NYCGuide

The Best Restaurants On The Upper East Side

The greatest hits of the Upper East Side.
undefined

photo credit: Lashevet

Some of the best things about the Upper East Side have been around for decades. For example, that classic burger joint with green-checkered tablecloths, all the places Kermit and his pals visited in The Muppets Take Manhattan, and the ghosts who haunt the Met. 

But—just like shiny Q train subway stations, and babies born at Mt. Sinai—there are plenty of new things improving the neighborhood too. From French fine-dining establishments and a surplus of sushi, to revamped Italian spots and some of the best ceviche in the city, consider this your primer to the Upper East Side's greatest hits.

THE SPOTS

photo credit: Sushi Noz

Sushi

Upper East Side

$$$$Perfect For:Date NightBirthdaysSpecial OccasionsFine Dining

POWERED BY

Tock logo

Access exclusive reservations with your sapphire reserve card

Sapphire Reserve
Earn 3x points with your sapphire card

Great sushi restaurants serve fish that tastes so distractingly delicious that you might forget your own phone number—but the best ones account for all of your senses. A night at Sushi Noz is as much about the cypress wood scent filling your nostrils as it is about the nigiri parading into your stomach. You’ll sit with six fellow spectators at a sushi bar in a room that smells like a candle named The Grove of Ecstasy, and eat things like uni flown in from Hokkaido, and eel that's been smoked over bamboo leaves. If you’re not quite prepared to drop $495 on one of the city’s best omakase meals, head next door to Noz Market, where you’ll find a $145 omakase and a standing room-only hand roll bar.


photo credit: Café Sabarsky

$$$$Perfect For:BrunchLunchCoffee & A Light BiteSpecial Occasions

Few places in New York will transport you out of the city as quickly and thoroughly as Café Sabarsky. This Viennese cafe in the Neue Galerie is not only the perfect setting to cosplay as a European intellectual in your blackest turtleneck, the food is also some of the best on the Upper East Side. Sabarsky is well known for their sachertorte and apfelstrudel, but you can also experience delights like bavarian sausages served with soft pretzels, and the best wienerschnitzel in town.


You can’t really talk about UES restaurants without at least mentioning Daniel. Yes, this is a stuffy and expensive French fine dining establishment possessing its own Wikipedia page. But a meal here is also one of the best fine-dining experiences you can have in the city. In addition to their $275, seven-course tasting menu, Daniel also has a four-course  prix fixe for $188. In case you’re looking for a special meal that’s a smidge more relaxed than what happens in the main dining room, you can order dishes a la carte in the lounge.


J.G. Melon’s burger is iconic. If you haven't been, there are a few things you should know: it will inevitably be crowded, it’s cash-only, and you need to order the chili and a martini in addition to your burger. This New York institution with cottage fries and green-checked tablecloths has been serving up its simple, classic burgers since TGI Friday's was nothing more than a swinging singles bar down the street. And once you’ve been there, you’ll think about going back every time you feel overwhelmingly sad, happy, or drunk.


photo credit: Chris Stang

$$$$Perfect For:BYOB

The UES has more than its fair share of incredible places for sushi omakase. But Tanoshi stands out because of its BYOB policy. Their omakase costs $120, and comes with 10 pieces of excellent fish, a hand roll, three small maki rolls, and an open forum to drink whatever you want, by yourself or with a date. The space at Tanoshi is tight—it’s actually two narrow dining rooms built around a residential hallway—but as you get into your meal, you’ll quickly forget about your surroundings.


Sushi Seki is known, first and foremost, for their brilliant nigiri pairings: things like tuna with tofu sauce, salmon with sauteed tomato, and red snapper topped with sea salt, which turns out to be a more thrilling combination than you’d think. We also like Sushi Seki  because it looks expensive (and kind of is), but the atmosphere is totally unpretentious and fun. At prime dinnertime, the small dining room gets packed, and you might be scooting your chair back and forth constantly to let waitstaff through. But no one really cares. The lively crowd is too busy throwing back sake and laughing a little too loudly.


photo credit: Mission Ceviche

RESERVE A TABLE

POWERED BY

OpenTable logo

This Peruvian restaurant opened in 2019, making it one of the newer additions to the busy stretch of restaurants in the 70s on 2nd Avenue. Mission Ceviche specializes in seafood and cocktails, like a classic white fish ceviche bathing in a zippy leche de tigre, and a number of takes on the pisco sour. The dining room, with its wraparound bar and neon sign that reads “Tiger Milk Effect,” gets as busy as a club. If you’re seeking a slightly calmer energy, sit in the lush, plant-decorated sidewalk patio.


There’s a lot of good Thai food in this part of town, but the first place we send anyone who regularly utters the words “Thai spicy, please” is Zabb PuTawn. This Northern Thai restaurant is run by a chef who used to have a popular restaurant in Queens, before he gifted the UES with some of the best goong chae num pla and gaeng kio wan in Manhattan. They’ve spruced up the simple, narrow space over the years with a shiny gold ceiling and bright yellow wallpaper, but this place would still be buzzing and full of regulars without any of that. All the ambience it needs comes from the spice-induced sniffles at every table.


The opening of Super Taste is groundbreaking UES restaurant news, right up there with the return of cottage fries at J.G. Melon, and Papaya King moving from one side of the street to the other. Swing by this Chinatown noodle spot’s second location, for a stewed pork burger on a sesame pancake bun that might be the best $5.95 you can spend within a mile of the Met. This small storefront is geared towards takeout, but you can eat a plate of fried pork and chive dumplings at one of the tables if desired. Or walk 15 minutes to Central Park, and enjoy your Lanzhou-style, spicy beef hand-pulled noodle soup under some trees.


Ravagh Persian Grill on 1st Avenue makes some of our favorite Persian food in the city, including perfectly grilled kebabs and stews like chunky, bean-laden ghormeh sabzi and khoresh fesenjan served with crushed walnuts. Rely on this casual two-story restaurant any time you’re looking for a low-key, rice-forward, and comforting meal, since the portions are large and the setting stays fairly quiet.


Uva is the best choice if you’re looking for an Italian restaurant in the neighborhood that doesn’t feel like you’ve broken into a diplomat’s house. The simple pastas and cured meats consistently impress, and their enclosed back garden happens to be one of the most ideal settings for a date in the city. The next time you want to appear classy without looking like you’re trying too hard, this is where you should go to eat mezzaluna filled with prosciutto and mozzarella, Emilia-Romagna style focaccia, and plates of fried baby artichokes. Uva also took over the restaurant space next door (aptly called Uva Next Door), with more seating and an additional menu of cocktails and pizza.


Bohemian Spirit is a Czech restaurant on the first floor of the Bohemian National Hall building, so you can imagine the level of Czech pride on display. Black and white portraits of everyone from iconic figure skater Aja Zanova to the owner's family grace the walls, and you’ll hear people singing old drinking songs near the bar. Sit outside and you can easily pretend you’re having a beer in Prague—especially once you have their crusty fried cheese and roast beef with a creamy orange svíčková sauce on the table.


Is it possible to scientifically prove that something is delicious? Apparently not, but at Lashevet, you can eat Middle Eastern food that's conceived of by a former food scientist, and also delicious. This charming little spot is great for a spontaneous cup of Turkish coffee under a kaleidoscopic Moroccan lamp. They change their menu from fully vegetarian cafe fare during the day to a meat-heavy dinner in the evening, with influences from Israeli, Lebanese, and Moroccan cuisines.


Vietnaam is a neighborhood standby near the 86th Street subway station. Like sister restaurant Saiguette, they’ve been takeout-only since the pandemic, but you’ll almost always see a line of Upper East Siders waiting to order crispy nem filled with shrimp, pork, taro, and jicama, as well as a comforting bowl of spicy beef pho with eye of round, brisket, and meatballs. If you’re looking for a more portable snack, pick up a massive banh mi.


Having a huge, beautiful park without having a cute little cafe to go with it is just wrong. If you find yourself on the upper east side of Central Park, Via Quadronno is that cafe, and it’s also just a few steps from the Met. They’ve been making great pastas and sandwiches since 1999—try their special speck panini or carbonara, and get some gelato at the end. Via Quadronno is consistently busy and crowded, with tables mostly for two, so it’s a bit of a nightmare for a group. But it's perfect for a date with a friend or yourself.


Say you’re looking for the kind of UES night that involves long crunchy breadsticks and overhearing people argue in Italian over many glasses of red wine. Between the Roman pastas and lemony veal scaloppine, and servers walking around pouring everyone grappa, you can’t do better than Sandro’s. Remember this place the next time you’re having a bad day. The bucatini amatriciana should help.


Moti Mahal Delux is specifically known for their incredible murgh makhani butter chicken: it’s cooked in a clay oven, and so rich that you may need to lie down later. The first US franchise of a restaurant chain originating in New Delhi, Moti Mahal Delux has a loyal following, and the casual dining room tends to be packed. Bring a date or a small group to share crab masala and murgh makhani.


This upscale spot on York Avenue is our favorite Greek restaurant in the neighborhood, and it’s also one of the best in the whole city. Your dates, your niece, and all potato lovers will approve of the lemony and inexplicably soft Greek potatoes here. Get them along with zucchini chips, lamb souvlaki, and a couple more pricey but shareable seafood and meat entrees.


JoJo used to be a formal Jean-Georges French restaurant before getting a makeover and reopening as a more modern, two-story spot in a townhouse on 64th Street (still run by the same team). The menu leans heavily on seasonal produce and classic farm-to-table combinations, like endive and snap pea salad, sea bass with chanterelles, and our favorite roast chicken on the UES. Come here for a date or when you’re looking for a cool uptown spot.


There are a lot of Upper East Side archetypes (SoulCycle moms, drunk people in polo shirts at Dorrian's), but our personal favorite is people who are three martinis deep at Quatorze. This bistro is the kind of place where you order the same thing every time—for us, it's always the goat cheese salad and half chicken with french fries, both perfectly simple and satisfying. The prices are steep, but in this area, paying $6 more than you should for a chicken is just part of the deal.


If you live near Heidi’s House By The Side Of The Road, it might already be your second home. Maybe you even call it “(Your Name)’s House By The Side Of The Road.” This place is the most reliable spot in the East 70s for a solo dinner or casual catch-up involving some wine, a juicy burger, and perfectly crispy mac and cheese. If you want to prove to someone that you know the best under-the-radar spots in the neighborhood, bring them here.

Chase Sapphire Card Ad

Suggested Reading

Where To Get To-Go Cocktails Near Central Park image

Where To Get To-Go Cocktails Near Central Park

Harlem

10 places serving to-go drinks near Central Park.

The Best Brunch On The Upper East Side image

There are a lot of places to eat eggs and pancakes in the middle of the day on the Upper East Side. Here are our favorites.

The Best Restaurants In Inwood image

The 18 best places to eat around the northern tip of Manhattan.

15 Uptown Spots That Feel Like Downtown Spots image

When you want to feel like you’re in a bar or restaurant 70 blocks south of where you actually are, go to any of these spots.

Infatuation Logo

Company

2024 © The Infatuation Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FIND PLACES ON OUR APP

Get it on Google PlayDownload on the App Store