The 15 Most Exciting Restaurant Openings in America in Fall 2026

Last year Daniel Boulud shuttered Bar Boulud, Boulud Sud, and Épicerie Boulud across from Lincoln Center, but this didn’t represent a retrenchment of the beloved chef’s dining empire. Instead this fall he’s turning this space into a bustling brasserie, a style of restaurant he adored growing up in Lyon. “A brasserie is not a café, not a bistro, not a bouchon,” the chef wrote as the plans took shape. “In France, it’s ‘le grand restaurant’ of everyday life—lively, generous, open from morning to late, with seasonal classics, great seafood, and dishes that reflect both regional tradition and the spirit of grande cuisine.”

San Diego has emerged as one of America’s great dining destinations as of late, and Erik Anderson is throwing his hat into the ring. Anderson, who was once at the helm of the Michelin-starred Coi, is debuting his latest endeavor this season in La Jolla. Teaming up with designers Paul Basile and Jules Wilson, the toque is serving up his take on a seasonal California cuisine. The focus will be on seafood and vegetables using open-fire cooking.

Japanese chef Masahiro Yoshitake bringing his legendary sushi skills to New York City this fall, partnering with restaurateur Simon Kim. The chef’s first restaurant in the Big Apple, the new locale will be the latest branch of the Sushi Yoskitake empire, with Michelin-starred outposts in Tokyo and Hong Kong. And it’s all happening under the roof of 550 Madison, the restaurant temple that is home to Bar Chimera on the ground floor and Cote’s Midtown outpost on the lower level.

One of our best new restaurants in America this year was Lielle, chef Marcus Jernmark’s L.A. tasting menu destination. But the toque decided not to stop there: He is opening yet another restaurant in the same building, with the more casual Marée setting up shop the floor above Lielle. The 70-seat restaurant is meant to evoke a classic European café, with an à la carte menu including tidbits from both California and Paris. Think escargot beignets, a four-pepper Le Steak au Poivre burger, halibut kombujime, and more, alongside a rotating wine list.

Another chef is having a first this fall, too. Christian Hunter, a 2023 Michelin Young Chef award winner who nabbed Chicago’s Atelier a Michelin star in its first year, is opening his first solo spot in the Windy City. Hunter says the Logan Square locale is “third coast contemporary,” pairing classic French techniques with food and ingredients from the Great Lakes. The 50-seat restaurant will serve up pike quenelle ravioli with Nantua sauce and Great Lakes perch with gribiche on the à la carte menu.

Mark Chou is branching out on his own. Formerly of Double Chicken Please and Frenchette (plus time in the kitchens of Eleven Madison Park and Le Bernardin), the chef is opening his debut restaurant in the West Village this fall, taking over the space once occupied by Anita Lo’s groundbreaking Annisa. Expect shareable bites such as 14-day dry-aged duck with boudin noir and plum and grilled abalone and donko shiitake skewers.

Black Briar marks Jimmy Papadopoulos’s return to dining, and the idea for the coal-roasting restaurant has been brewing in the chef’s mind for over 20 years. Cooking the food over, under, or even buried in the coals themselves, Papadopoulos will serve dishes such as prime rib that’s hung and smoked for more than three days before being finished over the fire. That fire extends to the drinks, too, with live coals coated in olive oil that is then used in the spot’s Martini. Plus, the space calls back to an English pub, brought into the modern day with weathered oak, timber, whitewashed brick, and more warm details.

Los Angeles’s grande dame of dining needs no introduction, but what we can tell you more about is her new restaurant in the Pacific Palisades. Nancy Silverton is debuting an Italian American steakhouse this fall called Spacca Tutto, drawing on her hit restaurant Chi Spacca and the ever-classic American chophouse. Here, you’ll get a wide range of cuts, breeds, and ages of meats served alongside seafood, focaccia di recco, and chicken pot pie. The new spot, Silverton’s first on the west side of town, will stand in Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village shopping center, which has just reopened after the wildfires shut it down in 2025.

Chef Diego Galicia is embarking upon his first solo project with Filleman House, inspired by the great eateries spotted in New York, Paris, Chicago and London. “Filleman House is the restaurant I’ve always craved to create,” said Galicia. “After years of telling the stories of Mexico through Mixtli, I wanted to build something that reflects another part of who I am, not just as a chef, but as a diner. It’s the kind of place I want to eat in every day.” On the menu at the restaurant will be dishes such as prime rib, a dry-aged burger, and oysters, all inviting its guests to rediscover their favorite nibbles.

Yet another New York titan is splashing a new spot on the Big Apple scene this fall. Daniel Humm is expanding beyond Eleven Madison Park and Clemente Bar in Flatiron and heading for the West Village with Humm. The eponymous eatery is aiming to have a more casual approach to Humm’s EMP cuisine, focused on using the highest-quality ingredients to craft its American dishes. The chef tapped Francesco Clemente, whom he worked with on the aforementioned bar atop Eleven Madison Park, as well as Pierre Yovanovich, to bring the space to life.

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Japanese pizza is all the rage, and this Miami restaurant is pulling in the big guns from Japan to bring the cuisine to the 305. Chef Bun of the famed Savoy in Tokyo—a spot that turned Sean Brock, among many, many others, into Japanese pizza devotees—will be at the helm of Royale Pizza Napoletana. Chef Bun will show off his meticulous craft of creating that acclaimed Tokyo-style Neapolitan pizza, using dough that is fermented for over 30 hours and fired in an 800-degree oven.

Michelin-starred Carlos Delgado of Causa will be at the helm of this new Washington, D.C. spot Brisa. The restaurant will offer up cuisine that shows off all 18 Latin American countries, pairing modern techniques with classic flavors plucked from the various nations—with room for 300 seats to boot.

This next location will have not one, not two, but three chefs leading the charge. The gigantic One Bryant Park will open its doors this month; the 10,000-square-foot space is an ode to Japanese dining in Midtown, tapping Tadaaki Ishizaki, Chikara Sono, and Yoshihiko Kousaka to focus on their own dining destinations. That includes a 60-seat main dining room, a 16-seat counter with ingredients inspired by Japan’s 24-season calendar, and a 14-seat Edomae sushi counter. Plus, there will be over 500 wines and more than 100 Japanese whiskies on the menu.

Noko Hospitality—with Noko Nashville and Kase x Noko already under its umbrella—will add another restaurant to its portfolio when Noko Yaki opens this fall. The spot, which will have chef Dung “Junior” Vo at the helm, will be a communal tableside grilling experience. Noko Hospitality touts that this will be the only restaurant in Tennessee that is allowed to serve authentic Kobe beef from Japan. Other menu options will include seafood and shareable dishes all inspired by Asian techniques and flavors.

Chef Evan Snyder and managing partner Julian van der Tak have created a sensation in the City of Brotherly Love with their Mediterranean hot spot Emmett. This fall, they’re building on a good thing literally, opening Jean above Emmett. The tasting-menu restaurant—centered on a seven-foot hearth—takes its inspiration from North Africa and the southern coasts of the Mediterranean and will pair that food with old world wines.