Best of Astoria
Ten Astoria institutions verified open in 2026, from a 1910 Czech beer garden to Ditmars fish tavernas, Little Egypt, and the city's burek benchmark.
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- 1Astoria · $$ · Astoria Blvd (N W) · 29-19 24th Ave, Astoria, NY 11102
Also No. 1 on Best Hangouts in Queens →
Czech and Slovak beer hall with NYC's oldest surviving outdoor beer garden, run by the Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society since 1910, pouring lager steins alongside schnitzel at picnic tables under the trees.
Because it is the last of New York's original immigrant beer gardens, run by the same benevolent society that built it in 1910, and it survived Prohibition while every peer vanished.
Order A half-liter Czech lager stein with the schnitzel
Summer weekend afternoons fill fast, so aim for a weekday evening, and check the calendar first because the garden is hosting 2026 World Cup watch parties through July.
Photo: Marc Flores (marc.flores on Flickr), CC BY 2.0 Photo: Marc Flores (marc.flores on Flickr), CC BY 2.0 - 2Ditmars-Steinway · $$ · Astoria-Ditmars Blvd (N W) · 36-01 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, Queens, NY 11105
Also No. 1 on Best Greek in Astoria → · No. 9 on Best Seafood in NYC →
Perpetually packed Greek seafood taverna on Ditmars, open since 1996 and Michelin Guide listed, built around grilled whole fish, octopus, and lemon potatoes.
Because it has kept a line on the Ditmars sidewalk since 1996 by doing one thing, whole fish over the grill with lemon potatoes, well enough to earn a Michelin Guide listing.
Order Grilled whole fish with lemon potatoes
The line builds quickly at dinner, so arrive before 6 pm or plan to wait outside with everyone else.
@tavernakyclades ↗Taverna Kyclades
From @tavernakyclades on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 3Astoria · $$ · 2512 Steinway St, Astoria, NY 11103
Also No. 8 on Best Middle Eastern in NYC →
Tiny Egyptian restaurant where chef Ali El Sayed has cooked without a fixed menu since 1989, the pioneer of Steinway Street's Little Egypt, known for lamb cheeks and offal specials delivered with the chef's running commentary.
Because Ali El Sayed opened Little Egypt's first landmark kitchen in 1989 and still cooks off-menu lamb cheeks and offal specials himself, a run long enough that Anthony Bourdain came to eat at his counter.
Order The lamb cheeks, whenever Ali has them
It is cash only, seats only a handful, and keeps split hours (1 to 5 pm and 6 to 9 pm, closed Mondays), so bring bills and patience.
Photo: Kent Wang, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Kent Wang, CC BY-SA 2.0 - 4Astoria · $$ · 36 St (M R) · 37-10 33rd St, Long Island City, NY 11101
Family-run Greek fish market turned BYOB restaurant, wholesale since 1993 and sit-down since 2012, where you fill a basket from the ice and tell the counter how to cook it; technically just over the LIC line but treated as Astoria by everyone who eats there.
Because the snapper on your plate is the one you personally pulled off the ice, a wholesale-market ritual the family has run since 1993 that made this fluorescent-lit room a citywide pilgrimage.
Order Grilled whole snapper you picked yourself
It is BYOB, so bring your own wine, and go at an off hour because the dining room turns chaotic on weekend nights.
@astoria.seafood ↗Astoria Seafood
From @astoria.seafood on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 5Astoria · $$ · Astoria-Ditmars Blvd (N W) · 28-13 23rd Ave, Astoria, Queens, NY 11105
Also No. 5 on Best Greek in Astoria →
Old-school Greek taverna since 1990 with the day's whole fish displayed on ice up front, charcoal-grilled octopus, and a big enclosed garden.
Because its charcoal-grilled octopus has been the neighborhood benchmark for 35 years, and the fish still sits on ice by the door for you to pick before it hits the grill.
Order Charcoal-grilled octopus
Unlike most of the old-guard fish houses it takes reservations on Resy, so book ahead and ask for the garden.
@tellystaverna ↗Telly's Taverna
From @tellystaverna on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 6Astoria · $$ · Astoria-Ditmars Blvd (N W) · 19-06 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105
Rustic Greek meze taverna at the edge of Astoria Park, open since 2002, serving regional and Constantinople-style dishes with park-view outdoor tables.
Because it cooks Constantinople-style meze you will not find at the Ditmars fish houses, and The Infatuation credits it with some of the best grilled octopus in a neighborhood that competes hard on octopus.
Order Fire-roasted eggplant
It currently has no working official website, so ignore old links, check the Google listing for hours, and try for an outdoor table facing Astoria Park.
From @agnantimezenyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 7Astoria · $$ · Broadway (N W) · 30-15 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106
Also No. 3 on Best Halal in NYC → · No. 7 on Best Middle Eastern in NYC →
Freddy Zeideia's Palestinian falafel and shawarma operation, a street cart since 2002 that won the 2010 Vendy Award for best street food in NYC and opened this Broadway storefront in 2016.
Because Freddy Zeideia's chickpea-only falafel beat every cart in the city to win the 2010 Vendy Award, and the same recipe is still what hits the fryer on Broadway.
Order The falafel sandwich
Hit the lunch rush when falafel turnover is fastest, or order ahead through kofnyc.com to skip the line.
Photo: Shezadi10, CC0 1.0 Photo: Shezadi10, CC0 1.0 - 8Astoria · $$ · 34-04A 31st Ave, Astoria, NY 11106
Balkan bakery-cafe founded in the late 1990s by Bosnian refugees Esma and Hamo Medunjanin, famous for hand-rolled coiled burek in meat, cheese, spinach, and potato versions with homemade yogurt.
Because the Medunjanin family hand-rolls its coiled burek and runs the only burek factory in the United States, which is why theirs is the pastry every New York burek gets measured against.
Order The meat burek with homemade yogurt
Weekend hours start earlier (9 am Friday through Sunday), which is the right window for burek and yogurt as a proper Balkan breakfast.
@djerdan_burek ↗Djerdan Burek
From @djerdan_burek on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 9Astoria · $$ · 37-18 34th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101
Bosnian grill house on the Astoria/LIC border, dating to 1976 per amNewYork, serving cevapi with kajmak and ajvar, burek, sarma, and pljeskavica; Google lists it under the name Sarajevo Grill.
Because it has served cevapi with kajmak and ajvar since 1976, making it the elder statesman of Astoria's Balkan food scene by a full two decades, and the Balkan expat community still eats here.
Order Cevapi with kajmak and ajvar
Search for it as Sarajevo Grill, the name Google uses, or you may think it has disappeared.
Photo: Alen Ištoković, CC BY 3.0 Photo: Alen Ištoković, CC BY 3.0 - 10Astoria · $$ · Broadway (N W) · 31-91 21st St, Astoria, NY 11106
Chrome-clad Greek-American diner at 21st Street and Broadway since 1965, run by the Dellaportas family, with a phone-book menu, house-made cheesecake, and near-round-the-clock hours from 5 am to 2 am.
Because the Dellaportas family has run it since 1965 and kept it useful the whole time, from house-made cheesecake to the pandemic drive-in movies it staged in its own parking lot.
Order The house-made cheesecake
It is no longer literally 24 hours; the doors close at 2 am and reopen at 5 am, so time the late-night visit accordingly.
Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim (edenpictures) from New York City, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim (edenpictures) from New York City, CC BY 2.0
Good to know
- Is any place on this list cash only?
- Kabab Café is cash only and keeps split hours, 1 to 5pm and 6 to 9pm, closed Mondays, so plan around that and bring bills.
- How do I avoid the line at Taverna Kyclades?
- Arrive before 6pm, since the line for the grilled whole fish on the Ditmars sidewalk builds quickly once dinner starts.
- Do I need to bring my own drinks anywhere?
- Yes, Astoria Seafood is BYOB, so bring your own wine, and go at an off hour since the dining room turns chaotic on weekend nights.