I might say this every year, but I say with confidence that 2026 is shaping up to be a dynamic year for restaurant openings. Some on this list come from restaurant veterans expanding their foothold in cities like Atlanta, Denver, and Raleigh, while one has been in the works as a pop-up since the two owners worked together just across the street from their brick-and-mortar in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Plus, Kwame Onwuachi, chef-owner extraordinaire behind one of our Best New Restaurants of 2025, Dōgon, is heading to Vegas.
We track restaurant openings year-round in preparation for our annual Best New Restaurants list. In 2026 these 10 are reason enough to plan a trip, venture out of your neighborhood, and find a new spot to become a regular at.
This list is organized alphabetically by city. The opening dates below are subject to change. Check restaurant websites and Instagram accounts for updates.
Some Luck
Atlanta
Opening: April
Atlanta diners have flocked to beloved Thai spot Talat Market since Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter debuted the restaurant’s brick-and-mortar in early 2020. Now Savang and Lassiter are finally ready to open Some Luck, their new Thai bar in Poncey-Highland that will serve food meant to be washed down with a cocktail. Think noodle soups, grilled meat skewers, and spicy fried wings—the restaurant is in Atlanta after all. Savang and Lassiter want Some Luck to fill the gap of a place for industry folks to hang after work and as they restore the historic space of the Highland Ballroom Lounge, they’re keeping the dive bar feeling alive with wood paneling, checkerboard flooring, and a post-midnight closing time.
Hōp
Brooklyn
Opening: Late Summer
Bun Cheam and Cait Callahan have brought Hōp, their forthcoming Khmer restaurant, around New York, popping up most recently at Runner Up in Park Slope. Later this year Cheam and Callahan are opening Hōp in a permanent space in Red Hook right across the street from Red Hook Tavern, where the two worked together while Cheam was executive chef and Callahan the general manager and wine director. The duo is partnering with Billy Durney, owner of Brooklyn greats Red Hook Tavern and Hometown Bar-B-Que, to bring Hōp to life. Diners can expect Cheam’s same punchy Khmer cooking that drew crowds to the pop-ups with dishes like salt and pepper prawns, Kreung-roasted chicken, and whole roasted branzino, plus wok dishes like fried noodles with charred vegetables. To drink, there are rum-focused cocktails and wines from Callahan.
Gingie
Chicago
Opening: March
The mostly Chicago-based restaurant group Boka behind popular spots like Momotaro and Girl and the Goat is partnering with chef Brian Lockwood to open Gingie in River North. Lockwood most recently was the consulting chef for FX’s The Bear (yes, chef!) and previously worked in esteemed kitchens like Eleven Madison Park and The French Laundry. With Gingie, Lockwood is turning in his usual fine dining cooking for a more casual à la carte menu, although diners can still expect the same level of technique and attention to detail with dishes like potato-parmesan frico with sour cream, charred allium, and smoked trout roe or lobster lasagnette with butternut squash and chestnut.
Maize
Denver
Opening: Spring
It’s apt to use the expression take by storm when referring to Johnny and Kasie Curiel’s restaurants over the two past years in Denver. They’ve opened five (and counting) modern Mexican hits in Denver, including Mezcaleria Alma, one of our Best New Restaurants of 2025, and still have more in the pipeline. But Maize is perhaps the crown jewel as the first tasting menu restaurant of the group. Maize will debut this spring with an 18-course tasting menu focused on masa in a space that welcomes eight guests at a time. The Curiels are pulling out all the bells and whistles with a cold counter for raw specialties, a glass-enclosed wine and fermentation room, and a hot counter for masa-focused dishes like the tamal de mar with Hokkaido uni. In case that’s not enough, Johnny and his team plan to make six different moles and even produce their own pechuga-style mezcal, Bozal Maize, made exclusively for the restaurant in partnership with the brand Bozal. Lucky for Denver diners, their only job is to show up and eat and drink it all.
Maroon
Las Vegas
Opening: Spring
Kwame Onwuachi has wowed diners from New York to DC to Miami with his bold Caribbean cooking. Next up? Sin City. This spring Onwuachi is heading west to open Maroon at the SAHARA. This opening marks Onwuachi’s first west coast restaurant and the first black-owned concept to hit the Vegas Strip. While diners can expect the same punchy Caribbean flavors of Onwuachi’s hits like Tatiana in New York and Dōgon in D., a BA Best New Restaurant of 2025, Maroon is a 125-seat classic steakhouse, but done his way with a focus on Jamaican flavors with jerk-spiced meats, scotch bonnet-infused sauces, and lots of live-fire cooking.
Good Time Country Buffet
New York City
Opening: Spring
The owners (and childhood friends) behind Kisa and C as in Charlie are opening a third concept that draws inspiration from growing up in Atlanta. At Good Time Country Buffet, you won’t find banchan nor bulgogi, but you will find Southern country buffet staples like fried chicken, stuffing, cornbread, and collard greens. I’m sure we can bet on diversions from the classics from the same team that dreamed up creative dishes like a green tomato hot pocket at their first restaurant C as in Charlie. Continuing the theme, to drink, there are frozen cocktails, lemonade, and of course, sweet tea.
Emilia
Philadelphia
Opening: February
It’s been over six years since Philly icon Greg Vernick opened a restaurant and 14 years since he debuted his celebrated namesake restaurant Vernick Food & Drink in Rittenhouse. Vernick, along with his longtime chef de cuisine Meredith “Meri” Medoway, are now preparing for their next chapter in Emilia—a trattoria in Philly’s East Kensington-Fishtown corridor. A rotating menu of handmade pastas like tortellini in brodo and chicken ragú bianco will compliment wood-fire grilled entrées like rabbit cacciatore, crudos, and antipasti. For those who can’t snag a reservation, bar and lounge seats will be set aside for walk-ins.
Big Cat
Raleigh, NC
Opening: Spring
Big Cat is a coming together of the people behind some of Raleigh’s most storied culinary institutions—Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler of Ajja, Angela Salamanca and Marshall Davis of Mala Pata, and Justin Pasfield of Locals Seafood. This epic collaboration will feature multiple concepts under one roof to feed the neighborhood day-to-night, whether you’re grabbing a burger and martini at the bar or having family dinner on the heated outdoor patio. Expect everything from roasted oysters to smoked chicken wings with coconut chutney or toum and housemade pickles to lamb kebabs, alongside dips and flatbreads.
Maria Isabel
San Francisco
Opening: February
At Dalida, chef-owners Laura and Sayat Ozylimaz have won over San Francisco diners with the Eastern Mediterranean foods of Sayat’s upbringing. Their new project, Maria Isabel, in Presidio Heights turns the culinary focus to Laura’s Mexican heritage. The menu is a celebration of Laura’s roots on the Pacific coast of Mexico with dishes like ceviche acapulqueño made with local shrimp and Mexican chiles or pulpo enamorado (a mayo-based octopus salad), plus Sinaloan meat dishes like chilorio (pork braised with chiles, garlic, and spices). As for drinks, the focus is on Mexican wines and lesser seen spirits like sotol and raicilla.
Rye Bunny
Washington, DC
Opening: April
Last year saw the closing of beloved Adams Morgan restaurant Tail Up Goat after its decade-long run, but owners Jill Tyler and Jon Sybert have something in store next. This spring the husband-wife duo will debut Rye Bunny, a seasonally driven, more casual sequel. Inspired by Birdie’s in Austin, the restaurant will follow a fine-casual counter service model with a priority on walk-ins where diners order at the counter but still receive a high bar of hospitality and impeccable food. The opening menu will rotate weekly, but Sybert is planning a whole slew of fanciful dishes like pan-seared scallops with roasted garlic and herb soubise, a half-fried Bobo chicken, and a Sunday ragu with autumn olive pork on house-made pappardelle.
