NYC’s most iconic restaurants worth visiting at least once

This cavernous cafeteria is a repository of New York history, and its classic Jewish deli offerings are nonpareil. Start with a snappy, all-beef hot dog, then flag down a meat cutter and order a legendary sandwich. The brisket sings with horseradish, and the thick-cut pastrami stacked high between slices of rye is the stuff of dreams.

Although a slew of Luger copycats have prospered in the last several years, none have captured the elusive charm of this beer-hall style eatery, with well-worn wooden floors and tables, and waiters in waistcoats and bow ties. Excess is the thing, like the huge porterhouse for two. Go for it all—it’s a singular New York experience that’s worth having. 

This cherished Harlem mainstay has been serving some of the city’s best soul food for more than 60 years. Dishes like the chitterlings and smothered chicken and waffles are truly memorable. Each side dish (there are nearly a dozen options) is worth trying, but the candied yams and collards are especially divine.

When the OG location of the famous frank joint reopened in the spring of 2013, it wasn’t just the unofficial start to summer—it was the comeback of the year. The original subway tiles and iconic signage still shine, as do menu staples like crinkle-cut fries and thick-battered corn dogs.

The 103-year-old Grand Central legend has been located inside the epic and gorgeous hub that shares its name since the terminal itself opened. Pan roasts and chowders still top tables beneath that iconic vaulted ceiling today. Reliably awe-inspiring platters of just-shucked oysters are available in up to a whopping three-dozen varieties to choose from at any given time. Grand Central Ouster bar is presently only open on weekdays.

First opened at another location nearby in 1920, Nom Wah Tea Parlor is still a New York City dim sum favorite today. Choose from oodles of options like roast pork buns, rice rolls and tons of dumplings, and plan your next visit for more before you walk out the door. 

Dating back to 1885, Keens' interior is adorned with the smoking pipes of long-ago guests like Babe Ruth, J.P. Morgan and Teddy Roosevelt. Beveled-glass doors, two working fireplaces and dark wood recall a time when “Diamond Jim” Brady piled his table with bushels of oysters, slabs of seared beef and troughs of ale. The present menu includes a thick mutton chop and steaks that hold their own against any in town.

For 75 years, the gilded dining room nestled inside Central Park was a New York hallmark, a scenic magnet for tourists, brides and megawatt diners (Grace Kelly, John Lennon) alike. When the razzle-dazzle cash cow went bankrupt and shuttered in 2010, big-name backers expressed interest in reviving the historic space. Instead, a pair of Philadelphia crêpe-makers won the bid. The pair revamped the landmark as an urban farmhouse decorated with wood-beam ceilings, leather-covered tables and multiple hearths. 

You go to a fancy red-sauce purlieu like Bamonte’s for old-school strengths, not creativity. Start with superb clams casino, and move into entrées that include seafood fra diavolo, lamb and veal chops and shell steak from the grill.

The storied slice at Harry Rosen's 73-year-old Downtown Brooklyn mainstay has become synonymous with New York–style cheesecake itself. Made with humble Philadelphia cream cheese and a sponge cake base, round is lovingly mixed and baked by hand to this day.

This celebrated saloon is long in the tooth (139 years old), but occasional updates revitalize the old boy. The hamburger is still juicy customizable, with cheese, bacon, chili or béarnaise sauce. The Maine Lobster cobb salad, with its succulent lobster meat over bright greens and lots of blue cheese, is a great steak alternative. 

In Keith McNally’s Minetta Tavern, a 1930s West Village relic is reborn. Its lovingly restored dining room is as nostalgic as can be, and the food is as much of a draw as the scene.

To eat at Rao’s, a Southern Italian dining room that's operated in East Harlem since 1896, you’ll need a personal invite from one of the heavy hitters who “owns” a table. CEOs, actors, politicians, news personalities and neighborhood old-timers have a long-standing arrangement with legendary owner Frankie “No” Pellegrino, and that's what ensures a seat at one of the ten tables. 

Gennario Lombardi opened his shop in Soho in 1905—the first pizzeria in the U.S. It’s hard to vouch for how the pizzas tasted a century ago, but there’s more elbow room now after a renovation, if not the charm of the old joint. Still, Lombardi’s continues to bake a hot contender for best pie.

The coal-fired brick oven at this reliable old-timer—a West Village staple since 1929—turns out a standard-bearing Margherita pie, thin of crust and light of sauce, with gooey grated mozzarella covering the surface. Only pies are available, no slices—a great opportunity for a feast.

The Odeon has been part of the downtown scene for so long that it’s hard to remember Tribeca without it. Diners can’t go wrong with its tried-and-true standards: French onion soup blanketed with bubbling Gruyère, crunchy fried calamari and steak au poivre with fries.