Best of the Lower East Side
The Lower East Side's essential food stops, verified against real addresses and current hours, from century-old delis to modern natural wine bars.
Corrected
- Oct 3, 2026: We described Contra, Wildair's sister restaurant next door, as Michelin-starred. In fact Contra, which did hold a Michelin star, served its final meal on October 28, 2023. Source 1, Source 2
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- 1Lower East Side · $$$ · 2 Av (F) · 205 E Houston St
Also No. 1 on Best Jewish Delis in NYC → · No. 1 on Best Late-Night Eats in NYC →
Century-old Jewish deli famous for hand-carved pastrami and matzo ball soup
Because Katz's has hand-carved pastrami at the corner of Houston and Ludlow since 1888, the run that made it the single most famous deli in America.
Order A hot pastrami sandwich with a Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray soda, the classic pairing.
Take the paper ticket at the door and do not lose it, hand it to the counter cutter to order, then tip them directly before finding a table.
Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0 - 2Lower East Side · $$$ · 2 Av (F) · 179 E Houston St
Also No. 1 on Best Bagels in Manhattan → · No. 2 on Best Jewish Delis in NYC →
Fourth-generation Jewish appetizing shop for smoked fish, caviar, bagels and bialys
Because the same family has run this Houston Street storefront since 1920, six years after founding the business nearby in 1914.
Order The Classic, a bagel with Gaspe Nova salmon, cream cheese, tomato, onion, and capers.
Take a number at the door and listen for it to be called, the counter moves fast and there is no browsing line.
Photo: Kidfly182, CC BY-SA 4.0 - 3Lower East Side · $$ · 2 Av (F) · 137 E Houston St
Hand-rolled, oven-baked knish bakery
Because it has sold knishes on the Lower East Side since 1890 and has baked at this Houston Street address since 1910.
Order The classic potato knish, baked rather than fried.
Order the potato knish plain and add the counter mustard yourself, this is a stand-and-eat or takeout spot, not table service.
@yonahschimmel ↗Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery
From @yonahschimmel on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 4Lower East Side · $$ · Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 367 Grand St
The oldest bialy bakery in the United States
Because Kossar's traces to 1936 and has baked at this Grand Street corner since the early 1960s, making it the oldest bialy bakery in the country.
Order A warm onion bialy, the bakery's namesake.
Ask for a bialy fresh from the oven rather than one sitting in the case, it is boiled less and baked more than a bagel and best eaten warm.
@kossars ↗Kossar's Bagels & Bialys
From @kossars on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 5Lower East Side · $$ · Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 108 Rivington St
Floor-to-ceiling old-school candy shop
Because the same family has run this Rivington Street candy store since 1937, making it New York City's oldest retail candy shop.
Order A bag of bulk halvah, sold by weight since the shop opened.
Head to the bulk bins in the back for old-fashioned candy sold by the pound, the register-side shelves are just the front of the store.
@economycandy ↗Economy Candy
From @economycandy on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 6Lower East Side · $$$ · Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 142 Orchard St
Also No. 5 on Best Wine Bars in Manhattan →
Natural-wine-driven small-plates restaurant
Because chefs Jeremiah Stone and Fabian von Hauske opened it in 2015 next to Contra, their since-closed Michelin-starred restaurant, and it is still packed on a natural-wine list a decade later.
Order Ask the staff what natural wine is pouring by the glass that night.
Seating is limited and reservations go fast, walk in right at opening or be ready to wait at the bar.
@wildairnyc ↗Wildair
Loads from Instagram
From @wildairnyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 7Lower East Side · $ · East Broadway (F) · 35 Orchard St
Also No. 3 on Best Pizza in Manhattan → · No. 7 on Best Pizza in NYC →
By-the-slice pizzeria that mills its own flour on premises
Because Scarr's mills its own wheat into flour on site, the only pizza-by-the-slice shop in New York that does, a practice unchanged since it opened in 2016.
Order The plain cheese slice, made from the house-milled flour.
The shop moved into a larger Orchard Street space in 2023 but still gets crowded at lunch, go slightly off peak to skip the line.
Photo: Kidfly182, CC BY 4.0 - 8Lower East Side · $$ · Bowery (J Z) · 2 Freeman Alley
Rustic American restaurant at the end of a discreet alley
Because it has run at the literal end of Freeman Alley since 2004, a two-decade-plus run that made it the archetype of the alley-entrance LES restaurant.
Order A classic cocktail off the bar list, ask what is pouring that season.
Look for the unmarked alley entrance off Rivington Street, there is no sign, just walk to the end.
From @freemansrestaurant on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 9Lower East Side · $$ · Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 86 Allen St
Vegetable-only tasting-menu restaurant
Because chef Amanda Cohen has run this all-vegetable kitchen at this Allen Street address since 2015, built on a concept she started in 2008.
Order The tasting menu, ask about a wine pairing built around the vegetable courses.
Book ahead through Resy, the room is small and the tasting-menu format means walk-ins rarely get seated.
@dirtcandynyc ↗Dirt Candy
From @dirtcandynyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 10Lower East Side · $$ · Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 4 Clinton St
Also No. 4 on Best Brunch in Manhattan →
All-day American bakery-restaurant known for pancakes and biscuits
Because it has run brunch at this Clinton Street corner since 2001, a run long enough to make its pancakes a standing fixture on best-of-NYC lists.
Order The blueberry pancakes with warm maple butter.
Weekend brunch lines start before opening, go on a weekday morning or book dinner instead if you want to skip the wait.
Photo: Belathee Photography, CC BY-SA 3.0
Good to know
- What is the best restaurant on the Lower East Side?
- Katz's Delicatessen is the pick, a century-old Jewish deli that has hand-carved pastrami at Houston and Ludlow since 1888. Take the paper ticket at the door, hand it to the counter cutter, and order the hot pastrami sandwich with a Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray soda.
- Where can I get an old-school bagel or bialy on the Lower East Side?
- Russ & Daughters has run its Houston Street appetizing shop since 1920, best known for the Classic bagel with Gaspe Nova salmon, cream cheese, tomato, onion, and capers. For bialys, Kossar's has baked at its Grand Street corner since the early 1960s and is the oldest bialy bakery in the country, so ask for one warm from the oven.
- Is there a vegetarian tasting menu on the Lower East Side?
- Dirt Candy is an all-vegetable tasting-menu restaurant that chef Amanda Cohen has run at this Allen Street address since 2015. Book ahead through Resy, since the room is small and walk-ins rarely get seated.