The best restaurants of 2019

Throughout the year, The Daily Meal compiles comprehensive rankings of all of the above (not to mention burgers, tacos, fried chicken joints and more). We consulted all of our reporting over the past year in deciding 2019’s top restaurants, but also took it one step further by scouring social media and lists of the best new restaurant openings of the past couple years to make sure that we left no dinner roll unturned.

In order to be considered one of the best restaurants of 2019, each eatery needed to check off a few boxes: Is the food consistently excellent across the board? If the menu changes regularly, does it do so to reflect what’s local and seasonal, and without affecting the overall “voice” of the menu? Is it near-universally beloved in its home town and renowned around the country (or if it opened recently, does it show potential to do so)? And is the overall dining experience, from food to service to design to ambiance, one that you’ll remember for years to come? All of these restaurants fit the bill.