The world at your table

10 food markets in New York for the whole family to savor

For those wondering where to eat in New York with children and teenagers, “food halls” are a sure bet that has conquered the metropolis in recent years

By the Editorial Team

For families planning to travel to New York with children and teenagers, a growing trend that makes for an exciting outing is the food markets known locally as “food halls.” These multifaceted spaces are becoming an integral part of the city’s culinary scene, offering a wide variety of dining options for all tastes and ages. Whether you want to try authentic flavors from different countries or enjoy dishes prepared by renowned chefs, food halls provide a diverse and surprising gastronomic experience.

Unlike many traditional restaurants, food halls tend to have a more casual and relaxed atmosphere, ideal for families who want to explore the city while experiencing unforgettable moments of togetherness. With a wide variety of options available in a single location, it’s easy to find something for every member of the group, from the most adventurous to the most discerning. Additionally, they feature establishments that serve vegetarian and vegan options, as well as accommodations for those with dietary restrictions such as gluten and lactose intolerance, ensuring that everyone can enjoy a satisfying meal.

To make the experience even more enjoyable, NYC Tourism + Conventions, the official destination marketing organization and Convention and Visitors Bureau of New York City, has compiled a list of the 10 food halls that are the new “must-see” for visitors to the Big Apple. These venues are recommended for families who want to experience the best of local cuisine while exploring the metropolis. With options ranging from classics to the most innovative, these food halls promise a true feast for the senses, becoming essential stops on any family travel itinerary through the city.

1) Market 57

This is New York’s newest food market (opened on April 1, 2023), located at Pier 57, a former boarding and storage terminal along the Hudson River. Here, the 15 restaurants are curated by the James Beard Foundation – a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate, support, and elevate the people behind American food culture – and are primarily owned by minorities and women. Highlights include local branches of Nom Wah, New York’s oldest dim sum restaurant, and Zaab Zaab, considered one of the city’s best Thai restaurants, plus Platform JBF, where resident chefs take turns offering classes and culinary demonstrations in a beautiful glass-enclosed kitchen (advance tickets required for these activities). The space is completed by City Winery, a combination winery (yes, Manhattan’s only winery), restaurant, and concert venue, and the Rooftop Park, which offers over 75,000 square feet of lawns and seating areas on the building’s roof for relaxation.

Where: 25 11th Avenue, next to Little Island, the new park built on large concrete tulips extending over the Hudson River.

Hours: Daily, 11am to 8pm.

2) Tin Building

Opened in September 2022, this is the pride and joy of celebrated French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who completely renovated the once-famous Fulton Fish Market over eight years at a cost of nearly $200 million. The former market was the most important wholesale fish and seafood market in the United States. The project’s result couldn’t be more exquisite: a market spanning nearly 54,000 square feet whose restaurants take you on a journey around the world of flavors, including Shikku (Japanese), House of the Red Pearl (Chinese), T. Brasserie (French), Frenchman’s Dough (Italian), and Taquito (Mexican). In homage to the golden days of the old fish market, there’s Fulton Fish Co., while vegetarians and vegans have the perfect stop at Seeds and Weeds. The Spoiled Parrot is a sweet treat of a store, literally, as well as highly Instagram-worthy, and the Mercantile delights home cooks with its wonderful oils, jams, sauces, spices, and utensils.

Where: 96 South Street, at Pier 17, Financial District.

Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 8am to 10pm; Friday and Saturday, 8am to 10:30pm.

3) Chelsea Market

A pioneer in the food market trend that has invaded New York in recent years, Chelsea Market opened in 1997 where the Nabisco cookie factory once operated, in the Meatpacking District, and is the city’s most famous and iconic food hall. Here, restaurants, cafes, bakeries, retailers, and suppliers of wines, coffee, tea, chocolates, and cheeses, as well as shops, take over the brick building, which preserves much of the original construction’s character. For satisfying hunger, sure bets include Los Tacos No. 1 for Mexican food; Miznon, sought after for its pita bread sandwiches and baked potato loaded with sour cream, garlic, and chives; the self-explanatory Lobster Place; and the refined Buddakan, which explores Asian flavors and even offers Peking duck. To sweeten life, bet on the brownies from Fat Witch Bakery and artisanal chocolates from Li-Lac, Manhattan’s oldest chocolate shop, dating back to 1923.

Where: 75 9th Avenue (between 15th and 16th Streets), close to the High Line, Whitney Museum, and Little Island.

Hours: Monday to Saturday, 7am to 10pm; Sunday, 8am to 10pm. Some establishments may have different hours.

4) Time Out Market

Everything is incredible about this market in the heart of trendy Dumbo, Brooklyn. The selection of 24 food vendors was made by the Time Out Magazine team, which excels at recommending the best attractions, including culinary ones, in major cities worldwide, including New York. Among the establishments chosen to impress diners are Mr. Taka Ramen, which appears on the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list; Chote Miya, with a menu inspired by Mumbai street food and filled with recipes that please both Indian cuisine purists and fans of more modern dishes; the traditional Fornino pizzeria; and Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, from famous butcher Pat LaFrieda, the “king of meat” in the United States, who serves his own selection of meats in excellent cheesesteaks, hamburgers, and, legend has it, the world’s best hot dog. The location is another ace: the complex occupies the historic Empire Stores building, located between the scenic Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. Being neighbors with such a postcard view, it’s no surprise that the market has a rooftop for visitors to eat and toast while enjoying one of the most stunning views of the Big Apple.

Where: Empire Stores – 55 Water Street, Brooklyn.

Hours: Daily, 8am to 10pm (Friday and Saturday until 11pm).

5) Essex Market

It has served the Lower East Side neighborhood for over 100 years, when the first vendors brought their goods to sell from pushcarts. In 1940, this informal open-air market was converted into a closed public market. The passing decades, however, weren’t kind to the traditional enterprise, which only returned to its former glory in 2019, when it reopened at its current address, a spacious construction surrounded by lots of glass, which, besides allowing plenty of natural light – especially in the mezzanine with tables and counters for visitors to sit, savor their dishes, and enjoy the hustle and bustle – gives the market a trendy air. Today, besides the stalls selling all sorts of food, Essex Market also features several bars and restaurants, including Shopsin’s General Store, a New York institution with its menu of over 900 items; Ni Japanese Deli, where you can buy traditional Japanese cuisine products and savor healthy dishes prepared with local and seasonal ingredients; and Nordic Preserves, Fish & Wildlife Co., which serves specialties from Sweden and other Nordic countries, such as house-cured herring marinated in flavors like citrus fruits and hot curry, and gravlax. At Riverdel, the highlight is artisanal vegan cheeses, among other products without animal-derived ingredients.

Where: 88 Essex Street.

Hours: Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm; Sunday, 10am to 6pm. Some establishments may have different hours.

6) Grand Central Dining Concourse

The world’s most cinematic train station – appearing in films like Armageddon, Madagascar, Midnight Run, and Friends with Benefits, among many others – is not just a place to come and go from New York, but also to eat at a first-class food hall, packed with iconic city addresses: Shake Shack (burgers), Magnolia Bakery (cupcakes and other sweets), Tartinery (French-inspired café-bar), and Luke’s Lobster (Maine-style lobster rolls), among dozens of other options on the lower level, most of them concentrated in an impressive central hall. Another highlight is the century-old and elegant seafood restaurant Oyster Bar, where there’s only one bad thing: the difficulty of choosing what to eat. The menu includes delicacies such as clam chowder, fried oysters, grilled tuna, caviar sandwich, crab cakes, and shrimp cocktail, among other sea treasures.

Where: 89 E 42nd Street, at the corner of Park Avenue and adjacent to one of New York’s most buzzing attractions of the moment: the SUMMIT One Vanderbilt observatory.

Hours: Grand Central opens daily from 5:15am to 2am, but the Dining Concourse and other station restaurants have different hours. The Oyster Bar, for example, closes on Saturdays and Sundays.

7) Little Spain Market

Part of the impressive Hudson Yards complex, Little Spain celebrates Spanish gastronomy. The atmosphere is informal and unpretentious, but don’t be fooled: the venture is led by chef José Andrés, with support from none other than the stellar Adrià brothers, Albert and Ferran, who, in six food kiosks, three restaurants, and four bars (one of them for wines), spread across more than 32,000 square feet, offer the most delicious Spanish traditions: tapas, various types of cheeses, jamóns (hams) and other cured meats, paella, shrimp, fish, patatas bravas, gazpacho (cold tomato soup), churros with hot chocolate… There’s also a space to buy Spanish products, such as olive oils, olives, and pâtés, among other delicacies.

Where: 10 Hudson Yards, at the base of the building housing the Edge observatory.

Hours: Open daily, 11am to 9pm.

8) Le District

This market is dedicated exclusively to the acclaimed cuisine of another Old World country: France. At Le District, located next to Brookfield Place shopping center, almost facing the One World building and observatory (which occupies the area where the Twin Towers once stood), the countless gastronomic wonders of the country are divided into two sectors. One is the Market District, with specific stations for breads, cheeses, and charcuterie (with products brought from various French regions), rotisserie, salad bar, fish market, and butcher shop. In the other space, the Café District, a pâtisserie and café serve crepes, macarons, chocolates, ice cream, sandwiches, and all sorts of sweets and desserts typical of Napoleon’s land. For a complete gastronomic experience, Le District offers four restaurants: the modern brasserie Liberty and Le Bar with its extensive wine and artisanal cocktail menu, both with beautiful Hudson River views, as well as Bar à Vin, which serves wines by the glass from all regions of France, accompanied by more than 35 house cheese and charcuterie options or meat and fish-based dishes. A high gastronomy experience is offered at L’Appart, graced with a Michelin star and whose atmosphere resembles a Parisian apartment. There, chef Antoine Boullay presents a rotating menu, using ingredients that respect market availability and seasonality, ensuring that no dinner is ever the same as another.

Where: 225 Liberty Street, next to Brookfield Place shopping center, in Battery Park City, in lower Manhattan.

Hours: The market opens daily from 8am (10am on weekends), but most food and beverage stations start operating at 11am, and each has a different closing time. The restaurants also have their own schedule of operating days and hours, so checking Le District’s website is essential for planning your visit.

9) Eataly

A city with strong Italian influence – as evidenced by the two Little Italys in New York, one in Manhattan and another in the Bronx – it’s no wonder that the Big Apple was the first city in the United States to receive, in 2010, a branch of this market, which was born in Turin, Northern Italy, in 2007. The success was resounding, and to the first enormous complex, with nearly 50,000 square feet located close to the emblematic Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park, a second unit was added, Eataly Downtown, next to the Westfield World Trade Center shopping mall, in the Financial District. At both locations, the visit is literally a feast of endless Italian delicacies: pizzas, pastas, risottos, paninis, focaccias, cheeses, cured meats, wines, gelatos, cappuccinos, and espressos, served in spaces and restaurants divided by specialty. Among the exclusives of each Eataly, the Flatiron complex has the Serra brewery, which occupies the building’s rooftop and, evoking the chic rural atmosphere of southern Italy, presents a completely renewed menu and decoration each season. Eataly Downtown, in turn, features Firenze Ristorante Toscano & Bar, with cocktails, appetizers, and Tuscan-inspired dishes, such as tagliata di manzo, a succulent grilled cut accompanied by baby arugula, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese shavings, and Modena balsamic oil.

Where: Eataly Flatiron is at 200 Fifth Avenue, a stone’s throw from the Flatiron Building, in Midtown. And Eataly Downtown is part of the Westfield World Trade Center shopping mall (101 Liberty Street, 3rd floor), in the Financial District.

Hours: Eataly Flatiron opens daily from 9am to 10pm, while Eataly Downtown operates from 8am to 10pm, every day. At both locations, it’s recommended to check their respective websites for visit planning, as restaurants have different operating hours.

10) Urban Hawker

This enterprise, inspired by Singapore’s traditional hawker centers (street markets) and which opened in September 2022 in the bustling Times Square neighborhood, came to break the hegemony of European cuisine that prevailed among recently opened markets. There are 17 food vendors, 11 of them coming directly from Singapore and which, apart from typical dishes from that country, also explore delicacies from other peoples that make up the cultural melting pot that forms Singapore: Malays, Chinese, Indians, and Peranakans (the result of the mix between the first Chinese immigrants who settled in areas like Penang, Malacca, Singapore, and Indonesia and married local Malays). Whether through the market’s appearance, the clientele, and, of course, the food served, the complex transports visitors to an authentic Singapore street market, where good pit stops include the Singaporean Hainan Jones, to try the famous Hainanese chicken rice; the Filipino Tradisyon, which has in pork adobo (composed of meat roasted to the perfect texture and stewed in a soy-based sauce with garlic) a sure choice; and the Malaysian Padi D’NYC. At this kiosk, your priorities should be the longtong (rice dumplings served in a bowl of creamy coconut curry, accompanied by potatoes, fish balls, and boiled eggs), chicken gulai, and smoked chicken satay. Everything is colorful, seasoned with many herbs and spices, and differently delicious.

Where: 135 West 50th Street, near Times Square, in Midtown.

Hours: Monday to Saturday, 10am to 10pm; Sunday, 10am to 9pm.

Some New York markets, such as Essex Market, are destinations for guided tours by Turnstile Tours, which include tastings. The company also offers a two-hour walking tour of food carts and food trucks in Midtown and Financial District, Manhattan, and another of the same genre in Jackson Heights, Queens, both with stops to savor famous New York street food.

Services

For more news, information, tips, and New York itineraries, visit the NYC Tourism + Conventions website at nyctourism.com, and follow @nyctourism on social media.