Unrated: This is a restaurant we want to re-visit before rating, or it’s a coffee shop, bar, or dessert shop. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal.

Casa Enrique is a Queens institution, and their crunchy fish tacos, spicy ceviche, and rich mole de Piaxtla are essential whenever you're in the mood for unfussy Mexican dishes. They also have seasonal watermelon margaritas, which you can drink around a big bar while watching soccer on TV. For a casual date night, sit at one of the white cafe tables in the spacious dining room. It’s a simple and timeless LIC spot that’s become one of our favorite places to eat over the years, and we don’t see that—or anything else about it—changing anytime soon.

Located in a strip mall on Queens Boulevard at the far eastern edge of Long Island City, Rinclón Melania is a fantastic choice for a casual lunch or dinner. The menu consists of Ecuadorian classics, and everything from the steak to the salchipapas is comforting and well-executed. But the ceviche is the biggest reason to come here. It’s perfectly tangy, with a substantial amount of fish that tastes like it just hopped in a cab and arrived here straight from the dock. Sit on a comfy banquette, and eat some with a side of tostones.

There are several Asian grocers in LIC, but Japanese market Mogmog is our favorite because of their kitchen, which turns out incredible maki and rainbow chirashi bowls, hot food specials, and giant shaved ices. If you don't mind eating sushi out of a pre-packaged plastic container on their outdoor cafe tables, you can have a lunch that rivals many upscale sushiyas.

This food truck started in LIC, before word spread about their tender, sopping wet birria, and they expanded into the other boroughs. The original truck is parked right by the waterfront near Gantry Plaza Park. The tacos, mulitas, and consomme at Chinelos all taste deliciously cilantro-forward, with a more herbaceous stew than the adobo-heavy one you find at spots like Birria-Landia. It’s also a good deal: You can get three huge birria tacos for about $14.

As their name suggests, this casual Taiwanese counter-service spot does, in fact, make yummy dumplings. But you should actually come here for the fried chicken. It’s incredibly moist on the inside, but so crispy-crunchy on the outside that the sound of every bite reverberates inside your skull. Yumpling’s juicy popcorn chicken, scattered with fried basil leaves, should probably be categorized as a controlled substance, but their fried chicken sandwich (with basil aioli and a generous helping of chopped scallions) is our favorite thing on the menu. Get it with a side of fried lotus chips.

We’ve taken way too many dates to Takumen. It's easy to impress people with this cool, izakaya-inspired restaurant that looks like a Japanese cottage and has rotating art exhibits that might include doodles of disembodied butts. The wings with Thai green curry, miso, or soy garlic are the best thing on the menu, but they also serve fun fusion obanzai, ramen, and rice bowls. It's more of a cafe during the day, but can get pretty crowded during dinner time, so come with someone you’re hoping to share your personal space with.

Sami’s Astoria location is one of our favorite Afghan restaurants, and we support the spread of their kebab gospel as far as it will go. For now, that’s just this second, smaller location in LIC. The lamb and beef kofta skewers, borani banjan, and tangy leek aushak are just as good as at the original spot, but there’s a lot less room for groups in this slender space, and most people come in for takeout. There are a few tables, and if you do eat in, you’ll get to enjoy some fresh naan right out of the oven.

Nai Brother does one thing, and does it well: sliced meat in hot broth. Everything about this casual Sichuan soup spot is so simple, a robot could run the place. And one kind of does. A human will take your order, but your big bowl of soup will arrive on top of a flashing robot that glides around the tables. The pungent, pickley broths are organized by heat level, and there are some super mild options like sun-dried tomato. That makes Nai Brothers a good choice for a group dinner where you don't need to leave your spice-sensitive friends behind.

In an area that lacks a real brunch scene, the colorful ceviches and fruit-flavored pisco sours at Jora are an ideal way to kick off a boozy afternoon in Hunters Point. This Peruvian restaurant gets packed on weekends—they don't take reservations, but you won’t have to wait more than ten minutes for a table. Get a hightop in the back bar area, where there's a livelier crowd, and follow your ceviche with an order of lomo saltado. Or, if you must have eggs at brunch, get the aji de gallina: the creamy chicken stew comes with a quail egg on top.

This 10-seat sushi counter near the Queensboro Bridge is the first NYC outpost of a popular handroll bar in Orlando, and it’s easy to walk in. They make very good temaki with high-quality, flavorful ingredients, many of which are imported from Japan. The portions are generous, the filling combinations are inventive, and the temaki have solid structural integrity down to the last bite. Our favorites include the king salmon with lime miso and pickled serranos and the dream team that is wagyu and mushroom jam.

Originally a pop-up, Traze Pizza now bakes their oddball Grandma pies in a corner shop with just about eight seats inside. It might feel like an old-school pizzeria, complete with a Pizza Hut-style lamp, but their square pies made with 72-hour fermented dough are anything but old-fashioned. The signature falafel is green from a heavy dusting of fava-bean falafel, with a drizzle of halal cart-style white sauce. And at breakfast, they do slices—like the Elvis, with mozzarella, bananas, bacon, and peanuts. It might sound like too much, but it's one of our favorite things here.

Every neighborhood should have a solid hot pot spot. In LIC, Da Long Yi fills that need. Located in a big, bright space on top of a mall, the second NYC outpost of this international chain has beautifully carved interiors, right out of an Anthropologie catalog. With a sauce bar and a regular bar, it's perfect for a slightly dressed up evening. The prices are a little higher than some other hot pot places around town, but you get a lot of food. At $66, the value combo for two easily ends up being enough food for three.

Go Nonna is a little farther from the 7 train than some of the other restaurants on this guide—in a quieter pocket of LIC. And the deeply comforting Italian-via-Argentina cooking is well worth the walk. Get the chicken parm and the textbook-perfect tiramisu. The excellent fresh pastas are also a great post-brewery, IPA-absorbing option after hitting nearby Fifth Hammer.

Sapps serves sushi, ramen, and other casual Japanese food in what looks like a millennial-coded tap room. We'd usually steer clear of sushi establishments with rolls named “Pico De Salmon,” but the food here is surprisingly good, and you’ll feel like you’re back at your college town’s best student bar, floating from table to table as though you know everyone in the room. Sapps is open until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, with an extensive alcohol collection and matcha churros on hand. Come by on karaoke night for the full experience.

Tournesol has been open for a couple of decades, but it would take us a couple more to tire of coming here. This dark bistro serves dishes like duck liver terrine and moules frites at relatively affordable prices—compared to much of the other fancy French food around town. You’ll get your white tablecloths and fine wine, but it’s totally unstuffy, with a lively crowd of regulars spilling out onto the outdoor tables. We especially like the croquettes and escargots, both of which are under $15.

Cyclo looks like the sort of cozy kitchen in which Goldilocks would make herself at home. It even has a white picket fence outside. This Vietnamese restaurant serves phở, not porridge, but we wouldn’t be above breaking in to eat here. It’s one of the only Vietnamese spots in the neighborhood, and for a quick, go-to lunch, their shimmering beef phở and big bánh mì are just right.