These 2 New Midtown Restaurants Are Among City's 'Best'

MIDTOWN, NY — A pair of new Midtown restaurants are among the best that opened in 2023, according to a new annual list from one of the city's top food critics.

The New York Times' food critic Pete Wells compiled his 12 top picks for the city's best new restaurants of 2023 and included a hit Rockefeller Center Korean spot and another in Midtown East with a showcase hotdog on the menu.

At spot number 10 sits Naro, a new offering from couple Junghyun and Jeongeun Park, who have spent years bringing Korean delights to New York diners with prior hits spots like Atomix and Atoboy.

"The kitchen recasts traditional Korean dishes in modern, artfully understated forms," writes Wells.

The critic continues, saying that that, unlike the Atomix tasting menu, where "each dish seems designed to make your jaw drop," Naro's menu is "after something different — more like a slow, satisfied smile of recognition."

"Even if you miss the references," says Wells "the smile still comes."

The Park's other hit spot, Atomix, was one of only two U.S. eateries to make a prestigious list of the world's best 50 restaurants this past summer.

A few blocks away but only one position down on the list sits Mischa at number nine, a new spot from acclaimed Chef Alex Stupack which has already won wide acclaim when it was added to the Michelin Guide for New York in October.

"If you think something on the menu sounds familiar," Wells writes, "chances are it’s been twisted beyond recognition."

Emblematic of that description is Mischa's $29 hot dog, which Wells previously called both "obnoxious" and "lovable."

"It’s also one of the most delicious and original things you can eat on or off Lexington Avenue," Wells writes, while also praising the pastas, a desert-like deviled egg and a steamed halibut served with a sauce containing asafoetida.

To check out the entire New York’s 12 Best New Restaurants of 2023 by New York Times food critic Pete Wells, click here.