100+ Restaurants in 2026: My Favorites (So Far)
My favorite restaurant ranking app, Beli, allows you to set a goal for how many restaurants you’d like to try in the new year. I tried a little over 100 in 2025 with a goal of 50. I decided to raise the stakes this past year with a goal of 100.
Well it’s almost August, and I’ve ranked 108 new restaurants. Several travels early in the year (including a multi-week visit to Japan), a move to a new neighborhood, and a very supportive boyfriend who happens to share my love for food helped make this yummy accomplishment possible.
Here are the best restaurants I’ve tried so far in 2026 (to be expanded each week):
Casa Susanna (Leeds, NY)
Accessibility: Reach out ahead of time for information on the accessible entrance. They were extremely accommodating while I was there and gave a very detailed explanation on how to get into the restaurant in a wheelchair.
Space: Located in the tucked away Camptown Hotel of the Catskills, Casa Susanna offers a cozy escape from the freezing outdoors of a January evening upstate. Chef Efrén Hernández, who originally discovered a love for cooking working the kitchen at Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg, has certainly since reached success in opening what Esquire has listed as one of the Best New Restaurants in America. He has been nominated the past three years in a row for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: New York. Like many other spaces in the Catskills, Casa Susanna’s architecture has a cabin feel that connects you with the surrounding nature. A crackling fireplace in the back room where we sat helped turn the dinner into more of an experience than a simple meal.
Food: It should be noted that Casa Susanna regularly changes their menu items according to the season. They claim to use only the freshest ingredients from local farmers, ranchers and fishermen, and as soon as you take your first bite, you can confirm it to be true. They make all of their tortillas in house and serve dishes meant to be shared with the table. While I was there in January, we ordered the Asian pear to start, along with the tetela and sope. For our mains, we had the smoked lamb barbacoa and duck breast with a side of the tortillas. We then ended with a sweet treat: the cotijia ice cream. Over half a year later, I still dream of the sope and smoked lamb barbacoa. You can taste the love and care that they put into these dishes. Every ingredient is carefully combined to create a pure piece of culinary art.
Curry & Tempura Koisus (Kyoto, Japan)
Accessibility: Kyoto is definitely harder to get around in in a wheelchair than some of the more modernized cities of Japan, such as Tokyo and Osaka. There were many times my friends and partner had to help me out of my chair, carry me up steps, or lift my chair into a space. That being said, this restaurant was one of the lowest drama entrances I experienced at the various eateries we visited. We went on the earlier side, just around when it opened, which certainly helped. I was able to roll right up to the counter. You can remove a chair and stay in your wheelchair, or transfer if you prefer. I believe I stayed in my chair, tired from all the transferring I had to do elsewhere.
Space: Like the rest of Kyoto, this place felt straight out of a cozy Studio Ghibli cartoon. The minimalist architecture forces your full attention onto the decadent dishes presented. The bar set up allows for direct connection to the chefs, who were social and engaging in my experience. They educated us on their craft as they fed us. They spoke, we listened and ate. It represented everything I love about the restaurant space.
Food: Easily one of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life. The chefs use over 20 different spices in their curry, and you can taste the hard work of each spice to claim relevancy. Not only that, but the crafting of the dish is a beautiful art form. I am a huge fan of gravy, and this plate scratched my sauce itch real nice. I think about it quite often, even months later. It is the top of my list for restaurants I visited in Japan, and that says A LOT, because I planned that entire trip around food. If you are going to Kyoto, go here.
Menchirashi (Tokyo, Japan)
Accessibility: This place is simply not accessible for wheelchair users. The line to get in (which is inevitable) is tightly packed. The turns are sharp. The restaurant layout is the same. Depending on where your table is, you may or may not run over some toes. People will have to scoot every which way to get out of your way. If you are hungry enough, which I happened to be after my 15 hour flight, you will find a way to make it work. I found the Japanese to be very polite and accommodating, eager to figure out how to best serve me. I was too loopy from jet lag to have many cares about the obstacles - I was getting my damn udon no matter what.
Space: Menchirashi is located in the Shibuya neighborhood of Tokyo, close to the Harajuku border. Use Google Maps to find it! Use it, do your research ahead of time, give yourself plenty of time to get there before you’re absolutely starving, and expect to get lost. Also understand that this place is bound to be crowded with foreign tourists at all opening hours. Many of the viral spots in Japan require the sacrifice of waiting in line, but they will always be worth the wait. For the disabled - the mentally toughest of the bunch - use this resilience to your advantage. You can do it. There is a reward at the end. At least in this line, you will have a prime viewing spot of the udon noodles being freshly prepared. As you enter, the restaurant is separated down three rows - one at the bar, two consisting of tables. Like I mentioned, it’s already a tight space, and on top of that is bound to be packed. Be weary. Be determined. Side note, the staff is incredibly good looking. This detail really helped carry me through.
Food: You’ve got to hand it to the influencers on this one - the food deserves the virality it has received. I got the spicy udon carbonara after starting with the gyudon (rice with beef/onion). After mixing up the gorgeous ingredients (cheese, butter, egg, spicy sauce on udon), I slurped down every last bite, my taste buds dancing in pure euphoria. I was in disbelief how delicious it was. I was having a religious experience of sorts. I felt my calling in this restaurant - I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be as I was devouring that bowl of noodles. It’s almost hard for me to look at pictures of the meal, I miss it so bad.
