2023 OAD Casual in North America: Complete Rankings — Page 2

Ignacio Mattos brings the same sourcing-first Italian cooking that defines Estela to this all-day café at 1 Rockefeller Plaza. Ranked by Opinionated About Dining three consecutive years, Lodi is the most credentialed and easiest-to-book Italian option in Midtown. Best for solo lunches and casual weekday visits.

St. Anselm is a fire-driven American grill in D.C.'s NoMa neighborhood, ranked #248 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list (2025). At the $40–$65 two-course price point, it offers one of the city's more serious wine programs; 1,100 selections, deep in California, Italy, France; without the $$$$ price tag of comparable D.C. destinations. Book it for groups who want to eat and drink well without ceremony.

Emilio's Ballato has ranked among Opinionated About Dining's top casual restaurants in North America three years running (#132 in 2025), yet it remains genuinely easy to book. The Italian-American kitchen on Houston Street delivers cacio e pepe, pollo Emilio, cannoli that justify the recognition. For the quality-to-accessibility ratio, it is one of the better decisions you can make for a meal in downtown New York.

Hy's Steak House on Kūhiō Avenue is the most credentialed steakhouse in Waikīkī, ranked on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list and recognized by Star Wine List for its wine program. Open nightly 5–9 PM with easy reservations, it is the right call for occasion dinners and food-focused travelers who want a serious, structured evening over a resort-level meal.

Criollo is Oaxaca's most credentialed high-end Mexican restaurant, holding a Michelin Plate (2024, 2025) and an OAD top-35 North America ranking. At $$$$ it sits above Casa Oaxaca in ambition and recognition. Book well ahead; this is a hard reservation in a city of serious dining options, it rewards visitors who treat it as the anchor meal of the trip.

Moon & Turtle is Hilo's most credentialed restaurant, earning three consecutive Opinionated About Dining top-150 Casual North America rankings. Chef Mark Pomaski's seafood-focused kitchen delivers reliable quality backed by. For a special occasion dinner on the Big Island's east side, this is the right booking.

Mandolin Aegean Bistro holds a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand and dual Star Wine List rankings while staying accessible at the $$ price point; a rare combination in Miami. Open until 11 PM every night, it's a credible late-night option in the Design District. Book a few days out for weekdays; reserve ahead for weekend garden seating.

888 Seafood on East Valley Boulevard is a Cantonese seafood hall that has earned back-to-back Opinionated About Dining Casual North America rankings (#118 in 2023, #222 in 2024). Open until 9:30 PM daily, it's among the most credentialed and accessible late-option seafood restaurants in Rosemead's competitive Chinese dining corridor. Best for groups who want to eat seriously without a hard-to-get reservation.

Arthur J. is a dinner-only Manhattan Beach steakhouse from chef David LeFevre, ranked back-to-back by Opinionated About Dining. Booking is easy by LA standards; plan a week out for weekends. Go in person; this is a room-and-kitchen experience that does not translate well off-premise.

King is a West Village Southern Italian restaurant with a daily-changing greenmarket menu and a bar worth arriving early for. Ranked #109 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list in 2025, it delivers consistent, technique-driven cooking without the price or ceremony of a tasting-menu room. Easy to book and open for weekend lunch; one of Manhattan's more reliable calls for food-focused diners.

Angelini Osteria on Beverly Blvd is one of Los Angeles's most consistent Italian restaurants at the $$$ price point, holding a Michelin Plate and Pearl Recommended status in 2025. Open daily until 10 PM, it's one of the few serious Italian kitchens in LA that works for a late dinner. Book 1–2 weeks ahead for weekday evenings; weekends fill faster.

A Michelin Plate restaurant at $$ on Abbot Kinney, Gjelina is one of Los Angeles's strongest casual dining options for the price. The kitchen combines Italian-influenced pizza with contemporary vegetable cookery to a level that outperforms its neighbourhood setting. Easy to book, open seven days, worth it for a relaxed but technically sound dinner in Venice.

A Michelin Plate modern cuisine address in Paris's 10th arrondissement, Dante delivers technically focused cooking at a €€ price point that most comparable rooms cannot match.

Rossoblu is a Michelin Plate Italian restaurant in Downtown LA with three consecutive Opinionated About Dining rankings and. At the $$ price tier, it offers better value than most of its credentialled peers in the city. Book a week out; getting a table here is easy by Los Angeles standards.

An OAD-ranked New Asian room on College Street that's far more serious than its easy-to-book status suggests. Chef Nick Liu's sharing-plate format; think whole fried trout and Hainanese chicken with black truffle; delivers celebration-dinner quality without tasting-menu ceremony. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 5 pm, with late-night service to 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Chef Michael Scelfo's shareable format works best for groups of three or four. Easy to book with a few days' notice; weekends fill faster.

Jade Seafood Restaurant has earned back-to-back-to-back spots on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list (2023, 2024, 2025), making it one of the most consistently recognised Chinese seafood destinations in Richmond. Booking is easy relative to the credential it carries. Chef Tony Luk's kitchen works best with a group and a focus on live seafood, with weekday lunch as the optimal timing.

Petit Trois is Ludo Lefebvre's Hollywood counter bistro; Michelin-plated, LA Times top-50 ranked, priced at $$$ in a city full of $$$$ tasting menus. The French classics (escargot, steak frites, the Big Mec burger) are executed with real technical depth. For value-conscious French dining in Los Angeles, it is one of the stronger cases you can make.

Cochon is the most consistently awarded casual Cajun Seafood restaurant in New Orleans, holding a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand and multiple Opinionated About Dining placements over three years. Chef Stephen Stryjewski's Warehouse District restaurant opens daily from 11 am and is easy to book outside major event weekends. A strong first choice for visitors who want serious Louisianan cooking without the white-tablecloth price.

Prime One Twelve is a high-energy American steakhouse on Ocean Drive with three consecutive Opinionated About Dining Casual North America rankings, reaching #127 in 2025. It handles groups well and delivers consistent quality above the South Beach baseline. Book it for celebratory dinners or private events; skip it if a quiet room matters more than the scene.

Au Cheval is a Pearl Recommended French Bistro on Chicago's Randolph Street with an Easy booking difficulty; one of the more accessible quality options in a corridor dominated by hard-to-get tasting menus. Ranked by Opinionated About Dining across three consecutive years, it delivers consistent bistro-format dining for date nights and casual celebrations without the planning overhead of neighbours like Kasama or Alinea.

Salazar is a four-time Opinionated About Dining-listed Mexican restaurant in L.A.'s Frogtown, open all day and easy to book; making it one of the more practical options for a date or group meal where food quality matters but tasting-menu commitment does not.

La Ciccia is San Francisco's most focused Sardinian kitchen; ranked on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list three years running. Dinner-only, easy to book, priced below the city's tasting-menu tier, it delivers a genuinely personal occasion dinner. For Italian at a similar level, Cotogna is the main alternative; for a larger-format splurge, look at Quince.

Jitlada is the most consistently decorated Southern Thai restaurant in Los Angeles, holding a Michelin Plate and an OAD top-150 Casual North America ranking that has improved every year since 2023. Chef Suthiporn Sungkamee's kitchen does not soften the cuisine for a general audience, which is precisely why it is worth booking. Easy to reserve, fairly priced, a strong choice for a casual special occasion.

Under chef Danny Ibarra, it delivers consistent Texas Bistro cooking in a setting that earns its premium. Book ahead for weekend dinners; lunch walk-ins are generally viable.

Canard is Portland's most accessible entry point into serious French bistro dining, with a 600-selection wine list that justifies the visit on its own. Ranked #65 on OAD's 2025 Casual North America list, it's easy to book, open every night from 4 PM, priced at $$ for food with a $$$ cellar that rewards the wine-focused diner.

Nami Nori is one of the strongest value propositions in West Village dining: a counter-format hand roll experience led by Chef Taka Sakaeda, ranked in Opinionated About Dining's top Casual North America list three years running and Pearl Recommended in 2025. The chef's set delivers a genuine tasting progression at the $ price tier, with a well-considered plant-based section and counter seats that book without the long lead times of comparable Japanese venues in New York City.

Screen Door is one of Portland's most consistently recognised casual American restaurants, holding a Pearl Recommended designation and Opinionated About Dining Casual North America ranking for multiple consecutive years. First-timers should prioritise weekend brunch and book ahead. Dinner is more accessible, the food travels well enough to make takeout a practical option when a sit-down isn't possible.

Tracy Chang's Cambridge restaurant has held a spot on the Opinionated About Dining Casual North America list for three consecutive years, it earns the recognition. The Spanish-meets-Asian menu is built for sharing, the booking is easy, the price point sits well below Cambridge's formal tasting-menu rooms. Book for dinner; there is no lunch or brunch service.

St. Jack is Portland's most critically endorsed French bistro, with back-to-back Opinionated About Dining rankings and. Chef Aaron Barnett runs a consistent dinner-only operation on NW 23rd Ave, open nightly 5–10 pm. Book it for a date night or special occasion when you want proper bistro execution and a wine list worth ordering from.

Wayan is the most credentialed Indonesian restaurant in SoHo, holding a Michelin Plate and three consecutive Opinionated About Dining Casual North America rankings. Chef Cédric Vongerichten's French-Indonesian menu, built around shareable small plates and bold entrees, makes it one of the more interesting weekend brunch bookings downtown at the $$$ price point.

A Michelin Bib Gourmand farm-to-table restaurant on Austin's Rainey Street, Emmer & Rye delivers serious kitchen ambition at a mid-range price ($40–$65 for a typical two-course meal). The rotating dim sum cart format and a 650-bottle wine list make it one of Austin's strongest value-to-quality propositions. Book two to three weeks ahead for weekends; weekday bar seats are easier to secure.

Keens has been the standard-setter for New York steakhouses since 1885; James Beard America's Classic Award, ranked #150 on Opinionated About Dining's 2025 North America Casual list, the mutton chop and porterhouse remain the benchmarks in Midtown. Book three to four weeks out minimum; this is a hard table to get at short notice.

Killen's Steakhouse is the strongest case for staying in Pearland rather than driving into Houston for a serious steak dinner. Dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday; book a few days ahead for weeknights, earlier for Friday or Saturday.

Ranked #239 on Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in North America (2025) and holding, Rim Rock Cafe is Whistler's most consistently recognised Canadian fine dining option. Dinner-only, seven nights a week, with a quieter room and deliberate pace that suits a serious meal over a scene. Book a week ahead outside peak ski season.

La Natural is a Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded Mediterranean pizza and wine bar in Miami's Little Haiti, recognized in both 2024 and 2025 and ranked #137 on OAD's Casual North America list. Chef Javier Ramirez's vegetable-forward approach at $$ pricing makes it one of Miami's clearest value plays for ingredient-conscious casual dining. Booking is easy; the weekend lunch slot is the most underused entry point.

An OAD-ranked Mexican restaurant from Jose Andres, Oyamel delivers regionally inflected cooking; think black bean soup with avocado leaves and gorditas with Hudson Valley duck confit; at a $$ price point that few D.C. peers can match for this level of consistency. Ranked #135 on OAD Casual North America in 2025, it's the clearest answer to serious Mexican food in the city without the tasting-menu price tag.