Here are our picks for the 10 best healthy restaurants in NYC, where you and your loved ones can enjoy food that’s delightfully delicious yet good for you.
New York City (NYC) is known for many things.
NYC is the home of the Statue of Liberty. The robed, blue-green female statue towers more than 300 feet over Liberty Island in New York Harbor. She represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of Liberty. She symbolizes hope for all who see her, like the 3 million people who come to see her in all her glory each year.
NYC is where the Empire State Building is located. Standing over 1,400 feet tall, it was once the tallest skyscraper in the world. It’s among the world’s most iconic high-rises.
NYC also features Central Park. Not only is it one of the city’s largest parks—at more than 840 acres—it’s also one of the most well-known parks in the world.
And the list goes on.
What NYC isn’t so famous for is healthy food.
It’s known for its pizza, bagels and cheesecake—food that isn’t exactly considered healthy.
But there are restaurants here that offer food that is as healthy as it is delicious.
To help you find the places to go for the best and healthiest food in the city, here are our 10 top choices for the best healthy restaurants in NYC.
#10: Avocaderia
Avocaderia pride themselves as being the world’s first avocado bar. They offer seasonal, nourishing and uniquely crafted salads and bowls made by chefs who use nothing but “non-invasive cooking techniques” to make sure their customers can enjoy fresh and healthy meals. To let even more people enjoy their uniquely delicious food, they now offer specialty catering for events of all sizes, from team meetings to corporate conventions and everything in between.
Learn more about Avocaderia here.
#9: BareBurger
Who says burgers can’t be healthy? BareBurger is proving that you don’t have to choose among being healthy, protecting the environment and eating mouth-watering burgers—you can have it all. This burger joint’s menu starts with fresh, clean, sustainable, organic and all-natural ingredients sourced from like-minded purveyors and farms. They then let their customers choose according to their preferences. For example, for vegans, they have “meatless” burgers. For picky eaters, they have the “be my burger” option that lets them customize. They even have salads and kids’ meals.
Learn more about BareBurger here.
#8: Inday
Indian cuisine is known for being healthy, heavy on vegetables and light on meat. Inday exemplifies this. Founded by a native New Yorker whose Kolkata-born mother and Hyderabadi father instilled traditional values and ancient practices in him and his life, this fast casual Indian restaurant celebrates the beauty and breadth of Indian cooking. Their approach to this is guided by ancient Ayurvedic philosophy, enabling them to focus not only on sustainable sourcing and healthful cooking but also on daily rituals and mindfulness practices that benefit their well-being.
Learn more about Inday here.
#7: Dimes
Dimes is an eclectic and imaginative restaurant offering healthy, California-inspired food. For breakfast, which is served till 4 PM, the options include strong Counter Culture coffee, fluffy eggs on a breakfast sandwich and Magic Toast topped with tart mandarinquat and permission compote, goat cheese and mint. For lunch there’s bánh mì, BLT and kombucha on tap. There’s also spicy quinoa with various veggies, roasted chicken, carrot cake, creamy pot de crème and some organic and sustainable wines.
Find out more about Dimes here.
#6: The Butcher’s Daughter
The Butcher’s Daughter is a “plant-forward” restaurant, café, juice bar and “vegetable slaughterhouse.” That means they’re a 100% vegetarian joint with many vegan and gluten-free options except they don’t treat fruits and vegetables the same way most vegetarian eateries do. They treat them as butchers typically treat meat: they chop them up, fillet them and carve them into uniquely scrumptious vegetarian dishes.
Check out what The Butcher’s Daughter has to offer here.
#5: The Little Beet Table
The Little Beet Table is a “vegetable-forward” restaurant that offers seasonal, locally sourced and carefully thought-out yet wholesome meals in a relaxed, rustic setting. Options include:
- Roasted chicken with Tuscan petite potatoes and roasted carrots
- Crispy salmon with quinoa, asparagus and roasted tomatoes
- Rigatoni with arugula pistou, butternut squash, roasted mushroom and Parmesan
- Sunflower hummus with grilled pita bread
Learn more about The Little Beet Table here.
#4: abcV
While it’s one of the many restaurants around the world operated by renowned restaurateur and businessman Jean-Georges Vongerichten, abcV is the one focused on the plant-based movement. The vegetarian, vegetable-forward restaurant features a bright and airy cafeteria-like setting, an open kitchen and pristine white and green decor that all highlights the creativity of their dishes. They include:
- Warm sunchoke puree
- Roasted beet salad with avocado puree, chili aioli, pickles and lovage
- Spinach spaghetti with broccoli, kale, preserved lemon and Parmigiano
- Beluga lentils with yams and broccoli stems
Learn more about abcV and Jean-Georges Vongerichten here.
#3: Loring Place
Loring Place describes itself as a celebration of New York and all things local. It’s a restaurant that offers farm-to-table dining through the delicious, market-driven dishes created by Dan Kluger, an award-winning chef whose successes and accolades include working as the Executive Chef of ABC Cocina and ABC Kitchen, which was named Best New Restaurant 2011 by the James Beard Foundation. Named after the street in the Bronx where Dan’s father grew up, Loring Place’s fare includes pastas and pizzas made of ingredients sourced from nearby Union Square Greenmarket.
Learn more about Loring Place and Dan Kluger here.
#2: HanGawi
HanGawi is a Korean restaurant that touts itself as a “vegetarian shrine in another space and time.” True to form, you’ll need to take off your shoes before you can enter its serene, Buddhist temple-like interior and enjoy its simple yet beautifully prepared vegetarian dishes. Some of them are based on the food Buddhist monks actually eat.
See what HanGawi has to offer here.
#1: Dirt Candy
Dirt Candy is one of the pioneers of the vegetable-forward movement. Its team calls it NYC’s only vegetable restaurant. That’s because they serve nothing but vegetables. But that doesn’t mean their food is bland. Their goal is to make them taste better than anything their customers have ever had before. They achieve this by treating their kitchen as a laboratory, where they push veggies further than anyone. They’re led by Amanda Cohen, a James Beard-nominated chef and the owner of the restaurant. Having such a passion for vegetarian cuisine enabled them to become one of the two vegetarian restaurants in NYC with a Michelin-star.
Learn more about Dirt Candy and Amanda Cohen here.
References
- “2023 Best Heart-Healthy Restaurants in New York Area,” GAYOT
- “Top 5 Healthy Restaurants in New York City,” Fit Healthy Momma