The Biggest Summer Restaurant Openings of 2019

As much as food websites want to convince you to grill this summer (we're guilty!), dining out in the warmer months has its own appeal. For one, you won't have to toil over flaming coals, or wash all the various grilling instruments required to pull a barbecue together. So we're offering some blessed news: This summer, a slew of super-exciting restaurants are opening around the country, which means you can eat out all summer, if you're so inclined.

Below, find some of the summer restaurant openings we are most excited for. (Note: Opening dates subject to change, as this is the restaurant industry we're talking about.)

Luthun

Opening: June
Where: New York City

The tasting menu concept, whose name means "something new and unexpected" in Bengali, will offer two tasting menus (one vegetarian) and a chef's counter option, from chefs Nahid Ahmed and Arjuna Bull.

432 E 13th St, New York

Delaney Oyster House

Opening: Summer
Where: Charleston, SC

The raw bar and seafood-focused restaurant from The Neighborhood Dining Group (Husk, McCrady’s, McCrady’s Tavern, Minero) will open in downtown Charleston.

Optimist Hall

Opening: Summer
Where: Charlotte, NC

The 147,000-square-foot redevelopment of an old gingham mill will house a food hall, as well as retail, restaurant, and office space. Confirmed tenanats include Aix Rotisserie, Ava Restaurant, Bao & Broth, Dumpling Lady, GoFo Bao & Broth, Honeysuckle Gelato, Papi Queso, Suarez Bakery & Barra, Undercurrent Coffee, Zukku Sushi, Pet Wants, Billy Sunday, Fonta Flora Brewery, El Thrifty Social Club, Archer Paper, and Duke Energy. Botiwalla, from chef Meherwan Irani of Chai Pani, will open in the restaurant portion of the space.

Osaka

Opening: July
Where: Brickell (Miami, FL)

The international Nikkei restaurant is making its North American debut in Miami, with an outpost helmed by chefs Rogger Quispe and Juan Urrutia. The Japanese-Peruvian concept was founded by Diego Herrera and Diego De La Puente in Lima in 2001 and has nine locations around South America.

Pernoi

Opening: Late July/Early August
Where: Birmingham (Detroit, MI)

Legendary Detroit-area chefs Takashi Yagihashi and Luciano DelSignore are teaming up on a globally inspired fine-dining restaurant to open in the city's Birmingham neighborhood. "There's nothing casual about this restaurant," DelSignore told the Detroit Free Press. "It's not just white tablecloth. It's hospitality at the highest level that I could've ever imagined it to be. That's what's most important to me. I told Takashi I wanted to bring hospitality to levels we've never seen in Michigan and he came right back at me with this idea of omotenashi."

310 E Maple Rd., Birmingham

Morty's Oyster Stand

Opening: June
Where: The Hamptons

Opening at the site of the former Cyril’s, the Hamptons restaurant will have Top Chef alum Sam Talbot at the helm, with a menu of sustainably sourced seafood dishes (think lobster rolls and grilled local squid) and indoor and outdoor dining space.

2167 Montauk Highway, Amagansett, NY

Karl's

Opening: Late summer
Where: Detroit

Lady of the House's Kate Williams, a 2018 Food & Wine Best New Chef, is joining the buzz at the newly renovated Siren Hotel to debut Karl’s, an all-day concept that will open on the hotel's second floor. According to the Detroit Free Press, Karl's will be an upscale diner (with refined takes on spaghetti and meatballs, hand pies, and doughnuts) at an accessible price point.

1509 Broadway St, Detroit

Shun

Opening: June
Where: New York City

A contemporary French restaurant with Japanese influences, Shun will open on the second level of Le Jardinier (opening May 21). Both restaurants will be helmed by Joël Robuchon protogé Alain Verzeroli.

100 East 53 Street, NYC

Chef's Special Cocktail Bar

Opening: Summer
Where: Chicago

From the award-winning team behind Giant, this dressed-up dive bar concept will open in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. (Check out our preview here.) “I definitely think of it as a bar first,” 2013 Best New Chef Jason Vincent told us. But it’s also a spot for late-night lo mein and the kind of Chinese-American food Vincent grew up eating in the suburbs of Cleveland—think Mongolian beef and egg foo yung.

2165 N. Western Ave, Chicago

Ittoryu Gozu

Opening: August
Where: San Francisco

The restaurant will "explore the nuance and versatility of the wagyu breed through the craft of robatayaki," reads a statement. Chef-owner Marc Zimmerman will serve a nose-to-tail menu bolstered by his relationships with farms in Japan, Australia, and America.

The Fat Radish

Opening: Summer
Where: Savannah

The Fat Radish is opening a second outpost of their wildly popular New York restaurant, which opened in 2010 on the Lower East Side, down South. The Savannah location will be helmed by chef Nick Wilber.

Flora Fauna

Opening: Early June
Where: Chicago

Featuring draft cocktails and tap wines, this eco-friendly bar and restaurant is a team effort from mixologist Liz Pearce and her husband, chef Jonathan Meyer. The menu will feature techniques and flavors inspired by the couple's travels in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

11 W. Illinois Street, Chicago

Orilla at Urbanica Hotel (The Euclid)

Opening: August
Where: Miami Beach

Led by chef Fernando Trocca, Orilla Restaurant takes cues from Patagonia, offering a menu of simple dishes that showcase local products. (Orilla will be the first U.S. location of its sister restaurant in Buenos Aires, Aregentina.)

426 Euclid Ave, Miami Beach

Birdie G’s

Opening: Early summer (note: this was on our spring openings list, but the opening was pushed back.)

Where: Los Angeles

Heralded as the king of vegetables, chef Jeremy Fox has a different focus for 2019. This spring, the award-winning chef known for Rustic Canyon will open Birdie G’s, a new-American project named for his daughter and grandmother that will play on cultural and regional influences from around the country, including the chef's Midwestern family upbringing. The 120-seat restaurant will be located in Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station and serve light, updated versions of comforting dishes like grilled daikon radish piccata and whole roast chicken with dilly matzoh ball soup. - Morgan Goldberg

Hutong

Where: New York City

When: Mid-June

The contemporary Northern Chinese restaurant from Hong Kong will open in the former Le Cirque space, making it the first NYC opening for Singapore-born restaurateur David Yeo (of Aqua Restaurant Group).

151 E 58th St.

Piccolina

Where: Washington D.C.

When: Summer

Amy Brandwein, chef and owner of Centrolina and James Beard Award Best Chef Mid-Atlantic finalist, will open her second D.C. concept – an all-day café and enoteca, with to-go options. The space was designed by local architecture and design firm HapstakDemetriou.

HIROKI

Where: Fishtown, Philadelphia

When: June

A new Japanese omakase concept from Method Co. overseen by acclaimed Japanese chef Hiroki Fujiyama.

Corner of Lee & Master Streets, 215-422-3222