Queens Taste, the borough’s signature food-and-drink showcase, returns Tuesday, May 12, 2026, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Sound River Studios, a waterfront event space at 4-40 44th Drive in Long Island City, organizers said.
The event, run by the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) and the Queens Tourism Council, gathers roughly 50 Queens restaurants and bars for an evening of tastings meant to spotlight the borough’s range of cuisines. Tickets are $125 for an individual and $200 for a two-ticket package.
A borough on a plate
Queens is routinely described as one of the most culinarily diverse places on earth, and the Queens Taste lineup is built to reflect that. Among the participating spots organizers named are Arepas Cafe in Astoria, Rincón Salvadoreño in Jamaica, the Peruvian Jora in Long Island City, the longtime Rego Park seafood house London Lennie’s, and Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven — one of the oldest continuously operating bars in New York City.
“This is a one-of-a-kind space on the waterfront,” QEDC Executive Director Ben Guttmann said of the Sound River Studios venue, describing it as “a big, beautiful industrial building that has housed all sorts of different events from weddings to fashion shows.” Guttmann said the event “quite literally” gives attendees a taste of the borough’s small-business ecosystem while offering restaurants exposure to new customers.
The economic-development angle
Queens Taste is as much a small-business promotion as a party. QEDC is the nonprofit local development corporation that runs business-assistance and tourism programs across the borough, and the festival functions as a marketing platform for independent restaurants — many of them immigrant-owned neighborhood operations that rarely get citywide press. For participating spots, an evening in front of several hundred ticket-buyers and food media can translate into new regulars.
The choice of Long Island City as host is itself a statement. The neighborhood has transformed over the past decade from an industrial fringe into one of the city’s fastest-growing residential districts, and Sound River Studios sits on the East River waterfront with Manhattan skyline views — a backdrop the borough’s tourism arm is eager to put forward.
Why it matters
Citywide food festivals tend to orbit Manhattan and Brooklyn; Queens Taste is a deliberate counterweight, putting the borough’s restaurants at the center of their own event. The participating roster — Salvadoran, Venezuelan, Peruvian, classic New York tavern fare — is a compact argument for why food writers keep calling Queens the city’s most interesting place to eat.
For diners, the festival is a single-evening sampler of restaurants scattered across a borough that can be hard to cover without a car or a lot of subway transfers. For the restaurants, it is a night of visibility — and, organizers hope, a pipeline of new customers heading out to Astoria, Jamaica, Rego Park and Woodhaven.
Verification
- Queens Taste returns May 12, 2026, 6-9 p.m., at Sound River Studios, 4-40 44th Drive, LIC; ~50 restaurants; $125/$200 tickets; QEDC and Queens Tourism Council; named participants and Ben Guttmann quote — QNS: https://qns.com/2026/04/queens-taste-food-festival-to-return-next-month/
- QEDC programs and Queens Tourism Council — Queens Economic Development Corporation: https://www.queensny.org/
- Neir’s Tavern, Woodhaven, one of NYC’s oldest bars — Neir’s Tavern: https://www.neirstavern.com/
Frequently Asked Questions
- When and where is Queens Taste 2026?
- Tuesday, May 12, 2026, 6-9 p.m., at Sound River Studios, 4-40 44th Drive, Long Island City.
- How much are tickets?
- $125 for an individual ticket and $200 for a two-ticket package.
- Who organizes it?
- The Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) and the Queens Tourism Council.
- How many restaurants take part?
- About 50 Queens restaurants and bars.