The ‘Where to Eaties’ 2025By now, you’ve surely seen our esteemed critics’ lists of the best dishes, restaurants and desserts of 2025. Then there’s the Where to Eaties. Our slightly off-the-rails awards celebrating the intangible or overlooked aspects of restaurant culture are back for a second year. Some categories are returning (Most Likely to Scare Your Parents) while others are entirely new (Most ‘Huh, What’d You Say?’ Restaurant of the Year). In both cases, we hope our observations will make you chuckle, cry or scream. NIKITA RICHARDSON
SLOP OF THE YEAR ThisBowlTo refer to this Australian fast-casual gift to earth as “slop” may be categorically apt, but that fails to capture the spirit of the best takeout lunch of the year. This endorsement, reader, is definitely not influenced by the Aussie model-cashiers that trained at the Trader Joe’s school of flirtation. BECKY HUGHES MOST ‘HUH, WHAT’D YOU SAY’ RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR Bar KabawaThe first and only time I ate at Bar Kabawa this year, I left hoarse from trying to talk over the soca and dancehall blaring over the speakers. But it’s exactly like moving into a neighborhood where subwoofers and sidewalk parties are the norm: Don’t call the fuzz or 311 — join in or get out! NIKITA RICHARDSON
MOST EPIC NEW DINING ROOM Cafe ZaffriLet’s cut to the chase: Cafe Zaffri is sexy! All that dim lighting, sumptuous velvet and cool marble — not to mention the coat check lady with that hard-to-place accent and withering stare. In Zaffri’s giant dining room, you’re somehow the cleverest, chicest, most attractive version of yourself, and you don’t need a martini or three to prove it. NIKITA RICHARDSON MOST LIKELY TO SCARE YOUR PARENTS FOODThe menu might be A.I.-generated. There’s no lumbar support in sight. And tonight’s menu — spaghetti tacos, cereal and milk — is blasted out over text. Hope you’re hungry! LUKE FORTNEY
MOST LIKELY TO IMPRESS YOUR PARENTS SeahorseTo be very clear, this is a high compliment: Seahorse in Union Square is exemplary parent fodder. A stunning room with solid acoustics, precisely executed cocktails and, most important, it’s not shared small plates. A perfect answer to my mother’s refrain: “I want to get my own thing.” BECKY HUGHES EXCELLENCE IN UGLY DELICIOUSNESS Grits at Strange DelightThere’s nothing pretty about Strange Delight’s grits: a coarsely ground gruel splattered with shrimp gravy the color of oxidized iron. It’s a complete mess (served in a paper coffee cup if you order it to-go), and I’ve never met anyone who minds. LUKE FORTNEY HARDEST RESTAURANT TO GOOGLE I’m Donut ?The fluffy brioche doughnuts in Times Square’s Japanese newcomer are a hit, to be sure. But just try texting it to a friend when they ask where to meet — kind of a “Who’s on first?” situation. BECKY HUGHES
BAKERY OF THE YEAR Welcome Home BakeryWhen this spot first opened in Bed-Stuy, I thought it would be another hype bakery that I couldn’t get into and said as much. But I was wrong! Welcome Home is an unfussy neighborhood establishment that you can count on for a solid baguette or croissant, and where the line (a consequence of its small size, not just its popularity) always moves quickly. Absolutely nothing about this place is engineered for virality — a downright miracle in 2025. NIKITA RICHARDSON BEIGEST NEW DINING ROOM CoveThe photos speak for themselves, really. BECKY HUGHES BEST NEVER CLOSES Yunnan Rice NoodleToward the end of the night, when the taxis circle the bars like birds to carrion, and your stomach starts to growl for ridiculous portions of rice noodles in wincingly spicy broths, there is really only one place to go: Yunnan Rice Noodle in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The location on Grand Street stays open 24 hours, one of the few places in this area where locals, stumbling students and food writers can sit down for a meal after midnight. LUKE FORTNEY
BEST REVIVAL The ViewI initially treated Danny Meyer’s decision to take over the revolving restaurant at the top of the Marriott Marquis as the restaurant equivalent of Cate Blanchett appearing in a superhero movie: purely a financial decision. But all year I’ve found myself recommending the View to friends as the place to go before or after “Oh, Mary!” or to take their parents for dinner, or to just stop by for a slice of cake and a martini. There’s simply no escaping its gravitational pull at the center of the center of the universe, so why try? NIKITA RICHARDSON MARTINI OF THE YEAR ObvioAs a classicist, I approach any “house martini” with a raised eyebrow, but the frigid combination of Abrojo gin, white vermouth and celery root blew me away. Bonus points for the ideal glassware: a trumpeted V-shaped glass, none of that Nick & Nora tomfoolery. BECKY HUGHES NOT-QUITE-A-MARTINI OF THE YEAR SchmuckThere was a short-lived menu item at this (shamefully, ChatGPT-designed) East Village cocktail bar: a dirty martini tonic, sort of a hyper-carbonated gin and tonic with olive brine and a splash of white balsamic. Petition to bring it back all year? BECKY HUGHES
SANDWICH OF THE YEAR French Dip at Salt HankNo dish has delivered on its sky-high hype like this sandwich at Salt Hank’s in the West Village. Crusty, broth-logged and heaped with patiently caramelized onions, the French dip is to a normal sandwich what Chappell Roan is to your average karaoke singer. And it’s well worth braving the humiliation ritual required to obtain one (a block-long line in broad daylight …). Now and then, TikTok gets it right. LUKE FORTNEY MOST ODDBALL DESSERT Pancake soufflé at Pitt’sIn this context, oddball just means imaginative. It’s seemingly a simple pat-of-butter, down-home version of one of Japan’s favorite desserts, and it puts a smile on my face every single time I order it and makes me feel like a kid again. But it’s painstaking to prepare — no one wants a flat soufflé — which is why Pitt’s now serves this dessert only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. NIKITA RICHARDSON Read past editions of the newsletter here. If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here. Have New York City restaurant questions? Send us a note here. Follow NYT Food on TikTok and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.
|
