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Here are the 2026 James Beard Awards Restaurant and Chef semifinalists for NYC

Who will win the top honors on June 15?

Written by Morgan CarterFood & Drink EditorWednesday January 21 2026

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Photography: courtesy of Kabawa | | Kabawa

Today, the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for their time-honored awards, the James Beard Awards. Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards come together to “recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media and broader food system.” The official list of nominees will be released on March 31 and the winners will be crowned at an official ceremony on June 15.

Given the expansive reach of our culinary scene, New York gets its own category when it comes to best chef. Semifinalists for Best Chef: New York State include Fariyal Abdullahi of Hav & Mar; Christophe Bellanca of Essential by Christophe; Sadie Mae Burns and Anthony Ha of Ha’s Snack Bar (who ranked on our best restaurants list of 2025); Fidel Caballero of Corima; Giovanni Cervantes of Carnitas Ramirez; Aretah Ettarh of Gramercy Tavern; Efrén Hernández of Casa Susanna in Leeds, New York; Corwin Kave of Deer Mountain Inn in Tannersville, New York; Vikas Khanna of Bungalow; Hooni Kim of Meju; Yvan Lemoine of Tourmaline; Nate Limwong of Chalong; Cheng Lin of Shōta Omakase; Buddha Lo of Huso; Angie Mar of Le B; Ayesha Nurdjaja of Shukette; Joshua Pinsky of Claud; Mads Refslund of Ilis; Rafiq Salim of Rolo’s; and Stefano Secchi of Rezdôra. Two chefs from New Jersey were recognized for **Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic **(which spans Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington D.C.): Russ Cowan of Radin’s Delicatessen and David Viana of Judy and Harry’s.

Paul Carmichael’s Kabawa, one of our best new restaurants of 2025, made the **Best New Restaurant list, as did Crown Heights’s Cambodian restaurant, Bong, and Chinatown wine bar, Lei. Two of New York’s restaurants were nominated under the Outstanding Restaurant category: Williamsburg’s The Four Horsemen and the West Village’s Via Carota. **

In the Emerging Chef category, Sunny Lee of Chinatown’s Sunn’s made the list, as did Rasheeda Purdie, who recently reopened her ramen counter, Ramen by Rā. The semifinalists for Outstanding Chef are Gabriel Kreuther of his namesake restaurant, Gabriel Kreuther, Kwame Onwuachi of Lincoln Center’s Tatiana and Missy Robbins for her work at Lilia in Brooklyn.

Renata Ameni of Birdee and Eunji Lee of Lysée were listed under Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, while Bánh by Lauren and Librae Bakery were recognized for **Outstanding Bakery. **Three restaurants in New York were nominated for Outstanding Hospitality, including Mexican contemporary restaurant, Cosme; Billy Durney’s bistro, Red Hook Tavern and Prospect Heights’ Persian restaurant, Sofreh.

Up for Outstanding Restaurateur is Jennifer Vitagliano and Nicole Vitagliano of Elizabeth Street Hospitality, who oversee The Musket Room, Raf’s and the Cafe Zaffri and Simon Kim of Gracious Hospitality Management for his work at Korean steakhouse COTE, subterranean cocktail lounge and bar, Undercote, and the ode to fried chicken and caviar, COQODAQ.

Our number one bar in New York City, Bar Snack, was listed under Best New Bar, as was Clemente Bar, the artsy cocktail lounge hidden inside Eleven Madison Park. Aldo Sohm Wine Bar and Double Chicken Please were listed under Outstanding Bar, while Tribeca’s Chambers and F.L.X. Table in Geneva, New York, were nominated for **Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service **recognized Lee Campbell of Borgo and Amy Racine of La Marchande. Ivy Mix of Whoopsie Daisy was the sole New York representation under Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

Check out the full list of semifinalists on the James Beard Foundation’s website.

Best Chef New York State

• Fariyal Abdullahi, Hav & Mar, New York, NY
• Christophe Bellanca, Essential by Christophe, New York, NY
• Sadie Mae Burns and Anthony Ha, Ha’s Snack Bar, New York, NY
• Fidel Caballero, Corima, New York, NY
• Giovanni Cervantes, Carnitas Ramirez, New York, NY
• Aretah Ettarh, Gramercy Tavern, New York, NY
• Efrén Hernández, Casa Susanna, Leeds, NY
• Corwin Kave, Deer Mountain Inn, Tannersville, NY
• Vikas Khanna, Bungalow, New York, NY
• Hooni Kim, Meju, Queens, NY
• Yvan Lemoine, Tourmaline, Forest Hills, NY
• Nate Limwong, Chalong, New York, NY
• Cheng Lin, Shōta Omakase, Brooklyn, NY
• Buddha Lo, Huso, New York, NY
• Angie Mar, Le B, New York, NY
• Ayesha Nurdjaja, Shukette, New York, NY
• Joshua Pinsky, Claud, New York, NY
• Mads Refslund, Ilis, Brooklyn, NY
• Rafiq Salim, Rolo’s, Queens, NY
• Stefano Secchi, Rezdôra, New York, NY

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

• Russ Cowan, Radin’s Delicatessen, Cherry Hill, NJ
• David Viana, Judy and Harry’s, Asbury Park, NJ

Outstanding Restaurateur

• Simon Kim, Gracious Hospitality (COTE, Undercote, and COQODAQ), New York, NY
• Jennifer Vitagliano and Nicole Vitagliano, Elizabeth Street Hospitality (The Musket Room, Raf’s, and Cafe Zaffri), New York, NY

Outstanding Chef

• Gabriel Kreuther, Gabriel Kreuther, New York, NY
• Kwame Onwuachi, Tatiana, New York, NY
• Missy Robbins, Lilia, Brooklyn, NY

Outstanding Restaurant

• The Four Horsemen, Brooklyn, NY
• Via Carota, New York, NY

Emerging Chef

• Sunny Lee, Sunn’s, New York, NY
• Rasheeda Purdie, Ramen by Rā, New York, NY

Best New Restaurant

• Bong, New York, NY
• Kabawa, New York, NY
• Lei, New York, NY

Outstanding Bakery

• Bánh by Lauren, New York, NY
• Librae Bakery, New York, NY

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

• Renata Ameni, Birdee, Brooklyn, NY
• Eunji Lee, Lysée, New York, NY

Outstanding Hospitality

• Cosme, New York, NY
• Red Hook Tavern, Brooklyn, NY
• Sofreh, Brooklyn, NY

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

• Chambers, New York, NY
• F.L.X. Table, Geneva, NY

Outstanding Bar

• Aldo Sohm Wine Bar, New York, NY
• Double Chicken Please, New York, NY

Best New Bar

• Bar Snack, New York, NY
• Clemente Bar, New York, NY

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service

• Lee Campbell, Borgo, New York, NY
• Amy Racine, La Marchande, New York, NY

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service

• Ivy Mix, Whoopsie Daisy, Brooklyn, NY

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

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