The Best Cheesecake in NYC
Fourteen slices that define New York cheesecake, from Junior's and a Bronx bakery that supplies Peter Luger to Basque burnt tarts and an ube jiggly cake in Chinatown, plus how cream cheese made it all possible.
The best cheesecake in New York is still the old guard: the plain slice at Junior's in Downtown Brooklyn, the light, tangy cake at Eileen's in Nolita, and the crustless one at Veniero's in the East Village, which has been selling pastry on East 11th Street since 1894. But the city has also learned new tricks, from Basque burnt cheesecake at a Lower East Side restaurant to a jiggly ube cake in Chinatown. Here are fourteen places to eat cheesecake in New York right now, with what to order and what it costs where we could confirm it.
This fall the list also has news in it. The Carnegie Deli, closed since 2016, reopened on Seventh Avenue on September 15, 2026, and its strawberry cheesecake is back. Two longtime favorites did not survive the year: Caputo's Bake Shop on Court Street closed in April 2026 after 124 years, and Two Little Red Hens on the Upper East Side closed in July.
At a glance.
- 01Junior'sThe original Brooklyn slice with a sponge cake base
- 04S&S CheesecakeThe Bronx bakery that supplies Peter Luger steakhouse
- 11Ernesto'sA burnt Basque cheesecake that is creamy in the middle
- 12Let's BounceOsaka-style jiggly cakes in flavors like ube
- Cost
- Whole cakes from $56; slices from $15 at some delis
- Where
- Find top cheesecakes in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens
- Good for
- Classic New York style, Italian ricotta, Basque and Japanese cakes
A short history of New York cheesecake
New York cheesecake exists because of a dairy farm upstate. In 1872, a dairyman named William Lawrence in Chester, New York, began making cream cheese by adding cream to a Neufchâtel-style process. In 1880, a New York distributor named Alvah Reynolds began selling Lawrence's cheese under the name "Philadelphia," borrowing the reputation of Pennsylvania dairy for a product made in Orange County, New York.
Cheesecake is ancient, but the dense, tall, cream cheese version is a New York invention of the early twentieth century. Arnold Reuben, of the Reuben's restaurant (and possibly the sandwich), is credited with reworking a cheese pie recipe with cream cheese in the 1920s. Lindy's on Broadway, opened in 1921, made the strawberry-topped slice famous. Then on November 4, 1950, Harry Rosen opened Junior's on Flatbush Avenue Extension in Brooklyn, named after his sons Walter and Marvin, and gave the city the cheesecake that would become its souvenir.
The basic rule: New York style uses cream cheese and is dense and smooth. Italian style uses ricotta and is lighter, grainier and often scented with citrus or liqueur. Everything else (Basque, Japanese, ube) is a new chapter.
The New York style canon
The original, still on the corner where Harry Rosen opened it in 1950, still run by the Rosen family (his grandson Alan runs it now). The thing that makes Junior's different is the base: a thin layer of sponge cake instead of a graham cracker crust, which keeps the dense, creamy filling from going soggy. Whole cakes on the shop's own site start at $57.95 for an 8-inch Original New York Plain. Eat a slice in the Flatbush dining room, under the orange and white, not at the Times Square outpost.
Go for: a slice of the Original plain. Know before you go: the Brooklyn original is the one with history; the cheesecake is the same everywhere.
A tiny shop on Cleveland Place founded in 1975 and run today by Eileen's daughters, Holly Maloney and Bonnie Ponte. The cake is lighter and tangier than Junior's, with a graham crust and a texture that is closer to a mousse than a brick. Individual cakes and slices come in a long list of flavors, but start with plain. It is the best cheesecake in Manhattan for people who think they do not like cheesecake.
Go for: a plain individual cake. Know before you go: the shop is small and fills quickly on weekend afternoons.
Veniero's Pasticceria & Caffe
Antonio Veniero opened this pasticceria on East 11th Street in 1894, and his family still runs it. Veniero's makes both styles and makes them both well: a crustless New York cheesecake that many critics rank as the best in the city, and an Italian ricotta cheesecake with a gentle amaretto note. Sit in the café room and order one of each to share. Our bakeries guide has more on the room.
Go for: a slice of each style and an espresso. Know before you go: the take-out line and the café line are separate; take a number.
The best cheesecake in the city might come out of a small bakery near the last stops of the 1 train. Fred Schuster, a Holocaust survivor, opened S&S in 1960, and the bakery now supplies, among others, Peter Luger. The cake is plain New York style, lightly sweet with a soft browned crust. Whole cakes are $90 for New York style and $105 for strawberry, pineapple or cherry, on the bakery's own site. It is kosher. See our steakhouse guide to taste it at the end of a porterhouse.
Go for: a whole plain cake to bring home. Know before you go: the bakery is open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 3pm only, closed weekends.
The famous deli closed in 2016, and on September 15, 2026, it reopened, a few blocks south of its old address in the former Stage Deli space, led by third-generation owner Sarri Harper. The Wall of Fame is back, the sandwiches are still enormous, and so is the cheesecake: Time Out reports slices at $15 plain, $16 for fresh strawberry and $16 for black and white. The fresh strawberry is the Lindy's-era classic. More delis in our Jewish deli guide.
Go for: a slice of fresh strawberry cheesecake. Know before you go: walk-in only, daily 11am to 10pm; expect lines in the first months.
A Third Avenue deli that has been feeding Murray Hill since the 1960s, with a homemade cheesecake that comes topped with fresh strawberries. It is a proper deli slice: big, dense, unapologetic. Sarge's is open daily for dine-in, which makes it the late-afternoon cheesecake stop in Midtown East.
Go for: the original New York cheesecake with strawberries. Know before you go: dine-in runs daily 10am to 10pm.
The Grand Street café has been a Little Italy landmark for more than a century, and its cheesecake comes in both styles: a dense New York slice and an Italian ricotta cake. It is touristy, yes, but the cakes are good and the room is a part of New York. Pair a slice with a cannoli and you have seen Little Italy properly.
Go for: an Italian cheesecake slice and an espresso. Know before you go: weekday afternoons are calmer than weekends.
A cheerful Smith Street bakery whose New York cheesecake is the neighborhood's go-to celebration cake. Whole cakes on the bakery's own site are $56 for 8 inches and $65 for 10 inches. Critics have singled out a fudge-topped version with a soft center. It is a good alternative now that Caputo's, up the street on Court, has closed.
Go for: a slice of the classic, or a whole cake for a birthday. Know before you go: order whole cakes ahead.
La Cheesecake
A small Queens bakery open since 1985 that makes light, fluffy, crustless cheesecakes in more than a dozen flavors. It is cash only and very much a local operation, and it is worth the trip if you are in northern Queens. Press coverage in 2025 confirmed it is still going strong.
Go for: a plain crustless cake. Know before you go: bring cash.
Stu's Cheesecake
Not a shop but a home baker, and one of the most talked-about cheesecakes in the city. David Mikelberg bakes a 10-inch crustless cake named for his late father, and the crack on top is the signature. Cakes were $90 plain and $100 to $105 for flavors in late 2025 reporting. Order 48 hours ahead; he delivers by hand.
Go for: the plain 10-inch. Know before you go: no storefront; order at least two days ahead.
Basque, Japanese and new takes
Ryan Bartlow's Basque restaurant on East Broadway (he cooked at Akelarre, Alinea and Frenchette before this) makes the tarta de queso that critics call the best Basque cheesecake in New York: burnt almost black on top, barely set and creamy in the middle. Order it when you order dinner, and do not skip it. See our date night guide for more rooms like this.
Go for: the tarta de queso, to share. Know before you go: dinner only, Monday to Saturday from 5 or 5:30pm; closed Sundays.
The Mott Street shop formerly known as Keki Modern Cakes has rebranded as Let's Bounce, and it still makes Osaka-style jiggly cheesecakes, fluffy enough to wobble when you tap the box. The Original Bouncy is $18 and the Ube Bouncy is $20 on the shop's own site, and each serves three to four people. Our Chinatown guide has more to eat nearby.
Go for: the Ube Bouncy. Know before you go: open Sunday to Thursday 11am to 7pm, Friday and Saturday until 8pm.
A French patisserie with Asian flavors, best known for its Basque "lava" cheesecakes. The Gway Hua oolong version is $15 on the shop's own site, with matcha and yuzu versions in rotation. The Williamsburg shop opened in September 2025. It is the most interesting cheesecake in the city right now.
Go for: the oolong lava cheesecake. Know before you go: flavors rotate, so check the shop's site.
The revived Spanish restaurant at the Hotel Chelsea serves a Basque cheesecake with a boozy seasonal fruit compote, a good reason to order dessert in a room that is mostly about red banquettes and paella. Combine it with a drink at the hotel's lobby bar (see our hotel bars guide).
Go for: the Basque cheesecake at the end of a paella dinner. Know before you go: book ahead for weekend dinners.
How to use this list
For the classic, it is Junior's, Eileen's and Veniero's, in that order of pilgrimage. For the best plain cake in the city, make the trip to S&S in the Bronx on a weekday morning. For a slice with a story, go to the revived Carnegie Deli. For something new, it is Ernesto's for Basque and Let's Bounce for a jiggly ube cake. And if you need a whole cake for a party, Mia's in Cobble Hill and Stu's in Rockaway will make your night.
For more sweets, see our ice cream guide and the best cookies in NYC.
Questions, answered.
- What is the most famous cheesecake in New York?
- Junior's, which Harry Rosen opened at Flatbush Avenue Extension and DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn in 1950. Its cheesecake sits on a thin layer of sponge cake rather than a graham cracker crust.
- What makes New York cheesecake different?
- New York style cheesecake is made with cream cheese (plus eggs, sugar and often sour cream or heavy cream), which makes it dense, tall and rich. Italian cheesecake uses ricotta and is lighter and grainier, and Basque cheesecake is baked hot until the top burns.
- Where can I get cheesecake in Manhattan?
- Eileen's Special Cheesecake in Nolita, Veniero's in the East Village, Ferrara in Little Italy, Sarge's in Murray Hill and the revived Carnegie Deli on Seventh Avenue, which reopened on September 15, 2026.
- Is the Carnegie Deli open again?
- Yes. The Carnegie Deli reopened on September 15, 2026, at 834 Seventh Avenue, the former Stage Deli space. It is walk-in only and open daily 11am to 10pm, with cheesecake slices from $15.
- Where is the best cheesecake in the Bronx?
- S&S Cheesecake in Kingsbridge, open since 1960 and the cheesecake supplier to Peter Luger. The bakery is open weekdays 8:30am to 3pm and closed on weekends.
Next up
The Best Cookies in NYCTwenty cookies worth crossing the city for, from Levain's six-ounce chocolate chip and Red Gate's toffee cookie to black and whites on the Upper East Side and pignoli by the pound in the Bronx.Read it Get the Shout Sheet.
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