The New York Times just debuted its annual ranking of the best 100 restaurants in NYC, crowning Paul Carmichael’s Kabawa as the top spot for 2026.
The listicle, “The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City, 2026,” was released in two parts, with the final unveiling of the top ten dropping today. This marks the first curated ranking from newly appointed co-chief critic Ligaya Mishan, who stepped into the role last summer. Over the course of ten months, Mishan “scoured the city end to end,” eating her way through hundreds of restaurants across all five boroughs in an attempt to narrow down the city’s very best.
Much like our own ranking of NYC’s top restaurants, the list doesn’t solely prioritize tasting menus or $500-per-head experiences. Instead, Mishan focused on the diversity and personality of the city’s dining scene, weighing “imagination, ambience, service, technique, passion, commitment and sheer deliciousness”—and perhaps most importantly, “New York-iness.”…