The Restaurant List 2025
The New York Times
What does it mean to be a "best restaurant"? And what to make of a list as wide-ranging as this one? Can a storefront barbecue spot in Kansas specializing in turkey legs sit next to a tiny jewel box of a restaurant with a tasting menu in the Bay Area? What about a sultry new Miami steakhouse and a rustic 135-year-old dining room on Deer Isle, Maine?
The answer is yes. And when you read the list, you'll see why. These places all have delicious food and a mastery of craft, but also a generosity of spirit and a singular point of view.
#1 Sunny's Steakhouse
Walk into Sunny's and you find yourself almost immediately back outside, admiring a banyan tree shading an interior patio surrounded by dining rooms, their windows flung open. The restaurant is, improbably, every bit as good as it looks. Yes, this modern steakhouse in the Little River section of Miami will satisfy your craving for Wagyu and foie gras. Just bear in mind that the extensive menu contains no dead weight. The kitchen, overseen by Executive Chef Aaron Brooks, effectively powers a destination steakhouse, in addition to a blue-chip Italian restaurant (the pasta is superb) and a seafood restaurant that flexes its muscles with delicacy - order pineapple hot sauce with oysters and at least one crudo. Factor in the spectacular polio a la brassa, and you've got something new under the sun: a flamboyant South Florida steakhouse that feels worth it, even after you settle the bill.
Read the full list