NYC’s 10 Best Budget Zagat Restaurants is a list you must keep handy for great dinners at budget prices. The number one rated restaurant on New York City’s Zagat list scored a 29 out of 30 for quality and costs $162.00 for 1 person for dinner. And good luck trying to get a reservation for 2 at 8pm this Saturday night.
I needed a professional to do this research so I asked a friend to crunch the numbers on the top 100 Zagat restaurants in New York City and find us the best bang for our buck. It’s a good thing we sought out a professional to dive into the numbers because he came up Aces.
She came up with 10 of the best restaurants on Zagat’s top 100 list with an average dinner cost for 1 person of only $29.80, and in accountants terminology he stated; “individual dinner prices may vary according to how many appetizers you consume.”
Below are the winners of NYC’s 10 Best Budget Zagat Restaurants, the average cost is for 1 dinner with 1 drink and tip;
Pearl Oyster Bar
Contents
- Pearl Oyster Bar
- Taverna Kyclades
- Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque
- Caracas Arepa
- Totto Ramen
- Taim
- Buttermilk Channel
- Katz’s Delicatessen
- Ippudo
- Lombardi’s Pizzeria
- Final Word
Well known for its raw bar and lobster roll. Pearl Oyster Bar NYC is one of the top West Village restaurants with a tempting seafood menu that includes Maine seafood. No-reservations clam shack-style joint whose simple seafood includes a revered lobster roll.
- food score 27, average cost $53.
- 18 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village
Taverna Kyclades
Freshest fish and popular Greek dishes. Lively eatery specializing in fresh Greek seafood & sides that don’t take reservations. Taverna Kyclades, in Astoria Queens, is one of the top Greek restaurants in New York City. Since we launched we have always served fresh food, made with the best ingredients based on original Greek recipes.
- food score 26, average cost $38.
- 33-07 Ditmas Blvd, Astoria Queens
- 228 1st Avenue, East Village
Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque
Wood-fired BBQ served cafeteria-style at communal tables. Alongside some of the best pork ribs found anywhere in the country, you can order items like brisket, delicious burnt ends or a Brontosaurus rib!
- food score 26, average cost $26.
- 103 2nd Avenue, East Village
Caracas Arepa
Taste of Venezuela with a corn flour tortilla. Caracas Arepa Bar is devoted to the pleasure of homemade Venezuelan food. Since 2003 we have been dedicated to the idea of a space where authentic quality food converges with the eclectic vibe of our city. Caracas Arepa Bar is devoted to the pleasure of homemade Venezuelan food. Since 2003 we have been dedicated to the idea of a space where authentic quality food converges with the eclectic vibe of our city.
- food score 26, average cost 21.
- 93 East 7th Street, East Village
Totto Ramen
Authentic Japanese noodle shop. Bustling outpost featuring Japanese ramen soups with a variety of toppings in a snug, low-lit space. Our original straight noodles in our house made Chicken Paitan Soup topped with scallions, onions, nori, *char siu and kikurage. *Choice of pork or chicken. Our Chicken Paitan topped with house made spicy sesame oil, scallions, bean sprouts, nori and *char siu. *Choice of pork or chicken.
- food score 25, average cost $21.
- 366 West 52nd Street, Hell’s Kitchen
Taim
Israeli vegetarian falafel and salads. Chef Einat shares her love of falafel with the world…okay maybe just lower Manhattan. And not solely falafel, but everything that goes with it like sabich, s’rug and amba, cauliflower shawarma, and smoothies.
- food score 25, average cost $15.
- 222 Waverly Place, Greenwich Village
- 45 Spring Street, Nolita
Buttermilk Channel
Popular for it’s fried chicken and waffles brunch. Quaint eatery offering a hearty American comfort-food menu & a popular weekend brunch. Buttermilk Channel roared onto the Brooklyn dining scene late last year with family-friendly service, an excellent wine list and a great deal of comforting food. Locals crowd around the butcher-block bar and take a seat at the communal table crafted from ceiling beams from a local warehouse.
- food score 25, average cost $47.
- 524 Court Street, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Katz’s Delicatessen
Excellent hand-carved pastrami and corned beef sandwiches. No-frills deli with theatrically cranky service serving mile-high sandwiches since 1888. Though visitors won’t find many remnants of the classic, old-world Jewish Lower East Side dining scene, there are a few stellar holdouts – among them Katz’s Delicatesse.
- food score 25, average cost $26.
- 205 East Houston Street, Lower East Side
Ippudo
The most popular dish is Hakata tonkotsu pork soup. Ramen dishes & pork buns are the lures at this popular East Village Japanese eatery. The ramen experts of Ippudo New York have started their next ramen concept. Kuro-Obi promises to elevate the precise craft of true Japanese ramen by making it into a take-away format. Ippudo’s Ramen Master has created a new ramen recipe for Kuro-Obi, which will focus on “tori paitan”, a silky chicken-base broth. Come try one for yourself, we’ll have a hot bowl waiting for you!
- food score 25, average cost $32.
- 65 4th Avenue, East Village
Lombardi’s Pizzeria
America’s oldest pizzeria with a coal-fired brick oven. If you are walking around Little Italy and want a quintessential NY lunch, as I was, this is the place. Still located in the Little Italy section of Manhattan offering its beautiful, smoky-crusted coal oven-baked pizza, topped with purist tomato sauce, fresh whole milk mozzarella, and basil, keeping locals and visitors alike coming back.
- 32 Spring Street, Nolita
- food score 24, average cost $25.
Final Word
New York City food tours are a perfect way to walk around great neighborhoods like the Brooklyn Bridge, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown and eat in iconic New York shops and restaurants. All tours include a full meal and visit famous historic points of interest.
