The New York Times spotlights two Jewish delis in its third annual “100 Best Restaurants in New York City.”
But in a surprise twist, a few previously included Jewish restaurants did not make the cut this year.
As in its previous iterations, both Barney Greengrass (541 Amsterdam Ave.), the iconic 117-year-old Upper West Side deli, and the Flatiron’s Jewish luncheonette S&P Lunch (174 Fifth Ave.), snagged coveted spots in the 2025 top 100.
This year, only the top 10 restaurants were ranked — the rest were listed alphabetically. Last year, Barney Greengrass landed the 66th spot, while S&P took no. 78.
“Barney Greengrass has been serving smoked fish and other appetizing staples with curmudgeonly panache since 1908,” the Times writes in this year’s list, adding: “There’s no better spot for a taste of O.G. New York Jewish charm.” (I can attest — I got a bagel there last weekend.)
In their writeup for S&P Lunch (174 Fifth Ave.), an old-school luncheonette that opened in 2022 in the space previously known as Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop, the Times highlights the restaurant’s “juicy smash burgers, well-built turkey clubs and a dandy egg salad, all properly served with crisp and sour pickles.” (Here at the New York Jewish Week, we highly recommend their egg cream.)
Among the Jewish spots that fell off the list, perhaps the most surprising is Falafel Tanami (1305 East 17th St.), a tiny kosher joint in Midwood, Brooklyn that shot to fame after its inclusion in the top 100 in 2023 (and again in 2024). “It has been crazy, Baruch Hashem,” Galit Tanami, who owns the falafel shop with her husband, told the New York Jewish Week in 2023. “Everybody is so excited for us.”
Other Jew-ish spots no longer on the NYT list include Shopsin’s General Store (88 Essex St.), which, for decades, was operated by the eccentric Jewish restaurateur Kenny Shopsin; Mark’s Off Madison (41 Madison Ave.), a bakery-restaurant owned by Mark Strausman; and Dirt Candy (86 Allen St.), an upscale vegan restaurant from Amanda Cohen.
At the same time, a few Jew-ish — emphasis on the “ish” — restaurants are on this year’s list, including Israeli-inspired Middle Eastern restaurant Shukette (230 Ninth Ave.), a list mainstay whose name is a riff on the Hebrew and Arabic word “shuk,” meaning market, though Brooklyn-born chef Ayesha Nurdjaja is neither Jewish, Israeli or Arab.
Court Street Grocers, a mini-chain from restaurateurs Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross — the duo who were tapped to revitalize S&P — was lauded for its “fat, inhalable sandwiches” including one stuffed with cold smoked salmon and potato chips.
Thai Diner (186 Mott St.), a Nolita eatery that “doesn’t take itself too seriously,” is also on the list. Though it’s not a Jewish spot by any means, they do have one standout Jewish inspired (albeit unorthodox) dish on its menu: Thai Tea Babka French Toast, which has been a signature dish since the restaurant opened in 2020.
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