Esquire's Best New Restaurants of 2021

Dhamaka is the strongest case for regional Indian cooking in New York City at the $$ price point; James Beard Award winner, Michelin Bib Gourmand, consistently ranked by Opinionated About Dining. Book three to four weeks out; tables are small, demand is high, the spice-forward menu rewards groups who order widely.

Ever is Curtis Duffy's two-Michelin-starred modernist tasting menu in Chicago's Fulton Market, earning 96 points from La Liste in 2026 and AAA 5 Diamond recognition in 2025. The service is as considered as the cooking, the room is built for occasions that should feel deliberate. Booking is near impossible; plan several weeks ahead minimum.

Helen holds two consecutive Michelin stars (2024–2025) and, making it one of the stronger special-occasion bets in Paris's €€€€ tier. Chef Uroš Štefelin's seafood and Southern grill combination is genuinely unusual in the starred Paris circuit. Book four to six weeks out minimum; this is a hard reservation at any time of year.

Hestia holds back-to-back Michelin stars (2024–2025) and is the most technically committed live-fire restaurant in Austin. Dinner only, Tue–Sun from 5:30 PM, priced at the $$$ tier with a 480-selection wine list. Book three to four weeks out minimum; this one is hard to get into and worth the effort for a serious food-and-wine evening.

Horn Barbecue holds two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards and Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats recognition at a $$ price point; an unusual concentration of credentials for a Bay Area barbecue operation. Walk-ins are viable, smoked meats travel well for takeout, early arrival secures the best cuts. The clearest value play in Oakland barbecue.

March holds a Michelin star and the World's Best Wine Lists Global Winner title for North America, running a ticketed tasting menu through Mediterranean boundary cuisines at 1624 Westheimer Rd. Book weeks ahead; seats are limited and the format is dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday. At $$$$ with a 1,200-bottle wine list, it is Houston's strongest case for a full fine-dining splurge.

Owamni won the 2022 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant; and it remains the most distinctive dining address in Minneapolis. Built entirely around pre-contact Indigenous ingredients, the 80-seat riverfront restaurant is hard to book (plan 3–4 weeks out minimum) and worth it for a returning visitor who wants to engage more deeply with the menu's progressive structure.

The Harvey House on West Washington Ave is an easy-to-book option for a Madison evening out, with walk-ins viable and no need to plan far ahead. Arrive in the 7–9 PM window for a first visit, as late-night conditions are harder to predict. Limited confirmed data means it rewards a quick check of current reviews before you go.

Cadence is an East Village address that works best as part of a broader neighborhood evening rather than a destination booking on its own. Booking is easy by New York standards, its proximity to strong cocktail bars makes it a practical anchor for a low-pressure night out. Confirm pricing and outdoor seating details directly before you go.

Shawarmaji is worth choosing for a casual, low-friction Middle Eastern street-food meal, especially at lunch or late on Friday and Saturday. It is not the pick for a formal dinner, but Esquire's 2021 recognition gives first-timers a clear reason to prioritize it over a generic quick-service stop.

Irwin's is a good South Philadelphia choice when the night calls for a composed, evening-only stop rather than a quick casual drink. Booking pressure is listed as easy, so it works well for a return visit or a lower-admin date night, but choose a more transparent venue if exact menu, drink, or budget details need to be set in advance.

Ranked #203 in North America by Opinionated About Dining, Oyster Oyster delivers a vegetable-focused tasting menu in Shaw, D.C. that earns its reputation through genuine technical precision rather than dietary positioning. At $$$, it undercuts most $$$$ tasting-menu competition in the city. Book two to three weeks out for weekends and expect creative, farm-sourced cooking that holds its own against the best in the country.

Iris, housed inside the floating Salmon Eye structure on Hardangerfjord, is a serious destination restaurant that justifies the €€€€ price. Chef Anika Madsen's kitchen ranked #119 in Europe on OAD 2025, applying real technical skill to foraged Norwegian produce. Dinner-only, Thursday to Saturday, reached by boat from Rosendal; book well ahead.

Myriel is St. Paul's most decorated tasting menu restaurant, with a 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest and a Food & Wine Best New Chef recognition to its name. Chef Karyn Tomlinson's Scandinavian-inspired, farm-and-forage menu is the right call for a special occasion dinner in Minnesota. Book several weeks out; demand is high and seats are limited.

The Anchovy Bar is one of San Francisco's most consistently recognized casual seafood bars, ranked by Opinionated About Dining in North America three years running. Chef Koji Yokoyama's O'Farrell Street concept rewards multiple visits. Booking is easy, the format is informal, the cooking is serious enough to justify the trip.

A smart casual pick in Mystic when you want bakery-and-pizzeria flexibility rather than a formal seafood dinner. Nana's Bakery & Pizza is easiest to recommend for solo diners, families, repeat visitors who need a reliable daytime or early-evening stop, with Esquire Best New Restaurants #16 recognition from 2021 adding credibility.

Book Dimo's Apizza when the point is New Haven-style pizza in Portland, not a formal night out. Its Esquire Best New Restaurants #17 recognition gives it a useful trust signal, but the practical appeal is simpler: focused pizza, easygoing pacing, a better fit for casual dinners than special-occasion bistro meals.

La Natural is a Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded Mediterranean pizza and wine bar in Miami's Little Haiti, recognized in both 2024 and 2025 and ranked #137 on OAD's Casual North America list. Chef Javier Ramirez's vegetable-forward approach at $$ pricing makes it one of Miami's clearest value plays for ingredient-conscious casual dining. Booking is easy; the weekend lunch slot is the most underused entry point.

En Passant is the pick for a small, food-led special occasion when eclectic New American cooking matters more than a fully documented drinks or tasting-menu format. Its Esquire Best New Restaurants #20 recognition gives it a credible reason to be on the shortlist, but diners who need a clear price band or cuisine lane should compare first.

Roots Southern Table is a dinner-first Dallas pick for Southern-Creole cooking that works well for date night, birthdays, small celebration meals. Choose it when the group wants more personality than a steakhouse or chain dinner, but without a rigid fine-dining format.

Miss River brings serious Creole cooking and one of New Orleans' deeper wine lists; 2,000 bottles, France-Italy-Spain strength; to a Canal Street address that books easily. Named to Esquire's Best New Restaurants in 2021, it's the right call for wine-focused diners or anyone who wants polished Louisiana cooking without a reservation fight.

Bacanora is the strongest case for a special occasion dinner in Phoenix right now. Chef Rene Andrade won the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest, placing this Sonoran Mexican restaurant in a category of its own in Arizona. Book three to four weeks out minimum, request counter seating if available: 4.4 across 568 reviews.

Esmeralda holds back-to-back Michelin Plates (2024–2025) and a spot on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list, making it one of the most credentialled mid-premium options in Knokke. The kitchen blends Classic Cuisine with Peruvian Pachamanca technique; a combination that sets it apart from the town's standard brasserie offer. At €€€ with easy booking, it is the most accessible serious restaurant in Knokke.

Chef Kevin Tien's modern Vietnamese restaurant on F St NW is one of Washington D.C.'s most decorated at the $$$ price tier; Michelin Plate, World's 50 Best North America No. 17 (2025), and a Michelin-awarded cocktail programme. Book well in advance: tables are near-impossible to secure. The Vietnamese-Cajun cooking, anchored by dishes like the mochi beignet and fried quail with duck sausage, gives it a profile no direct peer in the city matches.

A landmarked Brooklyn chophouse with genuine credentials: OAD-ranked, Esquire-cited, running a Southern-inflected menu in a Victorian room that costs nothing like what it should. Chef Sohui Kim's dry-aged steaks, seafood towers, Edna Lewis-inspired fried chicken deliver real substance at a price point well below comparable Manhattan dining. Book it for celebrations, dates, or any dinner where atmosphere and food quality both matter.

Rosella is an à la carte, hyper-sustainable sushi counter in New York's East Village, ranked #245 in North America by Opinionated About Dining in 2025. Chefs Yoni Lang and Jeff Miller deliver technically precise contemporary sushi with a North Fork and West Coast wine list. Easier to book than most venues at this quality level, more flexible than a fixed omakase.

Abacá is a Michelin Plate-recognised Filipino Contemporary restaurant at the Kimpton Alton Hotel in San Francisco, ranked #364 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list for 2025. At the $$ price point, it delivers chef-driven cooking with verifiable awards credentials and easy booking; a rare combination in a city where comparable ambition typically costs twice as much. Go for dinner; arrive early if the panaderia is your goal.

A Michelin Plate Greek kitchen in Logan Square with a wood-burning oven, an all-Greek wine list of 135 selections, $$ food pricing. OAD Casual North America ranked and Esquire-listed, Andros Taverna earns its reputation through a flexible mezze-to-mains format that rewards return visits. Book for groups who want serious food without a tasting menu commitment.

Oma's Hideaway is one of Portland's most consistent critical performers in a cuisine category the city rarely does well; Malaysian and Asian fusion from chef Thomas Pisha Duffly. Ranked by OAD in both 2024 and 2025, named an Esquire Best New Restaurant, it's a SE Division reservation worth making. Booking is easy, the format is casual, the food-to-effort ratio is high.

Aunts et Uncles is worth booking for a casual Brooklyn meal when vegan Caribbean food is the point, not when the brief is formal fine dining. It works especially well for dates, small birthdays, mixed-diet groups that want a distinctive choice without a stiff room.

A Michelin-starred tasting-menu counter inside the larger Imperfecto space, Chef Enrique Limardo's Chef's Table offers one of the most intimate fine-dining experiences in Washington, D.C. at the $$$$ tier. With Latin-driven seasonal cooking, verified critical recognition, very few seats per service, this is worth booking; but plan three to four weeks ahead and come knowing it is a counter-only, tasting-menu format.

VAGA is a smart Encinitas pick when the group wants Californian cooking with a Mexican-inspired angle in a more polished setting than the casual coastal circuit. It is better for a flexible lunch or dinner than for a formal private-room occasion, with Esquire Best New Restaurants #37 recognition adding confidence.

Book Mark's Off Madison when the priority is an easy Flatiron meal with American, deli, Italian range rather than a high-drama reservation. It is strongest for repeat visitors, work-adjacent meals, groups that need broad appeal in New York City.

Kasama is the world's first two-Michelin-star Filipino restaurant, operating as a daytime café and a 13-course tasting menu in Chicago's East Ukrainian Village. The tasting menu books 45 days out and earns its $$$$ price with James Beard and Opinionated About Dining credentials. Plan at least two visits: one for the daytime pastry program, one for the evening tasting menu.

Fritai is the New Orleans pick when Haitian Creole is the point, not a side note. Aim for dinner, especially for a later plan, book with enough lead time because awards attention has made it a harder table than a casual format might suggest.

Fish & Bird Sousaku Izakaya in Berkeley holds two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024–2025) and an Esquire Best New Restaurants ranking, all at a $$ price point that makes it one of the Bay Area's strongest value plays for Japanese creative cooking. Easy to book and well-suited to groups and special occasions, it rewards the cross-bay trip without the tasting-menu price tag.

Havens works for a casual Kihei meal when burgers and Hawaiian comfort food fit the group better than a formal dinner. It suits solo diners, families, low-key occasions; choose a more polished room if the night needs ceremony, wine service, or a longer sit-down format.