21 Best Restaurants in Upper East Side, New York City

The second generation operating this legendary, traditional kosher Jewish deli moved its enormous corned beef and pastrami sandwiches and buckets of pickles uptown from the original longtime location on 2nd Avenue in the East Village, keeping the name and the menu. That also includes hearty soups, wursts, blintzes, and potato pancakes. Upstairs is an upscale cocktail lounge that opens at 5 pm daily and has a limited bar menu. A deli-only location is in Midtown East.

In the Neue Galerie, this stately coffeehouse—open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—offers a Viennese café experience, with art deco furnishings; a selection of daily newspapers; and cases with cakes and strudels. The menu of heartier sandwiches and goulash or sausage dishes is under the direction of German-born executive chef Christopher Engel, who worked at Wallsé and Aureole, earning Michelin stars. Prix-fixe dinners are occasionally followed by a cabaret performance. Museumgoers and locals love to linger over coffee—it's sometimes a challenge to find a seat (a less aesthetically pleasing outpost of the café is in the basement). 

Celebrity-chef Daniel Boulud offers one of the most iconic and elegant dining experiences in Manhattan in an equally elegant, and formal (jacket required), dining room with some serious artwork. The four-course prix-fixe menu (there are à la carte selections in the lounge and bar) is predominantly French, with such modern classics as turbot on Himalayan salt and a duo of dry-aged Black Angus beef featuring red wine–braised short ribs and seared rib eye with mushrooms and Gorgonzola cream. Vegetarian menus are also available. Equally impressive are the professional service, extensive wine list, and masterful cocktails. Don't forget the decadent desserts and overflowing cheese trolley. 

Roughly the size of a studio apartment, this homey bar and restaurant is the epitome of a neighborhood spot; just keep in mind that reservations aren't accepted. The short menu of comfort foods—hamburgers, a pasta, macaroni and cheese—changes frequently, but the lobster macaroni and cheese never fails to impress. With only one table for four people, Heidi's House is better suited to smaller parties. Reservations aren't accepted for this often-crowded spot, but it does have a charming little bar next door where you can have a drink while you wait for a table and a same-day call-ahead list starting after 5 pm.

The self-described “saloon with food” has been serving hearty drinks, hefty burgers, thick sandwiches, and its famous cottage fries to a local crowd since 1972. Its decor is warm and woody, the tablecloths are checkered and the tables are packed close together (so it’s noisy when crowded), and there’s an everybody-knows-your-name vibe. Save room for dessert, because the chocolate chip cake and pecan pie are worth the calories. This place also is known for its late hours—the kitchen is open until after midnight daily.

A hushed refuge at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 78th Street, this high-end sushi restaurant offers one of the city's best sushi experiences in a stylish Sukiya-style interior of bamboo and cedar woods. With a seasonal omakase menu curated nightly by Chef Nozomu Abe, known as "Noz" to his friends, including masterfully prepared Edomae sushi with fresh fish flown in from Tokyo, the two intimate nightly seatings at two counters (an eight-seat 200-year-old Hinoki wood counter and a six-seat rare Tamo Ash counter) are intimate, detail-perfect, memorable affairs with Japanese hospitality as authentic as the craft. Chef Noz presents at the Hinoki counter weekdays.

Grab a quick pick-me-up at either of Birch's two Upper East Side caffeine dealers (the other is at  171 E. 88th St.), but don't be fooled if you hear it called a chain—despite the company's now many locations, this is a local business that roasts all of its coffee beans in small batches just across the East River in Long Island City, Queens. Varieties of single-origin coffee and espresso change by the season, and as an added bonus they sell Dough Donuts, baked and delivered fresh daily.

Manhattan's "who's who" in business, politics, and the art world come to hobnob at Daniel Boulud's café-in-name-only, where the food and service are top-notch. The menu is divided into four parts: La Tradition features classic French dishes such as roasted duck breast Montmorency with cherry chutney; Le Potager tempts with creations inspired by local farmers' markets; La Saison follows the rhythms of the season; and Le Voyage reinterprets cuisines of the world. Start with a drink at the chic Bar Pleiades.

Named for a border town between Mexico and California, this casual, easygoing Cal-Mex restaurant originated as a food truck in Lower Manhattan before opening a number of storefronts, three of which are in Brooklyn. At the Upper East Side outpost, you'll find Calexico's usual staples of burritos, quesadillas, tacos, and enchiladas: things to try include frozen margaritas, chipotle-marinated pork tacos, and carne fries smothered in carne asada, cheese sauce, pico de gallo, and sour cream. There's also a kids' menu.

A traditional New York diner, this place has been slinging the classics 24/7 since it opened in 1979. The two-egg breakfast with home fries, toast, and bacon is a sure bet, or try the blueberry pancakes, made with fresh blueberries. Other favorites among the regulars include 9-ounce beef burgers, a variety of steaks and chops, salads, and the triple-decker turkey club sandwich.

Family-owned for three generations and frozen in time, the Heidelberg is a throwback to when the Yorkville neighborhood was a thriving German community more than a century ago. Outside, you'll recognize the quintessential German Fachwerkhäuser (half-timbered) facade, and once inside, you can soak up the Bavarian beer hall vibes with a frothy lager, accompanied by one of the classics from the kitchen, like wiener schnitzel, shareable sausage platters, or beef goulash braised in paprika sauce.

This British-style gastropub with exposed brick walls and wooden tables and floors is named for—and located in—the iron foundry that was located here in the late 1800s, when it created staircases, doors, and even manhole covers for a growing city. There’s an extensive list of beers, ales, and wines, and the Euro-style menu includes beef bourguignon alongside light and flaky fish-and-chips. The lovely garden dining area is open in season.

A bright yellow facade makes this upscale bistro easy to find, and inside it's warm and cozy. Sushi and tuna tartare have been added to the French and Italian menu, which includes traditional onion soup, bouillabaisse, steak au poivre, cheese soufflé, and homemade ravioli. The best bet for dessert is profiteroles—in this case, scoops of vanilla ice cream covered in a thin crust of chocolate.

The upscale-hacienda appearance of this justifiably popular restaurant showcases some of the best Mexican food in the city, courtesy of pioneering Mexican chef Richard Sandoval. Begin with a fresh mango mojito, then tuck into delicious roasted corn soup with huitlacoche dumplings, stuffed poblano peppers, or a smoky filet mignon taco with jalapeño escabeche (a marinade). Next, indulge in the tender roasted pork carnitas or the spicy chipotle shrimp. The bottomless brunch on weekends can get loud, but with unlimited cocktails and dishes you can see why.

This Yorkville neighborhood staple since 1937 is more than just a local butcher shop, offering a slew of sausages from its own smokehouse, fresh cuts and chops of meat, various types of charcuterie, imported cheeses, beers, and more. In the adjacent Schaller's Stube Sausage Bar, grab a wurst, wiener, or soft pretzel to go (they're served from the counter right out to 2nd Avenue), or take a seat at one of the few stools inside.

Some people actually come to this fun spot for the food, which includes burgers, steaks, and sandwiches. But the main attraction, which often has folks lining up down the block, is ice cream in various forms. It's also known for the birthday party atmosphere, which is what happens when people are ordering banana splits, sundaes, and s’mores. No worries if a late-night craving strikes: it's open until 11 pm daily.

Veiled from the street by linen curtains, this tiny Manhattan offshoot of its Nantucket namesake does a fine impression of a shabby-chic Tuscan farmhouse with its big wooden communal tables and Murano glass chandeliers. But it's the exquisite Italian food, from perfect pastas to fish and meat mains, with its air of photo-styled casual perfection, that has made Sfoglia a tough dinner reservation. The torta del giorno—a buttery fruit tart that you order ahead—is a showstopping finale that feeds a crowd.

The many options at this popular, casual sushi restaurant range from the ordinary (California roll) to the more unusual, such as miso-marinated cod or Japanese yellowtail with jalapeño. Japanese noodles (udon or soba) and meat dishes such as teriyaki and negimaki (scallions rolled in thinly sliced beef) are well prepared. Some of the inventive non-sushi items on the menu are worth a try, especially the fried cream-cheese dumplings. An omakase-style tasting menu is also available, offering the chef's selections of the day's catch for market price. There are other locations, too, including one across the park on Columbus Avenue and in TriBeCa.

This cocktail-forward Anglo-Indian restaurant and bar, a warm space with wooden tables, pays homage to the flavors and beverages found in the bistros, cafés, and supper clubs of "Old Bombay" in the early 20th century. In addition to plenty of curries and kabobs, the menu has whole tandoori fish, Goan pork, curries in various heat registers, kebabs, and biryani, "the royal rice." Paanch (punch) is ladled out by the bowl, and cocktails include the Indian Spiced Old-Fashioned and the Saffron Sazerac. Best deal is the Munkey Prix-Fixe dinner ($26--$28), including a vegetarian option.

Since 1946, this classic bakery has been satisfying the UES sweet tooth with traditional black-and-white cookies, fresh berry tarts, special occasion cakes, and more. Try to avoid midafternoon, when parents and nannies line up with kids from nearby P.S. 6 for after-school treats. Sidewalk seating is limited. A satellite location is open in Hudson Yards.