Top 7 Restaurants in NYC

Choosing my favourite NYC restaurants from my recent trip was incredibly difficult because I had so much amazing food! At first, I wanted to make this a, “my top 5 favourite NYC restaurants” list, but realized that I can’t pick just 5 restaurants! I probably visited ~20 restaurants / food trucks in NYC and here is my list of my top 7 restaurants in NYC (in no particular order) that really left an impression on me.

1. JOE'S PIZZA

Starting off with an absolute classic, Joe’s pizza was my favourite pizza that I had in NYC. I visited their location near Time’s Square on a weekday so luckily it wasn’t too busy, but even at this time there was still a line out the door!

I waited (im)patiently as the amazing pizza aroma filled the restaurant. When I got to the counter, I could see all the pizzas and decided to try the classic cheese pizza. When I got the pizza (my first NYC slice) I noticed right away how thin, floppy, and cheesy the slices were… exactly how I have heard NYC slices described! I had to try it on its own first and I was SHOCKED at how tasty this pizza was!

The dough was soft but also a bit crunchy on the outside and the cheese pull was immaculate. Instantly, I understood why people enjoy NYC pizza so much! Anyone who lives in NYC has surely tried this place out but if it’s your first time visiting, I can confirm that this is a must try for NYC pizza and was my personal favourite.

2. THE BIG BOSS MEXICAN FOOD TRUCK

Up next is actually the very first place that I tried in NYC! As most of you reading this know I currently reside in Montreal and drove down to NYC as opposed to flying. After the long 6.5-hour drive (total 9 hours with stops and all) I was super tired but also very hungry so I really wanted to try something near my Airbnb in Bushwick.

While driving in I happened to notice a few Mexican spots and when I later went out, I realized I was surrounded by delicious looking Mexican food! So, I headed over to a Mexican food truck where the food looked mouth-wateringly good and decided to get tacos, tortas, and cemitas. It was AMAZING! The tacos were solid but what really stole the show was thee tortas and cemitas. The bread was super soft but not mushy or falling apart and the meat was flavourful and tender. If you are staying in Brooklyn, I would definitely recommend this place for some Mexican street food!

3. DOSA DELIGHT

If you follow me on TikTok or have seen my recent YouTube video, you know that the dosa I had at Dosa Delight was the best I have ever had outside of South Asia! This place was my first stop on my Jackson Heights food tour as I figured that I would start with some light vegetarian food.

When I walked in the staff was super friendly and the restaurant had really nice ambience. The menu was quite extensive, but I decided to get a dosa and try uttapam for the first time! When the food came out, I was SHOCKED at how amazing the dosa looked. Part of my shock definitely came from that fact that I have had some pretty mediocre dosas in Canada though.

At the same time looks can be deceiving so I had to give it a try… and it tasted just as delicious as it looked! The uttapam was also amazing! Overall, if you want some awesome South Indian food in Queens definitely checkout Dosa Delight!

4. MOMO AND STEAK GARDEN

After that massive dosa and uttapam I was admittedly pretty full, so I decided to switch over to street food snacks. One dish that I had been craving ever since I left my Airbnb was momos and to my surprise Jackson Heights actually has a bunch of places serving momos! This came as a surprise because Canada does not have many Nepalese restaurants compared to other parts of South Asia in my experience.

One of the places that particularly caught my eye was a food truck where a sweet lady was serving up momos with an amazing aroma. I ordered my momos and as soon as they came out, I could instantly see the quality and love that went into making them. I took a bite and was SHOCKED (I know I have been saying this a lot, but I really was shocked) at how amazing these momos were.

These were the best momos that I’ve had outside of South Asia BUT if that wasn’t enough already the chili sauce, they were served with was AMAZING! Not only was the flavour of this chili sauce great but it was actually a little spicy and if you know me I almost never come across any food that I find even mildly spicy! The food trucks in NYC continued to satisfy with this spot, definitely check it out if you are in Jackson Heights.

5. DERA RESTAURANT

While in Jackson Heights I obviously had to try some Pakistani food, so I headed over to Dera Restaurant to satisfy my craving for food from home. I hadn’t seen the menu prior to visiting so when I arrived and saw authentic Pakistani dishes that I have rarely or NEVER seen in Canada I was very pleasantly surprised!

Things like quail, paya, and rohu (a commonly consumed fish in Pakistan) were all on the menu which I have never came across in Canada along with haleem and nihari which are only found specifically at Pakistani restaurants in Canada (not so much at general South Asian / Indian restaurants).

As much as I wanted to try these unique dishes, I was feeling really full and wanted to grab some dishes I really enjoy for later so I took haleem, nihari, and seekh kebabs to go. Later that night I tried everything and found that while the flavours weren’t as strong as I am accustomed to the textures of the tender meats in the haleem and nihari were amazing. The real star of the show was the seekh kebab though! This was by far the best seekh kebab I have had outside of South Asia and is absolutely worth getting if you ever find yourself in Queens!

6. PAN DONG LAI (NEW WORLD MALL)

My second food tour in NYC was in Flushing, Queens, home to some of the best East Asian food in the USA from what I have heard. Needless to say, I was very excited to visit this community and try a bunch of different dishes! Now of course my expectations were quite high, but Flushing managed to far exceed my expectations.

When you are there, you are transformed into an East Asian community, surrounded by so much amazing food it would take weeks or even months to eat through it all. I found two areas that I thought were absolute gems though, the first being the food court in New World Mall! This food court had 32 stalls serving food from a variety of countries/cuisines in East Asia. I had the pleasure of trying a couple of these places so I can tell you that you really can’t go wrong but if I had to pick one restaurant that stole the show for me it would bee Pan Dong Lai.

When I first approached this restaurant, I noticed they mostly serve “hotpots” which I have never really had so I was a bit skeptical. The lady working was incredibly kind though and talked to us a bunch, telling me that if I’ve never had hotpot before I must try their seafood hotpot because she said it has a really unique flavour that people who have never had hotpot really tend to enjoy.

I still wasn’t sure so I kept on looking around but then I thought this is a perfect opportunity to try something I’m not accustomed to so I should go for it! So, I went back and ordered the seafood hotpot, and it was probably the best decision I made in Flushing. The broth wasn’t fishy at all and tasted so rich and flavourful! This, paired with the perfectly cooked shrimps, crab, and mussels was just an amazing meal that was not only delicious but also fun to eat with these big plastic gloves.

Moral of the story is always be open to trying new things! Make sure to visit New World Mall as well for some amazing food, and when you do make sure not to miss this spot!

7. JOE'S STEAM RICE ROLLS

Back to another classic that also happens to have Joe in the name but instead of serving pizza this place specializes in rice rolls! If you have never had rice rolls before they’re a common dim sum dish that I’ve had a couple of times but always thought was kind of average. It was one of those dishes for me that is just okay, but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to order it.

I decided to give this place a try while I was in Flushing though because I heard about how amazing it is and just had to see for myself. I ordered shrimp rice rolls and when they came out my initial reaction was “wow this is really big for ~$5”! When I tasted it the flavour of the rice rolls also far surpassed anything I had prior and was perfected with the addition of chili sauce and soy sauce.

ALSO, when you see this place from the outside you may think that it’s just going to be a little shop inside, but it is actually an entire corridor filled with restaurants! This was SO cool, and all the food inside looked homey and delicious. I got to try the Chinese sandwich shop right beside Joe’s Steam Rice Rolls and can confirm that it was super tasty! Overall this corridor is an absolute must if you’re visiting Flushing and want some of the absolute best food there is to offer!

There you all have it, my top 7 restaurants from my trip to NYC! This list was really hard to make though because almost every place I went to was really good, so make sure to checkout my TikTok and YouTube to see all the spots that I hit on my trip!

I cannot wait to go back to NYC to have more amazing food, and hope to be able to explore some new communities with more unique and authentic dishes. Make sure to check out my other blog posts too for more foodie content like this!