NYT, Bon Appétit, Robb Report, CN Traveler, Eater, Esquire: 100 restaurants, each once, with the lists that named it, what to order and how hard it is to get in. 16 made more than one list: Kabawa, Creepies, The Happy Crane, Yamada.
Book forEvery Book button opens on this night, where the restaurant takes bookings online.
Where
Which list
Getting in
37 of 100 on the map so far; Chef pins the rest as he reads each place. A pin's number is how many lists named it.
East Village · New York, NY · Caribbean tasting menu
Bon AppétitRobb ReportCN TravelerEaterEsquire
Get: The goat in dried-scallop habanero sauce, then the jerk duck sausage
Book about a week out · OpenTable opens tables 14 days ahead; Kabawa publishes no fixed release time, and sources differ on the exact timing, so check OpenTable bef
East Nashville · Nashville, TN · Basque open-flame, French
Bon AppétitRobb Report
Get: The barbajuan, and the spiral of Romanesco zucchini in its cast-iron pan
Easy to book · Reservations recommended, especially weekends; a few bar seats held for walk-ins (Nashville Scene). Sources disagree on the release window (
Adams Morgan · Washington, D.C. · French wine bar, small plates
Bon AppétitRobb Report
Get: Seaweed choux buns with trout roe, and the brioche-stuffed chicken
Book about a week out · Reservations are released a month in advance (The Infatuation); Resy notes full-service reservations drop 14 days in advance. The bar takes
Little Tokyo · Los Angeles, CA · New Korean tasting menu
EaterEsquire
Get: Shirako Gimbap; Crispy Octopus with gochujang cream; Barbecue Roasted Squab with foie gras sauce
Tables drop on a schedule · Reservations are released on the first of every month at noon for the following month (Infatuation); Tock listing currently shows reservatio
Lower East Side · New York, NY · French Vietnamese
NYT
Get: Fried yuba; leeks vinaigrette with Maggi; steak frites (when on the daily special)
Book about a week out · Resy releases tables 13 days ahead at 12:00 AM ET (Reservation Wrangler, Oct 2026); Infatuation says six days ahead at midnight; another gui
Get: Pork collar sandwich (Tonkatsu Sakura), skewers/yakitori, and the cabbage salad
Tables drop on a schedule · Reservations drop daily at 11 am for the following 60 days (per OpenTable blog); Tock currently shows no reservations available
North Broad (Spring Garden / North Philadelphia) · Philadelphia, PA · Afro-diasporic tasting menu, American
Bon Appétit
Get: Clabber with scallops and West African XO; Barbecue with ribs, brisket and plantain Parker rolls; McDonald's Money burger (à la carte, bar)
Tables drop on a schedule · Reservations drop at midnight on the first of the month for the following month; bar à la carte is walk-in only, first come first serve
Easy to book · Walk-ins or booking via the eat app (link on the restaurant page); breakfast weekdays 7-10am, weekends 8-11am; a guide says to book ahead fo
Get: Caesar alla ZZ, Spicy Rigatoni Vodka, Veal Parmesan, Dover Sole Piccata
Very hard to get · Books on SevenRooms with a £50 per person deposit; cancellations after 12PM on the day forfeit it. The release window is not publicly stated
Get: Single tasting menu (about 14 courses); write-ups single out the venison with curry, the tupinambo dashi broth, the foie with gochugaru and shrimp, and the lobster chawanmushi.
Very hard to get · Michelin says the restaurant manages its own bookings and to contact it directly; no release schedule or booking window found.
Belongil, Byron Bay · Byron Bay · Fire-cooked tasting menu, modern Austral
CN Traveler
Get: No fixed dishes: you pick 3, 5 or 7 ingredients (for example Bangalow pork, Flame Tail snapper, Ballina mud crab, or the crème brûlée) and the kitchen cooks them over fire; the "crab" crepe with mangosteen kosho is a cit
Easy to book · Bookings essential; lunch Friday to Sunday from 12pm, dinner Thursday to Saturday from 5:30pm. No release window stated on any page found, s
Chinatown · New York, NY · Contemporary European small plates
Esquire
Get: Comté Tart with Chanterelles; Sardines with Anchovies and Peppers; Grilled King Crab
Tables drop on a schedule · Reservations open 21 days in advance, taken exclusively on Resy; bar seats and bar booths are available for walk-ins nightly
Esquire, Eater, Time Out are next. One email when a new best-new list lands, with who's on it, what to order and how hard each one is to book. Free.
The lists Chef tracks
Coming next: Esquire's Best New Restaurants in America 2026 (usually early December) · Eater's Best New Restaurants in America 2026 (usually late November or December) · Time Out's America's best new restaurants (usually December). They land here the week they drop.
The New York TimesThe Restaurant List 2026 · Sep 2026
The Times' 50 favorite restaurants in America, unranked, none from earlier years. We show the ones we've confirmed, and add more as we check them.
Every national "best new restaurants" list, read and put together, so you don't have to open five articles. A restaurant shows once, with every list that named it; the more lists, the higher it sits. What to order and how hard it is to book are Chef's own read of the restaurant's site, its booking page and recent write-ups, and the date he read it is on each page. Pick a night and a party size at the top and every Book button opens on it.
Chef Amazing isn't connected to any of these publications or paid by any restaurant here. List names belong to their publishers; read the originals with the links above. "A photo like it" is the same kind of food, not from that restaurant.
Chef Amazing remembers every place you ate, keeps the lists friends send you, and helps you cook it at home.