30 restaurants worth the trip across United States, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All United States guides.
n/naka ★ 5.0 · Los Angeles
culver-city · 3455 Overland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90034
Niki Nakayama's modern kaiseki house in Palms, Los Angeles, runs a 13-course tasting menu that changes by season and books months in advance.
Tip: Bookings open at midnight Pacific on the first of the month for three months out. Refresh the page; tables go in 30 seconds.
Owamni ★ 5.0 · Minneapolis
mill-district · 420 S 1st St, Minneapolis, MN 55401
Sean Sherman's Owamni on the Mississippi runs the country's most serious Indigenous kitchen in Minneapolis since 2021. James Beard Best New Restaurant 2022.
Tip: The tasting menu books out three months ahead. Walk-in bar seats open at 17:00; the patio over the river is the summer seat.
Katz's Delicatessen ★ 5.0 · 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.
Addison ★ 5.0 · 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 since 2022.
Tip: Tasting menu only; book six weeks ahead, jacket preferred. Pair with a Grand Del Mar overnight if the budget allows it.
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 split-top bun.
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, hyper-local produce.
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. James Beard Best Chef Southeast for Lata in 2009, Stanhope in 2015.
Tip: Book 30 days ahead on Resy. Bar seats are first-come.
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 since 2005.
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 that started the Tavernetta program.
Tip: Boulder is a 40-minute drive from Denver. Frasca Caffe next door runs walk-in pasta and aperitivo without a reservation.
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 since opening in 2005.
Tip: Tasting-menu only at dinner; lunch and the prix-fixe shorter menus run lower price points if 16 courses is too much.
Providence ★ 4.9 · Los Angeles
mid-wilshire · 5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Michael Cimarusti's Providence on Melrose has been LA's two-Michelin-star seafood room since 2005. The tasting menu builds around West Coast producers.
Tip: Bar seats serve a shorter four-course at half the price; book those a week ahead instead of a month.
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.
Dakar NOLA ★ 4.9 · New Orleans
carrollton-riverbend · 937 Leonidas St, New Orleans, LA 70118
Dakar NOLA in New Orleans is Serigne Mbaye's James Beard Best New Restaurant winning Senegalese Creole tasting room, relocated in 2025 to a Carrollton cottage near the levee.
Tip: Tickets sell out within days of release. Sign up for the newsletter for booking-window alerts.
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.
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 home.
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.
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 2019 and the city's most-booked tasting menu.
Tip: Book 30 days out on Resy at 10am Eastern. The Mesibah feast lands at the family table.
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 two restaurant in America for 2025.
Tip: Tuesday and Wednesday open with quieter dining rooms and the same kitchen; the bar pours the same wine list at half the formality.
Lazy Betty ★ 4.8 · Atlanta
candler-park · 1530 Dekalb Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307
Chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips' Candler Park tasting room in Atlanta opened 2019, earned a Michelin Star in 2023 and runs an inventive prix-fixe menu nightly.
Tip: Reservations open 60 days out on Tock; the chef's counter seats six and books fastest.
Mujo ★ 4.8 · Atlanta
west-midtown · 1198 Howell Mill Rd NW Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30318
Chef Edward Lee Schubert's West Midtown sushi counter in Atlanta opened 2021 and earned a Michelin Star in 2023 for the city's most refined omakase service.
Tip: Two seatings nightly. Counter only; no a la carte. Drinks programme includes rare sake and an unusually deep Burgundy list.
Uchi ★ 4.8 · Austin
south-lamar · 801 South Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704
Uchi in Austin is Tyson Cole's James Beard-winning sushi room on South Lamar since 2003, the kitchen that codified modern Japanese on the south side of the river.
Tip: Sit at the sushi bar; the omakase is built in real time and the chefs talk you through each piece.
Birdie's ★ 4.8 · Austin
east-austin · 2944 E 12th St, Austin, TX 78702
Birdie's in Austin is Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel's counter-service bistro at East 12th and Harvey, a James Beard beverage winner and 2025 Time100 Next pick.
Tip: The reservation system is limited but walk-ins are always welcome; aim for the 5pm seating on weeknights.
Oleana ★ 4.8 · Boston
cambridge · 134 Hampshire St, Cambridge, MA 02139
Ana Sortun's Inman Square room has run an Eastern Mediterranean kitchen in Cambridge since 2001. Turkish, Syrian and Lebanese plates from Siena Farms produce, a Beard Award since 2005.
Tip: The garden patio in summer is one of Cambridge's best outdoor seats. Books out three weeks ahead in season.
Sarma ★ 4.8 · Boston
somerville · 249 Pearl St, Somerville, MA 02145
Cassie Piuma and Ana Sortun's meze room on Pearl Street in Somerville has run Turkish-style small plates since 2013. Surprise plates from the kitchen, James Beard finalist 2024.
Tip: Order the chef's choice tasting; the kitchen will send the best of the night unprompted.
Smyth ★ 4.8 · Chicago
west-loop · 177 N Ada St, Chicago, IL 60607
Smyth in Chicago is John and Karen Shields's two-Michelin-star tasting menu on Ada Street, with produce from their own farm 90 minutes south of the city.
Tip: The companion bar downstairs, The Loyalist, runs an excellent burger if you can't land the upstairs seats.
Oriole ★ 4.8 · Chicago
west-loop · 661 W Walnut St, Chicago, IL 60661
Oriole in Chicago is Noah Sandoval's two-Michelin-star room on Walnut Street in the West Loop, a quiet 28-seat tasting menu with a strong caviar service.
Tip: The wine pairings are unusually well-judged at the German-and-Austrian end. Ask for them by region, not by tier.
Kasama ★ 4.8 · Chicago
ukrainian-village · 1001 N Winchester Ave, Chicago, IL 60622
Kasama in Chicago is Tim Flores and Genie Kwon's Filipino bakery by day, Michelin-starred tasting menu by night, in the Ukrainian Village on Winchester.
Tip: The bakery has no reservations; the tasting menu books out 60 days ahead. Treat them as two different visits.
Sushi Den ★ 4.8 · Denver
south-pearl · 1487 S Pearl St, Denver, CO 80210
Sushi Den in Denver is Toshi and Yasu Kizaki's South Pearl sushi house since 1984, with fish flown daily from Toyosu Market in Tokyo via the brothers' Japanese supply chain.
Tip: Reservations open online 30 days out and disappear in hours. The walk-in policy at the bar still works if you arrive by 5 pm.
Beckon ★ 4.8 · Denver
rino · 2845 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80205
Beckon in Denver is Duncan Holmes's 18-seat chef's counter on Larimer in RiNo since 2018, a Michelin-recognised tasting room behind sister bistro Call.
Tip: Tickets release one month out at 12 noon on a Wednesday via Tock; sell out in minutes. Try the bar at Call next door for walk-ins.
March ★ 4.8 · Houston
montrose · 1624 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77006
March in Houston is the Goodnight Hospitality tasting-menu room on Westheimer Road from chef Felipe Riccio, with six- or nine-course menus rooted in one Mediterranean region per season.
Tip: The wine pairings (June Rodil curates) are unusually well-judged. Take them.