5 Restaurants That Will Make Your Palate Sing

by Audrey Jongens & Meg Radice

The most outrageous influencers—and food critics—on your feed weigh in with the eateries that will keep you well fed this fall.

When Spotlight magazine asks you to spill the tea on your favorite dining spots, you do it! Our mission has always been to deliver an insider’s take on the latest and greatest in all categories. So uncovering the ultimate dining destinations seems like a no-brainer. We searched high and low, scouring every corner of the city—and yes, even Brooklyn!—to bring you the most delicious burgers, pizza, labneh, and more. Of course, we also had to sample a few martinis along the way, too.

We’re starting off with The Eighty Six. This is the hardest reservation to get in New York City. The Eighty Six is a new steakhouse located in the West Village, and it has only 35 seats. It’s sexy, it’s sceney, and it’s owned by the same group as Corner Store, so it’s only a matter of time before Taylor Swift pulls up. The martinis here are beyond creative; the lobster pasta is an absolute must; and the steaks are cooked to perfection. The house-made banana pudding is by far the best dessert on the menu. Apparently, every restaurant that’s opened in this space fails, but The Eighty Six isn’t going anywhere.

Next up, we have the Faena. It just opened, and it’s officially the sexiest place in Chelsea. Honestly it might even be our new favorite hotel—the restaurant rules, the daddy count is through the roof, and it feels like Miami in New York. La Boca is its Argentinian steakhouse. Chef Francis Mallmann’s pomodoro is one of the best we’ve ever had. If you don’t get the mixed grill parrillada platter, your order is officially categorized as peasantry, and don’t even think about leaving without having the almond ice cream.

Motek is our favorite new Israeli restaurant in Manhattan. With seven locations in the Miami area, it’s now serving the best pita we’ve ever had here in the Flatiron District, and it also comes beyond correct with the dips. This is the tastiest labneh in the city, and the spicy feta is a must. We were craving this meal for the rest of the week and need to go back yesterday!

The next two places aren’t new, but they never get old. Red Hook Tavern is a local GOAT and one of the few restaurants we keep going back to. The entire menu is amazing, but the Dry Aged Burger with American cheese is the main character here. It’s an out-of-body experience, and you will come back to reality with an entirely new personality. This is one of our favorite restaurants, located in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, and Chef Billy Durney can do no wrong. He could run a crack house out the back door of this place and we would still beg for a reservation.

Lucali is a Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, staple; it’s some of our go-to pizza in the city, and that’s not the only thing we come here for. We can always count on Chef Mark Iacono for an incredible off-the-menu spread, whether it’s the chicken parm on Mondays or the addictive spicy fusilli, a good night at Lucali is always guaranteed.