Crowds gather for the 2025 Queens Taste at New York Hall of Science.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
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Queens Taste, one of the borough’s signature culinary and networking celebrations, will return this May, bringing around 50 Queens restaurants and bars to Long Island City.
Organized by the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) and the Queens Tourism Council, the annual event is the longest-running culinary showcase in the borough and is set to return to a new home on Tuesday, May 12.
The 2026 event, which will run from 6-9 p.m., will take place at Sound River Studios at 4-40 44th Dr., bringing guests to a gallery-style venue with views of the New York City skyline.
Founded in 2004, Queens Taste has previously taken place at Citi Field, JFK Airport and the New York Hall of Science and regularly draws around 50 businesses offering a dynamic mix of global flavors, craft beverages and community engagement.
QEDC Executive Director Ben Guttmann said the new location for the popular annual food festival promises to be “something special.”
“This is a one-of-a-kind space on the waterfront,” Guttmann said. “It’s a big, beautiful industrial building that has housed all sorts of different events from weddings to fashion shows… to be able to do Queens Taste in the middle of May, when the weather’s perfect, so everybody can be out on the patio enjoying the waterfront. It’s really going to be something special.”
QEDC’s annual event includes over 50 popular restaurants from across the borough, including Astoria-based Venezuelan restaurant Arepas Cafe, Jamaica’s Rincon Salvadoreño and Long Island City’s Peruvian joint Jora.
Long-time local institutions such as Rego Park seafood restaurant London Lennie’s and historic Woodhaven bar Neir’s Tavern have also signed up for the event.
Tickets for the event start at $125 for individual tickets and $200 for a two-ticket package, with proceeds going toward QEDC’s efforts to attract, support and create jobs in the borough.
“We sell out every single year, and once you step inside the event, you immediately see [and smell, and taste] why,” Guttmann said.
Guttmann said the event aims to ensure that visitors “quite literally” get a taste of the restaurants that make up the Queens small business ecosystem, adding that Queens Taste provides restaurants with an opportunity to connect with new customers.
“They get a bunch of exposure beforehand. They get a bunch of exposure at the event,” Guttmann said.
Guttmann also claimed that the upcoming event would be the “best eating day of the year,” adding that Queens Taste showcases the borough’s diverse culinary scene.
“Queens is the most delicious place on Earth and we are so proud to be able to feature the diverse and rich culinary scene here,” Guttmann said.
He added that QEDC goes to great lengths to ensure that participating restaurants at Queens Taste reflect the borough’s diversity.
QEDC said Sound River Studios can cater to up to 450 guests who can move between a “cavernous” indoor space and a 1,300 square-foot outdoor terrace. The organization added that sponsorship opportunities are still available for the upcoming event.
Sound River Studios will host the 2026 Queens Taste. Photo via QEDC.
List of confirmed businesses at Queens Taste 2026 (more to be announced)
Addictive Wine + Tapas Bar
Althea’s Tropical Delights
Applebee’s
Austin Ale House
Ay Güey
Bevo’s Kitchen
Chef Papa Vietnamese Kitchen
Cooking with Ayana
First Choice Brew
Heritage Bread Pudding
Il Nonno
Jack’s Pepper Heist
Jora Peruvian
Kakes NYC
LM Café
London Lennie’s
Mayahuel Mexican Restaurant
Moon Man
Mum’s Kitchen
Nabhya Restaurant
New York Bagel Fest
NY Indonesian Food Bazaar
Oh! Calcutta
F. Ottomanelli’s Burgers + Belgian Fries
Principle Events
Rincón Salvadoreño
Rockaway Brewing
RW Prime
Shari’s Tea
Schmidt’s Candy
Southern Peach Squeeze
TAT2 Spirits
The Wine Room of Forest Hills
Tipsy Scoop
Trini Treats
Tootles & French
Wild Flour Bakery