The best restaurants in Queens in 2026 are Casa Enrique in Long Island City for regional Mexican, SriPraPhai, Zaab Zaab and Ayada for Thai in Woodside and Elmhurst, Taverna Kyclades and Elias Corner for Greek seafood in Astoria, and Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao for soup dumplings in Flushing. Jackson Diner, Rolo's in Ridgewood and Hahm Ji Bach round out the borough's best.
Queens is the most ethnically diverse place in the country, and the best way to eat it is neighborhood by neighborhood: Astoria for Greek, Jackson Heights for South Asian and Latin American, Elmhurst for Thai, and Flushing for Chinese and Korean. For kosher, see the best kosher restaurants in Queens.
Michelin-recognized regional Mexican from Chiapas and beyond.
Casa Enrique serves refined regional Mexican cooking — mole de piaxtla, cochinito chiapaneco — in a small, bright Long Island City room, one stop from Manhattan.
Good to know: Book ahead; it's small.
5-48 49th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101
The Queens Thai restaurant that set the standard.
SriPraPhai has a huge menu of Thai dishes — crispy watercress salad, green curries, drunken noodles — and a garden for summer dining.
Good to know: Order the crispy watercress salad.
64-13 39th Ave, Woodside, NY 11377
Fiery Isan cooking from northeastern Thailand.
Zaab Zaab specializes in the cooking of Isan — larb, som tum, grilled meats — with real heat and bright flavors.
Good to know: Tell them how spicy you can really take it.
76-04 Woodside Ave, Elmhurst, NY 11373
A family-run Thai favorite with punchy salads.
Ayada serves bright, intensely flavored Thai salads, curries and noodles in a small Elmhurst dining room.
Good to know: Try the raw shrimp salad if you're adventurous.
77-08 Woodside Ave, Elmhurst, NY 11373
Astoria's most famous Greek seafood taverna.
Taverna Kyclades grills whole fish, octopus and shrimp to order in a cheerful Aegean-blue room on Ditmars Boulevard.
Good to know: Expect a wait; dessert is often on the house.
33-07 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105
No menu — choose your fish from the ice and it's grilled.
Elias Corner is a classic Astoria fish house where you pick from the day's catch and it's charcoal-grilled simply.
Good to know: Bring cash just in case.
24-02 31st St, Astoria, NY 11102
Jackson Heights' North Indian institution.
Jackson Diner serves North Indian classics and a popular lunch buffet in the heart of Queens' Little India.
Good to know: Walk 74th Street afterward for sweets and saris.
37-47 74th St, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Some of the city's best soup dumplings.
Nan Xiang, in Flushing, makes delicate Shanghai-style soup dumplings — pork, crab and pork, and more — along with other Shanghainese dishes.
Good to know: Bite a small hole and sip the soup before eating.
39-16 Prince St, Flushing, NY 11354
Korean barbecue in Queens' Koreatown.
Hahm Ji Bach is a Queens favorite for pork belly barbecue, stews and a generous spread of banchan.
Good to know: Order the pork belly.
40-11 149th Pl, Flushing, NY 11354
A wood-fired neighborhood restaurant with a great burger and bread.
Rolo's, in Ridgewood, cooks over a wood fire — grilled meats, vegetables and a much-praised burger — with a bakery counter by day.
Good to know: Come by in the morning for the bakery.
853 Onderdonk Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385
Rich Thai boat noodles in Astoria.
Pye Boat Noodle specializes in boat noodles — rich, spiced broths with beef or pork — in a cozy Astoria space.
Good to know: Order a couple of small bowls to try different broths.
35-13 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106
Take the 7 train to the end of the line at Flushing–Main Street (about 40 minutes from Grand Central), or the LIRR from Penn Station or Grand Central Madison, which is faster.
Usually — many of Queens' best restaurants are family-run spots with lower prices than comparable Manhattan restaurants.