is nestled under soaring, beautifully arched and tiled ceilings in a subterranean space inside Grand Central Terminal. The environs, complete with massive U-shaped counter seating perfect for dining solo, are so special that the restaurant nabbed the Design Icon Award at the James Beard Awards in 2017. In addition to ordering up a platter of raw bivalves, don’t miss the epic oyster pan roast. All of the seafood goes down smoothly with a stiff martini. Note that it’s closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Los Tacos No. 1 offers flour and corn tortillas for pork adobada tacos, similar to pineapple-tenderized al pastor tacos. Grilled steak (carne asada), pollo asado, and nopal fillings are also available, and any one can be ordered as a double-tortilla mula or a quesadilla. There are multiple locations around the city.

Considered one of the best sushi restaurants in the world, Sushi Sho opened in Midtown in March 2024, with Keiji Nakazawa pulling in interminable waits for reservations and upwards of $450 per person for the counter. “He is, in fact, the latest in a wave of Japanese sushi masters ... who have helped to make New York into the most important sushi city in the world outside Japan,” wrote Pete Wells for the New York Times.

Korean meets New Orleans at this Midtown East hot spot that started as a pop-up with dishes like fried chicken, tomato kimchi, and jambalaya, or shrimp and grits in shrimp dashi. The menu is a robust collection of snacks, sides, and hearty meat dishes served in a warm, utilitarian dining area.

Andrew Carmellini’s namesake restaurant in the Fifth Avenue Hotel is like a greatest hits album, reflecting the various high points of his career and dishes that he’s enjoyed and have resonated with diners. Start with a crudo, consider the crab and Meyer lemon mille-feuille, and feast on tortellini, wild salmon, or retro dishes like rabbit cacciatore.

This two-Michelin-starred restaurant is leading the charge for a new wave of Korean fine dining restaurants. From the same team behind Atoboy and Naro, Atomix has been heaped with awards since its debut for its ambitious menu. Reservations can be hard to nab.