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Zagat: New York City Dining Scene Thriving, 2016 Big Winners are Le Bernardin (Food, Service, Most Popular), The Four Seasons (Decor), and Shuko (Newcomer)
October 13, 2015
Le Bernardin Breaks Records; Casual Dining Continues to Gain Ground; For Second Consecutive Year, a Sushi Omakase Spot Wins “Top Newcomer” Title
The votes are in! Today Zagat reveals its
2016 New York City Restaurants
results, covering 2,237 restaurants voted on by 34,178 avid diners. Ratings and reviews are available on Zagat.com and across Google Maps and Search. Zagat guide books will be hitting the shelves at local retailers starting October 13th.
New Yorkers report eating out (lunch and dinner combined)
4.9 times per week
, above the national average of 4.5 times per week. When dining out, New Yorkers are generous and leave
19.2% gratuity
(above the national average of 18.9%). On average they spend
$48.44 per person
for dinner (vs. the $36.30 national average).
This year New York welcomed 119 hot and noteworthy newcomers vs. just 53 closings. The newcomers include a healthy crop of openings from big name restaurateurs: Mario Carbone/Rich Torrisi (
Santina
), Andrew Carmellini (
Little Park
), David Chang (
Fuku
), Gabriel Kreuther (
Gabriel Kreuther
), Enrique Olvera (
Cosme
), Charlie Palmer (
Charlie Palmer at the Knick
), Marcus Samuelsson (
Streetbird
), Masayoshi Takayama (
Kappo Masa
), Alex Ureña (
Tasca Chino
), Jonathan Waxman (
Jams
), Jody Williams/Rita Sodi (
Via Carota
) and Galen Zamarra (
Almanac
).
The city’s biggest winner this year is
Le Bernardin
(Food, Service, Most Popular) which continues to break records, winning Top Food for the 7th year in a row – the first restaurant ever to win in this category for 7 consecutive years. Top Decor was awarded to the
Four Seasons
, and omakase sushi specialist
Shuko
is this year’s Top Newcomer.
Though its bar scene never cools off,
Brooklyn’s restaurants had a lower-key year
– especially compared to the borough’s recent history of splashy openings. Roughly 15% of openings were in Brooklyn this year, vs. 25% last year. In addition, high-profile, higher-end entries
The Elm
,
The Grocery
and
Marco’s
all closed their doors.
The trend towards
high-quality, casual-style dining continues to grow
. Last year, Coffee, Dumplings, Ice Cream, and Taco Joints were given their own special categories as a result. This year, there were so many hot and noteworthy casual destinations that new categories were added for:
Ramen
,
Food Halls
,
40 Under $40: Full-Meal Winners
, and
20 Under $20: Quick-Bite Winners
. Several celebrity chefs have followed suit, opening an impressive collection of casual outposts this year (such as Marcus Samuelsson’s
Streetbird
and David Chang’s
Fuku
).
Our Top Newcomers list is notably strong this year
. For the second year in a row, our Top Newcomer is a sushi omakase hot spot,
Shuko
(last year, the Top Newcomer was Sushi Nakazawa), signaling that
the high-end sushi experience is on the rise
. The remainder of the roster is comprised of acclaimed hits, too:
Almanac
,
Javelina
,
Tuome
,
Little Park
,
Delaware and Hudson
,
Upland
and
Cosme
.
What’s old is new again – or, at least,
many NYC stalwarts were reborn in new digs
. Sex and the City -era hot spot
Asia de Cuba
, ‘80s pioneer
Jams
and the iconic
Rainbow Room
reopened after being off the scene for many years. Amanda Cohen’s
Dirt Candy
, David Chang’s
Momofuku Ko
, Danny Bowien’s
Mission Chinese
and Danny Meyer’s
Untitled
also made re-entrances in more spacious surrounds.
Visit
zagat.com
to search and discover this year’s best New York City Restaurants.
Posted by
Tim and Nina Zagat, Co-Chairs, Zagat
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