On my last trip to New York, I stayed in the heart of LES (Lower East Side) of Manhattan, less than a five-minute walk from such icons as Katz’s Deli and Russ & Daughters. The neighborhood, while quite loud and hectic, proved to be a great place to explore some of the best foods New York has to offer: from Chinese hand-pulled noodles to third-wave coffee to gluten-free baked goods and beyond.
I had two weeks and tried to cover as many places to eat in the Lower East Side as I could. This list is, by no means, complete, but simply a compilation of the places I tried and loved. I hope you enjoy them too!
Good Thanks Cafe
This was an accidental find on my last day in NYC. I had to grab a quick breakfast before catching a taxi to Hoboken and simply crossed the road from my Airbnb to the nearest cafe that looked promising. Little did I know this would be one of the best meals I had in NYC. I ordered toasted sourdough topped with creme fraiche, spanish sardines, and a pistachio gremolata that was absolutely amazing. I loved it so much I later recreated the meal at home.
The cafe itself is quite small and cozy, the service is fast and their coffee is good too. We didn’t make a reservation, but the place was almost full even though it was only 8 am. So it might be a good idea to reserve a table.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/CpqACnM2Sqt9mjzB6
Remedy Diner
While the breakfast at Good Thanks Cafe was my last meal in NYC, the breakfast at Remedy Diner was my first. I haven’t been in the U.S. for five years and so I dreamed of having a proper American breakfast at a classic diner upon arrival. Leather booths, coffee from a pot a waitress pours into your cup over and over again, eggs and pancakes, the whole nine yards. And Remedy Diner delivered.
This family-owned business has been in operation since 2007 and is frequented by some A-list celebrities, like Rihanna who was spotted there on multiple occasions (most recently after Met Gala in 2023 with A$AP Rocky). It also served as one of the filming location for Collateral Beauty with Will Smith (if you love visiting famous filming locations, I have this post listing the restaurants in NYC that appeared in films and on TV).
They are open 24/7 and have an extensive menu with all the regular suspects: omelets, pancakes and waffles, burgers. There’s a little kids menu and a lot of vegetarian options.
The food is good for what it is. I was craving classic diner food and I got it, but if you are looking for an exquisite meal that will blow your mind, it will probably not live up to your expectations.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4gzZ4Yq4gdPsLi7w5
Boulton&Watt
This place is great for a bit more upscale brunch or dinner. The interior design is a mixture of industrial and vintage styles, with exposed brick walls, wooden beams and red leather bar stools along the counter. They have a covered patio that comes to life at night, when dozens of bare bulbs light up.
The menu is short and sweet which I love. We tried the cheese and chorizo grits with poached eggs and salsa verde which was the ultimate comfort meal without being too heavy. Their burger with bacon and caramelized onions was also great. The place is quite popular for their craft cocktails. I couldn’t try one of the alcoholic ones, but the bartender made me a mocktail on request.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/C783bepA4HfFPuQ56
Katz’s Delicatessen
On to the iconic Lower East Side places to eat! Katz’s Deli is an absolute must in New York for multiple reasons. First of all, it’s the oldest NYC deli that originated in 1888. Second, they serve the most delicious pastrami sandwiches (the most popular ones in all of New York, for sure). Third, the deli was used as a filming location for When Harry Met Sally (the iconic phrase “I’ll have what she’s having” was coined here).
The one major downside is that there’s always a long line of people outside of the deli waiting for their turn to try the legendary pastrami sandwich, but the line moves quite quickly. You can read more about my experience at Katz’s and a bit about its history here.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/E41xgQsDG5y44UH98
Russ & Daughters
Russ & Daughters is another iconic place to eat in the Lower East Side (if you are after the most iconic meals in NYC, check out this post of mine). The bagel shop — the original location is, in fact, a shop, not a restaurant — was set up in 1914. Over a century later, Russ & Daughters is still considered the best place for traditional New York bagels.
The space is quite small and almost always crowded. As you enter, take a little numbered ticket and wait till it’s called. The line moves fast, so while you are waiting make sure to figure out your order or you’ll be faced with half a dozen questions at the counter (which was exactly what happened to me the first time around).
There’s no seating inside, so you’ll have to enjoy your bagel on a park bench or on the go. If you do want to sit down, go to the Russ & Daughters cafe instead, also located in the Lower East Side. But it is the shop that has been around for over a hundred years old and is considered the legend, so do check it out. Apart from bagels that are, of course, heavenly (the amount of cream cheese is extremely generous), I also tried their seven-layer halwa. It’s superb and makes for a great edible souvenir to bring from New York.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/k6Rfim1TGBeLZcSQ7
Kossar’s Bagels and Bialys
Another great place if you are looking for bagels is Kossar’s Bagels and Bialys that has been continuously running since 1936. Their original location was in the Lower East Side but, unfortunately, didn’t survive. The new bakery opened its doors in 1960 in the same neighborhood and you can still find it on Grand Street, all those years later.
I tried their everything bagel with cream cheese and lox which was fantastic, but their specialty is actually bialys which were brought to New York by the Polish immigrants. Bialy originally comes from the city of Białystok in Poland and is a traditional bread roll in Polish Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.
Bialys are similar to bagels in that they are made from the same dough, but they are not boiled beforehand. The shape also differs: bialys are pressed and stretched into a round with a small depression in the middle which is usually filled with caramelized onions.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/3MPJSgCceau4VkRE9
Essex Market
One of the best ways to find a big variety of delicious and affordable meals in New York is by hitting one of its markets. In the Lower East Side, Essex Market is the place to be. It has a history that stretches back as far as 1818 when dozens of independent pushcart peddlers sold all kinds of foods under open sky in LES.
When the streets became too crowded with pushcarts, a series of indoor markets was created In New York and one of them was Essex Street Market that featured close to 500 vendors. The year was 1940.
Over the next decades the market went through financial troubles, a relocation within the neighborhood, and major renovations. Today, Essex Market is located in a newly-renovated building at the intersection of Essex and Delancey streets. It’s modern, spacious, with a sun-lit mezzanine. Not overcrowded like Chelsey Market and it’s always easy to find a table to have your meal.
I’ve tried Unregular Pizza and Zerza Moroccan at the market both of which were great. A few other shops and restaurants that were on my radar but I didn’t have the time to try them: Sugar Sweet Sunshine bakery (try their banana pudding), Kotti Berliner Döner Kebab (given that I live in Germany, it didn’t make sense to eat kebab, but it looked good), and Nordic Preserves.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hZJrnQ4y7k1X5DA27
Xi’an Famous Foods
Xi’an Famous Foods is hands down one of my favorite places to eat in New York and I never miss a chance to devour their (indeed) famous hand-pulled noodles when I visit. The restaurant was launched by Jason Wang and his father David, Chinese immigrants from the city of Xi’an, back in 2015 and has grown into a chain of 14 locations all over New York.
As the business grew, the high quality stayed the same: they still make their own chili oil and hand pull noodles to order. I love how simple and down-to-earth their restaurants are. The space is usually small, featuring an open kitchen so you can watch the cooking process. Pretty much every branch always has a line of people waiting, but it moves really fast.
Be aware that most dishes are quite spicy, bold flavors are their signature. Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles is, probably, their most popular dish: wide hand-ripped noodles are mixed with slices of spicy cumin lamb and Xi’an’s own soy and black rice vinegar sauce.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/PPhSFBAU6s4hDA5g8
Yonah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery
This iconic bakery in the Lower East Side is so unassuming you could easily pass it by on the street. And that would be unfortunate because it is the last remaining knish bakery in Manhattan.
It was opened by Yonah Schimmel, a Romanian rabbi, in 1910 and the original shop remains on East Houston Street to this day. The current owner is Yonah’s great nephew which makes it a family-run business, over a hundred years later.
A knish (k is pronounced) is a snack brought to New York by Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century. It consists of creamy mashed potatoes wrapped in thin dough and baked. The fillings can vary, at Yonah Schimmel’s Bakery, for example, you can find knishes with cabbage, kasha, mushrooms and spinach, but potato is definitely the most popular one.
Some of the most notable customers of the bakery include Eleanor Roosevelt, Barbara Streisand, Woody Allen, Evan Rachel Wood and Martha Stewart, to name a few.
This place is great for a snack or a breakfast if you grab a coffee somewhere nearby and find a bench.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dvhtZh8RHP5vrDUh9
Erin Mckenna’s Bakery
Erin Mckenna’s Bakery has been creating gluten-free and vegan goods since 2005. The bakery in the Lower East Side is the original one. They have since opened 3 more locations in the U.S.
All of their baked goods are free from wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs and soy. They also avoid nuts in their products (except for coconut), but their flour of choice (Bob’s Red Mill) might have traces of nuts and soy — so ask at the bakery what’s the safest choice for you would be, if you have an allergy. As for sweeteners, agave nectar and evaporated cane juice are used in the desserts.
While I don’t have an allergy, I do try to avoid gluten, when possible, so it was great to find this place just around the corner from our Airbnb. They have all kinds of sweet and savory goods: from cupcakes and brownies to biscuits and bagels. Regardless whether you are following a gluten-free or vegan diet or not, you’ll be surprised how good their stuff is. The prices are pretty high, though.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/rEM4WB6uLp1CSygFA
Vita Coffee
This was, hands down, some of the best coffee I’ve had in New York. A tiny dark coffee shop right next door to our Airbnb turned out to be so fantastic we had our morning cappuccinos here almost every day of the trip. Vita Coffee, as it turned out, is an established brand from Seattle.
They work directly with coffee farmers around the world and have been roasting the beans in Seattle since 1995 on vintage German machines (I guess that’s a good thing? In any case, sounds cool!). Not the least important is that the coffee is prepared by award-winning baristas. They have multiple locations in Seattle and only two in New York, one in Brooklyn and one in the Lower East Side.
The space is quite small and, although there are a couple of bar stools inside, it’s best to get a coffee to go.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/CaMduEZGeykJ7F8a9
If you are looking for more places to eat in New York, check out these guides I have:
