Shopping malls and fabulous dining don't typically go together, but that's beginning to change at some of the more modern food courts across the US. These are the places swapping the usual fast food chains, disappointing sandwiches and soulless clusters of tables for artisan products, chef-driven restaurants and cafés serving gourmet takes on comfort food favourites. Here are America's best food courts that have become dining destinations in their own right. Due to COVID-19, it's best to check state travel advisories and individual mall and restaurant websites for the latest opening information.

You won’t find your typical food court at Dallas’ swanky NorthPark Center. Instead, there are several dining hubs with a mix of chic cafés, fast-casual spots and more formal restaurants for shoppers looking for a leisurely lunch. The NorthPark Cafés area, on the second floor, has a cluster of tables in a space flooded with natural light thanks to an internal, glassed-in courtyard filled with greenery and extra seating.

Options include chains like Chick-fil-A, Chipotle and Which Wich (for sandwiches). There’s also a juice bar and Sarku Japan, offering made-to-order sushi and teriyaki, while nearby Nordstrum has Bazille, a popular bistro that serves everything from burgers, pizzas and huge salads to steak frites and lobster mac 'n' cheese. Seasons 52 (pictured), a grill and wine bar that has a terrace with fire pits, is another stylish spot that draws people in the evenings too.

There’s also Eataly Dallas (pictured), which opened in late 2020 to become one of a handful of the Italian dining, drinking and shopping hubs in the US. There are three restaurants – La Pizza & La Pasta, Terra and Il Pastaio – between the second floor and rooftop. The venue also hosts cooking classes, including pizza and pasta-making, has shelves stocked with everything from cured meats to sauces and has a huge takeaway counter with focaccia, pizza, gelato and coffee.

This beautiful shopping mall is home to a high-end food court like no other. Alongside the stunning view past nine storeys to its glass dome ceiling, Westfield San Francisco has a number of artisan eateries in its Food Emporium. Fancy cream puffs? No problem. Delicate Japanese cheese tarts? They're sold here too, along with cold-pressed juice, vegan salads and gourmet hot dogs. There's even an adults-only lounge, Executive Order, serving cocktails and elevated comfort food, and the mall added a rooftop dining terrace in 2021.

One of the favourites here is Bazille, serving classic bistro cuisine with a contemporary twist. This is a dine-in spot with plenty of tables in the restaurant, while you can also take dishes from hearty salads and pasta dishes to pizza up to the roof terrace. Customers praise the fresh, zingy flavours, saying this is a great option for a solo lunch when out shopping.

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Originating from the Japanese island Hokkaido, Bake Cheese Tart makes dainty cheese mousse tarts that are fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside. The unusual sweet treats can only be found here and at LA's Westfield Century City. Since opening, the shop has gained hordes of loyal followers. Customers praise the ambiance of the cute shop, as well as the general deliciousness of the tarts.

Makai Market Food Court blows the roof off dining hubs in other malls simply by not actually having a roof, breaking with stereotypes of tables crammed into stuffy, airless spaces. The breezy open-air mall, brightened with bamboo plants, is also packed with a broad range of cuisines including Japanese, Mexican and American. Outlets include Poke & Box and Curry House CoCo Ichibanya, which specialises in Japanese curry and rice. For fans, this is the ultimate food court.

You'll find restaurants for dining in, some with terraces, and places to grab a quick but delicious bite such as Holy Cow (formerly Myungrang Hot Dog), whose speciality is Korean deep-fried hot dogs on a stick. Another favourite is Tanaka Ramen & Izakaya (pictured), serving flavour-packed bowls of noodles, meat and broth alongside a range of Japanese-style snacks. It's so good – and so popular – that you might want to reserve a table in advance.

Poke, typically served in bowls topped with raw fish, originates from Hawaii so it makes sense Honolulu’s biggest shopping mall food court has excellent places serving it. At Poke & Box you can get ahi (yellowfin tuna), salmon, scallops, shrimp, octopus, chicken or tofu served over rice with extras such as pineapple, pickled ginger, sesame, seaweed, edamame, mango and spicy sauce. People say this is one of the best places for poke, full stop.

On the third level of the newest wing of Aventura Mall is a light-flooded food hall that packs in some of the tastiest food options in town. Treats Food Hall is equally popular with people shopping in the chic, upscale mall and groups looking for somewhere to dine after work. You’ll find outlets such as Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy!, serving chicken tenders and dips, El Tropico for Cuban sandwiches and a range of delicious dessert and sweet treat options. You can also eat on the gorgeous roof terrace, pictured.

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Makino Sushi is actually located just outside the mall and food court, offering takeaway or dine-in for around a dozen people at its alfresco counter. Those who’ve tried it say the location shouldn’t put you off – this is some of the best sushi customers have tasted. For some, it’s worthy of a high-end restaurant.

Not your average mall fried chicken shop, Chicken Guy! is the creation of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives star Guy Fieri. The fast food restaurant serves beautifully seasoned chicken tenders with a choice of around 20 sauces including avocado crema (avocado, sour cream, coriander and lime), garlic Parmesan (mayo, roasted garlic, Parmesan, parsley and black pepper) and bourbon brown sugar BBQ (Kentucky bourbon, brown sugar, molasses and apple cider vinegar).

America’s biggest mall has two enormous eating areas – South Street Dining and Culinary on North – both on level three. Alongside chains such as Panda Express, A&W and Panera Bread, there are some pretty tempting food choices. To sample some of the best, we suggest starting with sushi rolls and sake from Masu Sushi & Robata, followed by Korean fried chicken wings at Bonchon and rounding things off with a burger and spiked shake from Burger Burger.

One of the best-sellers at Masu Sushi & Robata is its signature, namesake roll, with shrimp tempura, roe, avocado, salmon, scallop, eel and green chilli sauce. People also love the rich and filling curry katsudon, with crispy pork, potatoes and a poached egg, and the wide range of vegetarian dishes including spring rolls, mushroom buns, tofu yaki soba and avocado sushi rolls.

Burger Burger isn't your average mall burger and milkshake joint. This independent outlet has developed a reputation for serving some seriously good food. The John Wayne (pictured), a beef patty with Cheddar, pickle, bourbon barbecue sauce, burger sauce, onions rings and brown sugar bacon, is the thing to order if you've shopped up an appetite. Customers love that the burgers are made with freshly ground beef and served on buns sourced from a local bakery.

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Healthy options abound at the Dining District food court in the Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City, New York. In 2016, the dining hub underwent a huge overhaul, making the space on the upper level of the mall lighter and fresher and adding an outdoor patio. Options here include Maoz Vegetarian, gluten-free The Little Beet and more indulgent spots like Melt Shop and Patsy’s Pizzeria. Elsewhere in the mall is Small Batch by Tom Colicchio, a farmhouse-inspired restaurant serving rustic American food in a chic space with a huge patio.

A one-stop shop for incredible salads, health food chain The Little Beet started in 2014 and moved into the mall a year later. Here you can build a salad bowl from ingredients such as sweet potatoes, beets, salad leaves, avocado, tofu, braised pork and salmon poke. Or choose a dish from the main menu. The Chef’s Soup Bowl (pictured) is a vibrant combination of butternut squash soup with roast chicken, rice, green, seeds and chimichurri sauce.

Another option if you’re looking to make a nutritious lunch choice is Maoz Vegetarian, specialising in freshly made falafel pittas, a vegan take on shawarma (usually meat roasted on a rotisserie or spit), salad bowls and healthy fries. Loyal customers – and those who've stumbled across it by chance, often with low expectations – say it's vegetarian heaven, the best vegan spot in the mall and absolutely delicious.

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In New York's Downtown Flushing neighbourhood you'll find one of the largest Asian malls in America, and it comes with a suitably sprawling food court. New World Mall's huge basement is home to a couple of dozen Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese food vendors serving incredible bento boxes, ramen, sushi, hot pots, bubble or boba tea and more. There tends to be a high turnover of vendors and the website isn't regularly updated, so we recommend heading there yourself and following your nose (and the crowds).

One of the favourite and more permanent vendors is E Noodle. The restaurant serves shrimp wonton soup, noodles and a number of congee dishes. For many customers, the crab soup dumplings (pictured) are a must-order. They're made “with the thinnest skin” and filled with hot broth and crab meat. Whatever else you order, making room for a portion of these is never a mistake.

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While many of the food vendors come and go (much to fans’ dismay), Gong Cha has been a mainstay here – and a reliably good one at that. Swinging by for one of their excellent bubble teas is considered a must when shopping and/or eating at New World Mall. The tea is sourced from Taiwan and freshly brewed throughout the day, with the tapioca pearls or boba also made at the stall. The different flavoured drinks are topped with a velvety milk foam.

The Venetian Resort's shopping centre, Grand Canal Shoppes, has plenty of seriously expensive restaurants such as Cut by Wolfgang Puck and prime steakhouse Smith & Wollensky. Pretty swanky for a mall. For a cheaper bite, head to one of the two food courts (on the retail and casino levels) to check out the fast food options and more casual restaurants. You won’t be stuck for choice, with Social Life Pizza, PrimeBurger and Cañonita among the choices here. There's also a branch of Sushi Samba, renowned for excellent Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian fusion cuisine.

Cañonita describes its menu as Mexican City–inspired soul food. This favourite spot, which has tables overlooking the Venice-inspired canals, serves satisfying breakfasts like steak and eggs and short-rib benedict. Later in the day, try the queso and tortillas, calamari, mahi mahi and shrimp ceviche, and pork, chicken and beef tacos. Round things off with a smoked pork chop or New York strip seasoned with a house-made rub.

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Forget mall mainstays Five Guys and Shake Shack. At Grand Canal Shoppes, it's all about PrimeBurger. There are several burger options plus steaks and sharing plates like buffalo wings and nachos. Top choices include The Big Scorcher (pictured), a beef patty topped with Monterey Jack, onion straws, jalapeños and sriracha mayo – though happy customers say it's all incredible.

This huge Pennsylvania mall, filled with designer outlets, has not one but two food courts. The one on the lower level of The Plaza has your typical, well-priced fast food options such as Five Guys and Popeye’s, but Savor, which was built in 2016, really elevated the shopping mall's dining game. This is gourmet comfort food heaven. Find ramen house Qu Japan, cheese toastie heaven Melt Shop and Yard House, which serves craft beer and elevated pub meals and snacks.

Melt Shop, a gourmet cheese toastie joint, was opened by two Five Guys franchisees and there are only around a dozen locations in the USA. Most are in New York and New Jersey, and of course one of them is right here at King of Prussia Mall. Feast on the signature fried chicken and cheese melts, bacon and cheese toasties, truffle toasties, loaded tater tots and chicken tenders.

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Zingy is the first word that comes to mind when looking at the food served up at bartaco, whose bright and breezy restaurant looks and feels a world away from your classic mall food court. Vibrant might be another, and delicious will certainly follow when you taste some of the flavour-packed tacos and rice bowls, with toppings such as seared chorizo and roasted wild mushrooms with herbs. The cocktails are wonderful too. It’s so good that it’s worth a visit even if you’re not planning to shop.

How many malls boast fine-dining Japanese restaurants alongside a cluster of highly rated ramen joints? Japan Center Malls form the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown neighbourhood and many of the area’s best restaurants are clustered in and around this colourful shopping centre. Most of the eateries are in East Mall close to Peace Plaza – a good place to sit with a takeaway – or along West Mall’s Restaurant Row.

On the upper level of East Mall, An – whose Japanese name refers to cottages where monks and artists could escape from the world – is an elegant, cosy spot that’s a cut above your average shopping mall restaurant. Several cuts of high-grade sushi above, in fact. The food isn’t cheap but this is world-class dining and perfect for a special occasion (so perhaps not just grabbing a quick bite while souvenir shopping). Customers recommend dining at the counter and letting the chef decide what to serve, omakase-style.

There are several places for excellent sushi and ramen, though one of the most highly regarded spots for a bowl of comforting broth and handmade noodles is Marufuku Ramen in West Mall. There’s often a wait for a table at this sleek restaurant, all wooden accents and low lighting, but it’s well worth it – many customers say this is some of the best ramen they’ve tried.

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