2018 top independent restaurants in New York City
By Restaurant Business Staff on Oct. 16, 2018The Big Apple is once again home to the most independents on our Top 100 ranking, with almost a third of the list located there. Click through to see the highest-volume restaurants in New York City.
Carmine's (Times Square)
Top 100 Rank: 3
Annual Sales: $32.5M
Average Check: $33.83
The Buzz: Managing increased labor due to the success of catering and delivery services is a "happy problem."
Tao Downtown
Top 100 Rank: 4
Annual Sales: $34.3M
Average Check: $98.00
The Buzz: Tao "is intended to look and feel as if it has been there for decades and only unearthed recently to reveal the artifacts within."
Lavo Italian Restaurant & Nightclub
Top 100 Rank: 7
Annual Sales: $27.4M
Average Check: $88.00
The Buzz: It is designed to channel a 19th century Italian bistro, with sidewalk tables and doors leading into a cozy bar and cafe.
Bryant Park Grill & Cafe
Top 100 Rank: 8
Annual Sales: $25.9M
Average Check: $53.00
The Buzz: French-influenced dining in a beautiful setting behind the landmark New York Public Library.
Smith & Wollensky
Top 100 Rank: 10
Annual Sales: $25.4M
Average Check: $103.01
The Buzz: This is the original Smith & Wollensky and is not a part of the chain bearing the same name.
Balthazar
Top 100 Rank: 11
Annual Sales: $25.0M
Average Check: $80.00
The Buzz: Reggie Nadelson's new book "At Balthazar" puts annual revenue at $25 million from 1,500 covers a day.
Tao Uptown
Top 100 Rank: 12
Annual Sales: $25.0M
Average Check: $88.00
The Buzz: Parent Tao Group has opened a Tao Asian Bistro in Los Angeles' Dream Hollywood hotel.
Junior's (Times Square)
Top 100 Rank: 13
Annual Sales: $23.5M
Average Check: $19.53
The Buzz: The new New Yorker Cake Shake is a strawberry milkshake topped with a slice of Junior's Strawberry Cheesecake.
Vandal
Top 100 Rank: 14
Annual Sales: $23.4M
Average Check: $83.00
The Buzz: Vandal "celebrates the art, architecture, and food of global street culture from New York to Vietnam to Barcelona and beyond."
Buddakan
Top 100 Rank: 21
Annual Sales: $21.2M
Average Check: $85.00
The Buzz: Starr Restaurants' flagship says it offers "a surreal atmosphere that marries the serenity of Asia with the flamboyance of 16th-century Paris."
The Smith (Lincoln Square)
Top 100 Rank: 31
Annual Sales: $19.3M
Average Check: $44.60
The Buzz: In pleasant weather, an outdoor sidewalk cafe can seat 90 at this spot across from Lincoln Center.
Quality Meats
Top 100 Rank: 33
Annual Sales: $18.7M
Average Check: $106.17
The Buzz: Parent Quality Branded will open a Quality Eats steakhouse in Chicago.
The Smith (NoMad)
Top 100 Rank: 34
Annual Sales: $18.6M
Average Check: $46.21
The Buzz: Parent Corner Table Restaurants has opened two Smith locations in Washington, D.C.
Sparks Steak House
Top 100 Rank: 38
Annual Sales: $18.2M
Average Check: $93.00
The Buzz: Another icon nearly lost to rising rents, Sparks negotiated an increase of 100% down to 40% and has stayed open.
The Smith (Midtown)
Top 100 Rank: 39
Annual Sales: $18.2M
Average Check: $46.95
The Buzz: The Smith’s name comes from the old word for a maker or artisan, such as a blacksmith.
Del Posto
Top 100 Rank: 42
Annual Sales: $17.9M
Average Check: $163.00
The Buzz: Former co-owner Mario Batali was forced to divest his interest following allegations of sexual misconduct.
'21' Club
Top 100 Rank: 46
Annual Sales: $17.6M
Average Check: $194.77
The Buzz: An expanded fish/seafood menu includes Parmesan-crusted halibut, Hokkaido sea scallops and grilled tuna.
Tavern on the Green
Top 100 Rank: 47
Annual Sales: $17.5M
Average Check: $74.00
The Buzz: Tavern on the Green offers live jazz in the main barroom Friday and Saturday evenings from 6-10 p.m.
Quality Italian
Top 100 Rank: 50
Annual Sales: $16.8M
Average Check: $93.02
The Buzz: A Quality Italian was opened in Denver in 2017, and a Quality Meats operates in Miami.
Beauty & Essex (New York City)
Top 100 Rank: 53
Annual Sales: $16.7M
Average Check: $88.00
The Buzz: The New York Times praised its "infectious playfulness," with a pawn shop at the entrance.
Grand Central Oyster Bar
Top 100 Rank: 54
Annual Sales: $16.7M
Average Check: $60.00
The Buzz: The 105-year-old restaurant received the Design Icon Award at the 2017 James Beard Awards.
Keens Steakhouse
Top 100 Rank: 59
Annual Sales: $16.2M
Average Check: $93.00
The Buzz: Its famous 26-ounce mutton chop is seared in a 1,000-degree broiler before being moved to a 500-degree oven for finishing.
La Sirena
Top 100 Rank: 61
Annual Sales: $16.1M
Average Check: $83.00
The Buzz: In summer, La Sirena opens a 4,000-square-foot patio one floor above street level, with another 150 seats.
Junior's (49th Street)
Top 100 Rank: 65
Annual Sales: $15.5M
Average Check: $19.44
The Buzz: It opened in June 2017, yet still totaled more than $15 million in sales and nearly 800,000 meals served.
Junior's (Brooklyn)
Top 100 Rank: 81
Annual Sales: $14.2M
Average Check: $23.14
The Buzz: Man does not live on fabulous cheesecake alone: Reuben Egg Rolls, added in 2017, have been a smash hit.
Coffee Shop
Top 100 Rank: 82
Annual Sales: $14.2M
Average Check: $45.00
The Buzz: The Union Square fixture, featured in "Sex and the City," was slated to close in October 2018 after 28 years.
Virgil's Real Barbecue
Top 100 Rank: 88
Annual Sales: $13.8M
Average Check: $29.95
The Buzz: Catering backyard barbecues and delivering barbecue platters to Manhattan offices has become a vital revenue stream.
Rock Center Cafe
Top 100 Rank: 90
Annual Sales: $13.5M
Average Check: $60.00
The Buzz: It offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch menus, and a spacious outdoor patio.
Le Coucou
Top 100 Rank: 94
Annual Sales: $13.0M
Average Check: $125.00
The Buzz: The New York Post called it "one of the 21st century’s four or five best restaurants of any type."
Cafe Fiorello
Top 100 Rank: 97
Annual Sales: $12.7M
Average Check: $59.00
The Buzz: A breakfast, lunch and dinner institution across from Lincoln Center since 1974.