New York has more restaurants than you could ever try in a lifetime, but a handful stand out for being almost impossible to get into. These are the spots friends ask about, the names that come up in food conversations, and the ones that book out weeks, sometimes months, in advance.
I’ve kept an eye on which ones are still drawing that level of attention, and here are the restaurants that everyone’s talking about.
1. Carbone (Greenwich Village)
Carbone isn’t just a restaurant; it’s a rite of passage for anyone who loves Italian-American food in New York. The energy in the room buzzes with excitement and a sense of nostalgia, heightened by tuxedoed servers and classic tunes in the background. Sitting down for spicy rigatoni or veal parmigiana here feels like being part of the city’s living history.
Getting a reservation can feel like running a marathon. The moment tables drop on Resy, thirty days ahead, they disappear often within minutes. Friends will ask how you scored a spot or if you have any tricks up your sleeve, but usually, it’s just persistence, and sometimes luck, that wins out…