The Best Restaurants in Hell’s Kitchen, According to Eater Editors - The lowdown on where to eat on Manhattan’s West Side

Hell’s Kitchen is one of the city’s most fabled neighborhoods. Extending from Eighth Avenue just west of Times Square to the Hudson River, and from 34th Street to 56th streets, it falls just short of Columbus Circle. One theory suggests it was named after an infamous bar, while another states it was the site of kitchens that cooked for the ocean liners that lined the nearby docks by the 1920s.

Whatever the origin, the descriptive name alone attracts tourists as well as residents of other parts of the city who migrate here in search of less expensive apartments and its proximity to just about all of Manhattan. In addition, Hell’s Kitchen is known for its restaurants and the range of cuisines offered at prices that are sometimes frankly cheap. Indeed, there’s no neighborhood quite like it in town for dining.

New to this map: Cheeseboat, Raku Midtown, and Mari. Off the map for now, Yingtao, Poulette Rotisserie Chicken, Desi Deli Indian Kitchen, and China Xiang.

Melissa McCart is the lead editor of the Northeast region with more than 20 years of experience as a reporter, critic, editor, and cookbook author.

Robert Sietsema is the former Eater NY senior critic, with more 35 years of experience as a restaurant critic in New York City. Previously, he has written for the Village Voice, Lucky Peach, Gourmet, and dozens of other publications. He specializes in food that’s fun to eat and not expensive, covering the five boroughs, New Jersey, and beyond. You can find him on Substack.

Jaz Indian Cuisine

This Indian restaurant was founded by British immigrant Jaz Rupali, and it specializes in the Balti cooking popular in London, along with tandoori and the stray southern Indian dish. There are kebabs aplenty, shrimp balcho fried in onions and chile, mellow chicken tikka masala, and lamb cooked in ginger and figs. The interior is elegant enough to be a date spot.

Ariana Afghan Kebob

Once, restaurants serving a menu of food from Afghanistan were common along Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen: Now Ariana is the only one that remains. Dating to 1986, it specializes in charcoal-grilled kebabs matched with rice pilaf, pumpkin-filled turnovers, eggplant curries, and fist-size steamed dumplings filled with meat or vegetables.

Raku

Reasonably priced and welcoming noodle spot from the East Village,, Raku has opened an udon haven uptown. Go here for cold or hot bowls of udon filled with snow crab and egg, clams and seaweed, or ribs and tripe. Most bowls are generously portioned for $30 or under.

Hyderabadi Zaiqa

This halal walk-down restaurant is painted bright yellow inside with a map of India indicating the origin of dozens of biryanis — which cue to the menu’s focus. Some feature meat and seafood, but just as many are vegetarian, and they come in two general styles: Hyderabadi and Vijayawada, the latter more highly spiced with things like gongura, a tart fruit, and achari, which is a mango pickle.

Chalong

Chalong comes from Nate Limwong, who hails from southern Thailand. The menu reflects that with plenty of curries in shades of yellow and green, and lots of seafood, too. The food tends to be spicy, but not overwhelming so, and the beverage list is short on beers and wines, but long on cocktails with names like Red Forest and Leonardo on the Beach: that’s DiCaprio, not DaVinci.

Cheeseboat

Visit the Manhattan sibling to the Williamsburg restaurant for rolled meat crepes, Khinkali soup dumplings, and khachapuri — aka cheeseboats — with cheese and bacon, steak and mushroom, gouda, prosciutto, spinach, and more. Georgian wines are also on offer for around $15 a glass or under $60 a bottle.

Sullivan Street Bakery

Jim Lahey’s modern bakery focusing on Roman baked goods sells almost too many awesome things to list: rich and flaky chocolate croissants, sweet-salty egg sandwiches, vanilla custard bomboloni, and over a dozen types of breads, including all the classic Italian shapes. The highlight at Sullivan Street are the focaccias sold by the rectangle and paved with things like potatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, ripe tomatoes, or nothing but rosemary.

Rice x Beans

This long-running Brazilian beanery pulled up stakes after a long presence on Ninth Avenue, and departed for the 10th Avenue frontier. Start with bouncy manioc cheese bread called pão de queijo, then proceed to chicken stew with polenta, grilled skirt steak, or a cauldron of feijoada for one or two, bursting with black-bean-and-porky magnificence.

LumLum

Opening in the spring or 2022, LumLum succeeded Pam Real Thai food in the same double-storefront location just off Ninth Avenue. It succeeds just as admirably in introducing new Thai dishes, several originating in the region north of Bangkok in Central Thailand. Pay attention to drinking snacks called kub klaem, including grilled river prawns, and street fare like krapow — a fiery stir fry of minced chicken, chiles, and beans.

Tulcingo Restaurant

In the days two decades ago when many Pueblan immigrants worked in the Garment Center, this grocery store turned into a cafe was a hangout. It’s still a great place for a full Mexican meal, with the chalkboard specials of homestyle Puebla cooking, which might include pork ribs with verdolaga (purslane), cemitas, a heartwarming pozole, or a cheese-stuffed chile relleno swimming in a mild tomato sauce.

Mari

This $145 tasting menu spot features Sungchul Shim’s reasonably priced omakase with hand rolls stuffed with egg and caviar, bonito and blood orange, or salmon, scallop, or spicy tuna. Shim is also behind skewer spot Kochi a few blocks away.

Mémé Mediterranean

Meme is the name of Alon and Jacob Cohen’s Moroccan grandmother, and the menu reflects her cooking approach. The menu displays Eastern Mediterranean and North African cooking, which makes it a great brunch spot, with dishes like shakshuka and malawach. The interior is breezy and blue, and there’s outdoor seating on the sidewalk. The West Village original has been recommended by Sarah Jessica Parker.

Lovely's Old Fashioned

Retro hamburger stand Lovely’s has a window on the street for easy hamburger acquisition, but you can also sit inside at a Formica-clad lunch counter. The burgers might have been made 40 years ago and transported here by time machine: well browned, of moderate size, and juicy. You can also get a patty melt, onion rings, and chocolate chip cookies.

Chi Restaurant & Bar

Over the last few years, Ninth Avenue has established itself as a go-to for Chinese restaurants, with over a dozen places running the gamut, including Cantonese dim sum shops, Sichuan fish restaurants, and Hunan spots. When Chi appeared not long ago as the southernmost of these, it quickly established itself as a destination with extra elegance, a full bar, higher prices, and a menu that includes fare from Sichuan, Dongbei, and Xianjin