On the site of Launceston Place restaurant, at one time Michelin-starred and a favourite of Princess Diana, Sartoria has much to live up to. I popped into the launch event, a lively party with free-flowing fizz and an enthusiastic mixture of local residents and fans of Evolv, Sartoria's parent company, and was impressed by the well-thought-out concept, which I suspect is intended to appeal to a sophisticated, international neighbourhood rather than to visitors.
Sitting in one of the inside window seats at Flour + Water, we watched the Vespr lobby's giant mobile shimmer in the sunlight. Directly in front of us on the ground level, we could see what the diners on the patio outside had ordered. In turn, three women passing by on the street were so entranced by the sight of our pizzas they decided to come inside to snoop around.
All too often, hotel restaurants lack character both from a design and gastronomic perspective. Trying to please an international clientele with different tastes and expectations, and to make sure that all generations and food preferences are catered for, often leads to bland, identikit menus built around classic crowd-pleasers. I don't know why the management at the Cumberland decided to create Lírica, an unexpectedly good tapas restaurant in their hotel, but I'm pleased they did.
RT Bistro doesn't need it. On a gray and drizzly Tuesday evening, stepping into their mountain cabin-inspired digs, all warm and filled with the kitchen's intoxicating scent, feels like coming home. The restaurant is a sliver of a thing, just 37 seats, but even with every party at their own blond wood, marble-topped table, there's a buoyant dinner party vibe.
And while there is plenty of holiday hubbub going on at home, take a moment to feast your eyes on the most beautiful new restaurants in America of 2025. Many stunning venues opened up from sea to shining sea over the past 365 days, meaning you have plenty of new hot spots to check out in 2026. That includes everything from Jean-Georges Vongerichten's first Brooklyn restaurant to Crying Tiger, a Chicago eatery that takes you on a journey through Southeast Asia courtesy of chef Thai Dang.
On December 6, the couple behind Met Her at a Bar, Met Him at a Bar, and Her Thai, debuted their fourth restaurant in Mid-Wilshire on La Brea Avenue and Eighth Street. The Night We Met co-owners Mindy and Vinny Kinne are a dominant presence in the neighborhood. Their new restaurant offers an Asian diasporic menu that spans multiple countries, featuring chicken satay, garlic noodles, crispy tuna rice, and Yangzhou fried rice in an opulent dining room.
On the warm, rounded tables of thick slab oak, chef Anand Singh - who earned fine dining credentials at Rosewood Las Ventanas in Cabo San Lucas - serves folded raw hamachi slices topped with tiny dabs of curry and a maroon-colored pool of tamarind ponzu that wouldn't feel out of place at a Nobu. A proper spoon swipe indents a celeriac puree topped with edamame and microgreens next to a portion of banana leaf-roasted Chilean sea bass.
Ziggy's Roman Cafe debuted on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, at 15 Main St. in the heart of DUMBO, Brooklyn offering high-quality Italian cuisine and an elevated ambiance designated for any day of the week. Founders Helen Zhang, a former restaurant publicist with 15 years of experience in hospitality public relations, and Igor Hadzismajovic, co-founder of Employees Only cocktail bar, envisioned a local restaurant where children are welcome to enjoy a meal during the day and adults can meet friends for drinks in the evening.
Combine chef-made food and a prime location for art lovers and what do you get? Poppy & Claro, the newest destination dining spot in downtown San Jose. The restaurant, the first from the Jay Paul Co. real estate developer, anchors the high-rise 50 West building that was formerly home to KQED, the Capital Club and Knight Ridder. This is an all-day restaurant that aims to satisfy the food and beverage needs of downtown employees, visitors and residents from breakfast through early dinner.
Dingles Public House debuts on November 28, the day after Thanksgiving, and reservations went live this morning on Tock (11/17). Eater reported on the place back in May, while renovations were just getting underway. It's the project of British chef George Dingle, formerly a chef a Monsieur Benjamin, and his wife Anissa Dingle, and as he promised back then, "We're doing something really British."
High Yaki is a Japanese BBQ restaurant in London's Chinatown that serves a wide range of meats, seafood, and vegetables to grill, as well as sukiyaki, donburi, sushi, sashimi, and tacos. It is the sort of place that you might find in Tokyo or Osaka, filled with young people grilling their dinner on a small BBQ set into their table. High Yaki is a good-looking restaurant.
Migdal Studio Text description provided by the architects. The inspiration for the new Ragu was Italian hospitality, the neighborhood rhythm of the day, and pasta understood both symbolically and literally. Our aim was to capture the atmosphere of a small Italian trattoria: homely, relaxed, and conducive to gatherings. Guests were meant to have the opportunity both to celebrate meals together and to spend time in smaller groups.
And they're not going too far away to do it Alex Young and George de Vos have got a pair of winners in wine bar Goodbye Horses and ice cream parlour The Dreamery, both in De Beauvoir. Now the pair are expanding again with new wine bar and shop Stable Wines, opening a few streets away just off Essex Road in December.
On a trip to India 10 years ago, my guide ushered me into a private section of Jaipur's Amber Fort, to a part of the Sheesh Mahal not usually open to the public. All of this famous hall of mirrors is visually stunning but this section was a secret-a small, vaulted ceiling inlet lined with mirror fragments. He then lit two matches and the ceiling illuminated like a sky full of stars.
Queen's Park has long boasted a clutch of proper locals, but few carry the fond memories and weekend clatter of The Salusbury. Now reopened under the stewardship of Gareth Cooper, Alex Payne, and Jon Drape, the pub has been reimagined with a deft blend of restaurant polish, bar energy, and unpretentious pub soul. Executive Chef Tarryn Bingle brings a quietly assured culinary touch, honed in the Michelin-starred kitchen of La Trompette,
Monsieur Dior will mark Crenn's second collaboration with Dior; Café Dior by Dominique Crenn opened last February in Dallas with lunch, tea service, and desserts. The Beverly Hills project has been in progress since at least 2022, when the City of Beverly Hills approved plans for a rooftop French restaurant. Beverly Hills' Monsieur Dior will be the second location for the restaurant; the first location opened in Paris in 2022, and Dior plans to expand with another location in Osaka, Japan, this year.
Seahorse opens today inside the recently renovated W New York - Union Square hotel at 201 Park Avenue South, at East 17th Street. The seafood brasserie comes from John McDonald's Mercer Street Hospitality, the group behind Soho's Lure Fishbar - which just celebrated its 20th anniversary under the direction of Preston Clark's cooking. Seahorse is one of McDonald's most ambitious projects yet: It has been in the works for more than three years, unfolding alongside the W's $100 million renovation of the historic Guardian Life building.
Sirrah, a modern French restaurant in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, opens July 15, featuring a lavish design by UK-based studio Fettle. The space boasts elements like rich fabrics, burl oak paneling, and blown glass chandeliers.
