The 7 Best Celebrity Chef Restaurants in NYC
New York City is serious about its dining scene, and these cooks are famous for creating delicious dishes packed with quality and originality.
New York is home to, by some estimates, around 24,000 restaurants, and those chefs who distinguish themselves earn celebrity status that is often parlayed into a string of TV appearances, cookbooks and a line of frozen meals – although, sometimes these accolades come before a brick-and-mortar location. Not every star is worth their salt, as evidenced by Guy Fieri’s ill-fated American Kitchen & Bar, so Culture Trip is here to recommend the best celeb-helmed restaurants.
1. Aureole
Restaurant, American
The first restaurant in Charlie Palmer’s empire, which now encompasses 19 restaurants and hotels throughout the country, opened in 1988 when the chef was just 28 years old. Palmer was an early adopter of farm-sourced ingredients, which he integrated into his signature “progressive American”-style dishes, a modern take on classic European cooking that uses American artisanal products. Aureole, originally located on the Upper East Side, is housed in the environmentally advanced Bank of America Tower in Midtown, where it has two distinct seating areas: the Aureole Dining Room and Aureole Liberty Room. The former is more of a fine-dining experience comapred to the latter’s casual, bar-like setting. The menu is prix fixe, and main-course options include herb-crusted duck breast and slow-braised veal cheek.
2. Morimoto
Restaurant, Sushi
Masaharu Morimoto began his career as an executive chef at the original Nobu restaurant in 1994 before he began appearing on Iron Chef. His eponymous Japanese restaurant in Chelsea is a sleek and futuristic 12,000-square-foot (1,115-square-meter) space that opened in 2006 and won the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant Design. Chef Morimoto is known for his Asian fusion meals – including tuna pizza and grilled wagyu skewers – and the presentation of his daily sushi and nigiri selection, which the menu suggests to order omakase, Japanese for “I’ll leave it up to you.”
4. Craft
Restaurant, American
One block from Gramercy Tavern – the restaurant that Top Chef head judge Tom Colicchio was first known for – is Craft, the farm-fresh American eatery he opened in 2001. The premise was built on his desire to serve family-style meals made up of sustainable and seasonal ingredients in a home-like setting. The menu features pasta and salads with locally grown vegetables or those picked straight from Colicchio’s home garden. Additionally, the five-time James Beard winner’s dinner menu features a healthy selection of mushrooms, as well as fryer rabbit and Colorado lamb as mains.
5. Aquavit
Restaurant, American, Seafood, Dessert
6. Red Rooster
Restaurant, Soul Food
7. DANIEL
Restaurant, French
Daniel Boulud’s namesake, the French luxury restaurant DANIEL, is often booked a full two months in advance. It has two Michelin stars, and Boulud is New York’s longest-reigning four-star chef, which helps justify the $158 (£120) price tag of the four-course prix-fixe dinner. The servers are first-class, attentive and professional, and the Neoclassical dining area is modern and grand. The menu changes seasonally, but classics such as the black truffle and scallops in puff pastry always make a return appearance.
Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.
Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.
Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.
Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.
We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.