The Best Places to Eat in Manhattan, New York City

I think one of the most important parts to any trip is the food! I spend as much time figuring out where we should eat as I do planning what we are going to do. From breakfast to dessert and sit-down to casual, here is my list of the best places to eat in Manhattan, New York!

Artichoke Basille’s

When you visit Manhattan, you have to try some famous New York pizza! One of the most popular pizza places in New York is Artichoke Basille’s. Artichoke Basille’s has several locations in Manhattan; we visited the one near High Line Park and Chelsea Market!

We ordered the “17th St Sampler” which is any 3 slices of your choice! We chose the Staten Island, Pepperoni, and of course their famous Artichoke pizza! The slices are large so my husband and I shared this one order. The 3 slices are so large they cut the slices for us and it made 6 normal-sized pizza slices. They were all delicious!

We loved this quaint little pizza parlor on 10th Avenue.  We had just left Chelsea Market, which has a lot of eatery options, but it was just too crowded for us. We walked down the street to Artichoke Basille’s and sat ourselves at the bar. They also have some seating but the place is small. We had great service from the bartender and would totally come back again! If you’re looking to order a quick slice, they have a separate area in this same location to order individual slices to-go. They also have some seating for people that order singe slices. Whichever you decide, you can’t go wrong! Their pizza is delicious!

Los Tacos No.1

Los Tacos No.1 is one of Manhattan’s most popular Mexican eateries! There is one located inside Chelsea Market and another in Times Square. Los Tacos No.1 is quick and casual; at the Times Square location there is no seating, but there are counters where you can stand and eat your food.

They have a small menu mainly comprising of tacos, quesadillas, chips and guacamole. There is also a salsa bar! For your tacos you can choose pork, steak, chicken and grilled cactus. The tacos come with onions, cilantro and a green sauce that is spicy! You can also choose between corn or four tortillas, both of which are hand-made.

Max Brenner

I had never heard of Max Brenner until I was searching for places to eat in New York, and I’m so happy I came across it! Max Brenner is a chocolate restaurant (yeah, I didn’t know that was a thing either!) that is based in New York City. It has several other locations on the east coast as well as abroad in other countries. Upon opening their menu, you can immediately see why Max Brenner specializes in decadent desserts; the options are endless! For example, with their hot chocolate, you can choose between white, milk or dark chocolate.

I hear the food is also great but we didn’t have a chance to try it. We stopped at Max Brenner on our first day in the city for some of their popular hot chocolate and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the trip.  It was amazing! My husband got the salted caramel hot chocolate and I got Oreo. You have to try the Oreo! If you love chocolate like me, you’re going to absolutely love it. If you’re at or near Union Square, you need to make a stop here!

Carve

I kept seeing this cafe-type place named Carve a handful of times as we walked around Manhattan. There was one location right next door to our Airbnb so I figured we could get our coffee there one morning!  Carve has a variety of options for breakfast and lunch, including breakfast sandwiches, cookies and pastries, salads and more! 

I got a bagel and cream cheese and a coffee; quick, cheap and delicious!  If you’re looking for something quick, casual and possibly a place to sit to take a break from all of your sight seeing, check out Carve!

Times Square Diner

Brian and I took a red eye from California to New York and arrived at JFK AT 6:30am. We couldn’t check into our Airbnb until after 3pm and the place we planned to store our luggage didn’t open until 9am! When we arrived Manhattan at around 8am we needed to find a place to eat and sit until the luggage storage company opened. We were looking on Yelp and came across Times Square Diner. 

Times Square is a sit-down restaurant with great breakfast options. They are very quick as they want to get people in an out (I think it’s a New York thing? Lol). But we really enjoyed ourselves. The service was great and they always top your coffee off. They even ask if you want a to-go cup once you’re done eating!  

Shake Shack

Some of you may be laughing at this one, but as a Californian, I had never tried Shake Shack!   On our short trip I saw two Shake Shacks; one near Times Square and one near Central Park (close to the American Museum of Natural History).  Thought it was similar to In-N-Out, but with better fries! 

John’s Pizza

Johns Pizza is a very popular pizza place near Times Square!  It is close to a lot of broadway shows so you may want to stop here before seeing a show.  If you see a long line outside, that isn’t the line to be seated…that’s the line to put your name in for a reservation!  Once you put your name in you can grab a drink at the bar and wait for your table to be ready.  Although many popular New York pizza joints are quick and sell pizza by the slice, John’s Pizza is quite the opposite!  They only sell whole pizzas here.  Some of the wait staff has “No Slices” written on the back of their shirts…they must get asked often!

When we got to the front of the line to put our name in, they said it would be about a 50-minute wait.  We decided to order our pizza to-go, which took less time.  Our Airbnb was close by so we just took our pizza to our room!  The garlic rolls were a little too much; the chunks of raw garlic inside of them was very strong!  But, the pizza was great and we would definitely go again!

Junior’s

HOLY MOLY.  Ok, before I get ahead of myself, let me just say that I didn’t have a chance to eat a meal at Junior’s.  I have heard the food is great so I plan to try it out the next time I visit, but the only thing I did try was their cheesecake.  This was the best cheesecake I have ever eaten!  My standards were raised to high after eating Junior’s Bakery’s cheesecake that I tried a slice at another bakery and threw the rest of it away because it wasn’t as good!

The thing I like about Junior’s is that they have a to-go area where you can order a slice of their cheesecake without having to wait in line for a table.  They have a wide variety of cheesecakes (both whole and by the slice) to choose from.  I got the plain cheesecake and a chocolate fudge cheesecake, which were both amazing.  You have to try it!

Nathan’s Hotdogs

You can’t come to New York without getting a Nathan’s hotdog at one of their hotdog carts!  Nathan’s Famous Hotdogs was created over 100 years ago in New York and is one of the most popular brands of hotdogs.  Yum!

Carmine’s

Carmine’s Italian Restaurant, located near Times Square, is a must-visit!  Carmine’s is known for its large portions so it is best to come with a large group.  There were only two of us so we had a lot of leftovers, but that isn’t necessarily bad! We ordered spaghetti with marinara, chicken parmesan and broccoli. It was all so delicious!

Make a reservation for Carmine’s at OpenTable.com or on the Open Table phone app.  We didn’t know how popular this restaurant would be until we tried walking in the first day of our trip and they advised they were only seating people with reservations.  I watched out Open Table app our entire trip waiting for someone to cancel, and we got a reservation the last night of our trip!  

If you can’t get a reservation or forgot to make one, consider eating at the bar.  The bar on the first floor near the entrance is packed, but if you got to the second floor, there is often available seating at the bar!  Not many people know about it!

Doughnuttery

Donuts…what more could you ask for?!  Doughnuttery is a New York-based eatery saving hot and fresh mini donuts.  They have a variety of sugar/topping options for your mini donuts, which make them very tasty and unique!  There are three permanent locations (the most notable one inside Chelsea Market) and there are often pop-up shops, especially during the holidays.

We were in New York for less than 4 days and we had the opportunity to try all of these delicious places!  With the exception of a few restaurants, most of the places we ate at were quick and casual.  There is so much to see in New York, we didn’t want to waste time waiting in lines and sitting around longer than we had to!

Have you been to Manhattan, New York and have a favorite place to eat?  Please add it in the comments below!  I’d love to explore more places on my next trip to NYC!