Looking to make dinner plans? We know just where to start. The James Beard Foundation just unveiled its 2026 James Beard Award Restaurant and Chef semifinalists, and being the foundation has been championing and supporting U.S. culinary culture for over 30 years, we’d say they know a thing or two about good dining.
Renowned for its esteemed food industry awards, the foundation has played a significant role in celebrating and promoting culinary excellence through fundraising initiatives and events, and is considered among the nation’s most prestigious honors.
Translation: your certainly going to wait to turn your attention towards any restaurant or chef mentioned on this list.
Our jaw stayed in place when we saw that New York City dominated the list once again–this is one of the food capitals of the world, after all! Fair warning, though: you may have to sell your soul to get a reservation at these spots now that this list is out–especially since many of them have already found their way on other “best of” lists.
2026 James Beard Awards NYC Restaurant & Chef Semifinalists
Outstanding Restaurateur
- Simon Kim, Gracious Hospitality (COTE, Undercote, and COQODAQ)
- Jennifer Vitagliano and Nicole Vitagliano, Elizabeth Street Hospitality (The Musket Room, Raf’s, and Cafe Zaffri)
Outstanding Chef
- Gabriel Kreuther, Gabriel Kreuther
- Kwame Onwuachi, Tatiana
Outstanding Restaurant
- Via Carota
Emerging Chef
- Sunny Lee, Sunn’s
- Rasheeda Purdie, Ramen by Rā
Best New Restaurant
- Bong
- Kabawa
- Lei
Outstanding Bakery
- Bánh by Lauren
- Librae
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
- Eunji Lee, Lysée
Outstanding Hospitality
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Chambers
Outstanding Bar
- Aldo Sohm Wine Bar
- Double Chicken Please
Best New Bar
- Bar Snack
- Clemente Bar
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
- Lee Campbell, Borgo
- Amy Racine, La Marchande
Best Chef: New York State
- Fariyal Abdullahi, Hav & Mar
- Christophe Bellanca, Essential by Christophe
- Sadie Mae Burns and Anthony Ha, Ha’s Snack Bar
- Fidel Caballero, Corima
- Giovanni Cervantes, Carnitas Ramirez
- Aretah Ettarh, Gramercy Tavern
- Vikas Khanna, Bungalow
- Yvan Lemoine, Tourmaline
- Nate Limwong, Chalong
- Cheng Lin, Shōta Omakase
- Buddha Lo, Huso
- Angie Mar, Le B
- Ayesha Nurdjaja, Shukette
- Joshua Pinsky, Claud
- Mads Refslund, Ilis
- Rafiq Salim, Rolo’s
- Stefano Secchi, Rezdôra
Stay tuned–the official restaurant and chef nominees will be announced on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, with winners celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 15, 2026 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
You can see the full list of semifinalists on the James Beard website.