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The restaurant industry is nothing short of tenacious, filled with brands and leaders that are resilient and profound at every bend. From surviving a global pandemic, to economic hardships and everything in between: the NYC restaurant scene is a force to be reckoned with.
We took a look at powerful players that are pushing the needle forward and expanding into the digital space and beyond. Here are our 2022 Top 20 NYC restaurants with online ordering that are leading the charge for restaurants and pioneering the future of our industry.
1. &Pizza
Order direct: &Pizza Menu
&Pizza is the coveted New York pizza brand, best known for their insane branding, even better pies, and strong stance on fair pay and community for their staff. The iconic pizza brand started turning heads with its first-ever shop in D.C.’s historic H Street Northeast Corridor and soon scaled to over 35 locations. With each pizza shop reflecting the neighborhood it resides in and the culture that comes with it, &Pizza dominates the pizza space both on and offline. From loyalty offerings, to advocating for better working conditions for all NYC workers, &Pizza is the pizza spot to support and love.
2. 16 Handles
Order direct: 16 Handles Menu
16 Handles takes the lead in desserts as NYC’s #1 Soft Serve & Dessert Brand, serving up 16 rotating soft serve flavors and a tasty array of toppings at each location. Focused on creating an inclusive and experience-focused brand in the dessert space, 16 Handles opened up their first location in East Village in 2008 and has since expanded to over 29 locations with online ordering so guests can experience the dessert in any setting. With a strong mission to build community, 16 Handles has led the space with unmatched loyalty offerings and experiences for their guests.
3. Bareburger
Order direct: Bareburger Menu
Bareburger is serving up delicious burgers, fries and good times with health and environmental sustainability in mind. Devoted to fresh food and ethical eating, the burger joint has appealed to different dietary restrictions since their first burger sale back in 2002 at Sputnik, a music venue in Brooklyn. With a quickly developed cult-like following, in 2009 Bareburger opened their doors in the midst of a global recession and has since scaled to over 35 locations with an online ordering experience and digital loyalty presence that goes unmatched.
4. Black Tap
Order direct: Black Tap Menu
Black Tap is famous for its award-winning burgers, CrazyShake milkshakes and craft beers, all served in a nostalgic setting with a mission to deliver fun and familiar quality food. Keeping a timeless NYC vibe alive, Black Tap has scaled from their OG brick-and-mortar spot on SoHo’s Broome Street to iconic spaces in NYC, the Vegas Strip, Disney, Kuwait, Singapore, Switzerland, the UAE, among many more. In addition to new locations, Black Tap dominates the digital world; from their online ordering and loyalty options for their guests, to their cult-like social presence.
5. CAVA
Order direct: CAVA Menu
CAVA is inspired by Mediterranean roots, where there is no sacrifice between health and flavor, serving up nutrient-dense meals for all. Focusing on bold flavors and fresh, high quality ingredients, CAVA opened their first location in 2010 and has since expanded to over 130 locations across the country. Using food as a unifier, CAVA builds community and culture in NYC by making their delicious food accessible to all - with new locations, online-ordering and loyalty programs that keep them top of mind.
6. Emmy Squared
Order direct: Emmy Squared
Emmy Squared is the place to go for a one-of-a-kind signature pizza that combines a New York style grandma pie with a Detroit style pizza, cooked to perfection on focaccia-like dough in NYC. Opening their first location in Williamsburg in 2016, Emmy Squared garnered neighborhood crowds, soon scaling to 18 locations with more on the way. Between their love for the community, powerful online ordering and loyalty offerings, and the most craveable signature pizzas, Emmy Squared takes the pie for the best NYC slices around.
7. Fuku
Order direct: Fuku Menu
Fuku is a fried chicken joint that draws from Asian and American influences, serving up tasty fried chicken, sides and slushies. Led by celebrity chef, David Chang, Fuku has been on a mission to change the way people think about fast casual with a devotion to guest experience and delivering craveable food. With 16 locations open across the country and serving among 12 stadiums and arenas, Fuku has led the fast casual scene with a web and app ordering experience that delivers it all and more.
8. INDAY
Order direct: INDAY Menu
INDAY is a fast casual restaurant that celebrates the joyful connection of food & hospitality, inspired by Indian cultures around the world. With a mission to inspire people with the beauty and tastiness behind Indian cuisine, INDAY entered the New York food space and has expanded to 6 locations, with an online ordering experience that expands operations and gets meals into more hands. With a delicious Indian-inspired menu, dishes like sensational curries and bright and colorful bowls make INDAY a top pick for Indian cuisine in the bustling city.
9. Insomnia cookies
Order direct: Insomnia Cookies Menu
Insomnia Cookies are fresh (and insane) cookies made for late night deliveries. Filling a missing gap in the industry back in 2003, Insomnia Cookies were baked in a dorm room at the University of Pennsylvania, soon graduating to their first storefront in Syracuse, NY with many NYC food trucks to follow. From there, Insomnia scaled their cookie operations to over 200 locations, feeding the late-night cookie cravers of the world. With an in-app loyalty program that goes unmatched in the dessert space and online ordering made easy, Insomnia Cookies is leading the late-night cookie scene from end-to-end.
10. Maman
Order direct: Maman Menu
Maman is a culinary leader, delivering cafe and bakery cuisines inspired by family traditions and quality ingredients around the world. With a focus on delivering a thoughtful experience to all of their guests, Maman opened their first grab and go cafe location in SoHo in 2014 for traveling visitors, and soon scaled into New York, Canada, and beyond. With their commitment to their guest experience across all locations and through their native online ordering platform — Maman takes the cake with a beautifully branded experience that’s coupled with loyalty and promotional offers.
11. Milk Bar
Order direct: Milk Bar Menu
Milk Bar is a sweet shop that turns bake-sale desserts on its head, serving up cakes, cake truffles, bark and signature milk bar pies to NYC neighbors and beyond. Founded by James Beard award winning bakery chef, Christina Tosi, the dessert shop opened their first doors in NYC and expanded to 13 locations across the country, with delivery options to anyone and everyone through their website. With quick expansion and tasty (emphasis on tasty) desserts, Milk Bar reigns supreme as the one-stop-shop for bake-sale favorites in NYC.
12. Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque
Order direct: Mighty Quinn’s Menu
Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque is a well-renowned BBQ food joint that serves up Southern tradition with wood-smoked, mouth-watering barbequed brisket, pork, and chicken. Starting as a weekend-only popup in Brooklyn with a mobile-pit that attracted crowds, Mighty Quinn’s soon opened their first flagship restaurant in the East Side in 2012, quickly scaling to 12 locations with one living internationally in Dubai. From the smoky, traditional barbeque food that leaves you wanting more, to the atmosphere and community it breeds, Mighty Quinn’s leads the BBQ space, both, in-person and online with importance placed on the guest experience from end-to-end.
13. NAYA
Order direct: NAYA Menu
NAYA is a modern Lebanese-Mediterranean brand, serving up traditional Lebanese fare with both contemporary and quick service settings for anyone and everyone. With a full-dining restaurant located in Midtown East and 13 quick service locations with 4 new locations on the menu, NAYA brings tradition to a modern and bustling city. Between classic and delicious menu items, and a digital guest experience with in-app loyalty that goes unmatched, NAYA is the restaurant to go to when you want a taste of Lebanese food in the big city.
14. Serafina
Order direct: Serafina Menu
Serafina takes a creative twist on homestyle Italian cuisine, serving authentic pizza with a commitment to quality ingredients and ambiance. In a city that shares a love for pizza, Serafina opened up their first location on 79th Street on the Upper East Side in 1995 and have since expanded with dozens of locations across three continents. With a mission to create memorable meals and a cult-like fan base that cannot get enough - Serafina leads the NYC pizza scene with an online ordering experience that can get their pie into any New Yorker’s hands (and belly).
15. Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine
Order direct: Sophie’s Cuban Menu
Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine is a restaurant founded on culture and tradition, serving up savory steaming plates of Cuban cuisine, with a top rated sandwich that led Sophie’s to win the title of the Best Sandwich in NY award. Starting by selling delicious Peruvian food from carts at the soccer field of Queens, Sophie’s Cuban opened their first location on Greenwich Street in 1997 and has since grown to 9 locations. Between the Cuban sandwiches, savory empanadas, and special green sauce, Sophie’s leads the NYC Cuban food scene in-person and online with promotional offers and service that builds authentic community.
16. Springbone
Order direct: Springbone Menu
Springbone Kitchen is a brand that focuses on delivering nutrient-dense and delicious food with soups, bowls, and breads that are cooked with zero processed ingredients, refined sugar or canola oil. With a commitment to health and wellness, Springbone opened their first location in Greenwich Village in 2016 and quickly became a neighborhood favorite, with 4 additional locations to open shortly after. Between their mission to prioritize health with wholesome food, their commitment to their community, and online ordering that delivers their health benefits right to the homes of their guests, Springbone is a rising leader in the NYC food scene.
17. Sticky’s Finger Joint
Order direct: Sticky’s Menu
Sticky’s Finger Joint serves up “the best damn chicken fingers,” steamy fries, and chicken sandwiches as just a couple of their signature creations. Created out of a love for chicken fingers, Sticky’s opened their doors in NYC and has quickly expanded to New Jersey with plans to venture further in the future. Between their commitment to quality with never frozen, antibiotic-free chicken, an inclusive culture that invests into local artists, and their devotion to their guest experience with digital loyalty and more, Sticky’s Finger Joint is a top pick for all-things chicken, culture, and community.
18. Sweetgreen
Order direct: Sweetgreen Menu
Sweetgreen is building healthier communities by connecting people to real food with delicious salads and bowls packed with powerful superfoods and nutrients. With a powerful focus on delivering locally sourced and organic ingredients from farmers and partners they trust, Sweetgreen opened their first location in Washington D.C. in 2007 with a mission to serve sustainable earth-friendly food. With over 150 locations, Sweetgreen is scaling quickly in every avenue, including with their online ordering offerings that are focused on the guest experience with a sleek user interface and branding that speaks to the mission and community.
19. Tacombi
Order direct: Tacombi Menu
Tacombi is the best stop for all things tasty tacos, burritos, and booze, making it top of mind when craving Mexican food. With a beautiful backstory that dates the mission back to a 1963 Combi bus, the taqueria has since scaled from their first location in a garage in downtown New York in 2010, to new neighborhood taquerias in New York, Washington D.C., and Miami. In addition to their newer locations, the traditional and community-based brand has taken over the online ordering landscape with everything from lavish branding and guest experience, to loyalty and promotional offers.
20. Zaro’s Family Bakery
Order direct: Zaro’s Menu
Zaro’s Family Bakery is a household name in NYC, serving up delicious and iconic classic cookies for over 95 years. With a love for building community and delivering the best Black & White cookies on the market, Zaro’s opened their first location in the Bronx in 1927 and soon expanded to bustling locations like Grand Central and Penn Station, among others. Alongside their 11 locations and counting, Zaro’s Family Bakery has promoted expansion through their online experience, with loyalty rewards that go unmatched.
Top New York Restaurants That Are a Must
NYC is not the only city lucky enough to be home to the top eateries and restaurant brands. Expanding out a little, here are four brands that we had to mention for obvious reasons: the food.
Alfalfa
Order direct: Alfalfa Menu
Alfalfa is on a mission to inspire healthier communities between balanced salads, homemade gluten-free doughnuts, and everything in between. Starting from a local farmers market tent, Alfalfa opened their first doors in Hoboken, New Jersey in 2019, investing more into creating the warm atmosphere where their community grew into what it is today. Alongside building a community, the Alfalfa team has built a cult-like following with an energized online ordering and digital presence that keeps guests obsessed.
Golden Krust
Order direct: Golden Krust Menu
Golden Krust has been sharing the taste of the Caribbean since 1989 with savory flavors of their famous jerk chicken and curried menu options. After helping their parents run their family bakery, 11 siblings opened up their first doors on Gunhill Road, NY, soon expanding to patty plants and opening up the doors to well over 100 restaurants in the span of 30 years. From in-store groceries and promotional trucks in NYC, to online ordering and beyond — Golden Krust is top of mind for any and all Jamaican food cravings.
Le Pain Quotidien
Order direct: Le Pain Quotidien Menu
Le Pain Quotidien is truly a national treasure, serving up homemade baked goods backed by simplicity and fresh ingredients. From decadent baked breads and tartines, to crafted salads and quiches, Le Pain Quotidien has taken over the New York brunch scene for the past 30 years. With their first doors opening in Brussels, the baked-bread empire has grown to now 260 locations world-wide, including storefronts in NYC, Los Angeles, and Miami. With a beautiful backstory, a mission that's riddled with serving the community, and online ordering that expands impact, Le Pain Quotidien is a force to be reckoned with in the NYC baked goods space.
Magnolia Bakery
Order direct: Magnolia Bakery Menu
Magnolia Bakery is a nationwide sensation, serving up beautiful and delicious bakery goods — everything from cupcakes and cakes, to their world famous banana pudding. With their first location opening its doors in the West Village in 1996, Magnolia Bakery has scaled their operations to 38 U.S. and international locations. Curating baked goods the old-fashioned way, Magnolia Bakery is a leader in the food space with a loyalty program that speaks to their guests and online ordering that gets their world famous bakery items in more peoples' hands.
Wings Over
Order direct: Wings Over Menu
Wings Over has set out to serve the highest-grade chicken wings and ultimate guest experience since 1999 with now 40+ locations across 13 states. With core values of great people, amazing food, and creating smile-able experiences, Wings Over continues to scale in the physical and digital landscape, leading the way with user experience and loyalty offerings that go unmatched.
A Thank You to Our Industry
From burgers, tacos, and bakeries, to authentic Cuban cuisine and more: NYC has proven time and time again that it is the city to be in for all things food, community, and culture. With 20 powerful brands that are actively paving the way for future small-restaurants and building community through food and tradition — we pay love to the NYC restaurant industry and the people that have built it.
