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Explore the Best Women-Led Restaurants in New York City for 2019

The OpenTable Team

March 8th is International Women’s Day. In celebration, we created a list featuring some of the most exceptional women in New York’s culinary scene. For decades, the city that never sleeps—a bastion of possibility—has been represented by lady liberty herself. Next time you’re in town, we invite you to celebrate women (and eat something delicious) at one of these top spots.

17 Restaurants
Updated March 02, 2020
Restaurants:Dirt Candy, Bessou, The Beatrice Inn…
Price Range:$$ - $$$$
Cuisines:Contemporary American, Japanese, Fine cuts…
Neighborhoods:Lower East Side, NoHo, West Village…

Dirt Candy

$$$$·Contemporary American·
Lower East Side
2,884 reviews
  • Good Vegetarian Options
  • Tasting Menu
  • Vegan
Amanda Cohen is the James Beard Award-nominated chef and owner of Dirt Candy, the award-winning plant-forward restaurant on New York’s Lower East Side. This was the first vegetable…Read more
93% recommended
Not available on OpenTable
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Bessou

$$$$·Japanese·
NoHo
130 reviews
  • Cozy
  • Fit for Foodies
  • Fun
Maiko Kyogoku and Chef Emily Yuen are two women who’ve nailed down Japanese comfort food. Tucked away on Bleecker Street, Bessou is easy to walk right by — but once you find it you…Read more
91% recommended
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The Beatrice Inn

$$$$·Fine cuts·
West Village
781 reviews
  • Good for a Date
  • Special Occasion
  • Good for Anniversaries
Famed New York Chef Angela Mar is the chef and owner of The Beatrice Inn, one of the city’s most well-renowned Prohibition-era speakeasies. While it has always boasted a superb atm…Read more
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Yves

$$$$·French·
TriBeCa - Downtown
109 reviews
  • Neighborhood Gem
  • Fit for Foodies
  • Good for a Date
Located in downtown Manhattan, just a block from the Hudson River, Yves is one of the city’s most elegant French brasseries. Alex Baker is Paris-trained, she attended culinary scho…Read more
89% recommended
French in Manhattan
Table for 2 today

Cosme

$$$$·Contemporary Mexican·
Gramercy / Flatiron
2,944 reviews
  • Fit for Foodies
  • Creative Cuisine
  • Special Occasion
Chef Daniela Soto-Innes is the genius behind Cosme, and the one responsible for earning it a place on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List. She started working at restaurants when …Read more
Table for 2 today

ATLA

$$$$·Mexican·
NoHo
114 reviews
  • Creative Cuisine
  • Fit for Foodies
  • Good for a Date
Atla is the newest eatery from New York City’s bold, young superstar chef Daniela Soto-Innes. After breaking the mold with her upscale Mexican restaurant Cosme, Soto-Innes wanted t…Read more
93% recommended
Mexican in New York / Tri-State Area
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Glasserie

$$$$·Mediterranean·
Greenpoint
420 reviews
  • Neighborhood Gem
  • Creative Cuisine
  • Good for a Date
Glasserie is one of Brooklyn’s coolest new restaurants, occupying an 1860s glass factory at the northern tip of Greenpoint. Owner Sara Conklin spent her childhood in places like Ku…Read more
97% recommended
Table for 2 today

Pig and Khao

$$$$·Southeast Asian·
Lower East Side
1,409 reviews
  • Casual
  • Fun
  • Fit for Foodies
Top Chef contestant Leah Cohen opened Pig and Khao to serve up her innovative Southeast Asian cuisine in swanky digs on the Lower East Side. Raised with a Filipino upbringing, Cohe…Read more
90% recommended
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La Palapa

$$$$·Mexican·
East Village
684 reviews
  • Neighborhood Gem
  • Casual
  • Good for a Date
La Palapa is the brainchild of Barbara Sibley, a chef and artist with extensive New York City restaurant experience. She started out at La Tulipe, a New York Times three-star Frenc…Read more
90% recommended
Mexican in Manhattan
Table for 2 today

Modern Love Brooklyn

$$$$·Vegan·
Williamsburg
1,295 reviews
  • Vegan
  • Good Vegetarian Options
  • Good for a Date
This Brooklyn hot spot is actually modeled after the original restaurant in Omaha. Chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz is the coolest vegan chef on the planet and, in addition to her two ve…Read more
94% recommended
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Meadowsweet

$$$$·American·
Williamsburg
965 reviews
  • Fit for Foodies
  • Good for a Date
  • Neighborhood Gem
Stephanie Lempert and Polo Dobkin opened up Meadowsweet under the Williamsburg Bridge in 2014. Since then, the husband-and-wife team have been coming up with thoughtful, modern Ame…Read more
92% recommended
Notable Wine List in Brooklyn
Table for 2 today

Lido

$$$$·Italian·
Harlem
1,431 reviews
  • Neighborhood Gem
  • Good for a Date
  • Great for Brunch
Perfectly positioned on a busy corner on Harlem’s Restaurant Row, Lido showcases the phenomenal cooking of James Beard Award-winning author and chef Serena Bass. She originally got…Read more
97% recommended
Not available on OpenTable
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Flex Mussels - 82nd Street

$$$$·Seafood·
Upper East Side
2,530 reviews
  • Neighborhood Gem
  • Good for a Date
  • Fit for Foodies
Laura Shapiro partnered with her daughter Alexandra and husband Bobby to bring Flex Mussels to New York City. The seasoned restaurateurs have instrumented 20-something successful v…Read more
95% recommended
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Flex Mussels - 13th Street

$$$$·Seafood·
West Village
1,667 reviews
  • Fit for Foodies
  • Casual
  • Neighborhood Gem
Veteran restaurateur Laura Shapiro has found the magic recipe for fantastic seafood. Flex Mussels - 13th Street serves up the highest quality Prince Edward Island mussels, seafood …Read more
100% recommended
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mokbar

$$$$·Korean·
Prospect Heights
60 reviews
  • Casual
  • Comfort Food
  • Cozy
Chef and owner Esther Choi grew up cooking traditional Korean food with her Korean grandmother and set out to broaden New Yorkers’ understanding and appreciation of Korean culture …Read more
Not available on OpenTable
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Porsena

$$$$·Italian·
East Village
570 reviews
  • Neighborhood Gem
  • Romantic
  • Good for a Date
Chef Sara Jenkins opened her first NYC restaurant, Porchetta, in 2009 and has been serving some of the city’s most iconic meat dishes ever since. Porsena, also located close to Ast…Read more
91% recommended
Not available on OpenTable
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El Quinto Pino - Permanently Closed

$$$$·Spanish·
Chelsea
589 reviews
  • Tapas
  • Good for a Date
  • Neighborhood Gem
El Quinto Pino is the creation of chef/co-owners Alex Raij and Eder Montero. Raij is a celebrated chef at Txikito and La Vara as well and specializes in unique takes on classic Spa…Read more
89% recommended
Not available on OpenTable
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  1. Find a Woman-Led Restaurant Near You
  2. Explore the Best Women-Led Restaurants in New York City for 2019
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