Which CITY has the BEST and MOST PLENTIFUL restaurants?

[Gabicho]

Mexico City.
Hundreds of very good restaurants, offering any and all cuisines, with many proven cheffs and many other new ones breaking into the scene. And it's not just that the food is good, but the service in Mexico is almost unparalleled.
Of course these statements may come to a surprise to a lot of people who have not been in Mexico City... but let me tell you that is not unexpected when you have a city of 24 million with such a high capital, income and services concentration.
Unfortunately for most people, prices in the best and most renowned places are quite high, and there are also a lot of pretentious places who just comply with the role of being "good", but in reality, aren't.

My biggest complain about restaurants in the USA, is that outside of the very large cities, there is an immense gap of "nothing" between the cheap and the high end restaurants. There's almost no middle ground. It's either a diner/fast food/taco truck or a high-end restaurant. And in some places, like NY, even what you could say are the "middle ground" restaurants, are complete trash compared to places with similar prices in Japan, Mexico or Europe.

 

[2gps125]

NYC is the capital of the world, and therefore it makes sense they would have the best restaurants at all price points, not just at the high-end. For sushi they get first dibs on the rare wild caught fish on the market followed by LA. All chefs know inside that they are not true chefs until they try their hand in the NYC food scene, just as actors have to give LA a try.

LA is home but you need to look for certain foods to find them; example Venezuelan arepas can be hard to find. Miami is king for South American cuisine, and SF gets the pound for pound award for being small but having great food.

I had this guys Roman pizza-by-the-slice when he was in Rome; now he is in Chicago, so give him a try.
https://bonciusa.com/

For a major city San Diego has the shittiest food. If you are in SOCAL and want true Mexican food in an upscale setting try Javier's Cantina in Newport.

 

[IIIIIIII]

NYC's biggest selling point as a dining destination is the sheer number of quality restaurants, not that the top restaurants there are the absolute best. It's that you can find a good to great restaurant on every corner in most of Manhattan. I've been to San Francisco and I don't think you can say the same.

It also seems like some of the best restaurants in "San Francisco" are actually in pretty remote places outside of a centralized location, unlike NYC. For instance, the highest rated restaurant in the area is The French Laundry which is in some place called Yountville up in Napa Valley. Now I've been to Napa Valley, but I wouldn't want to go that far out of the way just to go to a restaurant.

yeah, you're definitely right about nyc having WAY more quality restaurants. it's like eight-times the size of san francisco, so it makes sense. yeah, yountville ain't anywhere near sf lol. napa valley has some very high-quality restaurants. sonoma county as well.

 

[drstrangelov]

Mexico City.
Hundreds of very good restaurants, offering any and all cuisines, with many proven cheffs and many other new ones breaking into the scene. And it's not just that the food is good, but the service in Mexico is almost unparalleled.
Of course these statements may come to a surprise to a lot of people who have not been in Mexico City... but let me tell you that is not unexpected when you have a city of 24 million with such a high capital, income and services concentration.
Unfortunately for most people, prices in the best and most renowned places are quite high, and there are also a lot of pretentious places who just comply with the role of being "good", but in reality, aren't.

My biggest complain about restaurants in the USA, is that outside of the very large cities, there is an immense gap of "nothing" between the cheap and the high end restaurants. There's almost no middle ground. It's either a diner/fast food/taco truck or a high-end restaurant. And in some places, like NY, even what you could say are the "middle ground" restaurants, are complete trash compared to places with similar prices in Japan, Mexico or Europe.

New York is generally too expensive, Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, Denver, Nashville, all have decent smaller food scenes and scenes that are largely centered around mid range options. New York does too, but its often defined by the very high end in people's minds. There are tons of great places in a Brooklyn/Queens/Harlem that are more casual, beyond the fact that there are countless places in Manhattan that don't vie for Michelin recognition.

 

[GSP_37]

I saw on TV there's a building in Tokyo where the whole thing is like an enclosed simulated outdoors ramen food court.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

1+ for toronto on the list. whatever you can think of eating, we most likely will have it here. also getting an eataly in a few years too.

most major metropolitan areas with have an extensive offering of cuisines.

 

[Satsui Ryu]

NYC then SF. Anyplace that has a large divers population will have great food and both of these places are the best examples.

Vegas has great food, but it seems to be more on the higher end restaurants that caters to tourists.

 

[MadSquabbles500]

Mexico City.
Hundreds of very good restaurants, offering any and all cuisines, with many proven cheffs and many other new ones breaking into the scene. And it's not just that the food is good, but the service in Mexico is almost unparalleled.
Of course these statements may come to a surprise to a lot of people who have not been in Mexico City... but let me tell you that is not unexpected when you have a city of 24 million with such a high capital, income and services concentration.
Unfortunately for most people, prices in the best and most renowned places are quite high, and there are also a lot of pretentious places who just comply with the role of being "good", but in reality, aren't.

My biggest complain about restaurants in the USA, is that outside of the very large cities, there is an immense gap of "nothing" between the cheap and the high end restaurants. There's almost no middle ground. It's either a diner/fast food/taco truck or a high-end restaurant. And in some places, like NY, even what you could say are the "middle ground" restaurants, are complete trash compared to places with similar prices in Japan, Mexico or Europe.

So Mexico is not just all Mexican food? What kind of food in Mex City can you find besides Mexican?

 

[MadSquabbles500]

NYC is the capital of the world, and therefore it makes sense they would have the best restaurants at all price points, not just at the high-end. For sushi they get first dibs on the rare wild caught fish on the market followed by LA. All chefs know inside that they are not true chefs until they try their hand in the NYC food scene, just as actors have to give LA a try.

I am not so sure about that. Any chef who does not think they are a real chef unless they open a successful restaurant in NYC is probably just pretentious douchebag. Reason being most of the people who will be coming to eat at this place, and giving him Yelp reviews are pretentious hipsters, and yuppies.

 

[mrln242]

Paris all good all the time
NYC a lot of good, all the time
Chicago a lot of good, mixed with a lot of BS
Tokyo a lot of good, mixed with a lot of horrible
SanFrancisco a lot of expensive, some good, some horrible, mostly mundane

 

[Sir Galahad]

L.A has some excellent ramen I had a pork ramen that had meat so tender that I barely had to chew, I wasn't even a ramen person but good ramen is a work of art.

Many of the cities in the US with a large Japanese population has the best ramen. Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco. @Jesus X

 

[GSP_37]

Many of the cities in the US with a large Japanese population has the best ramen. Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco. @Jesus X

Where in Honolulu in particular? What about dry soba?

I kinda like the Costco plastic bento box fried saimin, but it's really oily.

 

[mushishi]

Michelin is garbage. I've been to Hong Kong's michelin star dim sum restaurant and it was completely average and forgettable. I don't know how the hell they win these awards.

So you had a bad experience at one michelin starred restaurant so they all must be bad? Dude...

 

[Plutoburn]

I'd like to throw Taipei in the hat. I've lived in Taipei and Toronto for over 15years in each city and I'd say diversity Toronto wins, but Taipei wins in terms of how common good restaurants are, from night market cheap eats to fine dining. People are also less uptight about drinking here so you can easily bring your own wine to restaurant for free or small service fee.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Where in Honolulu in particular? What about dry soba?

I kinda like the Costco plastic bento box fried saimin, but it's really oily.

Wish the Costco here had the saimin noodles. @GSP_37

 

[GSP_37]

Wish the Costco here had the saimin noodles. @GSP_37

That's f'ing good noodles, bro.

 

[djacobox372]

Toss up between Tokyo and London.

 

[Scerpi]

I know it may seem surprising, but the Houston area is very well rounded in the quality selection of restaurants, especially if you include all the suburb towns.

I think it's mainly because it's a major port city and there's an incredible mix of several cultures thrown together. Much like San Fran or L.A. Though I bet those cities can't compare with the BBQ or Cajun food here. I love the small hole in the wall BBQ spots with their own custom recipes. So good.

BBQ, Steak Places, Seafood, Cajun (from Louisiana), Chinese, Vietnamese and of course Mexican food. If you're hungry for a specific type of food, there's usually a modest priced place nearby with great tasting choices.

I didn't think too much of it when I moved here, then I saw an article ranking Houston 4th or 5th in the US (behind L.A, San Fran, New Orleans and can't remember who else). Then I started paying attention and realized it was pretty true.

My neighbor is from Vietnam, super cool guy. He's always cooking in his driveway and always offers some if he sees us. I started going to some local Vietnamese places because of him.

 

[Augustus Caesar]

Buffalo NY although it can be a depressing place, has amazing food spots.

 

[Sir Galahad]

That's f'ing good noodles, bro.

Sun noodles are the GOAT. They opened a factory in New Jersey. @GSP_37