2023 OAD Top Restaurants in North America: Recommended List — Page 3

Matt's in the Market sits above Pike Place Market and earned a spot on Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in North America list in both 2023 and 2024. Chef Matt Fortner runs a market-driven Pacific Northwest menu that changes with what's available below. Booking is easy relative to Seattle's harder tables, midweek lunch is the quietest, most considered way to experience it.

Sushi Roku is an OAD-recognised sushi restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip, ranked #478 in North America in 2024. Booking is easy — typically a few days out — and weekend lunch hours from noon make it one of the few Strip sushi options that works as a daytime special occasion meal.

Park Restaurant is Westmount's most consistently recognised Japanese address — Michelin Plate holder, back-to-back OAD Top Restaurants in North America rankings, a 4.4 rating across 1,282 reviews. Book two to three weeks ahead for dinner; request private dining for groups of four or more. Weekday lunch is the best entry point for a shorter booking window and lower pressure.

Sushi Ann is an Opinionated About Dining-ranked sushi restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, rated #392 in North America for 2025. It is one of the more bookable credentialed sushi addresses in New York — no months-long wait, weekday lunch and dinner service, a focused traditional format that rewards returning guests.

Frasca Food & Wine is Boulder's most decorated restaurant: a Michelin-starred, 2025 James Beard Award winner built around the cuisine of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, with one of the strongest Italian wine programs in the country (910 selections, nearly 8,000 bottles). At the $$$ price tier for food and wine, it's the clear choice for a special occasion dinner in Colorado. Book 3-4 weeks out minimum.

Sheer Rocks at Ffryes Beach is Antigua's clearest choice for a special occasion dinner with culinary credibility — OAD-ranked for three consecutive years (2023–2025). Chef Jamal Warner's Caribbean kitchen sits above the sea, with open-air seating that makes sunset timing a practical priority. Book ahead for weekends; mid-week availability is more flexible.

Yakiniku Gen is one of Manhattan's few critically recognised Japanese barbecue restaurants, holding an Opinionated About Dining ranking for three consecutive years. Located in Midtown East at 250 E 52nd St, it is open seven days a week with weekend lunch available. Booking is easy, making it a practical option for food-focused diners who want serious yakiniku without a difficult reservation.

JaBistro is a practical downtown Toronto Japanese pick: more polished than a casual ramen stop, less of a splurge than the city's luxury omakase-style counters. Its 2026 Opinionated About Dining Recommended recognition gives it credibility, but the main reason to book is usability: lunch and dinner hours, easy booking, a central Richmond Street West location.

Ranked #110 in North America by Opinionated About Dining (2025) and still easy to book, Kappo Sono is chef Chikara Sono's kappo-format Japanese restaurant in Flatiron. At $$$ per head with a 1,250-bottle wine list, it delivers a serious, interactive dining experience at a price point well below New York's $$$$ Japanese competition. Book it before the ranking makes that harder.

Jaya has ranked on Opinionated About Dining's North America list three years running, climbing to #343 in 2025, making it one of Miami Beach's most critically recognised Asian restaurants. Chef Vijayudu Veena's sourcing-led approach separates it from the scene-first alternatives on Collins Ave. Easy to book and worth it for a returning guest ready to go deeper into the menu.

Lenoir is South Austin's clearest answer for serious New American cooking at $$$ — a Michelin Plate restaurant with an OAD Top 313 ranking, a seasonal tasting menu built on Texas ingredients, a value-focused wine list. The wine garden and later closing times (10:30 pm on weekends) make it one of the few tasting-menu options in Austin that genuinely accommodates a late sitting.

Union League Cafe is the strongest French kitchen in New Haven and the clearest choice for food-focused visitors who want nationally competitive cooking without New York prices or booking friction. Chef Jean Pierre Vuillermet's program has ranked on Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in North America list three consecutive years. Friday and Saturday lunch is the best-value entry point; dinner suits those with a full evening to give the room.

Okta is the right answer for a serious tasting-menu dinner in the Willamette Valley. Chef Matt Lightner's progressive Pacific Northwest menu earned a top-250 Opinionated About Dining ranking in 2024 and an Esquire Best New Restaurant spot in 2022. Open Wednesday through Saturday only, with booking currently easier than its national recognition warrants.

Matsumoto has earned three consecutive years of Opinionated About Dining recognition in North America, climbing to #396 in 2025 — a trajectory that signals a kitchen getting sharper. Chef Naruki Matsumoto runs a focused sushi counter in Koreatown, open Tuesday through Saturday, that is easier to book than Sushi Kaneyoshi but no less serious in intent. Worth booking for a deliberate sushi evening in Los Angeles.

A Michelin-starred Japanese steakhouse in San Francisco's Design District, Niku is built around an open binchotan grill, in-house dry-aged wagyu, a 730-bottle wine list. The 18-seat chef's counter is the seat to book. Ranked #351 in North America by Opinionated About Dining (2025), it earns its price point through precision service and sourcing — not spectacle.

AnnaLena holds a Michelin star and a decade of consistent ambition in Kitsilano, making it Vancouver's clearest argument for the seasonal tasting menu format. The continuously rotating menu and a wine program led by sommelier Reverie Beall separate it from peers at the same price point. Book three to four weeks ahead minimum — demand is real and growing.

Eight Tables by George Chen is a Pearl Recommended, La Liste-ranked Modern Chinese restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown, operating Tuesday through Saturday with a deliberately intimate format built for special occasions. Booking difficulty is rated Easy compared to San Francisco peers, but the limited seat count and five-night schedule mean advance planning matters. Not a takeout option — this is entirely an in-room experience.

Sushi by Bou at 32 East 32nd Street is a counter omakase room ranked in Opinionated About Dining's Top 500 in North America two years running. Easier to book than most comparable Midtown omakase rooms, it delivers a structured nigiri progression at a price point that makes the lunch seating particularly strong value.

Bar Masa is the more accessible side of Chef Masa Takayama's Columbus Circle operation — a la carte Japanese cooking in the $$$$ tier, ranked in Opinionated About Dining's top North American restaurants three years running. It is the right call for a celebration or business dinner when you want the Masa kitchen's precision without committing to the full omakase next door. Booking is easy relative to its peers.

The Fearrington House is the strongest fine dining option in the Pittsboro area and one of the more credentialed Southern restaurants in the Southeast: Michelin Plate (2025), Relais & Châteaux member, OAD #395 in North America, a 3-Star World of Fine Wine Accreditation. Book a weekend evening in late spring or autumn for the full experience. Easy to book; harder to replicate elsewhere in the region.

Sushi Kaito is a focused omakase counter on the Upper West Side led by Chef Yoko Hasegawa, recognised by Opinionated About Dining in both 2023 and 2024. It is notably easier to book than comparable downtown counters. The best choice for a composed, celebration-style dinner in the neighbourhood.

Enigma Yorkville earns its Michelin star (2024) through a tightly controlled surprise tasting menu format, with 6, 8, or 10 courses shaped by chef Quinton Bennett's international kitchen background. At $$$$ with service until 11 PM five nights a week, it is Toronto's most compelling late-option for serious tasting menus. Book four to six weeks out minimum.

Yopparai is a serious izakaya on Clinton Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side, ranked in the Opinionated About Dining Top 375 restaurants in North America for 2025. The shared-plate format and strong sake program make it a practical choice for groups of two to six. Booking is easy — a few days out is usually enough.

Miami's only two-star Michelin restaurant is the most credentialed French fine dining option in the city — and nothing else here directly competes at that level. The counter format, 745-bottle wine list, consistent Michelin recognition make it worth the $$$$ spend, especially for return visitors who can engage more deliberately with both the kitchen and the sommelier. Book well ahead; this is among the hardest reservations in Miami.

Sushi of Gari is one of Midtown Manhattan's most consistently recognised sushi destinations, ranked #390 on Opinionated About Dining's North America list in 2025 and holding. Chef Masatoshi "Gari" Sugio's style mixes traditional nigiri technique with composed, flavour-forward toppings — easier to book than Joji or Shion, a practical first-timer's entry into credentialed New York sushi.