While much of the restaurant world this week has found itself occupied with a place announcing it was closing, around here we’re much more focused on what’s getting ready to open. All around America we’re expecting to see exciting concepts, from a Michelin two-star chef going out on his own, to a pasta master trying his hand at steak, to a longtime pop-up that’s finally going to be a brick-and-mortar operation. Here are the 17 restaurants we’re most excited to try in 2023.
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Somni, West Hollywood, Calif.
Image Credit: Jill Paider Aitor Zabala is back. Well, he never went anywhere, actually. The chef behind the Michelin two-star Somni remained in LA after the restaurant inside the SLS Beverly Hills closed during the pandemic. He was able to secure the rights to the name Somni, splitting off from José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup, which had owned the previous incarnation. For the last few years, he’s been toiling away in his studio readying himself for a Somni 2.0, which will open in a larger space and serve 14 diners a night. Expect Zabala’s wildly creative and technically proficient fare at the new restaurant, where cuisine is inspired by his time at El Bulli, growing up in Barcelona and living in Southern California.
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Iggy's, Nashville
Image Credit: Danielle Atkins Chef Ryan Poli has circled the globe cooking at some of the World’s finest restaurants from the French Laundry to Noma’s Tokyo popup to El Celler de Can Roca to the Potato Head Beach Club in Bali. Now he’s put his roots down in Nashville again, returning to the city during the pandemic a few years after his successful stint at the city’s lauded tasting menu spot Catbird Seat. He recently overhauled the food operation at the Hotel Bobby before announcing his plans to go out on his own for a handmade pasta-focused restaurant he’ll open with his brother Matthew. If the rich cacio e pepe cavatelli he served at Union Tavern at Hotel Bobby is any indication of what will be on offer, expect some outstanding dishes at Iggy’s.
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La’ Shukran, Washington, DC
Image Credit: Rey Lopez Levantine restaurant Albi has notched numerous accolades including a Michelin star, and the chef behind the hit restaurant is expanding his DC empire by opening the bar and bistro La’ Shukran in the summer. Michael Rafidi is creating a French restaurant through an Arabic lens where there will be shawarma frites, hummus with baguettes and escargot. The restaurant will operate above his café concept Yellow, which will make the baked goods for La’ Shukran.
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Ember Kitchen, Austin
Image Credit: Ember Kitchen James Beard Award-nominated chef María Mercedes Grubb will open a multi-level operation inside Austin’s repurposed Seaholm Power Plant. In the basement will be Subterra, a moody cocktail den focused on Latin and agave-based spirits. And on the main level will be Ember, a wood-fired restaurant with Latin influence.
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Moono, New York City
Image Credit: Moono The team behind Michelin-starred Jua, led by chef Hoyoung Kim, will open a new Korean restaurant inside a landmarked building that dates back to 1889. Whereas at Jua there’s a tasting menu, Moono will be a more casual experience that’s served a la carte. Dishes will be separated into categories including Gui (grilled), Jeon (Korean pancakes) and Twigim (Korean fritters), in addition to rice and noodle offerings.
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Copra, San Francisco
Image Credit: Isabel Baer Campton Place restaurant has held the distinction of being the only Indian restaurant in America with two Michelin stars. The chef behind the achievement, Srijith Gopinathan, officially left the restaurant last year to focus on his Palo Alto restaurant Ettan and this upcoming project. Copra will be inspired by the food of Kerala on the southern coast of India (where Gopinathan grew up) as well as looking across the water to Sri Lanka. He’ll explore street foods like kothu parotta (a dish made with shredded flatbread) as well as eggplant moju atop crispy betel leaves and aattu kaal paya (a lamb trotters stew).
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Marigold Club, Houston
Image Credit: Julie Soefer After opening tasting menu spot March and landing on our Best New Restaurants in America list, the Goodnight Hospitality crew (master somm June Rodil, chef Felipe Riccio and proprietors Pete and Bailey McCarthy) will unveil yet another concept. Their latest fine dining effort, Marigold Club, will be inside an Art Deco space and will serve continental cuisine. But expect a loungy, relaxed vibe with flowing Martinis and plenty of good wine.
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Ezov, Austin
Image Credit: Ezov Chef Berty Richter and Austin-based Emmer & Rye Hospitality teamed up to create the Mediterranean restaurant Ladino in San Antonio last year and now they’re bringing a similar concept back to the Lone Star State’s capitol. The new restaurant will be influenced by both the markets of Israel and Texas and the lively vibe of the Tel Aviv dining scene.
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Le Select, Chicago
Image Credit: Kelsey Fain It’s a homecoming, of sorts, for Daniel Rose. The chef who cut his teeth in Paris with tasting menu-driven Spring, and then brought his old-school French to New York with Le Coucou, grew up in the Chicago suburbs. He’s partnering with Boka Restaurant Group to open a French restaurant in the Windy City this year. The concept is a bustling brasserie serving classics from across all regions of France. Expect roasted poultry, steak au poivre, paté en croute, shellfish and more.
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Nami, Louisville
Image Credit: Nami Partnering with chefs Breanna Baker and Yeon-Hee Chung, Ed Lee is opening a Korean steakhouse where they’ll serve both modern and traditional Korean fare. The menu will include bibimbap, banchan, mandu, pa jun, house-made Kimchi, Korean barbecue and more. After creating the acclaimed Southern restaurant Magnolia 610, Nami offers Lee a chance to create dishes connected to his Korean roots, but also influenced by more than two decades in Kentucky.
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Anomaly, San Francisco
Image Credit: Andrea Bartley For the last few years chef Mike Lanham has been popping up at multiple spots around San Francisco, most recently the Mansion on Sutter. Now, his Anomaly will be heading to permanent digs this year, serving a whimsical 10-course tasting menu. His food is modernist fare meets California sensibility and he’s honed his craft at restaurants including Spruce, Auberge du Soleil and James Syhabout’s Michelin two-star Commis.
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Katami, Houston
Image Credit: Julie Soefer For nearly a decade and a half, chef Manabu Horiuchi has presided over Kata Robata Sushi and Grill as it has become one of Houston’s premier Japanese restaurants. Like at Kata, chef Hori (as he’s known in Houston) will fly in seafood directly from Japan for the Katami where he intends to offer his take on modern Japanese cooking. And he plans to amp up the luxury at his new location, so diners should expect to see more truffle, foie gras, A5 Wagyu and a caviar service.
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Kisser, Nashville
Image Credit: Kisser Chefs Leina Horii and Brian Lea will turn their popular pop-up into a brick-and-mortar spot in partnership with the prolific restaurateurs at Strategic Hospitality. At Kisser they’ll serve Japanese comfort food like curry rice, onigiri, chicken katsu and various noodles, along with smoked fish, grilled yellowtail collar and salmon chirashi. The duo will lean on their small organic farm to craft seasonal vegetable dishes as well.
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Petite Cerise, Washington, DC
Image Credit: Obi Okolo The James Beard Award-winning chef Jeremiah Langhorne has referred to himself as a “huge Francophile,” and with his new all-day bistro, he’ll get the chance to fully indulge in French cooking. However, this restaurant won’t be aping Gallic classics. The team behind the Michelin-starred Dabney will create a menu more akin to the simple, seasonal cooking of Paris’s modern bistronomy movement.
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Yokai, San Francisco
Image Credit: Gozu At Gozu, chef Marc Zimmerman opened a different kind of steakhouse with a creative approach to Wagyu. This was a tasting menu experience that wanted to explore the best of Japanese beef from nose to tail. Inspired by Tokyo’s after-work bars, the restaurant will focus on Japanese spirits while also serving up more casual fare than Gozu, emphasizing shareable plates and skewers. Expect a lot of high-end beef and Japanese whisky.
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Funke and Tre Dita, Beverly Hills and Chicago
Image Credit: Eric Wolfinger Pasta maestro Evan Funke will have a busy 2023 opening new restaurants in two cities. He’ll start with the three-story eponymous restaurant in the heart of Beverly Hills, where Funke will serve regional Italian fare. In the fall, he’ll be part of the new St. Regis in Chicago in partnership with Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants. Chef Hisanobu Osaka will helm the Japanese concept Miru when it opens at the hotel in the spring and Funke’s Tre Dita, expected in the fall, will be a Tuscan steakhouse with thick slabs of Bistecca Fiorentina on offer in a city that loves its beef.
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Mischa, New York City
Image Credit: Evan Sung Alex Stupak’s brain never stops churning. The pastry chef at modernist restaurants Alinea and WD~40 took a hard right turn when he went out on his own, opening Mexican food-focused Empellón in New York City. He’s expanded and iterated on that concept around the Big Apple from the Midtown fine dining flagship to the West Village taqueria to the East Village bar and more. Now, he’s got a whole new idea in the works. At Mischa, he wants to explore and—in typical Stupak fashion—push the bounds of American cuisine. As he told Grubstreet, that may mean hummus made from chana daal and black tahini or a brisket hot dog topped with kimchi.
