10 Ina Garten-Approved Restaurants Across The US

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If there's one thing Ina Garten knows, it's food. The cook, cookbook author, and TV host, who exudes nothing but comforting vibes, is famous for her elegant, unfussy approach to cuisine, which can be seen in everything from her simple daily breakfast to her staples like her roast chicken (which none other than Nigella Lawson helped her out with). However, like any food lover, Garten's a big fan not just of making food, but of enjoying top-notch restaurant dishes. Never one to gatekeep her secrets, she's also been pretty vocal over the years about the eateries that she thinks knock it out of the park.

As you'd probably expect from Garten's famously Hamptons-centered approach to life, a lot of her favorite restaurants are located on the East End of Long Island. However, she doesn't just stick to those small enclaves. Garten has traversed the entire United States in pursuit of good food, and she's found it everywhere from Georgetown to Beverly Hills. Plus, if you thought that the cook would only stick to gourmet cuisine, you'd be mistaken. Garten's a big admirer of not one, but two fast food joints, which you might be able to head to next time you're hankering for a burger.

Ina Garten is arguably the face of the Hamptons, and so it's no surprise that she's a big supporter of a bunch of local restaurants. However, of all of the Hamptons-based establishments she's put her stamp of approval on, it's Nick & Toni's that might just have the edge. Garten has made no secret of her love of the East Hamptons restaurant over the years, naming it as a must-visit destination if you're ever in the area, and even inviting the chef onto her world-famous TV show.

There's one dish in particular that Garten loves more than any other at Nick & Toni's: The penne alla vecchia bettola. A rustic pasta with vodka sauce, this option is a staple of the menu at Nick & Toni's, and Garten admires it so much that she's based her own pasta recipe on it, printed in her book, "Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust." The sauce uses a full cup of vodka to brighten it up, with the liquor combined with tomatoes, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes, before being cooked in the oven until intensely flavorful and rich. Honestly, we're salivating just thinking about it.

We might stun you with this next piece of information, but Ina Garten's been famous for a while. As a result, she's accrued a host of just-as-famous pals who are the faces of the food world, like her fellow Food Network mainstay Tyler Florence — and she's a big fan of his restaurants, too. Garten has said how much she likes Florence's Wayfare Tavern on several occasions, and we can see why. The San Francisco eatery is far from the glitzy celebrity vehicle that you might expect from a TV host's restaurant, and instead it's a down-to-earth joint decked out in the style of a classic British pub. On the menu, you'll find cozy favorites like a short rib pot pie, baked mac and cheese, and a pork belly chop.

One dish here that Garten likes more than any other is Wayfare Tavern's Brussels sprouts. Garten's own balsamic-roasted Brussels sprouts recipe, which she cooks on a sheet pan with handfuls of rich pancetta, was directly inspired by Florence's version. It has all of the traits that Garten champions in her cooking: It's simple and uses minimal ingredients, it's easy to prepare and cook, and yet it delivers more flavor than you know what to do with.

Ina Garten is a lot of things, but she's definitely no snob. This is the cook who became famous for the immortal phrase "store-bought is fine," after all, and while she may prefer artisanal ingredients, she knows the value of speedy, easy solutions when you're hungry. So, it shouldn't shock you that Garten's been known to opt for a fast food burger now and again. When she does, In-N-Out is the restaurant she opts for.

Garten has voiced her love of In-N-Out on several occasions and has said that it's a favorite of hers when she's over on the West Coast. When she heads to its drive-thru, she opts for a burger that countless others have devoured over the years. "When I'm on the road doing book tours, I love going to In-N-Out Burger and having the Double Double Animal Style," she said in an interview with Air Mail. She went on to state the fact that none other than Julia Child also used to love the chain, giving her comfort that she's in good company. You, Child, and the rest of us, Ina.

Like pretty much everyone in the world, Ina Garten is a big fan of burgers, but it can't just be any piece of meat slapped between burger buns. For Garten to rave about a burger, it needs to be pretty flavorsome. Thankfully, Bourbon Steak in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., inside the Four Seasons Hotel, delivers the goods.

Garten name-checked the restaurant and its burger in a 2024 book tour, during which she spoke in the nation's capital (which was, incidentally, the place that she used to work as a nuclear policy analyst for the Office of Management and Budget). In response to a question about her favorite burger, Eater reported that Garten said, "I had it this afternoon: It was in the Four Seasons. Is it called Bourbon Steak? Oh my god." The exact burger she was talking about is unclear (Bourbon Steak has two regular cheeseburgers, as well as a cheese-topped turkey burger that looks pretty good), and it could well be that Garten was mentioning a local favorite for the fans in the audience. However, we're not doubting her judgment here. If she says it's her favorite, you'd better believe we're running to try it.

Ina Garten was born in Brooklyn, so it's hardly a revelation that she has a connection to the place. In typical style, it's a culinary one. Garten's a huge fan of Lilia, the Brooklyn restaurant, and of chef and owner Missy Robbins's approach to cooking. When we say huge, we mean it, too. Of all the restaurants out there, few have garnered such rapturous praise from the TV cook. "It's a very casual, very approachable kind of restaurant," she said in an interview with the New York Times. "It's not fancy. But Missy Robbins's food is so extraordinarily flavorful and fresh and seasonal," adding, "I mean, it's a problem. I just can't stop."

As for what she likes about Lilia, Garten doesn't hold back. As well as the sheer flavor of the food itself and what's on offer, she also loves the sharing style that the restaurant goes for. Its off-menu items are also a firm favorite, and as Garten mentions that they may not be that obvious to the casual diner, it's a good idea to read up on them before dining there (she recommends the steak, just FYI). Plus, if you're so inclined and live nearby, you can sample some of Lilia's signature flavors by ordering through Misipasta, Robbins's food delivery service.

Ina Garten is no stranger to celebrity, or to fellow celebrity chefs. She doesn't just admire her fellow famous cooks because of their star power, though: She does so because of the quality of their food. That's definitely the case with Wolfgang Puck, the prolific chef, media personality, and advocate for using flavor to improve your cooking. Garten's a fan of his restaurant CUT, in Beverly Hills, and of the steaks that make it a must-visit location.

For Garten, heading to CUT marks not just a great meal, but the end of a job well done — it's her standard stop when she finishes a book tour. "We always go to CUT, Wolfgang Puck's steak restaurant, at the very end," she said in an interview with The Kitchn. Garten didn't mention what she orders when she's there, but with options like Japanese A5 Wagyu New York Strip and a prime dry-aged rib eye, we don't think she'd be short on quality. The good news for people not on the West Coast is that CUT also has locations in New York and Washington, D.C., as well as New York, Bahrain, London, and Singapore.

One thing we absolutely love about Ina Garten (and there are many) is that she uses her power for good. The cook and TV host is quick to throw her clout behind all of her favorite local restaurants in the Hamptons, and in doing so, marks herself as a vocal supporter of small businesses. Her love of 1770 House is just another example of her doing so. Garten's called the restaurant wonderful, saying that it's one of her standby choices for a speedy takeout meal. She goes for the meatloaf, in case you were wondering — and let's be honest, you were.

There's more to love about 1770 House than just its meatloaf, though. This East Hampton restaurant has been open and operating for more than 250 years, and is, in essence, a living piece of history that harkens back to the Colonial era. As well as a restaurant, it's also a functioning inn, with six guest rooms, making it perfect for staying in as you check out the rest of Garten's favorite haunts in the Hamptons.

Over the years, Ina Garten hasn't been shy and retiring about her love of In-N-Out, but it's not the only fast food chain that's grabbed her attention. The TV personality has also made it known that she's a big fan of Shake Shack. However, although the two fast food companies have a similar approach to burgers, it's not the beef that Garten's going for here. Instead, it's the chicken. "I love Shake Shack," she said in an interview with People. "It's so good. I love their fried chicken sandwich." That one makes a lot of sense to us, considering the chain's simple but effective approach to fast food chicken sandwiches.

Garten's relationship with Shake Shack goes beyond its sandwiches, too. In an episode of "Be My Guest with Ina Garten," she profiled and interviewed Danny Meyer, the chain's founder and noted restaurateur, who talked about the secrets to his success. In 2022, she also appeared on the Drew Barrymore Show with John Karangis, executive chef for Shake Shack, to make — what else? — its chicken sandwich, live on-air. Move over, In-N-Out, you've got company in Garten's good books.

We love that Ina Garten's so keen to support up-and-coming restaurants, and what we love even more is that she's also a vocal backer of her friends. So when those two things combine, it feels like a perfect marriage. Such is the case with Chaia, a vegetarian taco restaurant with two locations, one in Georgetown and one in Chinatown, both in Washington, D.C. The eatery was featured in "Barefoot in Washington," a one-hour special where Garten took a trip down memory lane, revisiting the city where she started her first career in the White House, and trying out its food.

In the episode, Garten tried her hand at some of Chaia's tacos with the restaurant's co-owner, Bettina Stern. Why did they get together? Well, because Stern used to work with Garten, and the store that made the cook's name. Stern's first job was at The Barefoot Contessa, where she'd spend her summers working at the front of the shop. Years later, she's become a restaurateur in her own right, in a lovely full-circle moment.

Think Ina Garten, and it's not long before you think of French food. The cook is famous for her love of the country's cuisine, and over the years, she's made countless trips to France and to Paris, even going so far as to buy an apartment in the seventh arrondissement in 2000 with her husband, Jeffrey. Where does Garten go for French food when she's not in France, though? She goes to one of the other greatest cities in the world, Manhattan, and specifically to La Mercerie, a French restaurant based in Roman and Williams Guild.

Garten has previously said that she enjoys going to La Mercerie when she's visiting Roman and Williams Guild to pick up tableware and linens. We can see why she likes it: La Mercerie's menu is a masterclass in classic French dishes, with sole Meunière, French onion soup, and bœuf bourguignon taking pride of place. It's decked out with the white linen tablecloths and candlesticks that you'd likely find around the store it's situated in, too. We bet that's pretty convenient for both businesses.