How Many Restaurants Are In New York City (And How Long Would It Take To Try Them All?)

Listen, I may be biased. I've written articles about various restaurants in New York City including little-known pizza joints worth visiting and the best local bakeries in the five boroughs. I've also explained why it's good and correct that we call plain pizza "plain" rather than "cheese." That said, New York City really is a wonderful place for food regardless of whether you're looking to eat at Michelin three-starred restaurants like Eleven Madison Park or you just want a chopped cheese from your local bodega. There are over 17,000 restaurants in New York City. If you were to eat at a different restaurant every day, it would take 48 years for you to try them all.

If you were to only try New York restaurants that take reservations on Open Table, that's still 8,280 restaurants which would require 22 years to visit them all. If we're being more precise and open-ended, there are exactly 17,619 restaurants across all five boroughs. Not every restaurant would count toward the different-restaurant-a-day number since 359 of them are fast food chains. You wouldn't need to eat at every single McDonald's location to satisfy the challenge, but it's a staggering number all the same. 

If, for some reason, you decide you want to embark on this voyage, you're going to run into some major headwinds. As you can imagine, the number of restaurants in New York City does not remain static. In fact, 80% of New York restaurants close within five years. The success rate for restaurants anywhere in the country is not exactly high, but considering the high rent and intense competition, New York in particular sees a lot of turnover. Which means your mountain of restaurants to eat through is ever-growing.

Instead of eating at every single restaurant in the Big Apple, why not pick and choose among the best? You can hit up Katz's Delicatessen with its hugely popular pastrami sandwiches then grab a burger at some of NYC's best burger joints, like Joe Jr. and the Red Hook Tavern. It'll give you all the enjoyment without any of the stress of trying to hit a moving target.