Eater & Punch Announce the Best New Restaurants & Best New Bars of 2023

Eater today announced the Best New Restaurants of 2023, compiling 12 months of trends and transitions in the restaurant industry across the country. These 12 restaurants represent the most exciting openings from September 2022 to September 2023, each defining the best qualities about dining by serving exciting, innovative, and consistently great food.

“A great new restaurant can be a fun experience. A best new restaurant announces itself as part of the national dining conversation,” writes Hillary Dixler Canavan, restaurants editor. “Now more than ever, experimenting with menus, formats, hours, and business models is a vital part of operating and succeeding in the restaurant industry. As diners, we get to reap the delicious benefits of that creativity and exploration.”

Each year, Eater’s best new restaurants list is informed by scouts who conduct on-the-ground dining research across the country. Although every restaurant on the list does more than offer an exceptional meal, it also reflects something larger about the way we eat. It might set one trend in motion, or subvert another. It might bring attention to a previously unheralded cuisine or neighborhood, or revisit familiar genres in unexpected ways. But most of all, each is an original.

The full list is below (in alphabetical order):

• Astral (Portland, OR)
• Barbs B Q (Lockhart, TX)
• Bar Chelou (Pasadena, CA)
• Dakar NOLA (New Orleans, LA)
• Honeysuckle Provisions (Philadelphia, PA)
• Kultura (Charleston, SC)
• La Semilla (Atlanta, GA)
• Lord’s (New York City, NY)
• My Loup (Philadelphia, PA)
• Piglet & Co (San Francisco, CA)
• Thattu (Chicago, IL)
• There, There (Providence, RI)

Punch, Vox Media’s beverage brand, today announced the Best New Bars of 2023. According to the editors at Punch, the list showcases the year’s best new concepts including cocktail and wine bars, neighborhood joints and prestige hotel bars across the country. This year’s launch also includes a reimagined version of the beverage brand’s long-running Bartender in Residence program, now called Best New Bartenders, aimed at celebrating the bar world’s brightest rising stars.

“There is no shortage of exciting new bar openings across the country, but rather than compile a comprehensive list, we decided to narrow our focus to the five bars that felt the most representative not only of cocktail culture right now, but where it’s headed, too,” says deputy editor Chloe Frechette. “Creating this list was a collective effort between our editorial team and art department, with an assist from the Eater team with some crucial insights into their respective markets.”

The full list is below (in alphabetical order):

• Nine Bar (Chicago, IL)
• Post Haste (Philadelphia, PA)
• Room for Improvement (Portland, ME)
• Superbueno (New York, NY)
• Wild Child (Kansas City, KS)

About Eater

Eater is the locals-first authoritative guide to eating better. Eater is at the forefront of reporting on the restaurant industry, shaping food culture with its award-winning journalism and programming, as well as its beloved maps and guides. The network has grown into the leading voice in the food media space with its passion for great food and great stories spanning digital and social platforms, audio, OTT and television — including No Passport Required, Eater’s PBS docuseries with host Chef Marcus Samuelsson, celebrating America’s diverse immigrant food traditions, and the Hulu series Eater’s Guide to the World.

For more, visit eater.com and follow @eater on Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook and YouTube.

About Punch

Punch is the essential resource and authoritative guide to drinkers navigating the increasingly expansive world of beverage. As the most trusted brand in beverage, Punch aims to bridge the gap between expert gatekeepers and enthusiasts — proving that a better, more thoughtful drink doesn’t have to be a secret. Our coverage delivers unmatched expertise, shares stories with intention, and delves into the exploration of everything from crafting a great drink at home to a behind-the-scenes look at the world’s most progressive bars. Leveraging insider access and knowledge, we’re giving the new generation of drink-obsessed the tips, tools, and confidence to drink better and drink smarter, no matter where they are.

For more, visit punchdrink.com and follow @punch on Instagram, TikTok, X, and Facebook.