2026 OAD Casual in North America: Top 150 Ranked — Page 2

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.

Husk Nashville is the right booking if you want serious, service-oriented Southern cooking in a proper dining room rather than a counter. Ranked by Opinionated About Dining and included on Resy's 2025 Hit List, it holds up as one of Nashville's most credentialed casual dining options. Booking is easy relative to the competition, making it a low-friction choice for a first visit.

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.

Hog Island Oyster Co. at the Ferry Building is the most direct route to Tomales Bay's harvest without the Marin drive — and at $$$, it delivers Michelin Plate quality in a casual counter format. The raw bar anchors a focused seafood menu that earns its OAD Casual North America ranking. Book ahead for weekends; patio tables are the best group option in a room without private dining.

Ippuku is Berkeley's most decorated izakaya, holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand and an Opinionated About Dining Casual North America ranking at the $$ price point. It is the right choice for serious yakitori, sake, izakaya drinking culture without a tasting-menu spend. Book a week ahead for weekends; weeknights are more accessible.

CinCin is Vancouver's most credentialled Italian restaurant, ranked in Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list and holding a World of Fine Wine 3-Star accreditation. Open nightly until 10 pm, it is the reliable late-dinner Italian option on Robson Street. Booking is easy, the wine list is serious, the bar suits solo diners well.

State Bird Provisions holds a Michelin star and an OAD Casual North America ranking at a $$$ price point — making it one of San Francisco's strongest arguments for serious cooking without the $$$$-bracket spend. The dim sum-style circulating-plate format is the feature, not a gimmick. Book three to four weeks out minimum; demand is consistent and the room is small.

Fat Rabbit is the strongest destination-dining argument in Saint Catharines: a whole-animal butcher shop and restaurant with back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition (2024–2025) and a spot on Robb Report's Best Steakhouses in North America 2025. At $$$, the charcoal-grilled steaks, house charcuterie, asado-influenced small plates justify the price for a special occasion dinner in the Niagara region.

Bar Contra on Orchard Street earns its Opinionated About Dining recognition with a cocktail program that outperforms most of its Lower East Side neighbours. It is an evening-only proposition best suited to dates, small celebrations, or solo bar visits — easy to book, credible on the awards front, more food-serious than its casual classification suggests.

Txikito is a Basque small-plates restaurant in Chelsea that ranks #126 on OAD's 2025 Casual North America list — a meaningful jump from #221 the year before. Open since 2008, it returned from a pandemic hiatus in 2023 with sharper cooking: pintxos that look traditional but carry real creative intent. Easy to book, mid-range spend, one of the more focused Spanish kitchens in New York City.

Union Square Cafe delivers reliable, farm-to-table New American cooking at the $$$ tier, backed by a 865-selection wine list and three consecutive Opinionated About Dining top-casual rankings. Book it for a special occasion dinner or a serious business lunch in Flatiron. Booking is easy, the wine program is a genuine draw, lunch offers the same kitchen at lower cost.

Found Oyster is the strongest value case in LA seafood at its price tier: a Michelin Plate, a top-100 OAD Casual North America ranking, a raw bar sourced partly from the GM's family farm, all in a 30-odd-seat East Hollywood room. Book it for couples or small groups who want serious food without a formal occasion. Go early, order the platter, read the specials board.

Ranked #87 in North America for Casual Dining by Opinionated About Dining in 2025, Damn the Weather is the strongest case for a serious gastropub in Seattle right now. Chef Bryn Lumsden runs a kitchen that punches well above the Pioneer Square setting. Booking is easy, hours are generous, the food-to-effort ratio is hard to beat in this city.

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.

Odd Duck is one of Austin's clearest value decisions at the $$$ tier: two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmands, back-to-back Opinionated About Dining rankings in the top 100 casual restaurants in North America, a wine program that punches above its price point. Book two to three weeks out for weekend evenings on South Lamar.

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.

A boisterous River North French bistro ranked #198 on OAD's Top Restaurants in North America (2025) and recognised with a Michelin Plate. Obélix delivers generous, in-house-driven French cooking — from pâté en croûte to a foie gras Monte Cristo at brunch — with a French wine list curated by owner/sommelier Nicolas Poilevey. At $$$, it's one of the more rewarding ways to eat well in Chicago.

Momofuku Noodle Bar at Columbus Circle holds a top-140 spot on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list for three consecutive years, making it one of the more credentialed casual options in midtown Manhattan. Chef Tony Kim runs a Korean-inflected New American kitchen with lunch and dinner service daily. Easy to book, better eaten in than ordered for delivery.

Noz Market is a counter-format sushi restaurant on the Upper East Side run by chef Nozumo Abe, ranked on the Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America list in both 2024 and 2025. It is one of the more accessible serious sushi rooms in New York City — easy to book and technically strong, with a neighbourhood presence that makes it worth a regular return.

La Mercerie earns its Michelin Plate and New York Magazine recognition with technically confident French cooking inside one of SoHo's most considered dining rooms, designed by Roman and Williams. At $$$$ it is a hard book — plan 3–4 weeks ahead — but the weekday lunch and weekend brunch slots offer the best value-to-experience ratio. Chef Marie-Aude Rose's kitchen delivers; just time your visit right.