Only 31 Out Of 504 Restaurant Week Eateries Are In Queens

QUEENS — The World's Borough is known for many things, including a vast array of some of the city's best food, but very little of that fare is on display in this year's NYC Restaurant Week, which includes just 31 Queens restaurants in its 'super' list of more than 500.

On Monday the mayor revealed that this summer's five-week-long event will return in-person on July 19 after a takeout-only run earlier this year, which attracted a record-number of participating restaurants, including 48 from Queens — a double digit increase from the number of Queens-based eateries that are participating this time around.

Compared to past years, the 2021 summer line-up includes more eateries from some outer boroughs (namely, Brooklyn), but the vast majority of restaurants — 412 of the 504 — are still found in Manhattan. As of Monday, only five restaurants from Staten Island and six from the Bronx are included.

But, even within Manhattan, not all neighborhoods are represented equally.

In a news statement NYC & Company, the event organizers, said that this summer's line-up includes more than 40 types of cuisine in 75 neighborhoods — but, as Patch Reporter Gus Saltonstall pointed out, not a single restaurant is located in Washington Heights, which is widely considered the city's best spot for Dominican food.

This same disparity carries over to Queens, where more than one-third of the participating restaurants are located in Astoria and Long Island City. By contrast, food capitals of the borough, including Flushing and Jackson Heights — which are known for their Chinese and Columbian, Mexican, Tibetan, and Thai cuisines, respectively — each have no more than three participating eateries apiece.

NYC & Company did not immediately respond to Patch's inquiries about these Restaurant Week disparities.

“We are delighted to invite diners to make plans now to dine out often and experience the diversity of cuisines that make New York City the restaurant capital of the world," said Fred Dixon, President and CEO of NYC & Company, in the same news statement.

Registration for restaurants to participate is still open through July 15, according to organizers, so the numbers could change by the time diners are ready to find a place to eat.

But, reservations for the deals — which include lunch, dinner, and three-plus-course options for $21, $39, and $125, respectively — are open as of Monday.

See all of the participating Queens eateries here.