Sure, there are blocks and blocks of beautiful brownstones; leafy, relatively tranquil streets; hordes of Columbia University students; and plenty of museums in what some people still call \u201cSeinfeldland.\u201d But when the stomach started to rumble? You\u2019d have to hop on the subway and head downtown.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fortunately, this isn\u2019t the case anymore. The Upper West Side now has enough great eateries that one need not leave the neighborhood to satiate the palate.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here are the 12 best restaurants on the Upper West Side.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mention \u201cSardinia\u201d to any Italian and then be prepared to watch them swoon.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What do Italians know about Sardinia that everyone else doesn\u2019t? For starters, the cuisine of this Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea is excellent and, for an island, surprisingly meaty. It\u2019s also a Blue Zone, a place on the planet where the inhabitants are usually healthy and live a long life.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And so it\u2019s shocking there are not more Sardinian restaurants outside of Italy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fortunately, there\u2019s one on the Upper West Side. First timers to <\/span>Arco Cafe<\/span><\/a> should try the <\/span>malloreddus<\/span><\/i>, a unique pasta shape made only in Sardinia, that\u2019s paired with a luscious ragu. You\u2019ll swoon after one bite.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n B\u00e1nh<\/span><\/a> began life as a pop-up in 2020, and it\u2019s safe to assume that the people who lined up nightly to eat at this Vietnamese spot breathed a collective sigh of relief when it went from pop-up to permanent the following year. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Vietnamese dining scene in New York has long been mediocre at best. In the last few years that\u2019s changed. And B\u00e1nh has greatly contributed to the elevation of this Southeast Asian cuisine in the Big Apple. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The restaurant serves super flavorful pho. And the <\/span>banh chung chien<\/span><\/i>, a deep-fried rice cake filled with pork, is not only excellent\u2014but it\u2019s very rare to see this menu item outside of Vietnam. The only con is that B\u00e1nh just serves beer\u2014no wine. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the most iconic Upper West Side restaurants, <\/span>Barney Greengrass<\/span><\/a> was a favorite of the late Anthony Bourdain. And after a visit, it\u2019s easy to see why.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Specializing in smoked fish, the Jewish deli also serves chopped chicken liver, egg dishes, and sandwiches. They even have a tongue omelet.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Super chef Daniel Boulud\u2019s edible love letter to the Mediterranean, <\/span>Boulud Sud<\/span><\/a> is an elegant-but-not-stuffy spot that goes beyond the usual Med places (Italy, Greece, Spain) with dishes from Lebanon, Israel, Morocco. The lemon-saffron spaghetti, studded with Sardinian bottarga, is excellent. So is the pine-nut dotted lamb flatbread.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In New York, restaurants serving the cuisine of the Republic of Georgia have long been stuck deep into Brooklyn. Not anymore.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The great <\/span>Chama Mama<\/span><\/a> first fired up its <\/span>tone<\/span><\/i> (that\u2019s a Georgian bread oven) in Chelsea and now this new-ish outpost on the Upper West Side is equally dazzling diners. The baked cheese breads, called <\/span>khachapuri<\/span><\/i>, are a must. So are the lamb-and-broth-stuffed dumplings, also known as <\/span>khinkali<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Charles Gabriel has been pan-frying chicken in either Harlem or the Upper West Side since the \u201880s. <\/span>This spot<\/span><\/a> on W. 72nd Street seems here to stay. Which is good news\u2014since Charles\u2019 chicken is now iconic, and people travel from all the boroughs to sink their teeth into this tender-but-crispy fowl.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFrom Somewhere in the Mediterranean\u201d is the slogan of <\/span>Dagon<\/span><\/a>. That \u201csomewhere\u201d is the Levantine, in general, and is Israel, in particular.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Named for the Philistine god of agriculture, this handsome eatery has a menu loaded with southern Mediterranean flavor, from creamy labneh to sabich (eggplant) flatbread to harissa-laced barbecue chicken to crispy roasted lamb.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the name, you\u00a0 can get more than just pickles here. This <\/span>Southern-accented\u00a0 eatery<\/span><\/a> kicks up the feel-good fare a notch with heart attack deliciousness.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fried chicken and pancakes? Yes, please. Lowcountry sweet and smoky meatloaf? Uh-huh! Gravy smothered chicken? That\u2019s right. They even venture up north to serve Canadian drinking snack poutine.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And yes, you can order pickles here\u2014there are several varieties from which to choose.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you walk by this slice joint<\/a> on Broadway near West 106th Street and 1) there\u2019s no line and 2) they\u2019re not sold out of pizza yet, then 3) you\u2019ve won the pizza lottery. <\/span>Mama\u2019s Too<\/span><\/a> is a sensation and everyone wants a piece of it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are square and triangular-shaped slices here. Both are excellent, but first timers should get the square pepperoni and the square cacio e pepe slice\u2014and then you too will\u00a0 be initiated into the cult of Mama\u2019s Too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n No one ever said you\u2019ll go crazy for cauliflower. Then again, they probably had not eaten at <\/span>Miznon<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With locations in Tel Aviv, Paris, and Singapore, Miznon opened a counter in the Chelsea Market and it caused a stir with its whole head of roasted cauliflower. At this Upper West Side location, Miznon is a full-service affair.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Besides the obligatory cauliflower, Miznon also serves other incredible vegetable creations plus exquisite seared lamb and a thick steak sitting upon charred tomatoes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This <\/span>dim sum spot<\/span><\/a> is the love child of Joe \u201cthe dumpling king\u201d Ng and the late Ed Schoenfeld, a Chinese food expert. Everything on the menu will make you want it again and again, especially the pastrami egg rolls, the shrimp-stuffed jalape\u00f1o peppers, the barbecued pork belly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Oh yeah, and anything in the form of a dumpling. The <\/span>xiao long bao<\/span><\/i>, that culinary miracle of a dumpling that magically holds soup broth inside of it, is particularly well done here.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps the best Thai option when it comes to Upper West Side restaurants, <\/span>Thai Market<\/span><\/a> takes its name and runs with it, as the interior is bedecked to look like you\u2019re in a (somewhat over-the-top) actual street food market in Bangkok.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/upper-west-side-U.jpeg\")
Arco Cafe<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Sardinian](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Malloreddus-FCC.jpeg\")
B\u00e1nh Vietnamese Shop House<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Overhead](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/pho-U.jpeg\")
Barney Greengrass<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Cream](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/barney-greengrass-FCC.jpeg\")
Boulud Sud<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Modern](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/boulud-sud-FCC.jpeg\")
Chama Mama<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Charles\u2019 Pan-Fried Chicken<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Fried](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/charles-chicken-FCC.jpeg\")
Dagon<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Jacob\u2019s Pickles<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Mama\u2019s Too<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Miznon North<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Red Farm<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Four](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/xiao-long-bao-dumplings-FCC.jpeg\")
Thai Market<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Asian](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/thai-market-amber-shrimp-FCC.jpeg\")