New York 2025 James Beard Award Semi-Finalists

Today, the James Beard Foundation announced its list of semi-finalists in the running for this year’s annual food awards: with big names like Corima and Le Veau d’Or on the list.

The semi-finalists are eliminated. In the Outstanding Restaurateur category: Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr were listed for their revival of Veau d’Or uptown (also by Frenchette) and Simon Kim, of Gracious Hospitality Management (COTE, Undercote and COQODAQ). For outstanding chef, Gabriel Kreuther of Gabriel Kreuther and Jungsik Yim of Jungsik were awarded.

For Outstanding Restaurant: Don Angie, Quality Branded Hospitality Group’s West Village Italian-American restaurant, made the list alongside Williamsburg’s Four Horsemen. In the Emerging Chef category: Danny Garcia of Time and Tide, the seafood restaurant in the late James Kent’s hospitality group, and Daniel Garwood of Australian tasting menu restaurant Acru all received nominations. For outstanding hospitality, Korean fine dining restaurant Atomix and Harlem restaurant Melba’s were listed. Hawksmoor, the British steakhouse, was nominated for its exceptional wines and other drinks, alongside Waxlight Bar à Vin, in Buffalo, New York. Leyenda, the Latin American cocktail bar currently in the process of relocating, has been rated an outstanding bar.

In the Best New Restaurant category, the New York contingent included Andrew Carmellini’s Nomad hotel restaurant, Café Carmellini; Corima, Fidel Caballero’s Lower East Side fine-dining Mexican restaurant; Penny, Team Claud’s upstairs raw bar in the East Village; and Kisa, a casual Korean restaurant from Team C Like Charlie on the LES.

In the Outstanding Bakery category, Fan Fan Doughnuts, Fany Gerson’s donut shop in Brooklyn, is a semifinalist, alongside Carissa’s the Bakery, in Easthampton, New York, while Camari Mick, of Raf’s restaurant and bakery in Nolita, was nominated in the Best Pastry Chef category. category.

There are several new award categories this year. In the Best New Bar category, Sip & Guzzle in the West Village was listed. For Outstanding Beverage Service Professional, Christopher Bates of FLX Table in Geneva, New York, is nominated alongside Cassandra Felix of fine dining restaurant Daniel in Manhattan. This stands out from Outstanding Cocktail Service Professional, where Ignacio Jimenez of Mexican cocktail bar Superbueno in the East Village was named.

Locally, these are the semi-finalists for Best Chefs: New York State: Fariyal Abdullahi, of Hav & Mar, Nasim Alikhani, of Sofreh, Ayo Balogun, of the Department of Culture, Giovanni Cervantes, of Carnitas Ramirez, Chris Cipollone, by Francie, Suzanne. Cupps, of Lola’s, Clare de Boer, of Stissing House, Aretah Ettarh, of Gramercy Tavern, Ryan Fernandez, of Southern Junction in Buffalo, Marcus Glocker, of Koloman, Efrén Hernández, of Casa Susanna, in Leeds, Eiji Ichimura of Ichimura , Brian Kim of Oiji Mi, Hooni Kim of Meju, Atsushi Kono of Kono, Vijay Kumar of Semma, Shaina Loew-Banayan, of Café Mutton, in Hudson, Kwame Onwuachi, of Tatiana, Hillary Sterling, of Ci Siamo and Emily Yuen, Lingo.

In New Jersey, Dan Richer of Razza Pizzeria in Jersey City won Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, alongside Portuguese-leaning David Viana of Lita in Aberdeen.

This is the first announcement the Beard Foundation has made in 2025, but the list will be narrowed down later this spring, with notice of finalists released on April 2. Then, on June 16, the winners will be revealed during the ceremony organized. at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago.

Many eyes may be on New York this year, as the city’s restaurants hope to end two years of neglect. In 2024, New York was left out of the national medals at the James Beard Awards (it’s true that chefs like Charlie Mitchell, then of Clover Hill, won in the New York state category). But this is the second year in a row that a major Big Apple shake-up has occurred. As of 2023, New York chefs have not won any awards in national categories – the first time this has happened since 1991.

A full list of semi-finalists can be viewed here.

Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards.