Pete Wells is the restaurant critic for the New York Times. He has held the position since November 2011, succeeding Sam Sifton.
Wells was adopted as an infant and grew up in Rhode Island. He is married to the novelist Susan Choi; they met while working as fact-checkers for The New Yorker. From 1999–2001 Wells was a columnist and editor for Food & Wine. Wells was articles editors at Details from 2001 until 2006, when he joined the Times as dining editor. Wells is the recipient of five James Beard awards for food writing.
Wells's scathing 14 November 2012 review of Guy Fieri's American Kitchen and Bar was described by Forbes as "likely the most widely read restaurant review ever."