See all the NYC area nominees for the 2025 James Beard awards

Jan. 22, 2025, 11:27 a.m.

The East Village seafood bar Penny, Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant Corima and Korean diner Kisa were nominated for Best New Restaurant.

A small piece of meat on a dish.

The list of nominees for the 2025 James Beard Awards is out Wednesday, and the New York City region was represented in every major category.

The awards, given out by the New York City-based James Beard Foundation, are sometimes known as the "Foodie Oscars." They are chosen by national and regional committees of “food and beverage writers, critics, editors, chefs, restaurateurs, and avid diners,” according to the awards' website.

The nominees for Best New Restaurant included the Flatiron fine-dining destination Café Carmellini and three downtown spots: the East Village seafood bar Penny, Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant Corima and Korean diner Kisa.

A chef smiles outside a restaurant

Vijay Kumar, who was nominated in the “Best Chef: New York State” category for his Greenwich Village South Indian restaurant Semma, called the James Beard nomination a “blessing” on par with a nod from the Michelin guide – from which Semma has earned a star.

“It’s a baby step for South Indian cuisine in the U.S.,” said Kumar, whose menu works to introduce diners to a very different regional cuisine than the more common North Indian found across America. “I’ve been hearing from so many guests how disappointing it is that South Indian food is always overlooked.”

The Outstanding Restaurant nominees included the West Village red-sauce Italian spot Don Angie and James Murphy’s Michelin-starred Williamsburg wine-list destination, The Four Horsemen.

Jungsik Yim, whose eponymous Korean restaurant received an extremely rare count of three Michelin stars this year, was nominated in the Outstanding Chef category, along with Alsatian restaurateur and chef Gabriel Kreuther.

A spread of seafood on a table

The long list of nominees will be narrowed down to finalists this spring, and winners will be crowned on June 16.

Here is the full list of New York City-area semifinalists:

Outstanding Restaurateur

  • Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr of Frenchette, Le Veau d' Or and Le Rock in Manhattan
  • Simon Kim of Gracious Hospitality Management (COTE, Undercote, and COQODAQ) in Manhattan

Outstanding Chef

  • Gabriel Kreuther of Gabriel Kreuther Restaurant in Manhattan
  • Jungsik Yim, Jungsik, New York, NY
A chef smiles at the camera with her hands folded on a table.

Outstanding Restaurant

  • Don Angie in Manhattan
  • The Four Horsemen in Brooklyn

Emerging Chef

  • Danny Garcia of Time & Tide in Manhattan
  • Daniel Garwood of Acru in Manhattan

Best New Restaurant

  • Café Carmellini in Manhattan
  • Corima in Manhattan
  • Kisa in Manhattan
  • Penny in Manhattan
An array of doughnuts.

Outstanding Bakery

  • Carissa's the Bakery in Easthampton, NY
  • Fan Fan Doughnuts in Brooklyn

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

  • Camari Mick of Raf's in Manhattan
A dining room

Atomix in Murray Hill was nominated for Outstanding Hospitality.

Outstanding Hospitality

  • Atomix in Manhattan
  • Melba's in Manhattan

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

  • Hawksmoor in Manhattan

Outstanding Bar

  • Leyenda in Brooklyn

Best New Bar

  • Bar Contra in Manhattan
  • Sip & Guzzle in Manhattan

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service

  • Cassandra Felix of Daniel in Manhattan

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service

  • Ignacio Jimenez of Superbueno in Manhattan
  • Takuma Watanabe of Martiny’s in Manhattan

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.)

  • Dan Richer of Razza in Jersey City
  • David Viana, Lita, Aberdeen, NJ
A person stands in front of a building, their arms folded, smiling slightly.

Nasim Alikhani of Sofreh in Brooklyn was nominated once again for Best Chef: New York State.

Best Chef: New York State

  • Fariyal Abdullahi of Hav & Mar in Manhattan
  • Nasim Alikhani of Sofreh in Brooklyn
  • Ayo Balogun of Dept. of Culture in Brooklyn
  • Giovanni Cervantes of Carnitas Ramirez in Manhattan
  • Chris Cipollone of Francie in Brooklyn
  • Suzanne Cupps of Lola's in Manhattan
  • Clare de Boer of Stissing House in Pine Plains, NY
  • Aretah Ettarh of Gramercy Tavern in Manhattan
  • Marcus Glocker of Koloman in Manhattan
  • Efrén Hernández of Casa Susanna in Leeds, NY
  • Eiji Ichimura of Ichimura in Manhattan
  • Brian Kim of Oiji Mi in Manhattan
  • Hooni Kim of Meju in Queens
  • Atsushi Kono of Kono in Manhattan
  • Vijay Kumar of Semma in Manhattan
  • Shaina Loew-Banayan of Café Mutton in Hudson, NY
  • Kwame Onwuachi of Tatiana in Manhattan
  • Hillary Sterling of Ci Siamo in Manhattan
  • Emily Yuen of Lingo in Brooklyn

Best Chef: Northeast (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)

  • Brian Lewis of The Cottage in Westport, CT
  • Michelle Greenfield of Allium Eatery in Westport, CT
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