Bon Appetit Names Two Manhattan Restaurants Among Best in US

Bon Appétit included two Manhattan establishments, Lei in Chinatown and Kabawa in the East Village, in its national annual list of America's Best New Restaurants released on August 25, 2026.

Magazine editors selected 19 dining establishments across the country after evaluating hundreds of openings between March 2025 and March 2026. The evaluation criteria required exceptional culinary offerings alongside strong hospitality, distinctive design, and unique contributions to American dining.

Lei, a 28-seat wine bar located on Doyers Street, operates under restaurateur and sommelier Annie Shi alongside former Mission Chinese chef Patty Lee. The establishment features a 1,000-bottle wine cellar paired with regional Chinese home cooking, including handmade cat's-ear noodles with lamb ragù and steamed shrimp with ramps.

The Chinatown venue previously secured the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in June 2026.

Kabawa, situated in the former Momofuku Ko space on Extra Place, offers Caribbean dining directed by Barbados-born chef Paul Carmichael. The menu utilizes a choose-your-own prix fixe format featuring pepper shrimp, cassava dumplings in Creole sauce, black bass curry, and slow-roasted goat.

Prior to the Bon Appétit selection, Kabawa earned rankings as the top restaurant in New York from the New York Times and the top restaurant nationally from Food & Wine earlier in 2026.