Where to Celebrate Lunar New Year in NYC — Resy | Right This Way
Updated: Jan. 28, 2026
While we’ve just celebrated the start of 2026, in just a few weeks — on Tuesday, Feb. 17 to be exact — we’ll be commemorating the start of the Lunar New Year, specifically the year of the horse.
Lunar New Year is one of the Asian community’s most important holidays, a two-week-long celebration known as the Spring Festival. With auspicious foods and superstitions galore, it’s a wonderful time to be around a table with loved ones.
So, consider the two-week span in late mid-February as your designated time to eat your way through Chinatown’s numerous family-owned restaurants, as well as many other incredible spots throughout the city. Lunar New Year is celebrated in Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia, and beyond, too, after all.
Here are some restaurants doing some exciting Lunar New Year happenings this year, as well as classic standbys always worth paying a visit.
And for more inspiration on where to dine in Chinatown all year-round, we’ve got you covered, too: From Flushing in Queens and Sunset Park in Brooklyn to Manhattan Chinatown. And if you need some additional help in Manhattan Chinatown, Welcome to Chinatown has an impressive directory.
53
- Midtown
- Asian
- $$$
Atlas Kitchen
- Upper West Side
- Chinese
- $
Blue Blossom
- Midtown South
- Chinese
- $$
Café China
- New York Midtown
- Chinese
- $$
CheLi – Manhattan
- East Village
- Chinese
- $$
Chinese Tuxedo
- Chinatown
- Cantonese
- $$
The Coop at Double Chicken Please
- Lower East Side
- Contemporary American
- $$
Grandma's Home
- Flatiron
- Chinese
- $
Golden Diner
- Chinatown/LES
- Asian American
- $
Han Dynasty – Upper West Side
- Upper West Side
- Szechuan
- $$
Hop Kee
- Chinatown
Hunan Slurp
- East Village
- Chinese
- $$
Hutong New York
- Midtown East
- Chinese
- $$$
Hwa Yuan Szechuan
- Chinatown
- Chinese
- $$
Jing Fong
- Chinatown
Justine's on Hudson
- West Village
- Wine Bar
- $$$
Kiko
- Hudson Square
- Asian American
- $$
Kisa
- Lower East Side
- Korean
- $$
Laut
- Union Square
- Southeast Asian
- $
Lei
- Chinatown
- Chinese
- $$
Mắm
- Lower East Side
- Vietnamese
- $$
Mission Chinese Food Chinatown
- Chinatown
- Chinese
- $$
Mee Sum Café
- Chinatown
Nom Wah Tea Parlor
- Chinatown
- Dim Sum
- $$
OCTO
- Koreatown
- Korean Chinese
- $
Peking Duck House
- Chinatown
- Chinese
- $
Pinch Chinese
- Soho
- Chinese
- $$
Rulin
- Union Square
- Chinese
- $
Santi
- Midtown
- Italian
- $$$
Spicy Moon – Chelsea
- Chelsea
- Szechuan
- $$
The Tyger
- Soho
- Asian
- $$
Wo Hop Next Door
- Chinatown
Upon The Palace
- Tribeca
- Chinese
- $$
Wu’s Wonton King
YAO
- Financial District
- Cantonese
- $
Yong Chuan
- Lower East Side
- Chinese
- $$$
Breads Bakery
- Union Square, Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Square, Upper East Side, Bryant Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park
37 venues
Manhattan
53 Midtown map
Photo courtesy of 53
This stunner of a spot in Midtown has several things in store for Lunar New Year. On Monday, Feb. 16, all three levels of the restaurant will be treated to performances by lion dancers. And from that day until the 20th, they’ll also have dinner specials like lobster with duck egg yolk glaze, roasted duck wraps, and abalone clay pot, plus cocktails inspired by the year of the horse.
Read more about the menu (and the people behind it) at 53 here.
Photo courtesy of 53
Atlas Kitchen Upper West Side map
Set inside a beautiful space lined with ink-stained murals (courtesy of artist Qiu Anxiong), Atlas Kitchen is an Upper West Side gem that plays with the regional cuisines of Hunan and beyond. Must-order dishes include the seafood egg custard and spicy pig feet, but do order with your eyes — there’s a reason why the hanging sliced pork belly is on every table. For New Year’s, do consider pre-ordering a whole steamed bass or lobster (prepared with garlic and scallion or with salted egg yolk).
Blue Blossom Midtown South map
Head to Blue Blossom for a long menu of classic dishes, including six varieties of xiaolongbao, peppercorn beef tongue, and their signature show-stopping salted baked chicken. It’s ideal for a large group, too — they take reservations for parties up to 11.
Café China New York Midtown map
Dining at Café China makes you feel like you’re starring in your own Wong Kar-wai film, and the beautiful vintage setting is equally matched by the exquisite cuisine where Sichuan classics shine. This new location is even grander in size, but the food and drink are just as excellent as you might remember, making it an ideal stop for any new year celebration.
CheLi – Manhattan East Village map
Photo courtesy of CheLi
Celebrate the year of the horse by dining on Shanghainese classics at this stunning and most excellent restaurant on Saint Mark’s Place. Feast on garlic shredded eel, golden egg fried rice, and pork intestine and chicken casserole, among other thrilling delicacies that are hard to find elsewhere.
Photo courtesy of CheLi
Chinese Tuxedo Chinatown map
One of our favorite scenes in Chinatown always has a wide slate of offerings for Lunar New Year. In previous years, they’ve had ceremonial lion dancers and traditional banquet dishes that are sure to more than satisfy. Pro tip: Head downstairs to Opera House (formerly Peachy’s) after your meal for some truly excellent cocktails in an equally beautiful setting.
The Coop at Double Chicken Please Lower East Side map
If you’d like to bookend your celebrations with a celebratory beverage, do consider stopping here and ordering yourself one of the city’s most creative cocktails (we’re partial to the Japanese Cold Noodle). While you’re there, why not pair it with one of DCP’s juicy Taiwanese-style fried chicken sandwiches, too? Chickens are thought to bring you good luck and prosperity. There’s also Free Range at Double Chicken Please (the front room), where you’ll find a whole menu based on Plinko, which you can actually play.
P.S. Here are some tips on how to get in.
Grandma’s Home Flatiron map
At this outpost of one of China’s most beloved restaurants, Hangzhou cuisine gets the spotlight, and from Feb. 13 to 22, they’re offering a special new year menu with family-style dishes. They recommend it for parties of up to four ($328 total), and it includes dishes like pork, shrimp, and caviar Prosperity Dumplings, a golden persimmon mousse, and a specialty Lucky Cowboy cocktail, made with tangerine sherbet, pomegranate, lime, and shochu.
Golden Diner Chinatown/LES map
It’s one of our favorite spots for an all-day menu of Asian American updates to diner classics. Think dishes like a chicken katsu club, vegan grilled cheese and kimchi tomato soup, and of course, those famously decadent honey-butter pancakes. Think of it as a deliciously cozy way to celebrate the new year.
Han Dynasty – Upper West Side Upper West Side map
Photo courtesy of Han Dynasty
Known for their high spice levels (alterable, but still) and mother-son origins, Han Dynasty serves up a sprawling menu of dishes like sweet chile garlic oil pork belly, cold sesame noodles, and cumin-seasoned French fries.
Photo courtesy of Han Dynasty
Hop Kee Chinatown map
Another OG for Cantonese cuisine in Chinatown that’s been open since 1968, Hop Kee is another can’t-miss spot that you should definitely consider for a Lunar New Year feast (or any feast any day of the year). If you go, don’t sleep on the signature Cantonese-style crabs with black bean sauce (a dish created by owner Peter Lee’s father years ago), the snails, anything that’s salt-and-pepper, the pan-fried flounder, and the spring chicken.
Walk-ins only.
Hunan Slurp East Village map
Photo courtesy of Hunan Slurp
Noodles represent a long life and are a must for any Lunar New Year meal. Your one-way ticket to noodle heaven lies at this stunning slurp shop in the East Village, where chef Chao Wang cures homesickness with the delightful mifen rice noodles of his hometown. We’d recommend an order of the braised beef lu fen and shredded potato with egg yolk.
Photo courtesy of Hunan Slurp
Hutong New York Midtown East map
Photo courtesy of Hutong
This elegant and opulent restaurant known for its highly prized Peking duck has many different ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year. From Feb. 16 to March 3 you can enjoy menu specials like their famous lo hei, or prosperity salad. On the 16th and 17th, you’ll also be treated to plenty of new year’s decorations and dragon dancers.
Photo courtesy of Hutong
Hwa Yuan Szechuan Chinatown map
Chinatown’s palatial fine dining destination that introduced cold sesame noodles to New York in the late ’60’s is a must, all year round, not only for those famous noodles but also for their Beijing duck, snow pea sprouts dumplings, and steamed whole fish with ginger and scallion.
Jing Fong Chinatown map
The family-owned restaurant that’s become New York’s ultimate melting pot for the past 50 years is still one of the best places in the city to ring in the Lunar New Year. Stop by for their famous dim sum, or indulge in a proper banquet-style feast; you can’t go wrong.
Call (212) 964-5256 to make a reservation.
Justine’s on Hudson West Village map
Celebrate a little early, on Feb.12, with dinner at Justine’s co-hosted by the costume and fashion designer Han Feng, whose work you can also see in The Met’s Madama Butterfly. On the 17th, enjoy both their regular menu plus a Lunar New Year menu filled with specials.
Kiko Hudson Square map
Kiko’s lobster crispy rice with red curry.
Photo courtesy of Kiko
Kiko is hosting a pop-up from chef Melissa King of “Top Chef” fame for two nights this February in anticipation of the New Year, on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11. Think tofu with caviar, lobster wontons, and Shanghainese-style beef ribs served with wine and sake pairings ($225/person). Plus, each ticket includes a copy of King’s new cookbook, “Cook Like a King,” so you can start the year of the horse off right.
Kiko’s lobster crispy rice with red curry.
Photo courtesy of Kiko
Kisa Lower East Side map
Celebrate Seollal, or Korean New Year, at Kisa on Feb. 16 and 17. In addition to their usual choices and various banchan for dinner, Kisa’s seasonal soup will be replaced with tteokguk for the holiday. You’ll also get a special after-dinner drink, sujeonggwa, a cinnamon and ginger punch. It helps with digestion, which you’ll likely need after being unable to stop yourself from finishing everything on your table.
Laut Union Square map
Photo courtesy of Laut
Over at Laut, they’re also ringing in the new year with a traditional yee sang (prosperity toss salad) that’s got everything from hawthorn cake and salmon to jellyfish and lettuce. To enjoy it, you and your fellow diners are encouraged to pick up your chopsticks and toss the salad accompaniments into the air for good fortune ahead. It’s just $20 per guest and a very fun — and interactive — way to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Photo courtesy of Laut
Lei Chinatown map
Photo by Matt Russell, courtesy of Lei
Our favorite Chinese American wine bar has a special year of the horse bottle list featuring vintages from those years, as well as more playful selections that represent the personality traits and characteristics of the horse, according to the Chinese zodiac. The specials start Tuesday, Feb. 17, and last through the Lantern Festival on March 3.
Photo by Matt Russell, courtesy of Lei
Mắm Lower East Side map
Photo by Deanna Ting
If you’re looking for a place to celebrate Tết. Look no further than this Lower East Side gem helmed by married couple Nhung Dao and Jerald Head. The menu changes often but right now they’re serving up some of the city’s best phở. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on ordering the housemade tofu, either. And afterward, consider walking into Lai Rai just a few doors down the block, where you can unwind with some excellent ice cream (also from the Heads) and wine.
Photo by Deanna Ting
Mission Chinese Food Chinatown Chinatown map
Eggplant Partanna.
Photo by Nathan Harsh for Resy
At Mission Chinese, you can ring in the Lunar New Year with all of your favorites plus a number of new specials. We’re especially keen on the snow crab garlic noodles, toasty pineapple bun with barbecue duck, and Beijing vinegar peanuts. Even better? They’ve got a superb lychee spritz and green tea martini. So, what are you waiting for?
Learn more about why Danny Bowien decided to bring Mission Chinese Food back here.
Eggplant Partanna.
Photo by Nathan Harsh for Resy
Mee Sum Café Chinatown map
Another old-school Chinatown spot known for its wonton soup, Mee Sum Café is the perfect place to order yourself some dumplings, barbecue pork, and comforting bowls of hot congee. Don’t overlook the Toisan-style sticky rice, wrapped in lotus leaves.
Walk-ins only.
Nom Wah Tea Parlor Chinatown map
Photo courtesy of Nom Wah
New York’s oldest dim sum parlor, located in the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown, is always a good idea. If you go, do be sure to order as much dim sum as you can (and seriously consider bringing some home with you, too).
Photo courtesy of Nom Wah
OCTO Koreatown map
This purveyor of Korean Chinese food, from the same team behind New Wonjo, has something for everyone seeking to celebrate the new year, from Peking duck and truffle siu mai to shrimp fried rice. Whatever you do, don’t sleep on the jajangmyeon — a quintessential Korean Chinese dish of noodles drenched in a savory black bean sauce that also represents longevity — a must for any new year’s celebration.
Peking Duck House Chinatown map
You’d do well to celebrate the New Year with practiced professionals – and nobody does it quite like Peking Duck House. They’ve been in the roasted, lacquered duck game since 1978, serving up a prime example of their namesake dish, carved tableside with a flourish. It’s a ceremony ideal for a holiday like this one.
Pinch Chinese Soho map
A superb Chinese restaurant powered by a Din Tai Fung vet (that’s Taiwan’s soup dumpling empire for you) and an award-winning sommelier make Pinch Chinese one of the best spots in the city for xialongbao and so much more. Do order their excellent soup dumplings and spring rolls for wealth, and the whole wind sand chicken (it’s really something else).
Rulin Union Square map
Photo courtesy of Rulin
Rulin, which opened in January, may be the newest addition to this list, but don’t let that fool you. Their hand-pulled noodles, cradled in fresh, daily-made bone broths, are seriously worthy of your attention. Don’t skip the charcoal-grilled skewers, either.
Photo courtesy of Rulin
Santi Midtown map
Santi, from storied chef Michael White (formerly of Marea and Ai Fiori), is running two specials in honor of the new year. Don’t miss the sweet-and-sour, dry-aged Long Island duck with Cara Cara orange and candied walnuts. And for the pasta course, go all in on the pappardelle with prosciutto pesto, Montauk red prawns, and mollica, which takes inspiration from XO sauce and longevity noodles. Did we mention that everyone gets a housemade mooncake to take home, too?
Spicy Moon – Chelsea Chelsea map
Photo courtesy of Spicy Moon Chelsea
Everyone’s much-adored vegan Szechuan restaurant with multiple locations throughout the city has all your favorites, from savory, juicy chile oil wontons to expertly fried rice, making it an ideal spot to gather all your loved ones for a Lunar New Year feast.
Photo courtesy of Spicy Moon Chelsea
The Tyger Soho map
Photo courtesy of The Tyger
Over at The Tyger, Chinese Tuxedo’s sibling restaurant where Southeast Asian culinary traditions shine, they’ve got a full lineup of dishes like Balinese spicy pickles, charred octopus with ginger and watermelon, and miso butter escargot.
Photo courtesy of The Tyger
Wo Hop Next Door Chinatown map
Wo Hop is an unapologetic bastion of Chinese American cuisine, a beacon to the late-night crowd, and a culinary landmark in its own right. This newer extension of the OG basement-level location (Wo Hop Next Door is located on the ground level of a no-nonsense enclave at 15 Mott Street) is still as old-school Cantonese as you can get. Don’t sleep on the salt-and-pepper flounder or the garlic squid.
Walk-ins only.
Upon The Palace Tribeca map
Photo courtesy of Upon the Palace
This Tribeca spot is massive by New York standards, with more than 7,000 square feet of space, so do keep it in mind for any of your larger Lunar New Year gatherings. It’s helmed by chef Xueliang Yu, who formerly ran the kitchen over at Uluh in the East Village, and the menu is mixes both the traditional and contemporary when it comes to Chinese cuisine
Photo courtesy of Upon the Palace
Wu’s Wonton King map
This beloved BYOB spot is ideal for celebrating with a crew, whether you decide to feast on the house specialties like the iconic New York No. 1 wonton soup or the famous garlic aromatic crispy chicken, or if you decide to splurge on the whole suckling pig or king crab (both require pre-ordering).
Call (212) 477-1112 to make a reservation.
YAO Financial District map
This elegant spot from the same team behind August Gatherings specializes in modern Cantonese cuisine, fusing global techniques and ingredients in ways that are both surprising and yet make complete sense once you take that first bite. The menu deftly combines classic French and Chinese cooking techniques with Cantonese, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese ingredients and flavors, making for dishes that are as clever as they are elegant. Some of our favorite dishes include the Wensi tofu soup, snow pea leaves with chanterelle, and the salt-baked chicken. And whatever you do, don’t overlook the famed fusilli with wild octopus and bone marrow, or the fried rice with roasted eel. For the new year, they’ve got two specials: braised black moss and dried oysters in abalone sauce, and braised pork knuckle with black truffle and mushrooms.
Yong Chuan Lower East Side map
The colorful dim sum at Yong Chuan will look gorgeous on your feed (and feel gorgeous to your stomach). Think crystal shrimp, crawfish, and soup dumpling varieties alongside lesser-seen dishes like mala prawns, crispy swan-shaped pastries stuffed with either grilled eel or durian, and Ningbo-style crabs. Pro tip: Head to their cocktail bar, Async, for a satisfying nightcap after your feast.
Breads Bakery Union Square, Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Square, Upper East Side, Bryant Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park map
Photo by Hip Torres, courtesy of Breads Bakery
Bonus!
Breads Bakery has teamed up with fashion designer and accomplished baker Peter Som for a special Lunar New Year babka that’s available for purchase for a limited time beginning on Feb. 13. The Good Fortune Babka is made with red bean paste, caramel, chocolate and gets brushed with a miso glaze. A portion of proceeds from the sales of the specialty babka will also be donated to Heart of Dinner, an organization devoted to supporting Asian American elders in the local community.
Photo by Hip Torres, courtesy of Breads Bakery
Deanna Ting is Resy’s New York & Philadelphia Editor. Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.
Opera House
4.8 · Cocktail Bar · $
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