Try a dozen new and promising restaurants that opened in Tallahassee in 2023

Tallahassee’s dining scene keeps evolving, bringing new tastes to the capital city. In 2023, we welcomed several new restaurants broadening our options for a good meal and a night out. Here’s a look at some of the highlights. If you’re looking for New Year’s resolutions, discovering new dining and drinking adventures may be the one you can keep.

Bowden’s

619 Woodward Ave., C103, 850-558-5592; bowdenscollegetown.com

The sports-themed restaurant, which opened in CollegeTown in September, is named after legendary Florida State Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden. The place is decorated with football memorabilia and colors of garnet and gold. The menu features items such as Pigskin mac ‘n cheese, Best Dadgum chili, Beat the Canes Cobb salad and Puntrooskie Peanut Butter pie (named after Bowden’s famous ‘88 play). The restaurant offers indoor and outdoor seating, with live entertainment.

Venezuelan flavor: New Venezuelan restaurant, with an emphasis on street food, opens on Mahan Drive

Chatarras

3349 Mahan Drive, 850-727-4804.

Jesus Lamas, originally of Valencia, is an emergency room veterinarian in Tallahassee. But he’s also brought his love of food from his Venezuelan homeland to the capital city. Chatarras, which opened early this summer, serves a range of street food including burgers; Pepito, an elaborate beef hot dog with toppings; tequeños, queso blanco in a fried, flaky crust; and sandwiches such as choripanes, made with chorizo. Chatarras also offers a Venezuelan-style breakfast menu until 10 a.m. with lunch or dinner served the rest of the day.

Clusters & Hops

1866 Thomasville Road, 850-222-2669; winencheese.com

It seemed like a long wait, but Clusters & Hops launched its new venue this summer. Owner Kent Steels shut the restaurant’s location on North Monroe Street in 2022 after 22 1 ⁄ 2 years, but the restaurateur/chef carries on his tradition of cultured cuisine and stellar wine and cheese selections. Steels has transformed an easy-to-miss storefront in the Capital Plaza shopping center into an intimate, fine dining oasis. Fans will find old favorites and new additions including truffle mac ‘ cheese; duck, duck duck lavosh; Colorado Grass-Fed Elk Carpaccio Salad and artisan charcuterie boards. Clusters & Hops is also a retail wine and cheese shop.

Dick Mondell’s

1808 S. Monroe St., dickmondells.com

It sounds like a mega chain but Dick Mondell’s is owned by two friends, Connor Castelli and Chris Leckerling, who opened their Tallahassee spot in April. It’s their second site; their first was in Gainesville. Castelli and Leckerling are former fine dining chefs who decided to switch to quality fast food served with a dash of humor. The first menu item is The Original Big Dick, for starters, but they’re not joking when it comes to their ingredients, such as Florida-raised beef, chicken from Joyce Farms in North Carolina and ice cream from Palazzolo's Artisan Dairy in Fennville, Mich., which is a nationally known dairy farm in business since 1926. Dick Mondell’s is also open for breakfast.

Getaway Grille & Bar

2386 Allen Road, 448-209-9075; getawaygrille.com

Steve and Shannon Flynn opened the casual restaurant in May and it’s been getting raves ever since. The Getaway won The Guide to Florida’s “Best of Florida 2023” for their Food and Drink Category under “American Cuisine.” A grouper sandwich, black and blue burger, cheesesteak, wings and fried cheese curds are touted among the food highlights. The Getaway, which serves lunch and dinner daily, also has a covered patio and a large, shaded beer garden where there is often live music.

Ground Ops Roastery & Bakehouse

810 Thomasville Road, 850-339-3590; groundopscoffee.com

This new coffee shop and bakery is a vision realized for Chris Smith and his family, with a backstory that’s as intriguing as its menu. Smith recently retired as a Leon County Sheriff’s detective and former member of the department’s bomb squad. The name of the breakfast/lunch venue reflects both the ground coffee and Smith’s law enforcement and military background. Smith also loves to bake, sharing his scrumptious sweet and savory fare with neighbors, friends and the woman he married in ‘22, Shannon. Ground Ops, which opened in November, is a family operation, with his son, Connor, in charge of the in-house coffee roastery. The menu features sweet and savory, from-scratch treats, including cinnamon buns, banana pudding, breakfast and lunch sandwiches on homemade rolls with a variety of fillings.

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Hayward House

228 S. Adams St., 850-825-7081; haywardhousetlh.com

Hayward House opened Dec. 7 located in the former home of the landmark restaurant, Andrew’s Downtown. Owner Ashley Chaney has created a refined space with a full bar and a menu with global as well as family influences. Southern fried chicken, cauliflower bites, an eggplant katsu sandwich and steak frites are some of the top picks. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner plus brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Rest assured: You can still linger over cocktails and conversation in the sprawling, umbrella shaded patio.

It’z Smackin'

620-1 Railroad Square, 850-329-6490; itzsmackin.kwickmenu.com

Diners tout the Miami Beach/Latin atmosphere at the new dining and entertainment venue in the Railroad Square Art District. It’z Smackin opened this summer in the former site of the Railroad Square Craft House. The restaurant and bar focuses on Latin American cuisine, with dishes from Peru, Cuba and Argentina. Some highlights: parrillas (large grilled platters with a variety of meats, guacamole, yucca), lomo saltado and salmon churrasco.

Second location: Double the Love: Jeri’s Midtown Café opens second location in Tallahassee’s Market Plaza

Jeri’s at Market Plaza

1370 Market St., 850-756-7660; jeristallahassee.com

Jeri Desloge now has a second dining outpost in the former home of Grove Market Cafe, bringing her pressed sandwiches, her righteous rice bowl and French toast specials to the Northeast. Jeri’s, known for her slogan “Love on a Plate,” is open for breakfast and lunch six days a week (closed on Monday). Desloge’s original Midtown location is now open only for takeout and events but customers can bring their takeout order and sit in the courtyard, as long as there isn't a catered event going on. Desloge has also launched Simply Entertaining by Jeri, with ready-to-go meals and catering, at 1355 Market St.

Pedro’s Tacos & Tequila

750 Apalachee Pkwy., 850-597-8076; pedroseastcoast.com

The Mexican restaurant is part of a small but growing chain. The Tallahassee branch, which opened in May, features an extensive menu that includes a range of salsas, a long list of enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, vegetarian fare and other favorites plus a kids’ menu. The family restaurant also works as an entertainment venue with cocktails and live music.

Rae’s

Bannerman Crossings, 3431 Bannerman Road, Suite 104, 850-999-8505; raesrestauranttlh.com

Rae’s is the latest concept from The Seven Hills Hospitality Group, the restaurateurs behind Liberty Bar & Restaurant, El Cocinero, Black Radish, Bar 1903, The Hawthorn Bistro & Bakery and South Station. The menu delves into the coast, the Southern Panhandle and the Mediterranean. Rae’s recipe repertoire includes lobster or shrimp rolls; fig and goat cheese flatbreads; seafood gumbo and steak frites paired with classic cocktails in a casual setting.

Sliders – A Sandwich Revolution

1122 Thomasville Road, 850-518-7621; sliderstlh.com

The new restaurant calls itself “Tallahassee’s ‘Old World’ Bougie casual gourmet sandwich shoppe.” The Americana decor and menu style reflect an 18th century Colonial theme that adds an elegance you don’t expect in a casual storefront site. The team behind Sliders, which opened this summer, is Drew McLeod, co-owner of Savour with wife Kim (who designed both spaces), and the McLeods’ son Gabriel, the shop’s proprietor/manager. Among the fare: the Mutt & Jeff slaw dog, a legendary Tallahassee treat; the John Hancock, the hefty “signature” slider with two beef brisket patties and bacon on a bun and the Betsy Ross vegetarian sandwich. Add seasoned French fries and for dessert, glazed apple fritters.

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Other newcomers

Other newcomers to Tallahassee in ‘23 include: Amicus Brewing Venture, 717 S. Gadsden Road.; two new locations of Argonaut coffee shop at Goodwood Museum and Gardens and Cascades Park; Duck Donuts, 1894 Thomasville Road; a new branch of Guthrie’s Chicken, at 2870 Apalachee Pkwy.; PrimoHoagies at 1600 W. Call St.; Social Kitchen TLH, at 2910 Kerry Forest Pkwy., and the second Slim Chickens restaurant in Tallahassee at 2329 Apalachee Pkwy.

Rochelle Koff writes about food and dining at TallahasseeTable.com, on Facebook@TheTallahasseeTable and Twitter @tallytable. Reach her at TallahasseeTable@gmail.com.

Correction: Jeri's at Market Plaza is open on Sunday and closed on Monday. An earlier version of the story had the reverse.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Sample 12 new restaurants that opened in Tallahassee in 2023