9 New York Restaurants Locals Avoid & 9 Spots They’ll Actually Recommend
New York City’s dining scene can be a maze of hidden gems and tourist traps. While visitors often flock to famous names and flashy spots, locals have their own mental map of where to eat and where to avoid.
As a longtime New Yorker, I’ve witnessed countless friends steer tourists away from overpriced, underwhelming establishments toward the authentic spots that make this city’s food scene legendary.
1. Tourist-Trap Hard Rock Café
Standing in Times Square, the Hard Rock Café lures tourists with its familiar logo and promise of American comfort food. But peek inside and you’ll find $30 burgers that taste suspiciously like frozen patties.
New Yorkers roll their eyes at the thought of waiting 90 minutes for mediocre food when incredible options exist just blocks away.
The truth? We’d rather eat bodega sandwiches than pay premium prices for chain restaurant fare with a side of sensory overload.
2. Olive Garden in Times Square
Nothing screams “I’ve never been to New York before” like waiting two hours for unlimited breadsticks at the Times Square Olive Garden. The three-story Italian-ish chain charges Manhattan prices for dishes you could get at any suburban mall across America.
I once had relatives insist on eating here during their visit. My soul almost faded away watching them spend $100 on pasta that came from bags in the freezer. Meanwhile, Little Italy sat just a subway ride away.
3. Serendipity 3
Famous for its $1,000 sundae and appearances in romantic comedies, Serendipity 3 serves up nostalgia with a hefty side of disappointment. The frozen hot chocolate that everyone waits hours to try? Glorified chocolate milk with whipped cream.
The food is mediocre at best, with sandwiches that would make any deli owner weep. Yet tourists continue queuing around the block while locals know better than to waste precious New York eating opportunities on overpriced, underwhelming fare.
4. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
Based on a movie from 1994, this seafood chain somehow still attracts crowds to its Times Square location. Locals avoid it like the plague, knowing the shrimp arrives frozen from distribution centers and tastes about as fresh as the Forrest Gump references.
The novelty stops plates cost twice what they should. I still remember my cousin’s disappointed face when his $28 “Shrimper’s Heaven” arrived looking nothing like the glossy menu photo. Save your seafood cravings for places that actually specialize in it.
5. Famous Original Ray’s Pizza
There’s Original Ray’s, Famous Ray’s, Famous Original Ray’s, and Real Ray’s, all claiming to be THE authentic Ray’s Pizza. Spoiler alert: most are tourist traps serving mediocre slices under bright lights.
These imposters dot Midtown, charging $5+ for slices that sit under heat lamps for hours. The cheese congeals into a rubbery mass while the crust loses all integrity.
When New Yorkers want pizza, they head to neighborhood joints where the slices come fresh from the oven.
6. Applebee’s in Times Square
Nothing says “I wasted a meal in New York City” like eating at the Times Square Applebee’s.
The well-known 42nd Street location was evicted and closed in 2022, but a nearby Applebee’s at 205 W 50th St is still operating, charging double its suburban prices for the exact same microwaved fare, yet it remains packed with tourists.
The bizarre part? People wait in line for this experience. Meanwhile, authentic New York eateries with reasonable prices sit empty just blocks away.
Local residents would sooner starve than eat here, knowing every dish comes from a freezer bag and a microwave.
7. Carmine’s Italian Restaurant
Carmine’s serves family-style Italian food that’s about as authentic as the Statue of Liberty pencil sharpeners sold on the sidewalk. Their massive portions mask the mediocrity of dishes that would make any Italian grandmother weep.
The restaurant banks on the “bigger is better” philosophy, drowning pasta in sauce to hide its flaws. Yes, you’ll leave with leftovers, but they’ll sit in your hotel fridge until checkout.
I once watched a tourist family order enough food for twenty people while my Italian friend muttered curses under his breath.
8. Ellen’s Stardust Diner
The singing waitstaff at Ellen’s Stardust Diner provides Broadway-adjacent entertainment while serving up diner food that’s been sitting under heat lamps for questionable periods. Tourists wait hours for the privilege of mediocre burgers and deflated milkshakes.
The performances are genuinely talented, but locals know the food doesn’t match the show. I once brought visiting friends here and watched their expressions shift from excitement to confusion as they bit into lukewarm, overpriced sandwiches.
9. TAO Downtown
TAO Downtown exemplifies style over substance with its dramatic Buddha statue and nightclub atmosphere. The pan-Asian menu charges $32 for mediocre sushi rolls that would cost $12 at your neighborhood spot.
Celebrities occasionally appear, which keeps the reservation book full despite food that’s been described as “aggressively average.” The restaurant banks on atmosphere and Instagram potential rather than culinary excellence.
My friend spent $400 here on her birthday and still ended up ordering pizza when she got home.
10. Lucali
In Carroll Gardens, Lucali serves pizza so transcendent that locals willingly line up hours before opening. Owner Mark Iacono hand-builds each pie using a rolling pin that belonged to his grandmother, creating thin, charred crusts topped with fresh basil and buffalo mozzarella.
The BYOB policy keeps costs reasonable despite the restaurant’s celebrity clientele (Jay-Z and Beyoncé are regulars). My first bite here made me question every pizza I’d eaten before.
The simplicity is the magic—just perfectly balanced sauce, cheese, and that impossibly good crust.
11. Veselka
This East Village Ukrainian diner has served soul-warming comfort food around the clock for decades (24/7 paused during the pandemic and returned in 2024).
The pierogi, pillowy pockets of potato or cheese, arrive pan-fried with caramelized onions and a side of sour cream that makes everything better. During the 2003 blackout, Veselka fed the neighborhood by candlelight, cementing its place in local hearts.
I’ve stumbled in at 3 AM after concerts and at 9 AM for hangover cures. Their borscht, vibrant red and topped with dill, has magical restorative powers no matter what time you visit.
12. Xi’an Famous Foods
What began as a basement stall in Flushing now boasts multiple locations serving Northwestern Chinese cuisine that makes locals’ hearts race. Their hand-pulled noodles, particularly the spicy cumin lamb version, deliver a perfect balance of heat, tang, and numbing Sichuan peppercorns.
Prices remain reasonable despite their expansion. The founder’s father still tastes every sauce batch for consistency. I’ve watched first-timers’ eyes widen at that first slurp of their signature noodles: chewy, spicy, and utterly unlike the Chinese food most Americans grow up eating.
13. Superiority Burger
In the East Village (relocated to a larger space at 119 Avenue A in 2023), Superiority Burger revolutionized vegetarian fast food with its compact menu of creative plant-based offerings.
The namesake burger, a compact, flavor-packed patty topped with Muenster cheese, iceberg lettuce and tomato, converted even dedicated carnivores. Chef Brooks Headley, formerly a pastry chef at Del Posto, brings fine dining precision to casual food.
Last summer, I watched a construction worker have a religious experience biting into their burnt broccoli salad. The gelato flavors change daily, with combinations like saffron vanilla that shouldn’t work but somehow do.
14. Katz’s Delicatessen
Yes, it’s in every guidebook, but Katz’s remains a legitimate local institution rather than a tourist trap. Their hand-carved pastrami, steamed for hours until fork-tender, is piled higher than seems physically possible on rye bread with a smear of mustard.
The counter system intimidates first-timers (don’t lose your ticket!), but the ritual is part of the experience. My grandfather brought me here for my first pastrami sandwich when I was seven.
The counterman slipped me an extra piece of meat, and three decades later, I still dream about that perfect balance of fat, spice, and smoke.
15. Di Fara Pizza
In Midwood, Brooklyn, octogenarian Dom DeMarco spent over 50 years making each pizza himself until his passing in 2022. His children continue his legacy, crafting pies with imported Italian ingredients and the same meticulous attention to detail.
The wait can stretch to hours, but patience rewards you with transcendent pizza. Dom would snip fresh basil over each pie, drizzle olive oil in a cross pattern, and carefully monitor the char on each crust.
My first visit, I watched an Italian tourist weep after his first bite, a higher compliment than any Michelin star.
16. Nom Wah Tea Parlor
Chinatown’s oldest dim sum restaurant opened in 1920 and still serves exceptional dumplings in its vintage diner setting. Unlike other dim sum spots with rolling carts, Nom Wah prepares each order fresh, resulting in hotter, more delicate dumplings.
Their roast pork buns achieve the perfect balance of sweet and savory, while the rice rolls wrapped around crispy fried dough create a textural masterpiece.
During Lunar New Year, three generations of my Chinese-American neighbors make their annual pilgrimage here, declaring the egg rolls “just like my grandmother made them.”
17. Scarr’s Pizza
This Lower East Side slice joint looks like a 1970s throwback but revolutionizes pizza by milling organic grain in-house daily. The result? Pizza with depth of flavor that makes other slices taste like cardboard.
Owner Scarr Pimentel combines old-school technique with sustainable ingredients, creating the perfect New York slice: thin, foldable, with the ideal sauce-to-cheese ratio.
After moving in 2023 to 35 Orchard St, the new, larger space still fills with locals who appreciate that a slice here costs only slightly more than the corner pizzeria but delivers exponentially better flavor.
Their pepperoni cup and curl into perfect little grease pools that will haunt your dreams.
18. Adda Indian Canteen
In the East Village (after relocating from Long Island City in 2025), Adda serves regional Indian dishes rarely found in American restaurants.
The goat biryani arrives sealed under a dome of dough that releases aromatic steam when punctured, revealing perfectly spiced rice and tender meat.
Chef Chintan Pandya refuses to tone down traditional flavors, resulting in electrifying dishes that have New Yorkers making pilgrimages to Queens.
The tandoori chicken arrives with charred edges and smoky depth that chain restaurants can’t replicate. During my last visit, the table next to me ordered one of everything on the menu; the highest compliment in a city of culinary options.