New York, New York, the city so great that they named it twice. And also the city that likes to eat, a lot. I don't think I've ever visited anywhere with such an incredible food scene as NYC {aside from Italy although Italy doesn't count as they only have Italian. NYC has everything you could ever imagine}. On our trip there a couple of weeks back, food was a high priority for us and so I spent hours researching the best brunches/pizza/ice cream/tacos etc and after lots of you got in touch on Instagram I figured I should create a guide on here for anybody who is planning a trip. As I've mentioned before, New York is my favourite city in the world and I feel very lucky indeed that this was my fifth trip there. I've rounded up some old favourites and new discoveries below; oh and one other thing to note, anywhere that's good in New York is likely to have a queue! The New Yorkers just literally love to queue for food so if you spot somewhere that's got people lining up outside, chances are that it's on trend and popular.

P I Z Z A 

- You have a few options for great pizza in NYC. On previous trips we've loved Grimaldi's, the famous coal fired oven under the Brooklyn Bridge which you'll likely have to queue for. Likewise, Juliana's can be put in this category. I'm only talking about Italian style thin crust pizza here by the way.

- By the slice, you should try Joe's Pizza which now has pop-up locations all over Manhattan and we even saw it in Brooklyn.

- For the best views and quirky flavours look up Fornino in Brooklyn {we visited their summer branch on Pier 6 which had amazing views of the city on the rooftop bar}. We had plans to visit their main restaurant in Williamsburg but then discovered...

- Motorino Pizzeria which has 3 locations - Williamsburg, the East Village and the Upper West Side. We shamelessly visited all three branches over our stay in New York {a lot of pizza} but by the far the best we have ever ever eaten. I think it even beats those in Italy! They have a set lunch deal until 4pm where you get any pizza plus a salad for 14 bucks which is well worth doing.

I C E  C R E A M //

- Milk Bar. Does soft serve count as ice cream? I'd actually say it's even better than ice cream and this creative bakery {with multiple locations} has been made famous by it's Cereal Milk softserve - a combination of salty and sweet ice cream that tastes just like the milk at the end of a bowl of cornflakes. You have to get the cereal crunch and chocolate chips with it. I was warned by a friend who lives in NYC that it's like crack and I couldn't imagine why, until I tried it and got hooked. I then discovered the cinnamon swirl flavour which I thought was even better, you can have them swirled together. SO GOOD. I've been dreaming of them coming over to London ever since.

- Morgenstern's - a fine, old ice cream parlour with quirky flavours and their insta famous black ice cream {made from coconut ash!}. Expect to queue, on some hot New York summer evenings it can be up to an hour long! We waited for about 20 minutes and it was v good but not the best ever. Worth visiting if you're in the area and like ice cream though.

- Ample Hills Creamery. We stopped off on our very first evening in NYC whilst at the Brooklyn Bridge Park on Pier 5. Amazing ice cream and rated v highly in most city guides.

- Pinkberry - not exclusive to New York and frozen yogurt rather than ice cream but still a favourite. Since our last visit in 2014 though lots of branches have shut down, and disappointingly no pumpkin spice flavour this year but still really good. We always share a large with toppings between us and although probably packed with sugar still, feels a bit healthier than ice cream and is more refreshing.

B A K E R I E S //

- Levain cookies. Believe the hype, this tiny upper west side bakery is famed for it's cookies. It's worth a trip. Order the choc chip walnut {we messed up with our dark choc peanut butter, it was too rich!} but the classic was amazing. 

- Dominique Ansell's Cronut - We really wished we'd had time/space in our tummies to stop here for the famous Cronut {cross between a croissant and a donut} but you should stop by if you're around SoHo.

- Magnolia Bakery - A cult classic made famous from the Sex and the City days and still making some of the best sweet treats in town. 

M E X I C A N // 

We craved tacos one afternoon and stopped off at Oaxaca Taqueria, a no frills taqueria with branches over the city. Good value lunch and amazing Californian style burritos. 

B U R G E R S //

- A right of passage when in America. Our very favourite is Shake Shack, the home of which is in Madison Square Gardens but you'll now find all over the city {including our favourite branch under the Brooklyn Bridge}. Order the Shack Burger and a salted caramel shake. I don't eat fries but my husband loves their curly fries. {Also don't bother visiting the UK branch unless you want an English version, they change the ingredients}

- Other must eat burgers include The Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien hotel. On my very first visit back in 2006 a hotel concierge told us about this place as the secret New Yorker's favourite but which has only grown in popularity since. At peak times you may have to queue {in the lobby of the hotel behind a velvet curtain with just a neon burger on the wall to give away the location} but it's well worth it. Lots of people recommend Black Tap for their shakes and burgers but we didn't have time to visit on this trip. 

- Superiority Burger. This all vegetarian restaurant was voted the best burger in the world by GQ magazine. I wasn't so sure about this place, I mean a vegan burger really? But my husband was really keen to try it out. We did and it was amazing. In fact I almost think it was better than a Shake Shack which I never thought I'd say. I had cheese in mine so it wasn't vegan but wow, definitely visit. A little alternative in style.

B R U N C H //

- The Butcher's Daughter. Allll over Instagram for this vegetarian hip cafe and for good reason. Think avocado toast/waffles/smoothies. Stylish and amazing food. Especially when the sun is shining and you can sit outside for breakfast/lunch. Avoid weekends if you can. 

- Oatmeals. The world's first cafe dedicated just for oatmeal. There's everything from sweet to savoury options with hundreds of combinations. I had the pumpkin version and it was the best oatmeal I had all trip. You order by either saying 'baby bear/mama bear/papa bear' - cute. 

- Egg Shop. In that same SoHo on trend area, this was highly recommended although we didn't have enough meals to fit it in on our most recent trip.

- Jack's Wife Freda. Mediterranean inspired all day dining in a cute neighbourhood cafe. Infamously long waits but a second branch has now opened.

- Sarabeth's. The ultimate NYC brunch experience. 

- Brooklyn Diner. As above but a bit more typical New 'Yoik' american diner rather than a polished brunch experience.

- Penelope's. Amazing pumpkin waffles here, really cute independent breakfast cafe. Loved the food but we had an incredibly rude waiter on our first visit. 

H E A L T H //

- We sure ate our fair share of burgers/pizza/ice cream and whilst we were walking a crazy amount of miles each day, I needed some health to try and balance it all out too. I tried to have a salad each day and we found the best places for this to be Whole Foods, Sweet Greens or Trader Joes. America is the land of extremes and whilst there is a huge amount of junk, it's also v easy to find many an organic salad bar. For breakfast we tended to have oatmeal/bagels/fruit. Also we love Chipotle for their burrito bowls {brown rice/salad based}. If you're staying for a few days, don't feel you have to eat out alll the time {both for health reasons and the high tipping soon adds up} so the supermarkets are great for healthy cheap take-out options.

O T H E R //

- Chelsea Market is a foodie heaven.

- Smorgasburg is worth checking out if you're visiting at a weekend, you'll find all of the best on trend eateries grouped together in one market looking over Manhattan.

Where would you add in? This article has 50 must eat places in NYC.

R <3 xx