10 Hard-to-Find Ethnic Cuisines You Can Eat in NYC

Known as the Melting Pot of the United States, New York is a city where innumerable ethnicities can be found within blocks of eachother. Take a walking tour of any of the five boroughs, and you’ll feel like you’re jumping from continent to continent. Different languages are spoken on every block, people stroll down the avenues draped in their traditional attire, and the selection of international food is plentiful.

You can have French crepes for breakfast, authentic Cantonese dim sum in Chinatown for lunch, and Dominican bacalao in Washington Heights for dinner. While NYC is undoubtedly one of the best places for a food lover to experience, there are some very specific cuisines that aren’t readily available. However, if you’re willing to go on a hunt to taste these underrepresented ethnic dishes, it's possible to please your palette with some of the world's most unique flavors.

From the West Village of Manhattan to Jamaica, Queens, here are 10 Hard-to-Find Ethnic Cuisines You Can Eat in NYC.

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Restaurant: Kaia Wine Bar
Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Address: 1614 3rd Ave
Website: kaiawinebar.com

Though Portuguese, African, English, and Malaysian cuisines aren't difficult to get your hands on in New York, the cuisine that combines all of these elements is not as easy to come by. South African cuisine hasn't been very well represented in Gotham, but over the past few years, preserved meats, Boerewors rol, and classic South African samosas have begun to emerge on the plates of New Yorkers with adventurous palettes. Kaia's menu takes you on a journey through South Africa's many communities and various cuisines, so you can tour the country on your plate. That's probably why it was named the best South African restaurant in NYC last year.

Restaurant: St. Andrews
Neighborhood: Midtown West
Address: 140 W 46th 4th St.
Website: standrewsnyc.com

Couldn't find a perfect recipe for haggis? St. Andrew's in Times Square has the national dish of Scotland on the menu, so you don't have to miss out on this traditional delicacy. Though you may see some familiar American items listed, the Scottish classics are standouts on the menu—especially the draft beers. And if the food wasn't enough to make you feel authentically Scottish during your meal, hit St. Andrew's up on Saturday nights for some Celtic tunes.

Restaurant: Kafana
Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 116 Avenue C
Website: kafananyc.com

You can't plan a trip to Yugoslavia any time soon—because the country no longer exists—but amazing Serbian food can find its way into your stomach very quickly if you choose to dine at Kafana. Touted as the first Serbian restaurant in the city, this East Village eatery is a perfect spot for the foodies who are bonafide meat lovers. The traditional Serbian cevapi is said to be a must-try along with several Eastern European signature foods like gibanitza and lepinja sa kajmakom.

Restaurant: Trestle on Tenth
Neighborhood: Chelsea
Address: 242 10th Ave.
Website: trestleontenth.com

Many American snack favorites carry this cuisine's name—Swiss Rolls and Swiss hot chocolate—but finding authentic Swiss cuisine in the city is not the easiest task to accomplish. Trestle on Tenth in Chelsea, however, has numerous offerings that will help you make the upgrade from Swiss named junk food to classic Swiss dishes. While veal kidneys in ale sauce may not sound as appetizing as what Little Debbie has to offer, the Trestle on Tenth Nusstorte is a traditional Swiss pastry that will put those plastic wrapped sweets to shame.

Restaurant: Cock's Restaurant
Neighborhood: Crown Heights
Address: 806 Nostrand Ave.
Website: facebook.com/pages/Cocks-Restaurant

Though West Indian eateries are a dime a dozen in Brooklyn, each island has its own unique cuisine, and the Bajans haven't set up too many posts in NYC. One of the very few Barbadian restaurants in the city, Cock's Restaurant in Crown Heights delivers the tastes of Barbados to you. If you wish to sample the distinct flavors of Bajan cooking, Cock's serves cou cou with flying fish, a dish that shows the connection between West Africa and the island Diaspora.

Restaurant: Aamans-Copenhagen
Neighborhood: TriBeCa
Address: 13 Laight St.
Website: aamanns-copenhagen.com

Tell someone that you're craving Danish and most people will offer you a $0.75 iced pastry straight off the shelf in the convenience store. But, someone with a cultured palate will instead recommend Aamans-Copenhagen. Setting out to preserve traditional Scandinavian cuisine and share it with the hungry foodies of NYC, Aamans-Copenhagen created a Danish ambiance to complement its signature Danish menu. With a good smørrebrød selection, you'll be able to dine like a Dane in TriBeCa.

Restaurant: Wallsé
Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 344 W 11th St.
Website: kg-ny.com/wallse

Venture into the West Village neighborhood and experience Vienna when you enter Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner's flagship restaurant. Wallsé guarantees a truly genuine Central European dining experience. Though the menu selections feature modern twists on traditional Viennese dishes, the classic flavors of Austrian cooking are still very present. Pair your meal with one of the over 100 wine selections—all Austrian—for a meal that could only get more Viennese if you were enjoying it in Vienna.

Restaurant: Arepa Lady
Neighborhood: Jackson Heights, Queens
Address: Roosevelt Ave. near 78th St.
Website: twitter.com

In many countries, the tastiest food selections are prepared along the roads as cars, bikes, and pedestrians pass by. There's something uniquely distinct about street food that is hard to replicate in an indoor kitchen. The Jackson Heights "Arepa Lady" knows this to be true, which is why she serves her authentic Colombian arepas right on the street in Queens. If street-style arepa de queso and arepa de choclo sound appetizing to you, try and catch the Arepa Lady somewhere near Roosevelt Ave. late weekend nights.

Restaurant: Yemen Cafe
Neighborhood: Cobble Hill
Address: 176 Atlantic Ave.
Website: yemencafe.net

Although Yemen is located in the Middle East, Yemeni cuisine differs from its Northern neighbors as the foods of Africa and India made their way into the Yemeni cooking pot. While Middle Eastern food isn't hard to come by in NYC, you'll have to hunt a bit to find the distinct flavors of Yemen in the Big Apple. If you can make your way over to Yemen Café in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, you'll be in for a pleasant surprise. Order the Yemeni national dish, saltah, and enjoy it with a variety of traditional Yemeni breads.

Restaurant: Maima's Liberian Bistro & Bar
Neighborhood: Jamaica, Queens
Address: 10647 Guy Brewer Blvd.

All West African food is not created equal. If you're in need of authentic Liberian food, the many Nigerian or Senegalese restaurants throughout the city won't serve you anything close to what you crave. For the times when pounded yam just isn't a suitable substitute for plantain fufu, you should make your way up to Jamaica, Queens. Maima's is the only Liberian restaurant in the city and it may be because no one can beat her dry rice, pepe soup, and mixed meat stews. Maima's "soul food of Africa" is prepared in a cozy restaurant and is served with all of the comforts of a home cooked meal—sweet grandma included.