The Honey Well has established itself as one of the premiere date spots in West Harlem with its craft cocktails and kitschy, neon-lit, ’70s-inspired decor. The bar’s backyard garden is currently open daily and is accepting reservations via its website. Along with its cocktails, expect items like Beyond Meat tacos, mini shrimp rolls, and Maryland crabcakes.

Each quadrant of the ROKC name — ramen, oysters, kitchen, and cocktails — is worth exploring. The West Harlem restaurant carries an extensive cocktail menu of over 40 drinks, many of which come in novel containers like tea saucers, light bulbs, and Día de los Muertos skulls. ROKC is open 5 to 10 p.m. daily, and for 30 additional minutes on Fridays and Saturdays.

Charles Gabriel first started selling his crispy, golden fried chicken on the sidewalks of Amsterdam Avenue before running a food truck and then a small storefront. The 74-year-old chef temporarily closed the original Harlem location in the middle of the pandemic, but he is now back with new business partners. An Upper West Side location debuted earlier this year, but Gabriel returned to his neighborhood, where he’s still firing up cast-iron skillets for his popular poultry and an expanded menu that includes pulled pork and more sides.

This Harlem staple from chef Frehiwot Reta opened in 2011 with big portions and spicy Ethiopian fare. The sambusas (pastries filled with beef or lentils and jalapeño) and honey wine are particular standouts. Try one of the platters of meats and vegetables served over spongey injera bread to get a varied taste. The restaurant is open daily from noon to 10 p.m. except on Tuesdays, when it’s closed.

Harlem Hops made an instant name in the neighborhood for its large selection of craft beer accompanied by spicy meat pies in an industrial space. Th business is deeply rooted in the neighborhood as it also runs a non-profit called Harlem Hopes, which raises money to give college scholarships to Harlem natives.

What was once a jazz club is now a small, stylish bistro with dishes such as grass-fed steak tartare and short rib ragu. It’s an ambitious neighborhood restaurant, one that takes extra care in sourcing, from its meats to its mainly natural wines.

A wood-burning brick oven is the calling card at this Italian restaurant with Neapolitan-style pizza, whole roasted fish, and pasta. Brick walls, dark wood furniture, warm service, and a full bar make it an ideal date spot in the neighborhood.

Sylvia’s, open since 1962, is a Harlem tradition. Celebrities, politicians, and even monarchs have visited the establishment to sample the iconic Southern soul food. Fried catfish, barbecue baby back ribs, and corn bread are standouts. The 60-year-old restaurant recently announced it’s now open seven days a week, including a Sunday gospel brunch.

This uptown burger spot has been smashing its patties since 2013, years before the city’s latest burger craze took off. The meat here is “notably good,” writes Eater critic Robert Sietsema, with help from one or more thin, charred patties and melty slices of American cheese. That old-school charm extends to the dining room, lined with nostalgic decorations. A second location opened in Park Slope last year.

With over 1,000 pieces of rugelach sold per weekend, Lee Lee’s has been lauded as making the city’s best of the form. The Jewish baked good — buttery, flaky pastry filled with ingredients like chocolate or apricot jam and walnuts — is not a part of owner Alvin “Lee Lee” Smalls’ heritage, but after falling in love with the baked good, he settled on his own recipe that uses sour cream in place of the traditional cream cheese and has people flocking.

Lolo’s brings the full experience of Caribbean seasonings: Plenty of protein options (including snow crab, shrimp, crawfish) with flavorful sauces (garlic butter, Old Bay, coconut curry, etc.) to go on seafood boils and in steam pots. Eater critic Ryan Sutton especially recommends the snow crab legs in spicy sauce, best eaten in the backyard. Don’t miss the jerk chicken, either.

This East African restaurant is one-of-a-kind in NYC, offering rare insight into Somali culture and food. Dishes include hilib ari, or with roasted goat meat and basmati rice, sambuza, or pastries filled with ground beef or chicken, and mango curry chicken. Former Times critic Ligaya Mishan calls that last one “heady.”

Chef Melba Wilson practically comes from Harlem royalty; her aunt, Sylvia Woods, is the namesake of the neighborhood’s most iconic soul food restaurant. Melba’s serves American comfort food, and no trip is complete with an order of the chicken and eggnog waffles served with strawberry butter and maple syrup, which Wilson used to defeat Bobby Flay on his TV show Throwdown! in 2008.

Just a short walk along Saint Nicholas Avenue by Central Park is the small restaurant that offers some soul food staples — sans meat. Chef Brenda Beener started the restaurant with her son to create vegan alternatives to the foods she grew up on, like a soy “chicken” parmesan sandwich topped with dairy-free mozzarella and marina sauce, barbecue “riblets” made of lotus root and soy, and even a meatless version of a Harlem chopped cheese burger.

The coffee here is stellar, particularly drinks specials like the caramelized brown sugar and dulce de leche lattes, but don’t forget one of many baked goods and desserts here. Menu items are constantly changing, but regular top-notch options include the cinnamon rolls, almond croissant, guava-cheese danish, and sandwiches. For an impromptu picnic, Marcus Garvey Park is nearby.

A massive pork al pastor beckons from the window of Taco Mix, and it’s a mistake to miss it. The al pastor tacos are among the best in town, Eater critic Robert Sietsema says. They’re so good that the restaurant, which started as a food cart, now has locations on the Lower East Side and in Industry City in Brooklyn.

This wine lover’s destination has opened to rave reviews early on. Wine industry veteran Yannick Benjamin partnered with George Gallego, Oscar Lorenzzi, Mara Rudzinski, and Lorenz Skeeter to open a welcoming wine bar with a Peruvian-rooted food menu and an eye toward inclusive hospitality and space accessibility. Contento boasts an ambitious range of wines — at varying price points — paired with a menu led by Lorenzzi that includes dishes like octopus with black chimichurri and chilled cauliflower gazpacho.