Where to Find the Best Chinese food in NYC

Our picks for the best Chinese food around New York City:

Cafe China

Café China

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Beloved New York City restaurant Cafe China has made a triumphant return to a quaint three story building in Midtown. The iconic dishes from the original restaurant, like the tea-smoked duck, are paired with new dishes like spicy soft shell crab and a whole steamed fish. Not to mention the menu mingles nicely with their selection of elevated classic cocktails and Chinese wine.

Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather

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This Williamsburg restaurant focuses on Szechuan cuisine and serves a nice balance of meat and vegetable forward dishes. The food is complex, often spicy, and comes in portions perfect for sharing - making it the perfect venue for a group. Don’t skip the poached wontons in chili sauce, dan dan noodles, or Chongqing spicy chicken with extra rice to soak up the generous soaking of sauce.

P.S. If you can’t make it to Cafe China, Birds of a Feather is owned and operated by the same chefs!

Nom Wah

Nom Wah Nolita

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Since 1920, Nom Wah has been serving hungry New Yorkers dim sum, steamed buns, fresh pastries, and tea. The owner, Mr. Wally Tang, has worked in the restaurant since 1950. The lengthy menu offers guests an opportunity to experience tried-and-true dim sum staples from pork siu mai to Shanghainese soup dumplings and even chicken feet.

Nom Wah presents opportunities to be adventurous and to enjoy the familiar from their restaurant in the heart of Nolita, formerly part of New York City’s Chinatown.

Nom Wah Nolita

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Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles

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Nestled nearby Nom Wah in Chinatown proper, Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles’ unassuming dining room offers a quick and affordable array of, well, hand-pulled noodles. Come by with cash and an empty stomach and go for the knife-cut noodles (we recommend pan fried!) tossed with shrimp, pork, vegetables, and more.

Xi'an Famous Foods

Xi'an Famous Foods 西安名吃

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Xi'an Famous Foods asks guests to “please come hungry.” We recommend you do, as these hearty dishes from the Chinese city of Xi’an are packed with spice, tang and will only set you back between $5-12 each.

You can’t go wrong, but the marinated cucumbers, spicy cumin lamb noodles, and cold skin noodles are to die for. The only mistake you can make, according to the owner, would be to order any dish not spicy. Grab a drink and a seat at the first-come-first-served tables and prepare for heat.

Tim Ho Wan

Tim Ho Wan

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Cantonese dim sum master Mak Kwai Pui launched his restaurant in Hong Kong in 2009 and now operates a couple of locations in New York. For those looking to dig into some Chinese cuisine before noon, dim sum begins at 11:30 and serves a variety of Cantonese staples from har gow to siu mai to congee with pork and preserved egg. This is the right bet for those who want a less overwhelming menu, with each option executed to perfection.

White Bear

White Bear

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One could easily spend an entire trip to New York eating through the Chinese food in Flushing alone. White Bear has been attracting an increasing number of visitors to the borough of Queens with their unbelievable dumplings and wontons served in an unfussy, homey atmosphere. You’ll be spoiled for choice with everything from fried rice to noodles and fresh dumplings. But, with an order of 12 dumplings coming in at just $6.50, you won’t have to make any difficult decisions.

Joe's Shanghai

Joe's Shanghai

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Joe’s Shanghai is another staple of New York City’s iconic Chinese restaurants. This Shanghainese restaurant is nestled in Chinatown (with another location in Flushing) and offers guests no less than 100 options to choose from.

Joe's is most famous for their chip long bao (soup dumplings), and claim they were the first restaurant in the city to serve them. The restaurant is a perfect choose-your-own-adventure type place to pair familiar favorites with the potential new favorites you’ll get to try for the first time.

Wah Fung Fast Food

Wah Fung Fast Food

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Two words: roast pork. Wah Fung is famed for a short menu of 3-ish items: roast pork, roast duck, and roast chicken, with the most expensive among them coming in at under $4. There is usually a line but it is so worth it for a quick bite while exploring New York City’s Chinatown.

Super Taste

Super Taste

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After you’ve had your fill of roast pork at Wah Fung, stop by Super Taste just around the corner. This no-frills spot specializes in Western Chinese cuisine, evidenced by their hand-pulled noodles which are among the best in New York City. The noodles with spicy beef soup are the main attraction, but we recommend grabbing the pan fried pork and chive dumplings and a pork house bao (or two) to share.

Bonnie's

Bonnie's

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Calvin Eng’s new Cantonese restaurant, Bonnie’s, has made a splash since opening with their eclectic menu featuring dishes like cacio e pepe with fermented bean curd and their take on a McRib dressed with a cha siu glaze and served with Chinese hot mustard.

The menu is fun, full of variety, and complemented with a lovely wine list that will impress even the snobbiest wine-o at the table. Definitely make a reservation and spend some time before or after your visit exploring Williamsburg!

MaLa Project

MáLà Project

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In the East Village (plus Midtown West and East), you’ll find a Chinese restaurant specializing in Málá dry-pot dishes that are perfect for a group outing. You’ll choose a minimum of three ingredients to start; choices include spam, funsize pork sausage, and scallops, which are then wok-fried over high heat with a signature mix of spices and chilis.

They offer spice levels from mild to true Sichuan spice on the dry-pot, plus a variety of other dim sum and small plates worth trying. Booking in advance is recommended, although we love this spot in a pinch because walk-ins and same-day reservations are usually possible.