Yelp Announces its 2026 Top 100 Places to Eat in the United States

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01/21/2026 - 09:32 AM

Honorees span 34 states, with Texas, California, and New York leading Yelp’s annual list and reflecting major dining trends

Ci Siamo in New York City, a modern Italian restaurant from the Danny Meyer team, claims the No. 1 spot

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Yelp, the company that connects people with great local businesses, today announced its 13th annual list of the Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S., highlighting the best restaurants of 2026 according to the Yelp community. Claiming the top spot this year is Ci Siamo, an Italian restaurant in New York City led by Chef Hillary Sterling and celebrated for its classic Roman pasta dishes. From Michelin-starred Korean steak to pop culture-inspired pizza and all-day brunch, this year’s list showcases the local spots diners love most right now.

“Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat shows what happens when real people guide the conversation about restaurants,” said Tara Lewis, Yelp’s trend expert. “By sharing honest reviews and photos, diners have surfaced a mix of cozy neighborhood favorites, brunch and sandwich shops, and unique culinary experiences you won’t find on any other list.”

List highlights comfort, creativity, and culinary innovation

Yelp’s Top 100 U.S. Restaurants 2026 showcases a wide mix of spots across 34 states, including fine-dining rooms, like GW Fins (#8) in New Orleans, food halls, including Los Angeles’s Broken Mouth (#7), sandwich shops, like Blues City Deli (#82) in St. Louis, beloved cafés, like Cafe Bonjour (#67) in Boston, and budget-friendly counters, like Adela’s Country Eatery (#6) in Kaneohe, HI. Since 2014, Yelp’s Top 100 lists have recognized almost 1,000 establishments in over 400 cities, boosting local restaurants’ visibility and revenue.

Topping the list for 2026:

No. 1: Ci Siamo, New York, New York — A modern Italian restaurant from the Danny Meyer team, celebrated for standout classics like Rigatoni Alla Gricia.
No. 2: Taste of Texas, Houston, Texas — A 50-year-old icon where guests can hand-pick their favorite steak cuts.
No. 3: NAM Kitchen, Gardena, California — A Vietnamese-Peruvian fusion spot and the most-reviewed business on this year’s list.
No. 4: Waffle and Berry, Honolulu, Hawaii — An all-day waffle and açaí café with a near-perfect five-star rating.
No. 5: Comfort Cafe, San Antonio, Texas — A nonprofit, “pay what you can” brunch spot supporting addiction recovery.

Regional and culinary trends

Texas leads this year’s list with 17 restaurants, including seven in Houston alone. California follows with nine restaurants, while New York claims five, all in New York City. Other regional hotspots include Nashville and Las Vegas, with four honorees each, reflecting the growing strength of dining scenes beyond the usual coastal hubs.

Yelp’s community is surfacing both destination dining and affordable favorites — about 65% of this year’s honorees are priced under $30 per person (or $$ on Yelp), showing strong demand for high-quality, budget-friendly meals alongside special-occasion experiences.

Diners are embracing nostalgic comfort food, served at spots like Pepp & Dolores (#10); elevated sandwiches as destination dinners, like Stasio’s (#75); all-day breakfast and brunch, like at RJ Skillets (#14); Japanese and Nikkei cuisine, like at Noko Nashville (#24); and dress-up, special-occasion restaurants, like COTE Miami (#20).

New AI tools make dining discovery easier

This year’s honorees demonstrate the power of community recommendations, and Yelp is making it even simpler for diners to discover and enjoy standout spots. New AI tools are helping users get the most out of every dining adventure: Yelp Assistant, an AI-powered chatbot, quickly answers questions about local businesses right from the business page, while Menu Vision surfaces real photos and reviews for dishes as users point their camera at a menu — making it even easier to decide what to order in real time.

To view or share Yelp’s 2026 list of the Top 100 restaurants in the U.S., visit the Collection on the Yelp app and read more about this year’s winning spots on Yelp. Photos of the Top 100 restaurants can be found in the press kit.

Methodology

To determine the Top 100 Places to Eat in 2026, Yelp identified businesses in the restaurants category and ranked them using a number of factors, including total volume and ratings of reviews. When available, all businesses on this list have a passing health score as of November 6, 2025.

About Yelp

Yelp Inc. (yelp.com) is a community-driven platform that connects people with great local businesses. Millions of people rely on Yelp for useful and trusted local business information, reviews and photos to help inform their spending decisions. As a one-stop local platform, Yelp helps consumers easily discover, connect and transact with businesses across a broad range of categories by making it easy to request a quote for a service, book a table at a restaurant, and more. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in 2004.