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An adobada taco in a flour tortilla held up in the foreground with the Los Tacos No. 1 restaurant sign in the background. — An adobada taco in a flour tortilla.

23 Classic Restaurants Every New Yorker Must Try

Whether it’s a Midtown steakhouse or a decade-old taco stand, these places deserve a spot on your bucket list

by Eater Staff Updated Jun 18, 2024, 3:54pm EDT

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An adobada taco in a flour tortilla.

| Ryan Sutton/Eater

by Eater Staff Updated Jun 18, 2024, 3:54pm EDT

New York is one of the oldest dining cities in the country, and though it can feel like we’re always mourning the loss of another neighborhood stalwart, the city is still brimming with countless iconic establishments. Here is a collection of some of the most vibrant New York classic restaurants, all of them decades-old and some dating back more than a century. They range from legendary steakhouses to gritty taverns and coal-fired pizzerias, but they’re all quintessentially New York.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

188 Bakery Cuchifritos

Open since 1982, 188 Bakery Cuchifritos is a Caribbean neighborhood staple for orders of chicharrones, pernil, cuajito (meaty pig stomach), as well as morcilla. Of the latter, critic Ryan Sutton says, “the sausage...serves as a reminder that if you’re not considering Puerto Rican pork within the scope of the city’s grand meat and charcuterie traditions, you’re not doing it right.”

158 E 188th St, The Bronx, NY 10468

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Patrons gather behind a plexiglass guard at a counter for lunch; decorative handwritten menu signs hang in the background — The lunch counter at 188 Bakery Cuchifritos.

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Mario’s Restaurant

Now over a century old, Mario’s on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx is as old school as it gets. The Migliucci family still owns this restaurant that started as a pizzeria, serving dishes like linguine with red clam sauce and veal Marsala. The interior looks untouched, full of oil paintings, Michelangelo statuettes, and white columns. Don’t miss the dessert trolley, and be sure to finish off with an espresso paired with a shot of complimentary anisette.

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8196, 2342 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458

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A man in a yellow shirt walks under a red awning with the word Mario’s. — Mario’s in the Bronx.

Also featured in:

9 Restaurants With Heated Outdoor Dining in the Bronx

Sylvia's Restaurant

Dubbed “the Queen of Soul Food,” Sylvia Woods opened the doors on Sylvia’s Restaurant in 1962, bringing generous servings of Southern comfort food to Harlem. The neighborhood restaurant is world-famous for its timeless cooking and Southern charm, which still endures decades after opening. While Woods died in 2012, her family continues to run the restaurant. The restaurant won an America’s Classics Award from James Beard for 2024.

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328 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10027

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Inside the dining room of Sylvia’s. — Inside Sylvia’s.

Pastrami Queen

This shoebox of a location opened in 1998, a destination for one of the city’s best pastrami sandwiches, piled high, glowing pink, tasting strongly of its rub, and fatty enough for flavor, despite the extreme size of the sandwich. Don’t miss the potato pancakes, either.

1269 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10028

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Pastrami Queen Times Square — A sandwich from Pastrami Queen.

Joe Allen

New York lost the restaurateur Joe Allen in 2021, yet after nearly 60 years, his namesake restaurant lives on; this Theater District staple remains a haunt for theatergoers and actors alike. Get the La Scala salad with iceberg, salami, and provolone; the Joe Allen burger or steak frites; and save room for the epic banana cream pie.

326 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036

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The dimly lit dining room at bar at Joe Allen. — The dining room at Joe Allen.

Also featured in:

The Definitive Guide to Theater District Dining

P.J. Clarke's

Though it’s now expanded into a chain of pubs, the original P.J. Clarke’s has stood on Third Avenue since 1884. This is the one with the ancient mahogany bar, the old jukebox, and the taxidermied dog at the bar. Over the years it has attracted regulars like Jackie Kennedy and Frank Sinatra, and the bacon cheeseburger is called the “Cadillac” because that’s how Nat King Cole once described it.

915 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10022

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A picture-perfect burger, topped with lettuce, tomato, and bacon on a bun, sits on a plate next to french fries. — A burger from P.J. Clarke’s.

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Grand Central Oyster Bar

Grand Central Oyster Bar has occupied the subterranean space in Grand Central Station since 1913. The award-winning room, with its vaulted, tiled ceilings is one of the main attractions here, and one of the best seats for slurping more than a dozen kinds of oysters is at the bar. The only update in its storied history is that the restaurant is now closed on Saturday and Sunday.

89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017

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Customers sit around a chef’s table below ornate, hanging lights and arched ceilings. — Grand Central Oyster Bar in Grand Central.

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Keens Steakhouse

Keens is packed with history, and not just because it opened in 1885. This Midtown steakhouse used to be home to a famous theatre and literary group, and after that, a pipe club. Dozens of pipes still line the restaurant, giving it a warm, unique vibe not like any other restaurant in the city. The signature order here is the mutton chop; there’s a smaller portion as a $29 as special.

72 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018

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A mutton chop on a white plate with salad, surrounded by a knife and fork on a white tableclothed table. — A mutton chop from Keens Steakhouse.

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Los Tacos No.1

Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea Market offers flour and corn tortillas for pork adobada tacos, similar to pineapple-tenderized al pastor tacos. Grilled steak (carne asada), pollo asado, and nopal fillings are also available, and any one can be ordered as a double-tortilla mula or a quesadilla. There are other locations in Times Square, Grand Central, Penn Station, Noho, and Tribeca.

75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

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Two al pastor tacos from Los Tacos No. 1 with pineapple and red salsa in an overhead shot — Two al pastor tacos from Los Tacos No. 1.

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The Donut Pub

Donut Pub is throwback to the 1960s, a maverick place that makes its own doughnuts, and provides a rudimentary lunch counter in back, with the plainest sandwiches imaginable. Some of the simplest doughnuts are the best, including a plain unfrosted bear claw fit to be dipped in your coffee — which used to be breakfast in the old days. Despite being closed for months, the place has returned triumphant, providing Chelsea’s most desirable sugar rush.

203 W 14th St (btwn 7th & 8th Ave), New York, NY 10011

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A photograph of the exterior of a Chelsea bakery, the Donut Pub. — Seating is available in the front or at the lunch counter inside.

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John's of Bleecker Street

John’s — a coal-oven pizzeria founded by a veteran of Lombardi’s — opened in 1929 and today serves a pie that Eater critic Robert Sietsema found to be more lush than its coal-oven peers. That means a little bit more cheese and a top-notch crust. Prepare to wait in line to enter.

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278 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

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People sit alone and in groups in a restaurant with tiled floors and wooden booths. — Inside John’s of Bleecker Street.

McSorley’s Old Ale House

Open since 1854, McSorley’s is one of the city’s oldest bars, and it’s still packed most nights of the week. The only choice here is between light or dark beer; it comes to mugs to an order for $8. A short food menu with burgers, hot dogs, and ham and cheese sandwiches is written on a chalkboard that hangs behind the bar.

15 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003

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The main entrance to McSorley’s is show with a worker leaving with multiple beer mugs — Outside McSorley’s.

Also featured in:

10 Irish Bars to Hoist a Pint in Manhattan on St. Paddy’s Day

Raoul's

Raoul’s, the decades-old Soho bistro regularly hosts high-rollers and famous folks alike (and is the subject of a soon-to-run documentary on what makes it so special). In addition to a great place to people watch, the restaurant has one-of-a-kind ambiance and is known for its legendary burgers as well as steak au poivre.

180 Prince St, New York, NY 10012

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A neon sign with the words “Ballantine Raoul’s” gleams on a glass window. — A neon sign from Raoul’s.

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Ear Inn

A venerated bar that used to mark the water’s edge before the landfill expansion, the Ear Inn is many things: a music venue, a haunted house, an Irish pub, and a piece of history. Go here for the better than it needs to be bar food, an eclectic collection of regulars, terrific people watching, and stuff on the walls chronicling the bar’s history since it opened in 1817.

326 Spring St, New York, NY 10013

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Inside the Ear Inn. — The interior of the Ear Inn.

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Balthazar

Yes, Keith McNally’s Instagram account has been provocative, but his flagship Balthazar, opened in 1997, is one of those classic restaurants that still feels of-of-the-moment: from its roster of high-profile regulars to its French brasserie menu or the dining room with attention to design detail like few others. Visit solo for a VIP glass of Champagne to kick off a meal or go with a crew and start the night with a seafood tower.

80 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

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A person walks in front of a bakery, whose front window advertises loaves of bread in various shapes and whose red awning reads “Balthazar” in yellow font — The exterior of Balthazar.

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Lombardi's Coal Oven Pizza

Lombardi’s is the first pizzeria in New York City and, supposedly, the country. It relocated a few decades ago — from the home it had occupied since 1905 to a storefront down the block — but it’s still one of the city’s few coal-oven pizzerias. Go early or late to avoid the onslaught of tourists, and get a basic red or white pie.

32 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

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Four employees in red shirts and white aprons work in a kitchen, behind them the words “1905 Lombardi” are etched into a tile wall — The interior of Lombardi’s.

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Russ & Daughters Cafe

This spinoff from Russ & Daughters offers deli classics like chopped liver, matzo ball soup, and potato knishes. The emphasis is on preserved fish, but the pastrami smoked salmon on a pretzel roll more than makes up for the the lack of actual pastrami. The serpentine space, cheerily decorated in white and powder blue, extends from Orchard to Allen streets, and seems as old as its original location.

127 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

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Russ & Daughters interior. — Russ & Daughters Cafe shows a vision of old-school NY.

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The Odeon

Opened in the ’80s, the comely neon-lit Odeon “is a movie set that doubles as a restaurant,” according to a decades-old piece in Vanity Fair. Opened by Lynn Wagenknecht, her then-husband restauranteur Keith McNally, and his brother Brian, it’s still run by Wagenknecht (while Keith has gone on to open a restaurant empire). In spite of the many lives New York has lived since it opened in what was then remote Tribeca, the Odeon feels both of the ’80s and of the moment. And your Odeon burger, three-egg omelet, or croque monsieur will be as satisfying as you would hope.

145 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013

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A bard with red stools, mirrors, and tables. — The bar at The Odeon

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Bamonte's

A red-sauce stalwart of Brooklyn, Bamonte's has been open since 1902 and hasn’t been renovated since the 1950s. It’s said to have been a mobster hangout and still attracts plenty of Williamsburg old-timers. Don’t miss the baked clams or the pork chop topped with peppers, which Eater critic Robert Sietsema deems “the city's most perfect evocation of that dish.”

32 Withers St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

A red frame house is the setting for Bamonte’s, and an old man sits on a bench in front. — Customers gathered outside of Bamonte’s in Williamsburg.

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Golden Unicorn

Once there were a half dozen of these giant banquet halls in Chinatown, with dim sum pushed around on carts in the morning and early afternoon hours, and a broad Cantonese menu favoring seafood in the afternoons and evenings. Now Golden Unicorn is one of the only ones left, a multi-floor extravaganza done up in celebratory red and gold. The dim sum is some of the best in the city, with delicate wrappers on the dumplings. Don’t miss the whole fish presentations at dinnertime.

18 E Broadway (at Catherine St), New York, NY 10002

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An ornate room with draperies and closely spaced tables. — A view of Golden Unicorn during dim sum service.

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Gottscheer Hall

Founded in 1924 when Ridgewood was a German immigrant enclave, Gottscheer represents a group of ethnic Germans who had previously lived under the Habsburg Monarchy in what is now Slovenia. This sturdy beer hall, which looks every year of its age, has a barroom open to the public where German and American beers are dispensed, and an agreeable but limited menu of sausages, goulash, pretzels, and cutlets is served. Don’t miss the potato pancakes.

657 Fairview Ave (Linden Street), Ridgewood, NY 11385

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Also featured in:

20 German Restaurants, Beer Halls, and Bakeries in NYC

Roll N Roaster

An icon for over 50 years, this destination for fast-food style roast beef sandwiches (as well as milk shakes, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and more) is a retro throwback that’s that’s the real deal, not simulacra. Ochre-colored Formica booths are big enough to spread out; just don’t hit your head on the elaborate chandeliers over each table. Sandwiches can be ordered from rare to well, with or without cheese. Skip the pizza, but don’t miss the shakes.

2901 Emmons Ave (at Nostrand Ave), Brooklyn, NY 11235

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A yellow building has white bubble letters that read Roll-N-Roaster. — Outside Roll N Roaster.

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Nathan's Famous

Even if it has since grown into a wide-reaching franchise, Nathan’s Famous remains a true New York institution. The Coney Island original opened in 1916, selling hot dogs for five cents. They cost more now, of course, and come in vegan varieties, but otherwise not much has changed about the experience of eating a cheap, greasy dog on the boardwalk.

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1310 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224

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A waiter holds a large quantity of beer to serve to his customers at McSorley’s Old Ale House on St. Patrick’s Day. — A common sight at McSorley’s.

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188 Bakery Cuchifritos

158 E 188th St, The Bronx, NY 10468

Open since 1982, 188 Bakery Cuchifritos is a Caribbean neighborhood staple for orders of chicharrones, pernil, cuajito (meaty pig stomach), as well as morcilla. Of the latter, critic Ryan Sutton says, “the sausage...serves as a reminder that if you’re not considering Puerto Rican pork within the scope of the city’s grand meat and charcuterie traditions, you’re not doing it right.”

158 E 188th St, The Bronx, NY 10468

Visit Website

Patrons gather behind a plexiglass guard at a counter for lunch; decorative handwritten menu signs hang in the background — The lunch counter at 188 Bakery Cuchifritos.

Mario’s Restaurant

8196, 2342 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458

Now over a century old, Mario’s on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx is as old school as it gets. The Migliucci family still owns this restaurant that started as a pizzeria, serving dishes like linguine with red clam sauce and veal Marsala. The interior looks untouched, full of oil paintings, Michelangelo statuettes, and white columns. Don’t miss the dessert trolley, and be sure to finish off with an espresso paired with a shot of complimentary anisette.

Open in Google Maps

8196, 2342 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458

Visit Website

A man in a yellow shirt walks under a red awning with the word Mario’s. — Mario’s in the Bronx.

Sylvia's Restaurant

328 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10027

Dubbed “the Queen of Soul Food,” Sylvia Woods opened the doors on Sylvia’s Restaurant in 1962, bringing generous servings of Southern comfort food to Harlem. The neighborhood restaurant is world-famous for its timeless cooking and Southern charm, which still endures decades after opening. While Woods died in 2012, her family continues to run the restaurant. The restaurant won an America’s Classics Award from James Beard for 2024.

Open in Google Maps

328 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10027

Visit Website

Inside the dining room of Sylvia’s. — Inside Sylvia’s.

Pastrami Queen

1269 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10028

This shoebox of a location opened in 1998, a destination for one of the city’s best pastrami sandwiches, piled high, glowing pink, tasting strongly of its rub, and fatty enough for flavor, despite the extreme size of the sandwich. Don’t miss the potato pancakes, either.

1269 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10028

Visit Website

Pastrami Queen Times Square — A sandwich from Pastrami Queen.

Joe Allen

326 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036

New York lost the restaurateur Joe Allen in 2021, yet after nearly 60 years, his namesake restaurant lives on; this Theater District staple remains a haunt for theatergoers and actors alike. Get the La Scala salad with iceberg, salami, and provolone; the Joe Allen burger or steak frites; and save room for the epic banana cream pie.

326 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036

Visit Website

The dimly lit dining room at bar at Joe Allen. — The dining room at Joe Allen.

P.J. Clarke's

915 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10022

Though it’s now expanded into a chain of pubs, the original P.J. Clarke’s has stood on Third Avenue since 1884. This is the one with the ancient mahogany bar, the old jukebox, and the taxidermied dog at the bar. Over the years it has attracted regulars like Jackie Kennedy and Frank Sinatra, and the bacon cheeseburger is called the “Cadillac” because that’s how Nat King Cole once described it.

915 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10022

Visit Website

A picture-perfect burger, topped with lettuce, tomato, and bacon on a bun, sits on a plate next to french fries. — A burger from P.J. Clarke’s.

Grand Central Oyster Bar

89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017

Grand Central Oyster Bar has occupied the subterranean space in Grand Central Station since 1913. The award-winning room, with its vaulted, tiled ceilings is one of the main attractions here, and one of the best seats for slurping more than a dozen kinds of oysters is at the bar. The only update in its storied history is that the restaurant is now closed on Saturday and Sunday.

89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017

Visit Website

Customers sit around a chef’s table below ornate, hanging lights and arched ceilings. — Grand Central Oyster Bar in Grand Central.

Keens Steakhouse

72 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018

Keens is packed with history, and not just because it opened in 1885. This Midtown steakhouse used to be home to a famous theatre and literary group, and after that, a pipe club. Dozens of pipes still line the restaurant, giving it a warm, unique vibe not like any other restaurant in the city. The signature order here is the mutton chop; there’s a smaller portion as a $29 as special.

72 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018

Visit Website

A mutton chop on a white plate with salad, surrounded by a knife and fork on a white tableclothed table. — A mutton chop from Keens Steakhouse.

Los Tacos No.1

75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea Market offers flour and corn tortillas for pork adobada tacos, similar to pineapple-tenderized al pastor tacos. Grilled steak (carne asada), pollo asado, and nopal fillings are also available, and any one can be ordered as a double-tortilla mula or a quesadilla. There are other locations in Times Square, Grand Central, Penn Station, Noho, and Tribeca.

75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Visit Website

Two al pastor tacos from Los Tacos No. 1 with pineapple and red salsa in an overhead shot — Two al pastor tacos from Los Tacos No. 1.

The Donut Pub

203 W 14th St (btwn 7th & 8th Ave), New York, NY 10011

Donut Pub is throwback to the 1960s, a maverick place that makes its own doughnuts, and provides a rudimentary lunch counter in back, with the plainest sandwiches imaginable. Some of the simplest doughnuts are the best, including a plain unfrosted bear claw fit to be dipped in your coffee — which used to be breakfast in the old days. Despite being closed for months, the place has returned triumphant, providing Chelsea’s most desirable sugar rush.

203 W 14th St (btwn 7th & 8th Ave), New York, NY 10011

Visit Website

A photograph of the exterior of a Chelsea bakery, the Donut Pub. — Seating is available in the front or at the lunch counter inside.

John's of Bleecker Street

278 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

John’s — a coal-oven pizzeria founded by a veteran of Lombardi’s — opened in 1929 and today serves a pie that Eater critic Robert Sietsema found to be more lush than its coal-oven peers. That means a little bit more cheese and a top-notch crust. Prepare to wait in line to enter.

Open in Google Maps

278 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

Visit Website

People sit alone and in groups in a restaurant with tiled floors and wooden booths. — Inside John’s of Bleecker Street.

McSorley’s Old Ale House

15 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003

Open since 1854, McSorley’s is one of the city’s oldest bars, and it’s still packed most nights of the week. The only choice here is between light or dark beer; it comes to mugs to an order for $8. A short food menu with burgers, hot dogs, and ham and cheese sandwiches is written on a chalkboard that hangs behind the bar.

15 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003

Visit Website

The main entrance to McSorley’s is show with a worker leaving with multiple beer mugs — Outside McSorley’s.

Raoul's

180 Prince St, New York, NY 10012

Raoul’s, the decades-old Soho bistro regularly hosts high-rollers and famous folks alike (and is the subject of a soon-to-run documentary on what makes it so special). In addition to a great place to people watch, the restaurant has one-of-a-kind ambiance and is known for its legendary burgers as well as steak au poivre.

180 Prince St, New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

A neon sign with the words “Ballantine Raoul’s” gleams on a glass window. — A neon sign from Raoul’s.

Ear Inn

326 Spring St, New York, NY 10013

A venerated bar that used to mark the water’s edge before the landfill expansion, the Ear Inn is many things: a music venue, a haunted house, an Irish pub, and a piece of history. Go here for the better than it needs to be bar food, an eclectic collection of regulars, terrific people watching, and stuff on the walls chronicling the bar’s history since it opened in 1817.

326 Spring St, New York, NY 10013

Visit Website

Inside the Ear Inn. — The interior of the Ear Inn.

Balthazar

80 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

Yes, Keith McNally’s Instagram account has been provocative, but his flagship Balthazar, opened in 1997, is one of those classic restaurants that still feels of-of-the-moment: from its roster of high-profile regulars to its French brasserie menu or the dining room with attention to design detail like few others. Visit solo for a VIP glass of Champagne to kick off a meal or go with a crew and start the night with a seafood tower.

80 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

A person walks in front of a bakery, whose front window advertises loaves of bread in various shapes and whose red awning reads “Balthazar” in yellow font — The exterior of Balthazar.

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Lombardi's Coal Oven Pizza

32 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

Lombardi’s is the first pizzeria in New York City and, supposedly, the country. It relocated a few decades ago — from the home it had occupied since 1905 to a storefront down the block — but it’s still one of the city’s few coal-oven pizzerias. Go early or late to avoid the onslaught of tourists, and get a basic red or white pie.

32 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

Four employees in red shirts and white aprons work in a kitchen, behind them the words “1905 Lombardi” are etched into a tile wall — The interior of Lombardi’s.

Russ & Daughters Cafe

127 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

This spinoff from Russ & Daughters offers deli classics like chopped liver, matzo ball soup, and potato knishes. The emphasis is on preserved fish, but the pastrami smoked salmon on a pretzel roll more than makes up for the the lack of actual pastrami. The serpentine space, cheerily decorated in white and powder blue, extends from Orchard to Allen streets, and seems as old as its original location.

127 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

Visit Website

Russ & Daughters interior. — Russ & Daughters Cafe shows a vision of old-school NY.

The Odeon

145 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013

Opened in the ’80s, the comely neon-lit Odeon “is a movie set that doubles as a restaurant,” according to a decades-old piece in Vanity Fair. Opened by Lynn Wagenknecht, her then-husband restauranteur Keith McNally, and his brother Brian, it’s still run by Wagenknecht (while Keith has gone on to open a restaurant empire). In spite of the many lives New York has lived since it opened in what was then remote Tribeca, the Odeon feels both of the ’80s and of the moment. And your Odeon burger, three-egg omelet, or croque monsieur will be as satisfying as you would hope.

145 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013

Visit Website

A bard with red stools, mirrors, and tables. — The bar at The Odeon

Bamonte's

32 Withers St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

A red-sauce stalwart of Brooklyn, Bamonte's has been open since 1902 and hasn’t been renovated since the 1950s. It’s said to have been a mobster hangout and still attracts plenty of Williamsburg old-timers. Don’t miss the baked clams or the pork chop topped with peppers, which Eater critic Robert Sietsema deems “the city's most perfect evocation of that dish.”

32 Withers St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

A red frame house is the setting for Bamonte’s, and an old man sits on a bench in front. — Customers gathered outside of Bamonte’s in Williamsburg.

Golden Unicorn

18 E Broadway (at Catherine St), New York, NY 10002

Once there were a half dozen of these giant banquet halls in Chinatown, with dim sum pushed around on carts in the morning and early afternoon hours, and a broad Cantonese menu favoring seafood in the afternoons and evenings. Now Golden Unicorn is one of the only ones left, a multi-floor extravaganza done up in celebratory red and gold. The dim sum is some of the best in the city, with delicate wrappers on the dumplings. Don’t miss the whole fish presentations at dinnertime.

18 E Broadway (at Catherine St), New York, NY 10002

Visit Website

An ornate room with draperies and closely spaced tables. — A view of Golden Unicorn during dim sum service.

Gottscheer Hall

657 Fairview Ave (Linden Street), Ridgewood, NY 11385

Founded in 1924 when Ridgewood was a German immigrant enclave, Gottscheer represents a group of ethnic Germans who had previously lived under the Habsburg Monarchy in what is now Slovenia. This sturdy beer hall, which looks every year of its age, has a barroom open to the public where German and American beers are dispensed, and an agreeable but limited menu of sausages, goulash, pretzels, and cutlets is served. Don’t miss the potato pancakes.

657 Fairview Ave (Linden Street), Ridgewood, NY 11385

Visit Website

Roll N Roaster

2901 Emmons Ave (at Nostrand Ave), Brooklyn, NY 11235

An icon for over 50 years, this destination for fast-food style roast beef sandwiches (as well as milk shakes, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and more) is a retro throwback that’s that’s the real deal, not simulacra. Ochre-colored Formica booths are big enough to spread out; just don’t hit your head on the elaborate chandeliers over each table. Sandwiches can be ordered from rare to well, with or without cheese. Skip the pizza, but don’t miss the shakes.

2901 Emmons Ave (at Nostrand Ave), Brooklyn, NY 11235

Visit Website

A yellow building has white bubble letters that read Roll-N-Roaster. — Outside Roll N Roaster.

Nathan's Famous

1310 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224

Even if it has since grown into a wide-reaching franchise, Nathan’s Famous remains a true New York institution. The Coney Island original opened in 1916, selling hot dogs for five cents. They cost more now, of course, and come in vegan varieties, but otherwise not much has changed about the experience of eating a cheap, greasy dog on the boardwalk.

Open in Google Maps

1310 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224

Visit Website

A waiter holds a large quantity of beer to serve to his customers at McSorley’s Old Ale House on St. Patrick’s Day. — A common sight at McSorley’s.

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