Food & Wine toasted NYC as home to some of the nation’s best bites and beverages — including Penny, the King Cole Bar, and Dominique Ansel.
NEW YORK CITY — The No. 1 city in the country for food and drink is New York City, and two of the best places to eat are Penny and The Musket Room, according to Food & Wine’s annual Global Tastemakers Awards.
The winners across multiple categories “define American dining in 2025,” Food & Wine said in an announcement Wednesday.
“You can find a great meal in virtually any corner of America, if you know where to look,” Food & Wine said. “In some cities, though, an array of talented and ambitious chefs, cooks, and bartenders converge to create a truly standout food scene.”
In fact, NYC was recognized in all six categories that made up the Global Tastemakers Awards — not only winning overall, but also rising to No. 1 on the Best Cities for Pastries list and being the top-shelf choice for Best Hotel Bars.
“It’s no surprise that New York City tops this list,” Food & Wine writer Regan Stephens said, noting the seemingly-endless number of options across the five boroughs — from fine-dining institutions to hole-in-the-wall hangouts.
As mentioned above, two eateries were named among the top 15 in the nation: The Musket Room on Elizabeth Street in Lower Manhattan, with its “upscale and global” tasting menus; and Penny, a “simple seafood spot” on East 10th in the East Village that boasts oysters, razor clams, scallop crudo, and mussels escabeche. They came in at No. 3 and No. 12, respectively.
Penny was also nominated for a James Beard Award this year.
The “dependably swanky” King Cole Bar, inside the St. Regis New York on Fifth Avenue, topped the Best Hotel Bars list, with its Gilded Age trappings and the signature Red Snapper cocktail — “Don’t leave without sampling at least one.”
Titsou, located in the boutique Fouquet’s hotel, is “a portal to 1920s Paris” with its Art Deco flourishes and cozy seating. “No drink here is as simple as it seems,” reviewers wrote, highlighting the sophisticated twists on classic drinks like the Cosmopolitan or Gin and Tonic. Titsou was at No. 4 on the list.
New York City was also named the crème de la crème of pastry destinations, whether you’re looking for a classic bagel, a cronut, or a slice of cheesecake. “It’s an epicenter of world-class pastry chefs who spin sugar into works of art,” Food & Wine enthused. Levain, Dominique Ansel, Lysée, and Ess-a-Bagel were among their top spots.
For Best U.S. Airports For Food and Drink, the array of dining options at JFK International (No. 3) and LaGuardia (No. 4) earned both a spot.
And, finally, NYC came in at No. 2 in the Best Cities for Coffee list, thanks to specialty cafés and roasters like Coffee Project New York, La Cabra, and Abraco.
The Global Tastemakers Awards are intended as a guide to help tourists find great food and drinks they travel around the United States and internationally. In the United States, the following awards were presented:
Top 10 Cities for Food and Drink
- New York City
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Austin, Texas
- New Orleans
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Miami
- San Francisco
- Houston
- Philadelphia
Top 15 U.S. Restaurants
- Burdell, Oakland, California
- Canlis, Seattle
- The Musket Room, New York City
- Lowland, Charleston, South Carolina
- Emeril’s, New Orleans
- Mr. Tuna, Portland, Maine
- Yangban, Los Angeles
- My Loup, Philadelphia
- Myriel, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Stissing House, White Plains, New York
- Nancy’s Hustle, Houston
- Penny, New York City
- Sunny’s, Miami
- Virtue, Chicago
- Oyster Oyster, Washington, D.C.
Top 10 Cities for Pastries
- New York City
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- New Orleans
- Boston
- Miami
- Houston
- Las Vegas
- Detroit
Top 10 Cities for Coffee
- Los Angeles
- New York City
- Seattle
- Portland, Oregon
- New Orleans
- San Francisco
- Boston
- Miami
- Honolulu
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
Top 10 Hotel Bars
- King Cole Bar, St. Regis, New York City
- Elysian Bar, Hotel Peter and Paul, New Orleans
- Evening Bar, Shinola Hotel, Detroit
- Titsou, Fouquet’s, New York City
- Allegory, Eaton, Washington D.C.
- Collins, The Fontainebleau, Las Vegas
- Four Walls, The Joseph, Nashville
- Midnight Rambler, The Joule, Dallas
- SkyHigh, Four Seasons, Philadelphia
- Z Bar, Peninsula, Chicago
Top 10 U.S. Airports for Food and Drink
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City
- LaGuardia Airport, New York City
- Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Austin, Texas
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
- San Francisco International Airport
- Denver International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
To develop the list of the best food and drink experiences for travelers, Food & Wine polled more than 400 chefs, travel experts, food and travel writers and wine pros from around the world. The results were ranked by the outlet’s Global Advisory Board, which ranked the top nominees in each category.
