Our three critics name the places, from classic French dining to a buzzing shawarma stall, that dazzled them the most this year.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Three critics walk into a restaurant …
I know. The chef didn’t think it was funny, either.
But it took three of us to stay on top of New York City’s dining scene in 2024. Since August, when I bowed out as restaurant critic to spend some quality time with my blood-pressure cuff, Melissa Clark and Priya Krishna have been serving as interim critics. Each of us had a hand in this roundup of the year’s best restaurants.
Most of these places have been reviewed by one of us, although there are a few that nobody has gotten around to just yet. All have opened since last fall, except for one that’s been frying chicken wings and whole snappers on Staten Island since 2021. I’ll take the blame for being so slow to get to Shaw-naé’s House, but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.
I imagine Melissa and Priya feel the same way about the choices, listed here in alphabetical order, along with the star ratings we assigned in our reviews. They run the gamut of prices and sizes and seating arrangements. One has freshly ironed table linens. Another has upturned paint buckets on the floor. We’ll tell you all about it. Just pull up a chair or three. PETE WELLS
Borgo
Not yet reviewed
The first foray into Manhattan for Andrew Tarlow, a restaurateur best known for his roster of uber-cool Brooklyn places (Diner, Marlow & Sons, Roman’s), Borgo seems like a leap from his signature bare-brick rusticity. But its posh elegance has sacrificed none of the accessible soulfulness of those beloved establishments. The stiff white cloths on Borgo’s tables are softened by flickering candlelight in a room that feels both grown-up and buzzy. And the trattoria-style menu includes the kinds of certified crowd-pleasers Mr. Tarlow’s restaurants do best, like an irresistible disk of cheese-topped focaccia, savory fried delicata squash rings and a bronze-skinned roast chicken with Marsala — along with earthier, more complex fare, such as plump sweetbreads, and a leg of lamb with puntarelle and prunes. Pair these with a bottle from Lee Campbell’s thoughtful, natural-leaning wine list, and raise a toast to Mr. Tarlow’s nimble hop across the East River. MELISSA CLARK
124 East 27th Street (Lexington Avenue), Midtown South; 646-360-2404; borgonyc.com
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