On Tuesday, we published our 2025 list of the 100 Best Restaurants in New York City, including a ranked top 10. Using our new checklist feature, readers were able to tell us their favorites — or at least the ones they had visited most — and the ones they wanted to try. Here are the 10 most-visited spots. They include several longstanding New York destinations, but also a couple of relative newcomers. Some of the city’s most celebrated fine-dining rooms appear, but so does a Brooklyn sandwich shop. (Down the list a bit, look for a major point of agreement between our critics and the dining public.)
1. Gramercy Tavern
8,204 have visited, 1,690 want to.
It’s little surprise that so many readers have found their way to the convivial spaces of this bona fide New York classic. It has been the domain of many notable chefs over its 31 years, including Tom Colicchio and the pastry virtuoso Claudia Fleming, who opened the restaurant in 1994. Something of an in-the-know option for years, the front tavern room now goes full-tilt, and can be harder to get into than the main dining room. But walk-in bar spots are still a great option.
2. Le Bernardin
6,718 have visited, 3,019 want to.
Like Gramercy Tavern, Le Bernardin has longevity on its side: The restaurant, perched at No. 3 on our top 100, first received four stars from The New York Times in 1986, and has kept those four stars in every review since, most recently in 2023. As our critic Melissa Clark put it, Eric Ripert, the chef since 1994, “consistently takes big swings, like his stunning signature ellipse of pounded raw tuna layered with foie gras, and somehow never misses. Even mild-mannered fluke — enveloped in a fragrant dill- and yuzu-infused apple broth — vibrates with flavor in his expert hands.”
3. Via Carota
6,062 have visited, 1,855 want to.
After 11 years, it’s still nearly impossible to get a reservation at Jody Williams and Rita Sodi’s unofficial West Village clubhouse. And the wait for a walk-in table can often be longer than “Oppenheimer,” but by Melissa Clark’s estimation, it’s still worth it. “Attention to detail is the through line,” she writes, “from the rustic flea-market appointments to the seasonal Italian cooking and streamlined cocktail list with multiple Negronis.” It probably doesn’t hurt the popularity quotient that there’s a decent chance you’ll see Taylor Swift popping by for dinner.
4. Thai Diner
5,851 have visited, 2,298 want to.
The youngest restaurant among the most-visited, Ann Redding and Matt Danzer’s NoLIta spot combines the hallmarks of a retro diner — high-backed booths and swiveling bar seats — with Thai American cuisine that doesn’t skimp on fish sauce and chiles. As Priya Krishna writes, “No matter what you order, expect loud, fiery flavors and playful touches, like a pair of googly eyes on your pineapple chiffon cake.”
5. Keens
5,280 have visited, 1,753 want to.
This Manhattan institution has found new fans among a younger set in recent years, but the usual steakhouse crowd — dry martinis and loosened neckties — still abounds. Considerable hand-wringing commenced among the faithful when it was announced that this 140-year-old Anthony Bourdain favorite had been sold to Tilman Fertitta, the Texas billionaire who also owns the Houston Rockets and Bubba Gump Shrimp. So far, though, the fabled mutton chop (above), the prime-rib hash and the clubbable ambience remain mercifully unchanged.
6. Court Street Grocers
5,156 have visited, 1,836 want to.
With three locations and an accessible price point, no wonder so many diners have stopped in to genuflect at the sandwich altar here. Their take on the New York main character bacon-egg-and-cheese is perfectly done (sub in Taylor Pork Roll for a New Jersey twist). But after 15 years, many of the Court Street original sandwiches have become classics in their own right.
7. Barney Greengrass
5,121 have visited, 2,095 want to.
For Melissa Clark, “there’s no better spot for a taste of O.G. New York Jewish charm, especially when it’s expressed in a plate of lox, eggs and onions.” And generations of Upper West Siders seem to agree. Opened in 1908 in a space nearly 30 blocks north, this appetizing standard-bearer has been at its current location on Amsterdam Avenue between 86th and 87th Street since 1929. Mr. Greengrass himself, known as the Sturgeon King, died in 1956, but his grandson Gary Greengrass still runs the operation today.
8. Lilia
4,998 have visited, 1,936 want to.
In his three-star review from 2016, Pete Wells was succinct: “Lilia’s menu has many other very good things, but pasta made by Ms. Robbins is a direct route to happiness.” Nearly a decade later, that sentiment still holds. Occupying an old garage in Williamsburg, the dining room has soaring windows and exposed-beam ceilings — and feels perfectly of its neighborhood.
9. Semma
4,301 have visited, 6,481 want to.
Sitting at No. 1 on our 2025 list of the 100 Best Restaurants in New York City, the chef Vijay Kumar’s West Village hot spot is the flagship of the Unapolagetic Foods mini-empire, which now comprises seven restaurants. As Priya Krishna put it, “Semma altered the course of Indian dining here, and four years on, Mr. Kumar’s food continues to feel fresh.” It’s not easy to get in, but with dedication and some pro tips, it can be done.
10. Barbuto
4,288 have visited, 2,676 want to.
Rightfully renowned for what Melissa Clark called “an unimprovable roast chicken, with its soul-mate salsa verde of herbs, capers and anchovies,” this West Village stalwart rounds out readers’ 10 most-visited places. Jonathan Waxman, who cut his teeth at Chez Panisse in the 1970s, has been cooking his easygoing New Californian/Italian style in New York since the mid-’80s. The original Barbuto location on Washington Street closed in 2019, but the current Horatio Street spot, opened a year later, retains its airy charm.
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