​1. Follow the challah trail through Brooklyn

South Williamsburg, Borough Park, Midwood and Crown Heights, Brooklyn

​

Brooklyn is home to some of New York City's oldest and most established Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities. Many families trace their roots to Eastern Europe, including Hungary, Poland and Ukraine, bringing baking traditions that have been passed down for generations.

Explore neighborhood bakeries for freshly baked challah, babka, rugelach, kokosh cake, honey cake, kugel and traditional Shabbat foods. Many are family-run businesses serving their communities for decades, with recipes reflecting the history and traditions of Jewish life in Brooklyn.

​

NOT TO MISS:

​

GOTTLIEB'S RESTAURANT

352 Roebling Street, South Williamsburg, Brooklyn

gottliebrestaurant.com

Founded in 1962 by Hungarian Holocaust survivor Zoltan Gottlieb, this family-run glatt kosher restaurant is one of Brooklyn's great surviving Hungarian-Jewish dining institutions. After arriving in America, Gottlieb recreated the traditional foods he remembered from Hungary, establishing a restaurant that became a gathering place for Williamsburg's Hasidic community. More than six decades later, the family continues serving many of those same dishes in a dining room that has changed remarkably little.

TRY: Hungarian goulash, stuffed cabbage, cabbage noodles, cholent, matzo ball soup, kugel and the famous grilled pastrami sandwich with onions. Look for traditional Hungarian specialties such as cherry soup.

​

SANDER'S BAKERY

166 Lee Avenue, South Williamsburg, Brooklyn

sandersbakery.com

Founded in 1959 by Holocaust survivor Reb Shlomo Zalman Sander, this traditional kosher bakery has been part of Williamsburg's Hasidic community for more than 65 years. Born in Romania in 1930, Sander learned his baking skills at another neighborhood institution, Weiss Bakery, before opening his own shop. Today, the bakery continues the Eastern European Jewish baking traditions of challah, babka, rugelach, honey cake and other Shabbat and holiday favorites.

DON'T MISS: Chocolate or cinnamon babka, fresh challah and rugelach. Thursday and Friday mornings are especially lively as families prepare for Shabbat.

​

FLAUM'S APPETIZING

406 Lee Avenue, South Williamsburg, Brooklyn

flaums.com

A longstanding kosher appetizing business known for smoked fish, herring, salads, pickles and traditional Jewish specialties. Flaum's reflects the appetizing-shop tradition that Jewish immigrants brought to New York more than a century ago.

TRY: Herring, whitefish salad and smoked fish.

​

WILLIAMSBURG HEIMISHE BAKERY BY ONEG

188 Lee Avenue, South Williamsburg, Brooklyn

onegbakery.com

Formerly known as Oneg Bakery, this family-run kosher bakery has a remarkable story rooted in Holocaust survival and Hungarian-Jewish traditions. After surviving World War II, the family's grandmothers emigrated from Hungary to Brooklyn, bringing cherished recipes for challah, babka, rugelach and hamantaschen. Encouraged by their children and grandchildren, they eventually opened a bakery to share those recipes with the neighborhood. Now operating as Williamsburg Heimishe Bakery by Oneg, the family continues baking those traditional favorites.

DON'T MISS: The famous double-chocolate babka, known for its exceptionally rich chocolate filling, along with fresh challah and rugelach.

KOSHER NOTE: The bakery identifies itself as CRC kosher certified.

BEST TIME TO VISIT: Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, when bakeries and kosher markets are preparing for Shabbat. South Williamsburg is particularly interesting for its traditional bakeries, while Borough Park, Midwood and Crown Heights are excellent for kosher grocery shopping, prepared foods and Israeli snacks. Many businesses close early on Fridays and remain closed on Saturdays.

​

2. Taste Brooklyn’s Syrian-Jewish food culture

​

Midwood, Gravesend and Kings Highway, Brooklyn

Brooklyn's Syrian-Jewish community has preserved generations of family recipes and food traditions brought from Aleppo and Damascus. Established in New York in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the community became especially prominent along Ocean Parkway and Kings Highway. Today, its bakeries, markets and specialty food shops offer everything from kibbeh and lahmabajin to ma'amoul, baklava and traditional holiday sweets.

​

NOT TO MISS:

​

MANSOURA BAKERY

515 Kings Highway, Gravesend, Brooklyn

mansoura.com
Instagram: @mansourapastries

This is one of the city's great under-the-radar Jewish food destinations. Mansoura is a Syrian-Jewish bakery known for ma'amoul, decorative shortbread cookies filled with date paste, walnuts or pistachios, plus baklava, Turkish delight, Syrian pastries and holiday sweets. The Brooklyn business has operated since 1961, while the family traces its baking and confectionery legacy to Aleppo, Syria, in 1780.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL: It is a living piece of Sephardic Jewish food history, not a generic Middle Eastern pastry shop. Buy a mixed box of ma'amoul, pistachio baklava, walnut pastries and whatever seasonal specialties are in the case.

 

SHUA'S GOURMET KITCHEN

502 Avenue M, Midwood, Brooklyn

shuaskitchen.com
Instagram: @shuasgourmetkitchen

A family-owned kosher Syrian food business offering traditional dishes and prepared foods from Brooklyn's Syrian-Jewish community. Its menu reflects generations of Syrian-Jewish cooking, with recipes traditionally prepared for family gatherings, Shabbat and holidays.

TRY: Kibbeh, lahmabajin, mazza platters and other Syrian specialties. Some items may require advance ordering.

 

These Brooklyn neighborhoods are wonderful places to discover that Jewish food in New York is not one cuisine. It reflects centuries of migration, different countries and languages, religious traditions and family recipes passed down through generations.

​​

3. Explore Bukharian and Central Asian Queens

Rego Park and Forest Hills, Queens

​

For Bukharian, Uzbek, Persian, Georgian and Central Asian Jewish food, explore Rego Park and Forest Hills. This is one of New York City's most overlooked Jewish food destinations.

The Bukharian Jewish community traces its history back centuries to Central Asia, particularly present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Many families settled in Queens during the 1970s and especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, bringing their languages, recipes, religious traditions and food businesses with them.

Start around 63rd Drive, 63rd Road and 108th Street in Rego Park, where you'll find kosher restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and specialty shops. Look for plov (rice pilaf), manti dumplings, samsa, shashlik, fresh breads, pickled vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, spices and traditional teas.

​

NOT TO MISS:

​

ROKHAT KOSHER BAKERY

65-43 Austin Street, Rego Park, Queens

A neighborhood bakery specializing in traditional Bukharian and Central Asian breads. Unlike most New York bakeries, Rokhat uses a tandoor oven, where rounds of dough are pressed against the hot interior walls and baked in approximately 10–15 minutes. These breads are an important part of Bukharian Jewish meals, including Shabbat celebrations.

DON'T MISS: Freshly baked round Bukharian bread, best enjoyed warm from the oven.

​

MARANI

97-26 63rd Road, Rego Park, Queens

maraninyc.com

A kosher Georgian restaurant serving traditional dishes influenced by the food cultures of the Caucasus. Georgian cuisine has a long history among Jewish communities, and Marani offers an opportunity to explore flavors beyond the familiar Eastern European Jewish deli.

TRY: Georgian breads, eggplant and walnut dishes, grilled meats and other traditional specialties.

​

CHAIKHANA SEM SOROK

63-52 Booth Street, Rego Park, Queens

chaikhanasemsorok.com

A glatt kosher Uzbek and Bukharian restaurant serving the traditional food of Central Asia. Its menu reflects the culinary traditions of Jewish families from Uzbekistan and neighboring countries, where rice dishes, dumplings, grilled meats and freshly baked breads have been staples for generations.

TRY: Plov, manti dumplings, samsa and shashlik.

GOOD TO KNOW: Visit during the day and explore the neighborhood before sitting down for a meal. The grocery stores are just as interesting as the restaurants, with imported sweets, teas, spices, pickles, dried fruits and prepared foods that reflect the community's Central Asian heritage.

Jewish food in Queens tells a much bigger story than bagels and pastrami. Here, it reflects centuries of Jewish life along the Silk Road, in Persia, the Caucasus and the former Soviet Union.

​

ALSO IN MANHATTAN: A HIDDEN BUKHARIAN FOOD DISCOVERY

You don't have to travel to Queens to experience Bukharian and Central Asian Jewish food. One of New York's lesser-known kosher restaurants is hiding in plain sight in Manhattan's Diamond District.

​

TAAM TOV

41 West 47th Street, Third Floor, Diamond District, Midtown Manhattan

taamtovkosher.com
Instagram: @taamtovkosher

Hidden on the third floor of a Diamond District building, Taam Tov is a kosher Uzbek and Bukharian restaurant serving traditional Central Asian Jewish food. Its unusual location makes it one of Midtown's lesser-known dining discoveries, reflecting the food traditions of Jewish communities from Uzbekistan and the former Soviet Union.

TRY: Kebabs, manti dumplings, rice dishes, soups and traditional breads.

​

4. Do the old-school Manhattan food map

Lower East Side, East Village and Upper West Side, Manhattan

​

For traditional Jewish dairy food, appetizing shops, bialys, knishes, bagels, smoked fish and deli history, explore three Manhattan neighborhoods that helped shape New York's Jewish food culture.

​

LOWER EAST SIDE: Once home to one of the world's largest Jewish immigrant communities, the neighborhood became a center for Eastern European Jewish bakeries, pushcart markets, delicatessens and appetizing shops. Visit Kossar's for bialys and flagels, Russ & Daughters for smoked fish and herring, and Yonah Schimmel for knishes. Many of these businesses have been part of the neighborhood for more than a century.

​

EAST VILLAGE: Once part of the larger Jewish immigrant neighborhood, the East Village still preserves pieces of its Jewish food history. Stop at B&H Dairy, established in the late 1930s, for traditional favorites such as blintzes, borscht, latkes and matzo ball soup.

​

UPPER WEST SIDE: As Jewish families moved uptown during the 20th century, the neighborhood became another center of Jewish food culture. Zabar's, founded in 1934, Barney Greengrass, established in 1908, and Murray's Sturgeon Shop, opened in 1946, remain famous for smoked fish, sturgeon, herring, bagels and traditional appetizing specialties.

​

DON'T MISS: A bialy-and-knish afternoon is just as New York as a pastrami sandwich. Try a classic potato or kasha knish at Yonah Schimmel, then stop at Kossar's for a freshly baked bialy or flagel.

EXPLORE MORE: Follow our Lower East Side Nostalgia Tour and Appetizing Crawl Itinerary for more historic food stops, neighborhood stories and places worth discovering.

​

We have an itinerary here and here

​

5. Go behind the scenes at Acme Fish Friday

30 Gem Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

​

acmesmokedfish.com
Instagram: @acmesmokedfish

For a true New York food-insider experience, visit Acme Smoked Fish in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Founded in 1906, this fourth-generation family business has operated in Greenpoint since 1954 and is one of the city's best-known smoked-fish producers.

Acme supplies smoked fish to restaurants, delis and appetizing shops across the country, helping preserve the traditions of New York's Jewish food culture. Its popular Fish Friday program allows the public to preorder smoked salmon, lox, trout, whitefish, sable, herring and other specialties directly from the producer.

GOOD TO KNOW: Fish Friday requires advance planning. Check the website for current ordering deadlines, pickup hours and availability, particularly around Jewish holidays.

EXPLORE MORE: Acme Fish Friday is also featured in our Appetizing Crawl Itinerary, along with other classic New York Jewish food destinations.

We have an itinerary here

​

6. Shop the Jewish calendar

The best Jewish food in New York is often seasonal. Visit on Thursday or Friday before Shabbat, or plan your trip around a Jewish holiday, when bakeries, markets, caterers and neighborhood shops offer foods that may not appear the rest of the year.

​

ROSH HASHANAH: Look for round challah, honey cake, apple desserts, honey, pomegranates, dates and holiday gift boxes. Russ & Daughters, for example, switches from braided challah to round challah for the Jewish New Year.

 

SUKKOT: Look for autumn baking, stuffed foods and holiday catering specials.

 

HANUKKAH: Look for sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), potato latkes, applesauce, sour cream, chocolate gelt and bakery specials. Israeli bakeries and kosher markets are especially good for creative doughnut flavors.

 

PURIM: Look for hamantaschen filled with poppy seeds, prune, apricot, chocolate, fruit and newer pastry flavors. Buy them early because popular bakery versions can sell out.

 

PASSOVER: Visit kosher markets for matzah, matzah meal, kosher-for-Passover cakes, macaroons, flourless sweets, wine, grape juice, horseradish, charoset ingredients and seasonal packaged snacks.

 

SHAVUOT: Look for dairy foods, cheesecake, blintzes, cheese pastries and Israeli-style dairy dishes.

The simple rule is this: if you see a Jewish holiday approaching, go shopping. New York's bakeries and markets become living seasonal archives of Jewish food traditions.

 

EXPLORE MORE:​ Jewish Holiday Calendar here ​​​​​​​​