NYCGuide
The Best Restaurants In Chelsea
Whether you're looking for cheesy khachapuri or a steady supply of tapas, here's where to get food in Chelsea.
Chelsea stretches from the Meatpacking District to Herald Square, and it’s objectively better than either of those neighborhoods. In part, this is because it doesn’t have as many tourist or bachelorette parties—but we also like the restaurants over here. Chelsea has great tacos, ramen, and Palestinian food, and there's even a high-end pasta-tasting option for when you want to be fed a series of carbs. Use this guide to find all those things and more.
THE SPOTS
You could have a great meal consisting solely of Shukette’s breads, but the entrees here are worth prioritizing, especially if you come with a few other people. The next time you're planning a group dinner, book a table here and order the “Fish In A Cage” and the joojeh chicken for the table. This is a great place to share some dishes on the West Side, especially if you consider liking carbs a key part of your personality.
Chama Mama has some of the best Georgian food in Manhattan, and it’s somewhere you should keep in mind for any group dinner that calls for an excessive amount of melted cheese. One whole side of the menu is dedicated to the cheese-filled Georgian breads known as khachapuri, and you should get at least one these of breads. Add an order of khinkali, and enjoy your baseball-sized dumplings in the spacious dining room.
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Skirt Steak’s concept is pretty simple: Make people wait in line, and then reward them with steak, peppercorn béarnaise, and unlimited fries. This place has had its moment on TikTok, so, unsurprisingly, the line to get in can get pretty long. (You might have to wait an hour on Sixth Avenue.) But if you’re at least a little bit curious about an unabashedly-gimmicky restaurant with a $28 prix-fixe deal, you’ll love it here. The food is not only edible, it’s pretty freakin’ good.
At Qanoon, you’ll eat beautifully plated mounds of makloubeh and mahshi in a cozy townhouse with a rotating playlist of Middle Eastern artists. This is one of the few Palestinian restaurants in the city, and it should be your go-to spot on the West Side for Palestinian homecooking with a focus on farm-fresh produce.
If the thought of sitting through another predictable mid-range sushi omakase makes you feel bored, a visit to The Oval at La Devozione might be in order. This Chelsea Market pasta bar serves a pasta tasting menu that’s prepared inches away from where you sit. The experience, which runs $160 for a 7-course dinner tasting and $95 for a four-course lunch, is just as much entertainment as it is an exercise in consuming carbohydrates. If you don’t want to go all-in on a tasting, you can order à la carte in the more casual “A Tavola” section, or grab an order of spaghetti to go.
Get tacos here already. If you like tacos, and you haven’t had these tacos, you should eat these tacos. This is a stand in Chelsea Market that tends to be busy, because it's where you'll find some of the best tacos in the city. Whenever you're within walking distance, stop by for snack.
This is the Mexican seafood spot from the people who brought you Los Tacos No. 1, and they might have the best fish tacos in the city. If you need a good, quick meal, come here (and get a ceviche to go along with your tacos). It’s counter-service and extremely casual, which means that your pants need not have seams.
Life is a popularity contest, and this place wins. Cookshop is a neighborhood staple that’s good for a lot of situations: dinner with parents, lunch with your boss, brunch with friends, etc. Service is also pretty friendly, the space is nice (but casual), and there’s even a patio for those two weeks in May and September when being outside isn’t the worst. The menu has things like pizza, fava bean hummus, and a pork chop.
Motel Morris is a great-looking restaurant with dark blue walls and velvet banquettes, and their menu is exactly what you'd expect to find at a New American-inspired place that worked with an interior designer. They serve stuff like roasted chicken, grilled asparagus, and salmon tartare, and you can pretty much always get a reservation. Stop by whenever you need a nice last-minute spot that isn't too stuffy.
Chelsea Market has better lunch options than most food halls, and Miznon is one of the best spots inside of it. It’s a small chain that originated in Tel Aviv and now has locations in cities like Paris and Vienna, and they specialize in pitas filled with steak, lamb, and ratatouille. You can also get other things like a whole roasted head of cauliflower, which comes out slightly charred and covered in olive oil. This spot is counter-service, but there are a few tables and bar seats where you can hang out and eat.
Considering both price and quality, Momoya is the best sushi option in Chelsea. It isn't exactly cheap (sushi rarely is), but you can stop by and get a sushi set for less than $40, and there's a large variety of sub-$20 rolls to choose from. You can also come here for lunch and get some chirashi, chicken katsu, or soba.
There used to be a lot of tapas places in Chelsea, but Tia Pol is one of the few good options remaining. This place is long, dark, and casual, and it's perfect for a date night when you want to pick at some fried chickpeas and gambas al ajillo while you attempt to make small talk. On weekdays from 3-6pm, there's a Happy Hour with discounted wine, cocktails, and snacks.
Aroqa is a modern Indian restaurant where your food might come in a basket on the back of a miniature tricycle. Or it might arrive on a little pushcart, and your server might then light it on fire. The menu here is made up of mostly small plates (like smoked eggplant, lamb kebabs, and fish tikka), and the room feels like an upscale cocktail bar. Be sure to order the chicken chops.
At Jun-Men, you can get some traditional ramen, or you can eat a dish that amounts to an uni carbonara. It’s a brothless bowl of noodles with sea urchin, pancetta, parmesan, and truffle oil—and it’s for people who would put uni in their cereal if the world would let them. We’re partial to the pork-bone ramen, and we wouldn’t not eat their fried chicken or BBQ pork buns. For a quick, casual meal in Chelsea, this is an excellent option.
Pastai is Chelsea’s resident charming Italian place. They make their own pasta, and you can get any of their dishes with homemade gluten-free pasta. In terms of the space, there’s both bar seating and an old school-looking dining room with black and white portraits of people you can pretend are part of your family. Bring a date or a small group.
