Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Momofuku Ko, a small eatery in Manhattan's East Village, where diners sit on hard stools to enjoy Asian-spiked American fare, is named Best Newcomer in Zagat Survey's 30th annual ``New York Restaurants'' guide, published today.

Thomas Keller's Per Se is top for food and service, while its Time Warner Center neighbor Asiate wins for decor. The other top five venues for food are Le Bernardin, Daniel, Jean Georges and Sushi Yasuda. Union Square Cafe wins for popularity, as it did last year, when Daniel took the top spot for food.

At $40.78, the average cost of a meal is up 3.3 percent from a year earlier, according to a Zagat statement on PRNewswire. That compares with a national average of $34.09 and is second only to Las Vegas, at $44.44. Thirty-eight percent of New Yorkers said they are eating out less because of the slowdown.

``Restaurants are clearly feeling the pinch from the economic crisis,'' Tim Zagat, chief executive officer of Zagat Survey, said in the statement. ``While we foresee some hard times, New York is likely to remain the world's leading restaurant city.''

Top Hamburger went to DuMont, Top Pizza to Lucali, and Top BBQ to Fette Sau. All three are located in Brooklyn.

While Zagat contributors voted the West Village their favorite dining neighborhood, Zagat said the Upper West Side was home to the most-vaunted new arrivals, including Bar Boulud, Dovetail, Eighty One, Madaleine Mae and Mermaid Inn.

The ``2009 New York City Restaurants'' guide covers 2,073 eateries across the five boroughs. A total of 38,128 diners consumed more than 6.6 million meals over the past year.

(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg New Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines, in London, at rvines@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 7, 2008 07:21 EDT