2 NYC Spots Named To Best New Restaurants List: See Who

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Two restaurants in Lower Manhattan recently made an annual America’s Best New Restaurants list.

Bon Appétit this month highlighted Lei, a wine bar in Chinatown, and Kabawa, a Caribbean restaurant in the East Village.

Kabawa was praised for its three-course menu, with Bon Appétit editors saying that the dishes "are so new and energetic, they set the benchmark for future Caribbean restaurants."

Lei in Chinatown was opened by Annie Shi and features an extensive list of nearly 1,000 wine bottles.

Bon Appétit's Kate Kassin, gave her recommendation, when visiting Lei.

"It’s easy to order everything on the menu here; don’t skip large-format dishes like the winning cat’s ear noodles, handmade swoops of fresh dough tossed in a northern Chinese ragù of cumin-scented braised lamb."

Bon Appétit picked 19 restaurants between March 2025 and March 2026.

You can view the magazine's full list here.