30 restaurants worth the trip across United States, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All United States guides.
Cúrate ★ 4.9 · Asheville
downtown · 13 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Katie Button and Felix Meana's Cúrate in Asheville opened on Biltmore Avenue in 2011 and won the 2022 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding.
Tip: Book on Resy 30 days ahead. Bar seats and the chef's counter take walk-ins from 17:00; arrive at opening.
Neptune Oyster ★ 4.9 · Boston
north-end · 63 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113
Neptune Oyster on Salem Street has run the city's defining raw bar in Boston since 2004. 42 seats, no reservations, Gulf of Maine lobster roll on a buttered.
Tip: Put your name on the iPad at 16:30, walk to a bar, and return when they text. The 20:00 wait can run 90 minutes.
Husk ★ 4.9 · Charleston
downtown · 76 Queen St, Charleston, SC 29401
Sean Brock's Husk in Charleston opened on Queen Street in 2010 and rebuilt Southern fine dining around heritage Anson Mills grains, Sea Island peas.
Tip: Book on huskcharleston.com. The bar serves the full menu walk-up from 17:00 onward, no reservations needed.
FIG ★ 4.9 · Charleston
downtown · 232 Meeting St, Charleston, SC 29401
Mike Lata and Jason Stanhope's FIG in Charleston has been the neighbourhood-scaled dining benchmark since 2003. Kitchen leans lowcountry, seasonal.
Tip: Book 30 days ahead on Resy. Bar seats are first-come Booking recommended for weekends.
Counter- ★ 4.9 · Charlotte
west-charlotte · 2001 W Morehead St Suite D, Charlotte, NC 28208
Sam Hart's Counter- earned North Carolina's first Michelin star and a Green Star in 2025, with rotating tasting-menu themes on West Morehead in Charlotte.
Tip: Reserve on Tock as early as you can. Counter- holds the only Michelin star in the Carolinas, and demand jumped after the November 2025 awards.
Alinea ★ 4.9 · Chicago
lincoln-park · 1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
Alinea in Chicago is Grant Achatz's three-Michelin-star tasting menu at 1723 N Halsted, the dining room that codified American modernist fine dining.
Tip: Book the Gallery flow if you want the full theatre; Salon is the quieter, three-course-less option.
Frasca Food and Wine ★ 4.9 · Denver
boulder · 1738 Pearl St, Boulder, CO 80302
Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder is Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson's James Beard-winning Friulian dining room since 2004, the kitchen.
Tip: Boulder is a 40-minute drive from Denver. Frasca Caffe next door runs walk-in pasta and aperitivo without a reservation.
Saltbox Seafood Joint ★ 4.9 · Durham
south-durham · 2637 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, NC 27707
Ricky Moore won the 2022 James Beard Best Chef Southeast award at this counter-service fish shack, elevating NC coastal seafood traditions nationally.
Goldee's Barbecue ★ 4.9 · Fort Worth
near-northside · 4645 Dick Price Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76140
Goldee's Barbecue in Fort Worth is a Michelin-recognised pitmaster destination open only Friday through Sunday, and sells out early most days.
Tip: Arrive at opening or call ahead. They sell out most Fridays by 13:00 and do not restock once the pit is empty.
Joel Robuchon ★ 4.9 · Las Vegas
the-strip · 3799 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand is the late chef's only US restaurant, a three-Michelin-star French dining room and the only three-star kitchen in Las Vegas.
Tip: Tasting-menu only at dinner; lunch and the prix-fixe shorter menus run lower price points if 16 courses is too much.
Sanford ★ 4.9 · Milwaukee
east-side · 1547 N Jackson St, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Sanford on North Jackson Street has anchored Milwaukee fine dining since 1989, with a tasting menu chef Justin Aprahamian has run since 2012.
Tip: Reservations open four weeks out and the dining room is small; book before the JBA semifinalist announcements each spring.
Spoon and Stable ★ 4.9 · Minneapolis
north-loop · 211 N 1st St, Minneapolis, MN 55401
Gavin Kaysen's Spoon and Stable on North 1st Street has anchored Minneapolis fine dining since 2014. James Beard Best Chef Midwest 2018 winner.
Tip: Book six weeks out; the chef's counter seats four and goes fast. Bar seats hold space for walk-ins from 17:00.
Indigena by Owamni ★ 4.9 · Minneapolis
mill-district · 818 S 2nd St, Minneapolis, MN 55415
Sean Sherman's Indigena by Owamni inside the Guthrie Theater runs the country's most serious Indigenous kitchen in Minneapolis since June 2026.
Tip: Doubled in size from Water Works; 204 indoor seats plus 100 patio. Book three months ahead for weekend dinner; bar seats walk-in at 17:00.
Lucali ★ 4.9 · New York City
carroll-gardens · 575 Henry Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Mark Iacono's candlelit Carroll Gardens pizzeria in New York City turns out a coal-fired Brooklyn pie and a calzone, cash only, BYOB, no reservations.
Tip: Walk-in only. Put your name down at 17:30, then come back at 19:30; the wait is the room's whole social fabric.
Katz's Delicatessen ★ 4.9 · New York City
lower-east-side · 205 East Houston Street, New York, NY 10002
Katz's on East Houston has cured, smoked and hand-sliced pastrami in New York City since 1888. The corner-of-the-counter sandwich is the deli's whole point.
Tip: Tip the slicer a dollar when you get your ticket; a thick fatty slice samples your way and the sandwich comes built right.
Russ & Daughters ★ 4.9 · New York City
lower-east-side · 179 East Houston Street, New York, NY 10002
Russ & Daughters has slung appetising on East Houston in New York City since 1914: hand-sliced smoked salmon, sturgeon, schmaltz herring and bagels to take.
Tip: The shop is for take-away. Sit down at Russ & Daughters Cafe around the corner on Orchard for table service.
Atomix ★ 4.9 · New York City
flatiron · 104 East 30th Street, New York, NY 10016
Chef Junghyun Park's 14-seat counter in NoMad runs the most ambitious Korean tasting menu in New York City. Two Michelin stars, ten courses, $385 set price.
Tip: Reservations open 60 days in advance on Tock at midnight; set an alarm. Wine pairing or non-alcoholic both excellent.
Commis ★ 4.9 · Oakland
piedmont-avenue · 3859 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
Chef James Syhabout's Commis holds two Michelin stars on Piedmont Avenue. A spare ten-course tasting changes nightly across two seatings in Oakland.
Zahav ★ 4.9 · Philadelphia
old-city · 237 Saint James Place, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Zahav in Philadelphia is Michael Solomonov's modern Israeli room near Society Hill, James Beard's Outstanding Restaurant in America in 2019 and one.
Tip: Book 30 days out on Resy at 10am Eastern. The Mesibah feast lands at the family table.
Pizzeria Bianco ★ 4.9 · Phoenix
downtown · 623 E Adams St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix is Chris Bianco's wood-fired pizzeria in Heritage Square, the James Beard kitchen long called the best pizza in America.
Tip: The Heritage Square original has stood at 623 Adams since 1997; arrive at open or expect a wait, no reservations for small parties.
Eventide Oyster Co ★ 4.9 · Portland
india-street · 86 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101
Eventide Oyster Co on Middle Street opened 2012 from Big Tree Hospitality, rebuilding the Maine oyster bar around a brown-butter lobster roll on a bao.
Tip: Walk-up only for the bar; tables open online via Resy 30 days ahead.
Al Forno ★ 4.9 · Providence
downtown · 577 South Water Street, Providence, RI 02903
Al Forno on South Water Street invented grilled pizza in 1980 under Johanne Killeen and the late George Germon. Wood-fire kitchen, baked pasta.
Tip: Tuesday to Saturday only, 17:00-20:30. No reservations for parties under five; walk in by 17:15 or book on Tock.
Red Iguana ★ 4.9 · Salt Lake City
north-temple · 736 W North Temple St, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Red Iguana on West North Temple, the Cardenas family's Mexican room since 1985 and Utah's most awarded restaurant, runs the state's defining moles.
Tip: Wait can run over an hour; cross to Red Iguana 2 at 866 W South Temple or order takeout via the operator's site.
Takashi ★ 4.9 · Salt Lake City
downtown · 18 W Market St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Takashi on Market Street, chef-owner Takashi Gibo's downtown sushi room since 2004, runs Salt Lake's defining omakase at the bar plus a full Japanese menu.
Tip: Walk-in only; arrive before 17:30 on a weekday or after 21:00 to skip the wait. Closed Sundays.
Mixtli ★ 4.9 · San Antonio
southtown · 812 S Alamo St Suite 103, San Antonio, TX 78205
Mixtli is San Antonio's first Michelin-starred restaurant, where chefs Diego Galicia and Rico Torres build a rotating tasting menu around one Mexican region.
Tip: The menu changes every several weeks and focuses on one region of Mexico at a time. Book on Tock well ahead; seats are limited.
Addison ★ 4.9 · San Diego
carmel-valley · 5200 Grand Del Mar Way, San Diego, CA 92130
Addison in San Diego is William Bradley's three-Michelin-star tasting room at Fairmont Grand Del Mar, the only three-star kitchen in Southern California.
Tip: Tasting menu only; book six weeks ahead, jacket preferred. Pair with a Grand Del Mar overnight if the budget allows it.
The Grey ★ 4.9 · Savannah
historic-district · 109 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Savannah, GA 31401
Mashama Bailey's Grey runs from a restored 1938 Greyhound bus terminal on MLK, a Port City Southern menu rooted in West African and Lowcountry technique.
Tip: Book via Resy for the formal Dining Room. The Diner Bar takes walk-ups along the bar and runs a la carte until close.
Canlis ★ 4.9 · Seattle
queen-anne · 2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Canlis in Seattle is the city's enduring fine-dining room: Aisha Ibrahim's five-course menu, a 1950 cedar lodge above Lake Union, and Food and Wine's number.
Tip: Tuesday and Wednesday open with quieter dining rooms and the same kitchen; the bar pours the same wine list at half the formality.
Bern's Steak House ★ 4.9 · Tampa
hyde-park · 1208 S Howard Ave, Tampa, FL 33606
Bern's Steak House in Tampa's Hyde Park has dry-aged beef in house since 1956 and pours from the largest restaurant wine cellar in the world.
Tip: Every table gets a kitchen tour and an upstairs dessert-room cubby; book the dessert room as a separate reservation if Bern's is full.
Campo at Los Poblanos ★ 4.8 · Albuquerque
north-valley · 4803 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM 87107
Campo at Los Poblanos on Rio Grande Boulevard is the farm to table room on the working lavender farm in Los Ranchos, with Rio Grande Valley cuisine.