Best New Restaurants Fall 2017

Summer's end isn't all bad. This year, sweater season brings with it a slew of exciting restaurant openings that will make putting away the beach chairs a little less painful.

From an interactive steakhouse in Motor City to April Bloomfield's first foray in L.A.'s still-buzzy dining scene, this fall's lineup of openings is all over the map—in a good way. If you can't find us at the new all-day Italian joint from West Village favorites Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, you may want to try Sean Brock's newest iteration of Husk in one of our favorite, under-the-radar Southern cities.

Whether these new spots become your regular haunts or inspire a fall getaway, there's something for everyone. Here are the 32 restaurants we're most excited about this fall.

Mary Hoopa's
That's short for Mary Hoopa's House of Fried Chicken & Oysters, which essentially tells you all you need to know about this East Lake newcomer. Well, almost: There will also be beer, cocktails and plenty of other Southern-rooted snacks.

Fareground Food Hall
The long-awaited opening of Austin's first food hall, which will bring together some of the city's best culinary powerhouses under one roof, is drawing closer. Get excited to counter-hop from Antonelli's Cheese Shop to Contigo, Dai Due Taquería, Henbit & Honeybit, Ni-Kome and Easy Tiger all in one go.

Bellemore
Chef Jimmy Papadopoulos, who Zagat included in its 30 Under 30 list and who Eater declared Chicago's Chef of the Year in 2015 while he was at Bohemian House, is back with a new restaurant opening in October. Expect new American fare in the former Embeya space in the West Loop.

Pacific Standard Time
In partnership with Paul Kahan at One Off Hospitality, chefs Cosmo Goss of The Publican and Erling Wu-Bower of Nico Osteria will be opening Pacific Standard Time. Sourcing ingredients from West Coast purveyors, the restaurant will bring a little taste of California to Chicago.

Lobo Rey
Keep your Tex-Mex: Daniel Espinoza, a Top Chef Mexico finalist, is bringing Midwest-Mex cuisine to the South Loop, giving the dishes he grew up eating a Midwestern twist. Think scallop-pig's ear taco that turns surf and turf on its head.

Hello, Sailor
Husband-and-wife duo Joe and Katy Kindred of award-winning Kindred are opening a sophomore effort along Lake Norman. Just a few miles from their first restaurant in Davidson, this latest endeavor will feature a seafood-focused menu to serve the boating crowd and families, as well as an outdoor tiki bar complete with frozen cocktails and a slushie machine.

Prime + Proper
Prime + Proper is not your average steakhouse. Instead of ordering off a menu, diners will be able to visit the in-house butcher shop and speak with executive butcher Walter Apfelbaum to find the cuts they're looking for.

Photo: Aly Berman

Lady of the House
In this ode to Motor City, homegrown chef Kate Williams is honoring the best of Detroit's urban farms through an approachably priced menu of what she lovingly refers to as "ugly food": creative dishes made from imperfect ingredients that would otherwise be thrown out.

Husk
Greenville, South Carolina's food star, continues to rise with the arrival of the newest Husk from James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Brock. The chef is expanding his flagship restaurant from the locations in Charleston and Nashville to Greenville and eventually Savannah, Georgia. The former opens this fall.  

Eunice
Houston, make way for John Besh, who is opening his first restaurant in the city with chef-partner Drake Leonards. Named after Leonard's South Louisiana hometown, Eunice will serve dishes inspired by the Cajun cuisine the chef grew up with.

Truth Barbecue
There may be plenty of good BBQ in Houston already, but carnivores are still eagerly awaiting the second location of this Brenham, Texas, joint, which earned a coveted top-10 spot on Texas Monthly's best BBQ list. Brisket seekers will find the same blues music and Central Texas-style meaty platefuls, with the addition of a few new items. 

Photo: Robert Jacob Lerma

Crispy Bird
Anyone who loves the duck-fat fried chicken that's on special rotation at nearby Petite Chou—so, basically everyone—will want to line up at this new joint, which specializes in the Southern-style fried birds.

The Hearth & Hound
April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman's first L.A. restaurant is already shaping up to be an industry hangout—and that's by design. Located on Sunset, it will be open late for after-shift drinks and food, plus it will offer a wine list with input from Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys. 

NoMad
Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, the duo behind Eleven Madison Park, are gearing up to open a second NoMad, this one located in Downtown L.A. Though this iteration won't be a replica of the NYC restaurant, the EMP team promises to keep serving certain classics, like foie gras-stuffed chicken and suckling pig.

Simone
James Beard Award-winning chef Jessica Largey, who worked for David Kinch at Manresa for four years, is ready to debut her highly anticipated Arts District restaurant. The food will be more relaxed than at her former digs, but she'll also do a six-seat tasting menu at the counter a few nights a week.

Somni
Book yourself a room at the luxurious SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills and then book a table at Somni, the new restaurant from chef José Andrés in what was formerly the SAAM space. The Michelin-starred Spanish American chef, along with his restaurant group, ThinkFoodGroup, promises not only a new tasting menu but a "unique dining experience" as well.

Whiskey Dry
Sample a collection of more than 200 international whiskeys while you wash down a meaty burger like The Big Ed—two patties sandwiching a fried green tomato—at Ed Lee's third Louisville restaurant. Everything will be made in-house, from the patty buns to the pickles to the condiments.

The Big Ed burger | Photo: Dan Dry Photography

Celestine
With floor-to-ceiling windows along the Dumbo waterfront, the view alone is enough to lure a crowd. For those looking to ingest more than just the Manhattan skyline, however, the kitchen features a six-foot-long wood-burning grill to help serve seasonal Eastern Mediterranean fare.

Chicha
Nicaraguan street food will be taking a stand in Bushwick, thanks to the couple behind grilled cheese heaven Little Muenster. There will also be rum, and lots of it: on tap, by the flights and crafted into cocktails. 

General Debs
Kevin Adey may be known for the toothsome, homemade pasta at his Michelin-starred restaurant, Faro, but for his next venture, he'll be delving into noodles of an entirely different sort. Named in honor of Adey's wife, General Debs will specialize in the searingly hot classics of Sichuan cuisine, including a whole array of chile-flecked noodles and hand-folded dumplings, when it opens in Bushwick. 

Legacy Records
The teams behind two of NYC's most popular destinations, downtown dining mainstays Charlie Bird and Pasquale Jones, and Jeff Bell of beloved cocktail bar PDT, are teaming up in the city's hottest new part of town: Hudson Yards. You'll have your choice of experiences at this massive two-story space: Grab a table for dinner in the 85-seat dining room serving dishes inspired by Italy's northern coasts, drop by the all-day café for a midday coffee and pastry pick-me-up, or head upstairs to the bar (which has three separate areas) where an all-star team is shaking up an incredible drinks program. 

Pisellino
I Sodi's Rita Sodi and Buvette's Jody Williams are set to open their second joint restaurant across the street from their first joint spot, Via Carota. This all-day West Village Italian resto is sure to be the Platonic ideal of a casual neighborhood restaurant.

Rice & Gold
Continuing to grow his NYC restaurant empire, chef Dale Talde is opening a spot in the Hotel 50 Bowery. Expect dishes like char siu smoked lamb sausage, crispy papaya salad and broken noodles with chorizo and clams.

Sorbillo Pizzeria
Gino Sorbillo, the pizza legend from Naples, Italy, whose fans line up for hours, is opening his first full-service stateside restaurant in NYC this September, on the tails of a smaller, fast-casual spot called Zia Esterina in Little Italy, which serves pizza fritta, or fried calzones. At his new place, Sorbillo will focus on his beloved Neapolitan pies, and he may already have at least one major fan in New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who paid a visit to the original location in Italy in 2014.

TALK
You can definitely expect more than just well-made cocktails at this classic hotel bar tribute by restaurateur Andrew Kochan. With chef Tim Lanza at the helm, the Rittenhouse Square restaurant will offer dishes like carrot beignets fried in duck fat and wontons filled with lamb merguez sausage and raisins.

Del Mar
James Beard Award-winning chef Fabio Trabocchi and Maria Trabocchi (Fiola, Casa Luca, Fiola Mare and Sfoglina) bring their latest culinary concept to the Wharf. Based on Maria's Spanish heritage, the menu will include a raw bar, charcoal-grilled fish and plenty of tapas.

Gravitas
With a quick setback earlier in the year, Gravitas is finally ready to open in Ivy City. Zagat 2015 30 Under 30 recipient chef Matt Baker will offer a vegetarian and nonvegetarian tasting menu built around local ingredients, and will be baking fresh pastries in-house.

The Line Hotel's A Rake's Progress
James Beard Award-winning chef Spike Gjerde, of Baltimore's Woodberry Kitchen, will serve dishes with ingredients from the mid-Atlantic at this sure-to-be-trendy new hotel restaurant.

The Line Hotel's Spoken English
Elsewhere in the hotel, James Beard Award-nominated chef Erik Bruner-Yang will serve a tasting menu with dishes like hand-cut udon and whole-animal yakitori that will conclude in his spin on a meat and three sides. 

Maydan
From the people behind Compass Rose comes a new restaurant and gathering space in the Manhattan Laundry Building. Heading up the kitchen are Gerald Addison and Chris Morgan, who traveled through eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East to cook with grandmas as research for the upcoming menu.

Bresca
You can stop grieving over Ripple's closure: Ryan Ratino, the genius behind the critically acclaimed Cleveland Park spot, is back in action with his newest restaurant, Bresca. The food will be a marriage of Ratino's childhood upbringing and his experience in Michelin-starred kitchens, with dishes like sea urchin linguini spiked with truffles and chile, and more homey plates of walleye pike.

Sea urchin linguini | Photo: Rey Lopez

Benny's Big Time Pizzeria
Chef Vivian Howard and husband Ben are expanding their Chef & the Farmer empire, and this time they're heading south to Wilmington to set up shop slinging red sauce pies and pastas. Diners can expect 14-inch, Neapolitan-style pies from two wood-burning ovens; antipasti; wine on tap; and large-format desserts. 

Check out the rest of our Fall Preview to get dialed in to the best new hotels, bars, cookbooks and more.