Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink
The Design District’s dining OG – Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink – continues to impress. Restaurateur Michael Schwartz’s strategy can be summed up in six simple words: Serve fresh food, prepared with care. That philosophy earned him a James Beard Award back in 2010. Though he has since assembled a small restaurant empire, Michael’s Genuine remains the purest expression of the chef’s culinary ethos. The menu changes seasonally, but expect classics such as wood oven-roasted octopus, slow-roasted short rib, and plenty of vegetables supplied by local farms. Schwartz’s consistent, “genuine” approach won the restaurant a 2022 Michelin Bib Gourmand tag.
- 2025 Best Happy Hour
- 2022 Best Restaurant (Design District/Midtown)
- 2017 Best Restaurant in the Design District/Midtown
- 2016 Best Restaurant, Design District/Midtown
- 2015 Readers’ Choice: Best Chef
- 2015 Best Bloody Mary
- 2015 Readers’ Choice: Best Restaurant in the Design District/Midtown
- 2014 Best Restaurant in Midtown
- 2013 Best Restaurant in the Design District/Midtown
- 2013 Best Chef

Photo courtesy of Genuine Hospitality Group
