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A hand clutches a triple-decker sandwich overflowing with cheese, slaw, turkey, and more.
A triple-decker sandwich at S&P.
Melanie Landsman/Eater NY

The 15 Hottest Lunch Spots in NYC Right Now

An old-school lunch counter in Flatiron, a burrito shop in Williamsburg, and more new-ish places to eat during the day

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A triple-decker sandwich at S&P.
| Melanie Landsman/Eater NY

As late-night dining kicks back into high gear and more New Yorkers return to their workplaces, the city’s second favorite off-hours meal, lunch, is making a triumphant comeback of its own, whether enjoyed from an open office in Midtown or a takeout counter in Ridgewood. Included in this guide to daytime eating are an old-school lunch counter, a spot for fried fish in Bed-Stuy, an Indian fried chicken shop, a home for Chicago dogs in Cobble Hill, and one of the newest arrivals at Rockefeller Center.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

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Native Noodles

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First launched as a food stall at the Queens Night Market in 2019, chef Amy Pryke is now serving her popular Singaporean noodle dishes from a small restaurant in Washington Heights. New to the storefront is the roti john sandwich, a toasted baguette sandwich made from cumin-spiced beef, caramelized onion, and egg. In Singapore, the dish is often eaten as breakfast, but here it makes for a comforting midday meal.

A beef and egg sandwiched placed on a wooden tray.
The roti john sandwich, made with beef, caramelized onion, and egg.
Native Noodles

The Migrant Kitchen

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Arab and Latin flavors combine at the Migrant Kitchen’s first uptown location. Eater NY critic Robert Sietsema recommends chefs Dan Dorado and Nasser Jaber’s lamb torta: a Mexican-style sandwich served with a lamb roast seasoned with sumac and Oaxacan cheese. Elsewhere on the menu, there are bowls, salads, and more that make for a perfect fast casual daytime option.

A long, chubby, lamb-stuffed plantain is shot from overhead; white labneh sits on top in a squiggly pattern, while cilantro provides a green hue
A plantain stuffed with lamb at the Migrant Kitchen.
Gary He/Eater NY

Le Rock

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Le Rock is our pick of the litter for lunch at the revamped Rockefeller Center, where millions of dollars were poured into turning the tired Midtown development into a citywide dining destination. Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, of Tribeca’s famed French bistro Frenchette, opened at the center last summer in a high-ceilinged space that makes it easy to forget you’re sitting less than a hundred yards from an ice skating rink. A la carte lunch is served Tuesday to Saturday, with prix fixe menus priced at $55, for an appetizer and entree, and $70, with dessert.

Bison au poivre sits on a plate, slathered in orange cream peppercorn sauce; a plate of fries sit on the side.
Bison au poivre at Le Rock.
Le Rock

La Chilaqueria

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Chilaquiles, most commonly eaten for breakfast in Mexico, are perfectly fine for lunch, too. Here, they come stuffed into sandwiches, burritos (an off-menu special), and on their own in big compostable bowls that might remind you of Sweetgreen. Between salsa, meat, and egg options, there are around two dozen different ways to order them; the chorizo and chicharron prensado are good places to start. Round out lunch with cups of cafe de olla (coffee with cinnamon and piloncillo, unrefined cane sugar) and lattes sweetened with condensed milk.

A hand holding an iPhone snaps a photograph of takeout containers with chilaquiles burritos and tortas.
Chilaquiles come in sandwiches, burritos, and on their own at La Chilaqueria.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

There may be no better daytime restaurant than S&P, a Flatiron lunch counter that opened in the former home of Eisenberg’s last year. Pull up a seat at the 40-foot counter and order from a menu that lists sandwiches topped with chopped olives and cream cheese, tuna salad and cranberry sauce, and peanut butter and bacon. (This is a restaurant from Court Street Grocers, after all.) More standard lunch fare, including burgers and matzoh ball soup, is also on offer.

Ham, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise are arranged on white sandwich triangles.
A ham and cheese sandwich from S&P.
Melanie Landsman/Eater NY

Burmese Bites

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As the boom of Burmese restaurants in the city continues on, Queens Night Market favorite Burmese Bites now has its own standalone venue located inside the Queens Center Mall food court. Owner Myo Lin Thway is cooking up chicken curry with flaky palata bread (there’s also a vegan version), shan kaukswe (rice noodles with chicken curry and pickled mustard greens), and nan gyi thoke (a rice noodle salad), as well as daily-changing specials — all available for dine-in or takeout. On Saturdays, Burmese Bites delivers around Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, but orders must be placed in advance.

A rectangular takeout container filled with cut-up pieces of keema palata and a small container of dip nearby.
Burmese Bites is located in the Queens Center Mall.
Alex Staniloff/Eater NY

Rowdy Rooster

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From the team behind the hit Dhamaka comes this flavor-packed sandwich spot that Eater has called a “red-hot success.” While the menu is certainly centered on portable, Indian-leaning fried chicken sandwiches, there’s plenty for those who want a vegetarian option to love as well. The team recommends the chile cauliflower and the vada pao, an Indian street snack made up of a well-spiced potato patty with pao bread.

A fried chicken sandwich piled with white and green sauces plus diced onions against a white background.
Indian fried chicken is on the menu at Rowdy Rooster.
Paul McDonough/Rowdy Rooster

Mucho Sarap

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New vendors like Mucho Sarap are hoping to bring life back to the Canal Street Market food hall, which seemed a bit touch-and-go during the pandemic. Open daily starting at 11 a.m., chef VJ Navarro’s first outpost serves Filipino and Mexican tacos, along with dishes that pull from both countries, like its lumpia with guacamole and lumpiachiladas (lumpia served like enchiladas).

Lumpia with guacamole.
Lumpia with guacamole.
Craig Nisperos/Mucho Sarap

Mott Street Eatery

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At this Chinatown food court there are at least 10 stalls, all under one roof, to choose from during lunch hours. Vendors like 89 Eatery serve up items like congee or roast duck, while Gai Kitchen serves Hainanese steamed chicken over rice. With plenty of tables in the venue, you’ll have no problem finding a seat during peak hours.

A food court filled with white tables, about half occupied.
Inside the food court.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Super Burrito

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Down the street from Mission Sandwich Social, a San Fransisco-style sandwich shop and another great option for lunch, is the new location of Super Burrito, which found a following in Rockaway Beach before expanding to Williamsburg this year. Its Mission-style burritos pay homage to the Bay Area and come stuffed with al pastor, carne asada, grilled shrimp, and more. Make one “super” by adding avocado and sour cream for two more dollars, or order a side cup of queso for dunking.

Two hands hold unwrapped burritos.
Boardwalk burritos recently arrived in Williamsburg.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Mama Yoshi Mini Mart

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Whether you’d prefer katsu made of cauliflower or chicken, spicy or regular, presented in squishy potato buns, or in a rice bowl, Mama Yoshi Mini Mart has you covered. This counter service spot in Ridgewood has a few seats indoors, but it's mainly in the game of fast-casual. Pick-up snacks like onigiri or karaage served in Greek coffee cups, along with drinks, pantry staples, and more sold from this spot that doubles as a provisions shop.

Red tray with a chicken sandwich.
Mama Yoshi Mini Mart has katsu sandwiches and bowls.
Evan Angelastro/Eater NY

Baby's Buns & Buckets

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Following a stop at Trader Joe’s on your lunch break, head to Baby’s Buns & Buckets in the Dekalb Market, which has a stall that looks like a diner out of Saved by the Bell. Thai American fast food is served in the form of sandwiches and rice buckets so big you’ll have leftovers for dinner, with fried mushrooms, honey pork, fried chicken, or fried shrimp.

A filet sticks out of a small bun with lettuce and a green background.
The fried fish sandwich at Baby’s Buns and Buckets.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Bobbi’s Italian Beef

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This Cobble Hill sandwich shop is the latest in a string of spots to focus on foods from Chicago (see also: Emmett’s on Grove, Dog Day Afternoon, and H&H Reserve). The Chicago dogs are good and true to form — loaded with neon green relish, sport peppers, a pickle spear, and so on — as is the Italian beef, a common sandwich in the Windy City that’s dunked in meat juices prior to serving. Sandwiches are available in half or whole portions.

A hot dog in a bun almost eclipsed by its lush toppings.
A proper Chicago dog at Bobbi’s Italian Beef.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

The Wreck

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Shipwreck Seafood Boutique, another great option for lunch, doubles as a seafood market and full-blown takeout spot — and in the summer, you’re likely to find a small crowd hovering over boxes of fish and chips at greasy tables out front. In December, the team followed up with this smaller second location in the neighborhood, where the focus is on fried and grilled fish. Portions are excellent for the price (around $15 to $20 for a heaping box of seafood) and the lobster roll must be one of the best deals in town at $21.

Fried fish and a side of french fries are heaped into a takeout container.
Fried fish and fries from the Wreck.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Agi's Counter

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Near the Brooklyn Museum? All-day spot Agi’s Counter is the move for a sit-down meal that doesn’t feel fussy. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, order Hungarian crepes, cheesy tuna melts, and chicken soup, plus a selection of pastries and cakes available until sold out.

A trio of sanfwiches on white plates sit on a marble table next to a marigold flower in a vase.
A trio of sandwiches at Agi’s Counter.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Native Noodles

First launched as a food stall at the Queens Night Market in 2019, chef Amy Pryke is now serving her popular Singaporean noodle dishes from a small restaurant in Washington Heights. New to the storefront is the roti john sandwich, a toasted baguette sandwich made from cumin-spiced beef, caramelized onion, and egg. In Singapore, the dish is often eaten as breakfast, but here it makes for a comforting midday meal.

A beef and egg sandwiched placed on a wooden tray.
The roti john sandwich, made with beef, caramelized onion, and egg.
Native Noodles

The Migrant Kitchen

Arab and Latin flavors combine at the Migrant Kitchen’s first uptown location. Eater NY critic Robert Sietsema recommends chefs Dan Dorado and Nasser Jaber’s lamb torta: a Mexican-style sandwich served with a lamb roast seasoned with sumac and Oaxacan cheese. Elsewhere on the menu, there are bowls, salads, and more that make for a perfect fast casual daytime option.

A long, chubby, lamb-stuffed plantain is shot from overhead; white labneh sits on top in a squiggly pattern, while cilantro provides a green hue
A plantain stuffed with lamb at the Migrant Kitchen.
Gary He/Eater NY

Le Rock

Le Rock is our pick of the litter for lunch at the revamped Rockefeller Center, where millions of dollars were poured into turning the tired Midtown development into a citywide dining destination. Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, of Tribeca’s famed French bistro Frenchette, opened at the center last summer in a high-ceilinged space that makes it easy to forget you’re sitting less than a hundred yards from an ice skating rink. A la carte lunch is served Tuesday to Saturday, with prix fixe menus priced at $55, for an appetizer and entree, and $70, with dessert.

Bison au poivre sits on a plate, slathered in orange cream peppercorn sauce; a plate of fries sit on the side.
Bison au poivre at Le Rock.
Le Rock

La Chilaqueria

Chilaquiles, most commonly eaten for breakfast in Mexico, are perfectly fine for lunch, too. Here, they come stuffed into sandwiches, burritos (an off-menu special), and on their own in big compostable bowls that might remind you of Sweetgreen. Between salsa, meat, and egg options, there are around two dozen different ways to order them; the chorizo and chicharron prensado are good places to start. Round out lunch with cups of cafe de olla (coffee with cinnamon and piloncillo, unrefined cane sugar) and lattes sweetened with condensed milk.

A hand holding an iPhone snaps a photograph of takeout containers with chilaquiles burritos and tortas.
Chilaquiles come in sandwiches, burritos, and on their own at La Chilaqueria.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

S&P

There may be no better daytime restaurant than S&P, a Flatiron lunch counter that opened in the former home of Eisenberg’s last year. Pull up a seat at the 40-foot counter and order from a menu that lists sandwiches topped with chopped olives and cream cheese, tuna salad and cranberry sauce, and peanut butter and bacon. (This is a restaurant from Court Street Grocers, after all.) More standard lunch fare, including burgers and matzoh ball soup, is also on offer.

Ham, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise are arranged on white sandwich triangles.
A ham and cheese sandwich from S&P.
Melanie Landsman/Eater NY

Burmese Bites

As the boom of Burmese restaurants in the city continues on, Queens Night Market favorite Burmese Bites now has its own standalone venue located inside the Queens Center Mall food court. Owner Myo Lin Thway is cooking up chicken curry with flaky palata bread (there’s also a vegan version), shan kaukswe (rice noodles with chicken curry and pickled mustard greens), and nan gyi thoke (a rice noodle salad), as well as daily-changing specials — all available for dine-in or takeout. On Saturdays, Burmese Bites delivers around Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, but orders must be placed in advance.

A rectangular takeout container filled with cut-up pieces of keema palata and a small container of dip nearby.
Burmese Bites is located in the Queens Center Mall.
Alex Staniloff/Eater NY

Rowdy Rooster

From the team behind the hit Dhamaka comes this flavor-packed sandwich spot that Eater has called a “red-hot success.” While the menu is certainly centered on portable, Indian-leaning fried chicken sandwiches, there’s plenty for those who want a vegetarian option to love as well. The team recommends the chile cauliflower and the vada pao, an Indian street snack made up of a well-spiced potato patty with pao bread.

A fried chicken sandwich piled with white and green sauces plus diced onions against a white background.
Indian fried chicken is on the menu at Rowdy Rooster.
Paul McDonough/Rowdy Rooster

Mucho Sarap

New vendors like Mucho Sarap are hoping to bring life back to the Canal Street Market food hall, which seemed a bit touch-and-go during the pandemic. Open daily starting at 11 a.m., chef VJ Navarro’s first outpost serves Filipino and Mexican tacos, along with dishes that pull from both countries, like its lumpia with guacamole and lumpiachiladas (lumpia served like enchiladas).

Lumpia with guacamole.
Lumpia with guacamole.
Craig Nisperos/Mucho Sarap

Mott Street Eatery

At this Chinatown food court there are at least 10 stalls, all under one roof, to choose from during lunch hours. Vendors like 89 Eatery serve up items like congee or roast duck, while Gai Kitchen serves Hainanese steamed chicken over rice. With plenty of tables in the venue, you’ll have no problem finding a seat during peak hours.

A food court filled with white tables, about half occupied.
Inside the food court.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Super Burrito

Down the street from Mission Sandwich Social, a San Fransisco-style sandwich shop and another great option for lunch, is the new location of Super Burrito, which found a following in Rockaway Beach before expanding to Williamsburg this year. Its Mission-style burritos pay homage to the Bay Area and come stuffed with al pastor, carne asada, grilled shrimp, and more. Make one “super” by adding avocado and sour cream for two more dollars, or order a side cup of queso for dunking.

Two hands hold unwrapped burritos.
Boardwalk burritos recently arrived in Williamsburg.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Mama Yoshi Mini Mart

Whether you’d prefer katsu made of cauliflower or chicken, spicy or regular, presented in squishy potato buns, or in a rice bowl, Mama Yoshi Mini Mart has you covered. This counter service spot in Ridgewood has a few seats indoors, but it's mainly in the game of fast-casual. Pick-up snacks like onigiri or karaage served in Greek coffee cups, along with drinks, pantry staples, and more sold from this spot that doubles as a provisions shop.

Red tray with a chicken sandwich.
Mama Yoshi Mini Mart has katsu sandwiches and bowls.
Evan Angelastro/Eater NY

Baby's Buns & Buckets

Following a stop at Trader Joe’s on your lunch break, head to Baby’s Buns & Buckets in the Dekalb Market, which has a stall that looks like a diner out of Saved by the Bell. Thai American fast food is served in the form of sandwiches and rice buckets so big you’ll have leftovers for dinner, with fried mushrooms, honey pork, fried chicken, or fried shrimp.

A filet sticks out of a small bun with lettuce and a green background.
The fried fish sandwich at Baby’s Buns and Buckets.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Bobbi’s Italian Beef

This Cobble Hill sandwich shop is the latest in a string of spots to focus on foods from Chicago (see also: Emmett’s on Grove, Dog Day Afternoon, and H&H Reserve). The Chicago dogs are good and true to form — loaded with neon green relish, sport peppers, a pickle spear, and so on — as is the Italian beef, a common sandwich in the Windy City that’s dunked in meat juices prior to serving. Sandwiches are available in half or whole portions.

A hot dog in a bun almost eclipsed by its lush toppings.
A proper Chicago dog at Bobbi’s Italian Beef.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

The Wreck

Shipwreck Seafood Boutique, another great option for lunch, doubles as a seafood market and full-blown takeout spot — and in the summer, you’re likely to find a small crowd hovering over boxes of fish and chips at greasy tables out front. In December, the team followed up with this smaller second location in the neighborhood, where the focus is on fried and grilled fish. Portions are excellent for the price (around $15 to $20 for a heaping box of seafood) and the lobster roll must be one of the best deals in town at $21.

Fried fish and a side of french fries are heaped into a takeout container.
Fried fish and fries from the Wreck.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Agi's Counter

Near the Brooklyn Museum? All-day spot Agi’s Counter is the move for a sit-down meal that doesn’t feel fussy. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, order Hungarian crepes, cheesy tuna melts, and chicken soup, plus a selection of pastries and cakes available until sold out.

A trio of sanfwiches on white plates sit on a marble table next to a marigold flower in a vase.
A trio of sandwiches at Agi’s Counter.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

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