clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile
An open-faced cheeseburger with pickle slices and red onion
The cheeseburger at JG Melon.
Eater NY

The Best Late-Night Food in New York City

Where to find al pastor tacos, dim sum, and Korean barbecue at all hours

View as Map
The cheeseburger at JG Melon.
| Eater NY

New York is, in theory, the city that never sleeps. Has the pandemic changed that? Chinatown restaurants that used to cater to late-night crowds now close by 10 p.m., and many 24-hour diners can’t find the staff to stay open around the clock. In general, restaurants in New York City close earlier than they once did, but the city’s late-night dining scene is still full of gems if you know where to look. This guide of mostly 24-hour restaurants includes Upper East Side institutions, after-hours taco shops, and all-night Korean barbecue restaurants.

Read More
Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Floridita

Copy Link

Hours: 24/7

Open since 1995, this Cuban Dominican restaurant in Washington Heights continues to draw a crowd with its bistec, rotisserie chicken, and many mofongos. Floridita is best known for its Cuban sandwich consisting of a fat stack of ham, pork roast, pickles, and Swiss cheese on crispy bread. There’s a second location in Inwood with the same hours.

A row of stools on the left, tables on the right.
Floridita’s interior combines a lunch counter and nightclub.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Roti Roll (Bombay Frankie)

Copy Link

Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 a.m., Thursday to Saturday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Sunday to Monday; 11 a.m. to 3 a.m., Tuesday to Wednesday

The kathi roll — a vegetable or meat filling, sometimes with an egg, with a roti wrapped around it for easy eating on the run — is often attributed to Kolkata, but at this Upper West Side stalwart, Mumbai grabs the spotlight. Have it stuffed with spiced chickpeas or potatoes, creamy chicken malai, or a lamb boti kebab, the roti roll makes a very filling late-night snack.

A pair or flatbread rolls, each cut in two and propped up, filled with green vegetables.
A roti roll is a classic northern Indian street snack.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

JG Melon

Copy Link

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 3 a.m., Monday to Saturday; 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., Sunday

JG Melon is an Upper East Side institution, having opened in 1972. The restaurant, bedecked in watermelon paintings, is known for its burger — a thick patty with pickles and red onion on the side. From Monday to Saturday each week, the bar stays open until 3 a.m. Cash only.

A burger and a cheeseburger at J.G. Melon sit on a green checkered tablecloth, while a plate of fries sits nearby.
JG Melon stays open until 3 a.m. most nights.
Eater NY

Empanada Mama

Copy Link

Hours: 24/7

If New York City has one restaurant that never sleeps, it’s Empanada Mama. After scaling back its hours during the pandemic, the Hell’s Kitchen favorite is once again serving its nourishing Colombian fare 24 hours a day. Highlights include a classic South American breakfast of beans and rice with eggs, actually spicy arepas, chicken soup studded with cilantro and rice, frozen margaritas, and stellar corn empanadas (try the ones filled with shellfish or beef).

The bandeja paisa meat platter sits in the middle of the overhead photo; to the top left lies a corn and beef empanada; a spicy chicken arepa sits at the lower left-hand side of the photo
A platter of meats at Empanada Mama.
Gary He/Eater NY

Tacos El Borrego

Copy Link

Hours: 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily

Like one of Mexico City’s best taquerias, Tacos El Borrego doesn’t open until 9 p.m. each night. The sidewalk taqueria on Roosevelt Avenue sells tacos for around $3 each with an array of meats to choose from: al pastor, carnitas, suadero, and tripe. In 2023, the late-night taco cart landed a spot on the New York Times list of the best 100 restaurants in the city.

Miss Korea BBQ

Copy Link

Hours: 24/7

Miss Korea is the best option for Korean barbecue after bars close at 4 a.m. The restaurant sells a range of meats for tabletop grilling, plus dumplings, ramen, kimchi pancakes, and other snacks. To drink: beer, sake, Korean rice wine, and soju flights.

Court Square Diner

Copy Link

Hours: 24/7

Not much has changed at Court Square Diner since brothers Steve and Nick Kanellos started running the joint in 1991, even as Long Island City has welcomed glitzy food halls and developments to the neighborhood. The 24-hour diner serves a standard, multi-page diner menu with Jell-O, over a dozen 15 omelets, and hulking hero sandwiches.

A stack of three blueberry pancakes besides a pile of turkey sausage.
Breakfast is a 24-hour affair at Court Square.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Malibu Diner

Copy Link

Hours: 24/7

What is it about diner fare that makes it so easy to digest late in the evening? You have your burger and fries, your meatloaf with mashed potatoes, Greek spinach pie — and nowadays all sorts of Italian and Latin dishes to choose from. And then there’s that rotating case of lemon meringue pie, Boston creme pie, and plain old apple pie — it’s a virtual pietopia!

A messy looking cheeseburger with french fries behind it.
The burger and fries is a classic at Malibu Diner.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Coppelia

Copy Link

Hours: 24/7

Coppelia, a lunch counter that serves breakfast around the clock, has been holding down Chelsea’s late-night food scene for over a decade. The menu leans Mexican and Cuban, but also look out for oxtail empanadas, lomo saltado, and other dishes that draw from the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Runny eggs exceedingly yellow and bright white broken up on tortillas.
Huevos rancheros from Coppelia.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Papaya Dog

Copy Link

Hours: 24/7

Papaya Dog is one of those brightly lit corner tube steak places with variable names that used to be much more common. The fare is comically limited to hot dogs, hamburgers, and the stray fish sandwich — no vegetable has ever been known to cross the threshold. And the cheese flows like a molten river of lava 24 hours a day.

A hand hold a corn dog with a dab of mustard.
Papaya Dog also sells corn dogs.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Mamoun's Falafel

Copy Link

Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 a.m., Friday to Saturday; 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Thursday and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Monday to Wednesday

Some five decades after opening in Greenwich Village, Mamoun’s Falafel continues to serve one of the city’s most iconic late-night meals: an affordable falafel sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and tahini. Lamb shawarma and chicken kebab are also available in sandwiches and platters.

The exterior of Mamoun’s Macdougal Street shop, with a brown-and-white striped awning.
NYU students hang around the original Mamoun’s on MacDougal.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

The Donut Pub

Copy Link

Hours: 24-7

The original Donut Pub closed due to a structural mishap, but its newer location on Astor Place is open 24 hours. Ignore all the newfangled doughnuts with their Day-Glo colors and head for the good old jelly doughnut, which will leave you covered in powdered sugar.

A donut cut in half with oozing red jelly.
Go for the jelly doughnut at the Donut Pub.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Dim Sum Palace

Copy Link

Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily

There are more than 50 types of dim sum on the menu at Dim Sum Palace, a small chain whose location in Manhattan Chinatown stays open until 3 a.m. Before the pandemic, the neighborhood was packed with late-night restaurants: Now, it’s one of the few places to serve food past midnight. Pick among barbecue pork buns and roast duck spring rolls, or order larger plates to share, like whole lobster with ginger and scallion or snails with celery and hot peppers.

A table is crowded with various dim sum, including chicken feet, stuffed eggplant, and spring rolls.
Dim Sum Palace stays open until 4 a.m. every day.
Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

Hadramout Restaurant

Copy Link

Hours: 24/7

Big portions of Yemeni cuisine are the calling card at this 24-hour restaurant, sandwiched between Clinton and Court streets on Atlantic Avenue’s heavily Middle Eastern corridor. Open since 1996, the sparse subterranean space with a few tables turns out solid lamb dishes (in stews, sandwiches, and more), with huge rounds of bread to scoop and dip in everything.

Lahori Chilli

Copy Link

Hours: 24/7

Lahori Chilli, named after Pakistan’s second-largest city, is popular among cab drivers, among others in the city: They dash in at all hours for samosas, plates of haleem, and salads dotted with chickpeas. Past a display case with pastries and steam-table foods, there is a small dining room with a handful of red booths.

A zingy orange storefront with a lady in a sari walking in front.
Lahori Chilli is open 24 hours.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Floridita

Hours: 24/7

Open since 1995, this Cuban Dominican restaurant in Washington Heights continues to draw a crowd with its bistec, rotisserie chicken, and many mofongos. Floridita is best known for its Cuban sandwich consisting of a fat stack of ham, pork roast, pickles, and Swiss cheese on crispy bread. There’s a second location in Inwood with the same hours.

A row of stools on the left, tables on the right.
Floridita’s interior combines a lunch counter and nightclub.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Roti Roll (Bombay Frankie)

Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 a.m., Thursday to Saturday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Sunday to Monday; 11 a.m. to 3 a.m., Tuesday to Wednesday

The kathi roll — a vegetable or meat filling, sometimes with an egg, with a roti wrapped around it for easy eating on the run — is often attributed to Kolkata, but at this Upper West Side stalwart, Mumbai grabs the spotlight. Have it stuffed with spiced chickpeas or potatoes, creamy chicken malai, or a lamb boti kebab, the roti roll makes a very filling late-night snack.

A pair or flatbread rolls, each cut in two and propped up, filled with green vegetables.
A roti roll is a classic northern Indian street snack.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

JG Melon

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 3 a.m., Monday to Saturday; 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., Sunday

JG Melon is an Upper East Side institution, having opened in 1972. The restaurant, bedecked in watermelon paintings, is known for its burger — a thick patty with pickles and red onion on the side. From Monday to Saturday each week, the bar stays open until 3 a.m. Cash only.

A burger and a cheeseburger at J.G. Melon sit on a green checkered tablecloth, while a plate of fries sits nearby.
JG Melon stays open until 3 a.m. most nights.
Eater NY

Empanada Mama

Hours: 24/7

If New York City has one restaurant that never sleeps, it’s Empanada Mama. After scaling back its hours during the pandemic, the Hell’s Kitchen favorite is once again serving its nourishing Colombian fare 24 hours a day. Highlights include a classic South American breakfast of beans and rice with eggs, actually spicy arepas, chicken soup studded with cilantro and rice, frozen margaritas, and stellar corn empanadas (try the ones filled with shellfish or beef).

The bandeja paisa meat platter sits in the middle of the overhead photo; to the top left lies a corn and beef empanada; a spicy chicken arepa sits at the lower left-hand side of the photo
A platter of meats at Empanada Mama.
Gary He/Eater NY

Tacos El Borrego

Hours: 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily

Like one of Mexico City’s best taquerias, Tacos El Borrego doesn’t open until 9 p.m. each night. The sidewalk taqueria on Roosevelt Avenue sells tacos for around $3 each with an array of meats to choose from: al pastor, carnitas, suadero, and tripe. In 2023, the late-night taco cart landed a spot on the New York Times list of the best 100 restaurants in the city.

Miss Korea BBQ

Hours: 24/7

Miss Korea is the best option for Korean barbecue after bars close at 4 a.m. The restaurant sells a range of meats for tabletop grilling, plus dumplings, ramen, kimchi pancakes, and other snacks. To drink: beer, sake, Korean rice wine, and soju flights.

Court Square Diner

Hours: 24/7

Not much has changed at Court Square Diner since brothers Steve and Nick Kanellos started running the joint in 1991, even as Long Island City has welcomed glitzy food halls and developments to the neighborhood. The 24-hour diner serves a standard, multi-page diner menu with Jell-O, over a dozen 15 omelets, and hulking hero sandwiches.

A stack of three blueberry pancakes besides a pile of turkey sausage.
Breakfast is a 24-hour affair at Court Square.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Malibu Diner

Hours: 24/7

What is it about diner fare that makes it so easy to digest late in the evening? You have your burger and fries, your meatloaf with mashed potatoes, Greek spinach pie — and nowadays all sorts of Italian and Latin dishes to choose from. And then there’s that rotating case of lemon meringue pie, Boston creme pie, and plain old apple pie — it’s a virtual pietopia!

A messy looking cheeseburger with french fries behind it.
The burger and fries is a classic at Malibu Diner.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Coppelia

Hours: 24/7

Coppelia, a lunch counter that serves breakfast around the clock, has been holding down Chelsea’s late-night food scene for over a decade. The menu leans Mexican and Cuban, but also look out for oxtail empanadas, lomo saltado, and other dishes that draw from the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Runny eggs exceedingly yellow and bright white broken up on tortillas.
Huevos rancheros from Coppelia.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Papaya Dog

Hours: 24/7

Papaya Dog is one of those brightly lit corner tube steak places with variable names that used to be much more common. The fare is comically limited to hot dogs, hamburgers, and the stray fish sandwich — no vegetable has ever been known to cross the threshold. And the cheese flows like a molten river of lava 24 hours a day.

A hand hold a corn dog with a dab of mustard.
Papaya Dog also sells corn dogs.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Mamoun's Falafel

Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 a.m., Friday to Saturday; 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Thursday and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Monday to Wednesday

Some five decades after opening in Greenwich Village, Mamoun’s Falafel continues to serve one of the city’s most iconic late-night meals: an affordable falafel sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and tahini. Lamb shawarma and chicken kebab are also available in sandwiches and platters.

The exterior of Mamoun’s Macdougal Street shop, with a brown-and-white striped awning.
NYU students hang around the original Mamoun’s on MacDougal.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

The Donut Pub

Hours: 24-7

The original Donut Pub closed due to a structural mishap, but its newer location on Astor Place is open 24 hours. Ignore all the newfangled doughnuts with their Day-Glo colors and head for the good old jelly doughnut, which will leave you covered in powdered sugar.

A donut cut in half with oozing red jelly.
Go for the jelly doughnut at the Donut Pub.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Dim Sum Palace

Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily

There are more than 50 types of dim sum on the menu at Dim Sum Palace, a small chain whose location in Manhattan Chinatown stays open until 3 a.m. Before the pandemic, the neighborhood was packed with late-night restaurants: Now, it’s one of the few places to serve food past midnight. Pick among barbecue pork buns and roast duck spring rolls, or order larger plates to share, like whole lobster with ginger and scallion or snails with celery and hot peppers.

A table is crowded with various dim sum, including chicken feet, stuffed eggplant, and spring rolls.
Dim Sum Palace stays open until 4 a.m. every day.
Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

Hadramout Restaurant

Hours: 24/7

Big portions of Yemeni cuisine are the calling card at this 24-hour restaurant, sandwiched between Clinton and Court streets on Atlantic Avenue’s heavily Middle Eastern corridor. Open since 1996, the sparse subterranean space with a few tables turns out solid lamb dishes (in stews, sandwiches, and more), with huge rounds of bread to scoop and dip in everything.

Lahori Chilli

Hours: 24/7

Lahori Chilli, named after Pakistan’s second-largest city, is popular among cab drivers, among others in the city: They dash in at all hours for samosas, plates of haleem, and salads dotted with chickpeas. Past a display case with pastries and steam-table foods, there is a small dining room with a handful of red booths.

A zingy orange storefront with a lady in a sari walking in front.
Lahori Chilli is open 24 hours.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Related Maps