Esquire's 2023 Best New Restaurants: Complete List

Set inside a moody Greenpoint warehouse, Ilis brings Nordic-American fine dining to Brooklyn with a four- or seven-course format anchored in sustainably sourced regional product. Chef Mads Refslund — co-founder of Noma — earned the #1 spot on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023 and climbed to #61 on Opinionated About Dining's North America ranking by 2025. The wine program runs to 885 selections and 2,800 bottles across a $75-corkage list weighted toward Champagne, Burgundy, and Germany.

Chilte landed at number two on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list for 2023, a signal that Phoenix's Grand Avenue corridor has arrived on the national modern Mexican conversation. The kitchen works through regional Mexican traditions rather than a single-state focus, with 4.6 stars across 361 Google reviews pointing to consistent execution. Grand Avenue's arts-district address puts it a short drive from central Phoenix.

Lom Wong brought serious Thai cooking to downtown Phoenix and earned a 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in the process. Chef Yotaka Martin works through the aromatic foundations of Thai cuisine — galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime — at a level that ranks the restaurant third on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list for 2023. For Phoenix, it marks a shift in how the city thinks about Southeast Asian food.

Auro holds a Michelin star and AAA 5 Diamond rating inside the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley, where Chef Rogelio Garcia applies a rigorously seasonal, California-sourced approach to contemporary fine dining. A 475-label wine list weighted toward California and France, overseen by Wine Director Derek Stevenson, gives the room serious depth. For Calistoga, it sits at the top of the formal dining tier.

Burdell brings California soul food to Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, folding local and seasonal produce into dishes rooted in slow-simmered Southern tradition. Geoff Davis's 2023 opening earned a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, an Esquire Best New Restaurants nod, and a James Beard semifinalist nomination. The room reads like a 1970s grandmother's sitting room, complete with vintage Corelle china and soul on the stereo.

A Michelin-starred counter on Carmel's 5th Avenue where French bistro technique meets the California coast's seafood abundance. Chez Noir operates from the ground floor of a Craftsman residence — the Blacks live upstairs — which shapes everything from the scale of the room to the warmth of service. Ranked #472 in Opinionated About Dining's 2025 North America list and named one of Esquire's Best New Restaurants in 2023.

Dalida brings Mediterranean and Turkish cooking to San Francisco's Presidio district, where Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz run a kitchen that earned a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 and landed at number seven on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023. The wine program, overseen by Wine Director Jerry McGie, draws on a 610-selection list weighted toward France and Italy. Lunch and dinner service makes it one of the more accessible rooms in a city stacked with $$$$ tasting-menu counters.

A Glassell Park dining room defined by faded brick, amber light, and a central wood-burning hearth, Dunsmoor translates Southern American cooking through a California seasonal lens. Chef Brian Dunsmoor earned a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, and the LA Times ranked the restaurant tenth on its 2024 list of 101 best restaurants. The menu shifts with the calendar but stays rooted in smoke, heirloom produce, and American heritage technique.

Tucked into San Diego’s Convoy District, Hitokuchi is chef John Hong’s intimate ode to Japanese precision and coastal luxury. The experience orbits around immaculate sushi rice—warm, gleaming, and perfectly seasoned—supporting pristine fish and the restaurant’s cult-favorite uni-and-caviar rice tower, a shimmering stack of saline silk and buttery richness. Discreet lighting, hushed hospitality, and a tight edit of seasonal offerings cultivate a rare sense of occasion, inviting discerning diners to savor nuance, restraint, and the quiet drama of each bite.

Kiln on Brewer Street operates at the overlap of northern Thai regional cooking and British seasonal sourcing, drawing on the borderlands of Myanmar, Laos, and Yunnan. The ground-floor counter is walk-in only; groups of up to six can book the basement. A Michelin Bib Gourmand holder since at least 2024, it prices at the accessible end of Soho's serious restaurant tier.

Mabel's Gone Fishing brings a Spanish-Californian seafood sensibility to North Park, earning back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025 alongside an Esquire Best New Restaurants ranking. Chef Tanner Stanich works within a mid-price bracket that San Diego's coastal-sourcing scene has increasingly made its own, producing a room where the fishing tradition feels current rather than nostalgic.

Poltergeist reimagines luxury dining through a mischievous, high-gloss lens, staging chef Diego Argoti’s genre-bending cuisine inside the neon-slick hum of Button Mash, Echo Park’s cult arcade. Expect Thai-laced Caesars with a saline snap, masa-fried whole fish that crackles like vinyl, and a current of umami-driven delights designed to surprise and seduce. This is where elegance lets its hair down: a polished, intimate experience wrapped in kinetic energy, where each course feels like a secret handshake between high craft and high play.

Rory's Place on East Ojai Avenue has held a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, and landed at number 13 on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023. The kitchen works in the California coastal register, where local produce and proximity to the Pacific set the terms. At the $$$ price point, it sits at the more serious end of Ojai's small but growing dining scene.

Ubuntu brought vegan West African cooking to Long Beach in 2023, earning a spot on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list at number fourteen. The restaurant operates out of a residential stretch of the city's east side, making a case that plant-based cooking rooted in the African diaspora belongs in the same conversation as any serious American dining destination. With a 4.6 Google rating across more than 640 reviews, it has found an audience quickly.

Valle brings Baja California's coastal cooking tradition to Oceanside's North Pacific Street in a format that earned consecutive Michelin stars in 2024 and 2025. Chef Roberto Alcocer works through the region's taco, tostada, and raw-bar lineage and recasts it at a price point — dinner runs $66 and above — that signals serious culinary intent. The wine list runs 110 selections with notable depth in Mexican labels.

Ranked #77 on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants 2024 and #16 on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list, Yess brings seasonal kaiseki to LA's Arts District with a menu that draws on Southern California's produce, sustainable seafood, and Japanese technique. Chef Junya Yamasaki's cooking finds genuine common ground between Japanese restraint and California plurality, in a dining room of pale wood and smooth concrete.

Sap Sua on East Colfax brings serious Vietnamese cooking to a Denver dining scene that has historically underrepresented the cuisine. Named to Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023 at number 17, it draws on the depth and discipline of northern Vietnamese traditions — broth-forward, precise, and unhurried. The Google rating of 4.6 across more than 460 reviews reflects a following that extends well beyond the neighborhood.

Erba brings an Italian-meets-Florida sensibility to Coral Gables, earning a spot on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023. The restaurant sits at 227 S Dixie Hwy, operating in a South Florida dining scene that increasingly rewards kitchens willing to rethink imported tradition rather than simply replicate it. A 4.3 Google rating across 217 reviews signals consistent execution rather than opening-night hype.

Maty's sits at the edge of Wynwood in Miami's NW 27th Street corridor, where Chef Valerie Chang's Peruvian kitchen has earned a 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef: South, two consecutive Michelin Plates, and a Google rating of 4.9 from over 2,000 reviews. It occupies a specific niche in Miami dining: serious South American technique at a mid-tier price point, with the award trajectory of a far more expensive room.

Tucked into West Midtown, Mujō is an intimate 15-seat omakase sanctuary where Chef J. Trent Harris orchestrates an evening of moody elegance and exquisite precision. A U-shaped Southern cypress counter glows against inky walls and low light, setting the stage for an ever-evolving procession—from zensai like binchotan-kissed Florida cobia with red miso to pristine nigiri that speaks in whispers rather than shouts. Top-tier ingredients, often flown in live from Japan, punctuate the experience with thrilling clarity—think Hokkaido hair crab with tosazu and mozuku—while polished hospitality ensures every guest feels both indulged and effortlessly at ease. Dessert is a destination, not an afterthought; linger for a final, memorable coda.

Gigi's Italian Kitchen on McLendon Avenue earned a place on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023, landing at number 21 among a national field. The kitchen works the Italian-American register with enough confidence to attract a loyal Candler Park following and a 4.8 Google rating across 267 reviews. For Atlanta diners planning a celebratory meal outside the formal tasting-menu circuit, it sits in a distinct and useful tier.

At Nami Kaze in Honolulu, chef Jason Peel elevates Hawaiian–Asian flavors with precision and play—think shrimp toast Benedict and honey walnut shrimp & waffles—set against a breezy, coastal-modern room with saké flights and chef’s counter seats worth booking.

Ranked the #1 steakhouse in North America by Robb Report in 2025, Asador Bastian brings Basque asador tradition to Chicago's River North, centering the txuletón — thick bone-in ribeye from old dairy cows — cooked over open fire in the historic Flair House. The wine list runs 140 selections with a strong Spanish spine, and the room reads intimate rather than clubby, which separates it from the city's old-guard chophouse circuit.

Warlord on Milwaukee Avenue operates without reservations and without apology. Chefs Emily Kraszyk, John Lupton, and Trevor Fleming cook over live fire in an open kitchen, earning a Michelin Plate in 2024 and an Esquire Best New Restaurants nod in 2023. The counter seats fill fastest, the duck is worth the wait, and the queue starts before the doors open.

Nami in Louisville delivers Modern Korean Southern fusion by chef Edward Lee, blending hansik technique with Kentucky ingredients. Must-try dishes include gochujang fried chicken, Korean-style tartare with Southern ham and hot sauce, and Ginger Shaved Ice with lychee and black sesame. The restaurant pairs table-grill steakhouse rituals with inventive small plates and a cocktail program highlighted by the Best Friend Ever pear margarita. Expect bold, savory marinades, crisp banchan, and warm, velvet seating that make each course tactile and immediate. Ideal for Derby weekends, celebratory dinners, and weekend dim-sum brunch, Nami serves inventive flavors in a polished, intimate setting backed by a streamlined Resy reservation system.

Dakar NOLA is a rarefied dining experience where Senegalese heritage is reimagined through the prism of New Orleans’s soulful abundance. In an intimate, reservation-only setting, a choreographed tasting menu unfolds like a travelogue—jolof rice elevated with jeweled aromatics, pristine Gulf seafood perfumed with attiéké and citrus, and cassava rendered silken beside deeply spiced stews. The cadence is gracious and unhurried, the storytelling vivid, the hospitality quietly magnetic. Here, West African technique speaks fluently with Creole terroir, revealing a cuisine that is both deeply rooted and thrillingly modern, designed for those who collect meals the way others collect art.

Hungry Eyes on Magazine Street occupies a specific and defensible niche in New Orleans dining: comfort food filtered through an '80s American lens, recognized by a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand and an Esquire Best New Restaurants ranking in 2023. On a corridor where Creole tradition dominates the conversation, this is the room that bets on nostalgia over canonized local formula.

Lehrhaus brings a rigorous, ingredient-forward approach to Jewish cooking in Somerville's Washington Street corridor, earning an Esquire Best New Restaurants ranking in 2023. The kitchen draws on a tradition that runs deeper than deli nostalgia, using sourcing decisions to anchor dishes in both place and cultural memory. A Google rating of 4.7 across more than 340 reviews points to a dining room that has found a loyal, engaged audience.

Sado brought serious Japanese sushi to St. Louis's Tower Grove neighborhood, landing on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023. The Shaw Avenue address sits within a city better known for smoke and barbecue, which makes the precision of a well-executed sushi counter all the more telling. With a 4.6 Google rating across nearly 370 reviews, it has found a consistent audience in a market rarely associated with omakase-adjacent dining.

At Lita, primal flame meets polished finesse, where an Iberian spirit dances with the finest British provenance. Centered around a dramatic wood-fired hearth, the menu radiates warmth and ambition—think Scottish langoustines glossed with impeccable sauces, Norfolk quail and Cornish lamb smoldering alongside smoked aubergine and sheep’s milk, and a paella prized for its shimmering, caramelized socarrat. Designed for convivial sharing yet executed with haute precision, each plate layers texture and aroma—shiso-wrapped tuna tartare, fried Manchego, and embers that leave a whisper of smoke on the palate. It’s the rare spot where luxury is felt not in hushed ceremony, but in the joyful, sleeve-rolled abandon of great flavors—an experience that invites return, and rewards it.

Named one of Esquire's Best New Restaurants in 2023, Corner Office sits above Paseo Del Pueblo Sur with a New American menu that draws on New Mexico's agricultural network as much as its own kitchen instincts. The format is eclectic comfort — the kind of cooking that earns national attention without performing for it. With over 1,600 Google reviews averaging 4.2 stars, it has clearly found its audience in Taos.

Housed inside NoMad's Fifth Avenue Hotel, Café Carmellini is Andrew Carmellini's return to formal fine dining after more than a decade building a more casual portfolio. The room, designed by Martin Brudnizki, sets a Gilded Age register with double-height ceilings and jewel-toned banquettes. The menu moves between Italian and French traditions, anchored by signatures like Duck-Duck-Duck Tortellini and squab en croûte with foie gras.

Casa Susanna earned a spot on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023, placing it among the more closely watched Mexican openings in the country that year. Located in Leeds, New York, the restaurant holds a 4.6 Google rating across 214 reviews. For serious Mexican cooking outside major metro corridors, it represents a notable regional option worth tracking.

A few steps below street level on East 10th Street, Claud has become one of the East Village's most closely watched dinner reservations. Ranked #1 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list in both 2024 and 2025, it operates at the intersection of French-leaning bistro technique and ingredient-forward New American cooking, with a wine program running to 1,400 selections and 5,000 bottles in inventory.

Foul Witch transforms East Village dining through Carlo Mirarchi's wood-fired Italian cuisine, where gothic candlelit ambiance meets innovative dishes like the signature "Fire and Ice" 'nduja. From the Roberta's team, this intimate 40-seat restaurant earned spots on The New York Times' 100 Best Restaurants NYC 2024.

Foxface Natural occupies a specific and increasingly rare position in New York dining: a nose-to-tail New American kitchen that earned a Michelin Plate in 2025 and ranked #2 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list the same year. Operating Wednesday through Sunday out of a Park Place address in Tribeca, it draws a crowd that treats the informal format seriously — and the kitchen returns the favor.

Oiji Mi holds a Michelin star and an Opinionated About Dining top-100 North America ranking, making it one of the most credentialed contemporary Korean kitchens in New York City. Chefs Brian Kim and Tae Kyung Ku run a five-course prix fixe from their Flatiron address, where the format disciplines flavors toward restraint rather than spectacle. The beverage program, built on creative cocktails and a curated wine list, matches the ambition of the kitchen.

At Lincoln Center, Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi plants Afro-Caribbean cooking inside one of New York's most storied cultural addresses. Oxtail marinated for over a day, egusi dumplings filled with crab and sea bass, and suya-dusted pastrami map a diaspora that runs from West Africa through the Bronx. La Liste awarded it 92 points in both 2025 and 2026; the Michelin Plate followed in 2024.

Housed in the landmark Puck Building on Mulberry Street, Torrisi is Major Food Group's Michelin-starred reimagining of New York's Italian-American dining tradition. Ranked #69 in North America by Opinionated About Dining in 2025, it draws on the city's deli culture, Chinatown, and immigrant communities to produce food that reads as deeply local. The wine program runs to 850 selections and 4,700 bottles, with particular depth in Italy and Burgundy.

Ajja brings Mediterranean-Indian fusion to Raleigh's Five Points neighbourhood, earning a spot on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023 — one of only a handful of North Carolina restaurants recognised nationally that year. The kitchen draws on the shared olive oil and spice traditions of both cuisines, producing a menu that reads as neither strictly Indian nor strictly Mediterranean, but as something considered and particular to this address on Bickett Boulevard.

Nolia Kitchen brought Southern and Creole cooking to Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighbourhood and landed on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023 — ranking 41st nationally. The Clay Street address has become a reference point for regional American cooking in a city that has spent the last decade building a serious dining identity. A Google rating of 4.6 across 267 reviews reflects a following that extends well beyond the opening buzz.

A vegan restaurant in Northern Liberties where the kitchen treats plants with the same technical seriousness usually reserved for animal proteins. Chef Ian Graye sources from foragers and small local suppliers, applies his own fermenting and preserving, and runs a shareable menu of around ten dishes with a distinct Italian accent. Named one of Esquire's Best New Restaurants in 2023, it books out consistently.

My Loup on Walnut Street brings French bistro instincts to Philadelphia with a menu that changes daily and a room that feels more like a dinner party than a restaurant service. The 2023 Esquire Best New Restaurants list placed it at number 44, while a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist nod confirmed its standing among the city's most closely watched openings. The cooking is seasonal, direct, and built around the logic of a chef feeding people they know.

Gift Horse on Westminster Street brings New England seafood into conversation with Korean technique, under chef Sky Haneul Kim, who won the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northeast. A Google rating of 4.8 from 126 reviews and an Esquire Best New Restaurants listing from 2023 signal a kitchen that earned its reputation quickly. Providence's most talked-about table is at 272 Westminster St.

Scoundrel earned a Michelin star in 2025 and an Esquire Best New Restaurants listing in 2023, placing it among the most recognised French brasserie kitchens in the American South. Located at 18 N Main St in downtown Greenville, SC, it holds a 4.6 Google rating across 309 reviews. For Michelin-recognised French cooking outside a major metro, it occupies its own tier in the region.

Este on Manor Road holds two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) and an Esquire Best New Restaurants nod, making it one of Austin's clearest arguments for Mexican seafood as a serious culinary category. The kitchen applies the kind of precision typically reserved for tasting-menu formats to coastal Mexican tradition, in a neighbourhood room at $$$ pricing that rewards early planning.

Bistro Estelle earned a spot on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023, placing Bellingham's French bistro scene on a broader national map. The room draws on the kind of ingredient-led cooking that defines the Pacific Northwest's relationship with French technique, with a Google rating of 4.4 across 146 reviews suggesting consistent execution rather than occasional brilliance. For the Pacific Northwest, it represents a confident claim on the French bistro format.

Among Seattle's small pool of Turkish restaurants, Hamdi occupies a distinct position: a Fremont-based kitchen that earned a spot on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2023, drawing attention well beyond the Pacific Northwest. With a 4.5 Google rating across more than 500 reviews, it represents the kind of neighbourhood-anchored cooking that wins critical notice without chasing a fine-dining format.

Chang Chang brings Michelin Plate-recognized Chinese cooking to Dupont Circle, where Peter Chang's kitchen applies precision to Sichuan and classic Chinese traditions. Pork soup dumplings arrive with superb broth, walnut prawns are flash-fried and finished with honey mayo, and Beijing duck can be ordered by the half. Esquire named it among its Best New Restaurants in 2023.