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The 38 Essential New York Restaurants, July '14

by Greg Morabito
14 comments / new
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by Greg Morabito
14 comments / new

It's time to update the Eater 38, your answer and ours to any question that begins, "Can you recommend a restaurant?" This highly elite group covers the entire city, spans myriad cuisines, and collectively satisfies all of your restaurant needs, save for those occasions when you absolutely must spend half a paycheck. Every couple of months, we'll be adding pertinent restaurants that were omitted, have newly become eligible (restaurants must be open at least six months), or have stepped up their game.

This time around, after much reflecting and poring over reader emails and comments, Gabe Stulman's Italian charmer Perla is getting replaced by Danny Bowien's constantly evolving Mexican restaurant Mission Cantina. Up in Harlem, Red Rooster is getting swapped for critical darling/all-around fun restaurant The Cecil. And a bit further downtown, Hooni Kim's terrific Korean restaurant Hanjan is getting traded for Hell's Kitchen's blockbuster food hall Gotham West Market. Check out the revamped Eater 38:

Rather than a stage-4 meltdown over our having excluded your favorite restaurant from the list, wouldn't it be more productive to just nominate it for inclusion?

Note: Restaurants are listed based on geography, starting with lower Manhattan.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Royal Seafood Restaurant

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[Foursquare]
103-105 Mott Street, New York, NY 10013
(212) 219-2338
(212) 219-2338

Tamarind TriBeCa

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[Sam Horine]
99 Hudson St, New York, NY 10013
(212) 775-9000
(212) 775-9000

Also featured in:

Mission Cantina

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[Daniel Krieger]
172 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-2233
(212) 254-2233

Also featured in:

Peasant

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[Foursquare]
194 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10012
(212) 965-9511
(212) 965-9511

Also featured in:

Balthazar Restaurant

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[Photo: Krieger]
80 Spring St, New York, NY 10012
(212) 965-1414
(212) 965-1414

Also featured in:

Rubirosa

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[Krieger]
235 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012
(212) 965-0500
(212) 965-0500

Also featured in:

Parm

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[Krieger]
248 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012
(212) 993-7189
(212) 993-7189

Also featured in:

Estela

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[Krieger]
47 E Houston St, New York, NY 10012
(212) 219-7693
(212) 219-7693

Also featured in:

The Dutch

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[Krieger]
131 Sullivan St, New York, NY 10000
(212) 677-6200
(212) 677-6200

Also featured in:

Ushiwakamaru

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[Photo: Foursquare]
136 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012
(212) 228-4181
(212) 228-4181

Charlie Bird

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[Photo: Bess Adler]
5 King Street, New York, NY 10012
(212) 235-7133
(212) 235-7133

Also featured in:

Momofuku Ssäm Bar

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[Photo: Facebook]
207 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
(212) 254-3500
(212) 254-3500

Also featured in:

Alder

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[Krieger]
157 Second Ave, New York, NY 10003
(212) 539-1900
(212) 539-1900

Also featured in:

The Spotted Pig

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[Photo: Krieger]
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014
(212) 620-0393
(212) 620-0393

Also featured in:

ABC Kitchen

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[Photo: Krieger]
35 E 18th St, New York, NY 10003
(212) 475-5829
(212) 475-5829

Also featured in:

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Gramercy Tavern

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[Photo: Krieger]
42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003
(212) 477-0777
(212) 477-0777

Also featured in:

The Cannibal Beer & Butcher

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[ Krieger]
113 E 29th St, New York, NY 10016
(212) 686-5480
(212) 686-5480

Also featured in:

Szechuan Gourmet

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[Photo: Yelp]
21 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
(212) 921-0233
(212) 921-0233

Keens Steakhouse

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[Keens]
72 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018
(212) 947-3636
(212) 947-3636

Also featured in:

Gotham West Market

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[Daniel Krieger]
600 11th Ave, New York, NY 10036
(212) 582-7940
(212) 582-7940

Also featured in:

Katsu-Hama

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[Foursquare]
11 E 47th St, New York, NY 10017
(212) 758-5909
(212) 758-5909

Betony

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[Krieger]
41 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019
(212) 465-2400
(212) 465-2400

Also featured in:

Amali

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[Amali]
115 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022
(212) 339-8363
(212) 339-8363

Also featured in:

Bar Boulud

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[Photo: Noah Kalina]
1900 Broadway, New York, NY 10023
(212) 595-0303
(212) 595-0303

Also featured in:

The Cecil

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[Krieger]
210 W 118th St, New York, NY 10026
(212) 866-1262
(212) 866-1262

Phayul

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This comfortable aerie above a hair salon offers some of the finest Tibetan food you’ve ever tasted, representative of the flock of Himalayan restaurants that have taken over the Jackson Heights dining scene. There’s blood sausage, meaty curries, the ragged noodles called thenthuk, and don’t miss the wiggly mung-bean jelly laphing, carpeted with Sichuan peppercorns. -- Robert Sietsema

3765 74th St, Fl 2, Jackson Heights, NY 11372

Gregory's 26 Corner Taverna

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Tucked away on a side street, this may be the rustic Greek taverna you’ve dreamed about, offering steaming plates of zucchini fritters, fried salt-cod with garlicky skordalia, and fresh fish brought right to the restaurant by Long Island fishermen who are friends of the owner and left swimming on the porch in buckets. -- Robert Sietsema.

26-02 23rd Ave, Astoria, NY 11105
(718) 777-5511
(718) 777-5511

Bella Puebla

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[Photo: Paul Crispin Quitoriano]
9411 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
(718) 639-7300
(718) 639-7300

M. Wells Dinette

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Maybe the art at the attached the museum ain’t always so good, but you can depend on this Motrealithic café to turn out food stunningly beautiful and stunningly delicious, with colorful flourishes worthy of a Mondrian or Kandinsky, via chef Hugue Dufour. Open only in the afternoons till 6 p.m. -- Robert Sietsema.

22-25 Jackson Ave, Hunters Point, NY 11101
(718) 784-2084
(718) 784-2084

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Reynard

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[Krieger]
80 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249
(718) 460-8000
(718) 460-8000

Also featured in:

St. Anselm

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[Photo: Facebook]
355 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 384-5054
(718) 384-5054

Roberta's Pizza

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[Photo: Facebook]
261 Moore St, Brooklyn, NY 11206
(718) 417-1118
(718) 417-1118

Also featured in:

La Vara

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[Photo: La Vara]
268 Clinton St., Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 422-0065
(718) 422-0065

Also featured in:

Mile End Delicatessen

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[Photo:Facebook]
97A Hoyt St, Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 852-7510
(718) 852-7510

Also featured in:

Littleneck

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[Krieger]
288 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 522-1921
(718) 522-1921