The Best Chinese Restaurants in New York City

Bonnie’s serves Cantonese food seen through the lens of a first-generation American chef born and raised in New York City. Chef Calvin Eng offers imaginative riffs on Cantonese dishes that channel his mom’s home cooking and Chinatown’s culinary gems, many meant for family-style sharing. Start with creative dishes like a spread made from Cantonese tinned dace (a small freshwater fish), fermented black beans, cream cheese, sour cream and garlic chives served with buttery Ritz crackers, then move on to classic Hong Kong street food like cheung fun — seared rice noodles tossed with shrimp and scallop XO sauce and bits of cured pork. Offbeat options continue with a sandwich inspired by a McDonald’s McRib, featuring cha siu-glazed boneless ribs (cha siu is Cantonese barbecued pork) on a sesame milk bun with bread-and-butter pickles, raw onion and Chinese hot mustard.

Grounded in a Cantonese framework but shaped by its location at the intersection of Chinatown, Nolita and the Lower East Side, Potluck Club is a high-energy spot with a Hong Kong cinema motif founded by childhood friends who grew up in Chinatown. The Cantonese-American menu moves from dishes like endive salad with pistachio, pecorino, oranges and dragonfruit to a mound of XO fried rice packed with shrimp and Chinese sausage and a standout salt-and-pepper fried chicken served with fluffy scallion biscuits and chili-plum jam. No reservations? Bar seats under the marquis are reserved for walk-ins.

Elegant Shanghainese cooking defines the popular East Village restaurant CheLi, where the menu draws on the banquet traditions of the Song Dynasty and the culinary heritage of Jiangnan, the region that shaped Shanghai’s cuisine. Flavors are restrained but compelling, allowing signature dishes like Beggar’s Chicken and braised pork belly to speak to the city’s history. MICHELIN Guide Inspectors suggest asking your server about regional specialties: chicken steeped in Shaoxing wine; stir-fried rice cakes with pork and leeks; and peach resin stew with crabmeat are all worth considering.

Chef Yuchun Cheung was born and raised in one of Shanghai’s narrow alleys in a family of chefs and restaurateurs, and has dedicated Little Alley to recreating the Shanghainese cuisine of his upbringing. The kitchen is staffed entirely by Shanghainese cooks, underscoring that focus. MICHELIN Guide Inspectors like wok-fried crispy cauliflower with dried chili, pork and crab soup dumplings, and silken mapo tofu with measured heat. Signatures include Dong Po pork — braised pork belly in a soy-based glaze served with steamed buns, bok choy and scallion — as well as spicy fish for a fiery note.

Alley 41 sits on a secluded side street just off Main Street in Flushing, Queens, where the dining room leans fully into a Sichuan aesthetic, with partitions arranged to evoke an alleyway in Chengdu. Distressed carved glass, cement brick and black iron create a setting with distinctly Chinese character. The menu is extensive and focused on Sichuan cooking, where chilies, spices and heat are used to full effect, from chicken dumplings in red chili sauce and tender rolls of pork belly with sesame cold noodles to mapo tofu and braised beef spiked with roasted chilies.

Bringing the flavors of Sichuan to the heart of Brooklyn, Chuan Tian Xia takes a measured approach to spice, keeping the numbing chili oil in check and allowing the cuisine’s complexity to shine. The menu is ample, but MICHELIN Guide Inspectors note the depth of flavor in dishes like whole fish with sweet peppers and slivered pork in a vinegary garlic sauce. For those hankering to make their own dish, Chuan Tian Xia offers Wanzhou grilled fish, where diners choose the type of fish, spice level and flavor (hot and spicy, numbing spicy or tomato), then select from almost 25 add-ons, including enoki mushrooms, radishes, hand-made noodles, Spam, beef tripe and duck blood.

The hallmarks of Sichuan cooking are on full display at Szechuan Gourmet, from the tingle of Sichuan peppercorns to the heat of chili oil that runs through many dishes here at one of Midtown Manhattan’s notable Sichuan restaurants. The menu spans favorites like crispy scallion pancakes, pork dumplings in chili oil, braised fish fillets with bean curd and salt-and-pepper prawns. A tip: the restaurant draws a busy lunch crowd from nearby offices, so dinner is a better bet.