Esquire's Best New Restaurants 2024: Complete List and Analysis

Esquire's number-one new restaurant in the US for 2024, Four Kings delivers seriously credentialed Chinese cooking at a $$ price point that makes it the strongest value proposition in San Francisco's Chinese dining scene. Back-to-back Michelin Plates and an Opinionated About Dining Casual nod confirm this is not an accident. Book a week or two out — it's easy to get a table, the cooking earns every award it has collected.

Azizam is the strongest case for Persian home-cooking in Los Angeles right now, backed by an LA Times 101 Best ranking (#21) and Esquire's #2 Best New Restaurant of 2024. Walk-in only, Silver Lake cafe format, with a tight menu built around dishes most Persian restaurants don't attempt. Worth the effort for anyone serious about the cuisine.

Budonoki is a modern izakaya in Virgil Village that earned the number three spot on Esquire's 2024 Best New Restaurants list and. Book it for a date or small group when you want Japanese drinking snacks, sake, creative cocktails in a lively neighbourhood setting without the formality or spend of a tasting-menu room. Booking is easy, which makes it one of the more accessible quality Japanese options in east LA right now.

Ranked #46 on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants 2024 and #4 on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list, Camélia brings a coherent French-Japanese bistro to Downtown LA's Arts District — with one of the city's more thoughtful wine and sake programs. From the team behind Tsubaki and Ototo, it's an easy booking relative to its peer set and a strong return visit for anyone already familiar with the group's work.

Mae Malai Thai House of Noodles holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024 and 2025) and an Esquire top-five best new restaurant ranking — all for boat noodles priced under $10 a bowl. The broth is rich, layered, better than anything else in Thai Town at this price. Go for the boat noodles, order multiple bowls, work through the short menu from there.

Mori Nozomi is the most compelling sushi omakase to open in Los Angeles in 2024 — Michelin-starred, eight seats, built around a kaiseki-inflected progression that goes well beyond a standard nigiri format. Reservations are hard to secure and evenings-only Tuesday through Saturday. Book if you are serious about the format; expect to plan weeks ahead.

7 Adams earned a Michelin star in 2025 and landed on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list — and at under a hundred dollars for five courses, it's among the strongest value propositions in San Francisco's fine dining tier. Chef Serena and David Fisher's seasonal Californian prix-fixe is a hard booking (four to six weeks out minimum), but the combination of technical precision and accessible pricing makes it worth the effort.

Book Charlie's Napa Valley when the goal is a polished Contemporary American meal in St. Helena without the reservation stress of Napa's hardest tables. It is strongest for dinner, dates, celebrations, groups that care about the drinks program as much as the food.

Alma Fonda Fina is a Michelin-starred contemporary Mexican restaurant in Denver's LoHi neighbourhood, earning national recognition from Esquire within months of its 2023 opening. Chef Johnny Curiel's shareable four-section menu, anchored by an eight-seat chef's counter, delivers technical precision at a $$ price point that is difficult to match in the city. Book three to four weeks out minimum.

Kwame Onwuachi's Afro-Caribbean restaurant inside the Salamander Hotel is one of D.C.'s hardest tables to get for good reason. The sharing-plate format pulls from Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, Creole traditions with real specificity — earned a Michelin Plate and Esquire Best New Restaurants nod in its first year. Book four-plus weeks out via Resy, bring a group to get the most from the menu.

ITAMAE holds a Michelin star, a 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: South, an OAD ranking of #248 in North America — making it one of Miami's most credentialed restaurants at the $$$$ tier. Nando and Valerie Chang's Nikkei cuisine (Peruvian-Japanese) is precise and confident without the stiffness of formal tasting rooms. Book four to six weeks out; this one fills fast.

Little Sparrow is Bob Ryan's French bistro in West Midtown Atlanta, carrying two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024–2025) and an Esquire Best New Restaurants ranking. At $$$, it delivers awarded French bistro cooking without the tasting-menu structure or price of Atlanta's $$$$ rooms. Book one to two weeks ahead for weekends; earlier sittings are the better call if noise level matters to you.

Maxwells Trading earns its Michelin Plate and Esquire Best New Restaurants recognition with confident contemporary fusion cooking — Japanese, Chinese, Thai techniques delivered without ceremony in a converted West Loop warehouse. At $$$, the service holds up under volume better than most rooms at this price, the reflects that consistency. Book two to three weeks out for weekends.

Acamaya is a Michelin Bib Gourmand Mexican seafood restaurant in New Orleans' Bywater neighborhood, named to Esquire's Best New Restaurants list in 2024. Chef Ana Castro's cooking bridges Gulf Coast ingredients and Mexico City technique with unusual precision. It's easy to book relative to its reputation, which makes it one of the stronger value decisions on a New Orleans restaurant itinerary.

Oun Lido's is worth booking when you want a casual Portland meal with a clearer point of view than the usual Old Port rotation. The Cambodian-Chinese fusion angle and Esquire 2024 recognition give it real decision weight, especially for repeat visitors. Choose it for food curiosity and flexibility, not for a formal special-occasion room.

Vecino is the Detroit pick for a Modern Mexican celebration dinner, especially if awards recognition matters to the group. Its Esquire Best New Restaurants #16 nod in 2024 and James Beard Award semifinalist recognition in 2025 make it harder to book than a casual fallback, so plan ahead and choose dinner rather than hoping for lunch availability.

Vinai is Minneapolis's most compelling new restaurant right now: chef Yia Vang's modern Hmong cooking earned an Esquire Best New Restaurant nod in 2024 (#17 nationally) and. Book it for a special occasion if you want a meal with genuine cultural depth, not just a prestigious address. Booking is currently Easy — do not wait for that to change.

Le Veau d'Or is the most credential-backed French bistro revival in New York right now: two Michelin stars, a 2025 James Beard Award, a prix-fixe menu of precisely executed classics in a room that has been running since 1937. Book well in advance — the intimate Upper East Side room fills fast, the combination of awards and limited seats makes this one of the harder reservations in the city.

April Bloomfield's Fort Greene bistro has earned OAD Casual, NY Mag, Esquire recognition in under two years, the seasonal menu justifies the lines. Lunch walk-ins are possible; dinner requires advance booking. What to order depends heavily on when you visit: the kitchen builds around seasonal produce, so time your trip and target accordingly.

Demo holds a Michelin star, the number-one wine programme in Lithuania (Star Wine List 2025), and a kitchen that runs until midnight every night — a combination that puts it ahead of every other Vilnius option for a serious late dinner. At €€€€ it is a genuine commitment, booking is hard. If you can get a table, this is where Vilnius fine dining is currently operating at its highest confirmed level.

Four Twenty Five is one of Midtown Manhattan's most compelling fine dining options, pairing Jonathan Benno and Jean-Georges Vongerichten in a Park Avenue room that earned three New York Times stars and a spot on New York Magazine's 2025 best restaurants list. The a la carte format gives it an edge over tasting-menu-only peers, the Star Wine List recognition makes it a genuine destination for wine-focused diners.

Book Naks when Filipino cooking is the point of the night and the group wants a relaxed East Village dinner with more intent than a fallback meal. Esquire recognized it in 2024, Opinionated About Dining recommended it in 2026, which gives it credible signal without turning the experience into a formal occasion.

Penny is the East Village raw bar that makes the case for restraint: pristine seafood, a 6,000-bottle wine list, counter seats that put you inside the kitchen. Featured on Opinionated About Dining's Casual list for North America (2025) and awarded three stars by The New York Times, it books easier than its reputation warrants. Walk in at opening or grab one of the limited reservations.

Tolo on Canal Street is one of the strongest value cases in New York dining right now: Michelin Bib Gourmand, an Esquire Best New Restaurants nod, a Star Wine List White Star, all at $$. Chef Ron Yan's Cantonese a la carte menu pairs refined versions of familiar dishes with a wine program that takes Zalto glasses seriously. Book ahead — the small room fills fast.

Chef Yara Herrera's Ridgewood Queens spot earned Esquire Best New Restaurants 2024 (#25) by applying genuine fine-dining technique to Mexican-American cooking in a bar-restaurant format that runs late. Book a few days ahead for weekends; walk-ins are less predictable since the Esquire recognition.

Wildweed is the most interesting tasting-menu option in Cincinnati right now. Chef David Jackman's farm-to-table cooking — built around foraging, fermentation, freshly milled grain — earned an Esquire Best New Restaurants ranking (#26, 2024) and a Pearl 2025 recommendation. Book the chef's counter for the full picture; the à la carte is a solid fallback if the counter is full.

A focused daytime Puerto Rican pick in Philadelphia, strongest for solo diners or pairs who can plan around lunch hours. Esquire Best New Restaurants recognition gives it credibility, but the smart expectation is casual and food-first rather than formal service.

Book Bastia when you want a lively Philadelphia dinner with a more specific Mediterranean point of view than the usual coastal template. Its Corsican and Sardinian focus, Tyler Akin connection, Esquire Best New Restaurants #28 recognition make it more compelling for dinner than a quick lunch, especially for two-person meals or small groups.

A Michelin Plate-recognised Modern French restaurant at the €€ price tier, River Bar sits in a category few Rotterdam venues occupy: kitchen-serious cooking that does not require a €€€€ commitment. With back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025, it is a reliable choice for a second visit or a considered dinner without the booking difficulty of Rotterdam's top-tier rooms.

A dinner-first Charleston pick for diners who want African cooking with a clear chef-led point of view. Bintü Atelier is worth prioritizing when the meal should feel more specific than another seafood or New American reservation, with national recognition adding confidence to the booking.

Kultura is the Charleston pick for diners who want Filipino-Southern cooking rather than another familiar Lowcountry dinner. Go for evening service, chef Nikko Cagalanan's point of view, the Esquire Best New Restaurants 2024 recognition; choose Chubby Fish instead if seafood is the main priority.

A Michelin Bib Gourmand winner (2025) and Esquire Best New Restaurant (#32, 2024), St. Vito Focacceria is Nashville's most decorated casual option for Sicilian focaccia pizza. Chef Michael Hanna brings sourcing discipline to a format that rarely gets this level of attention. Easy to book, fair on price, worth returning to.

Mābo is Dallas's most focused yakitori opening in years, earning Esquire's Best New Restaurants recognition (#33, 2024) and a Resy Hit List spot in 2025. Chef Bounahcree Kim's precision-driven skewer format makes this a strong call for food enthusiasts. Book 1–2 weeks out on weeknights; the easy booking window won't stay open forever.

Late August earns back-to-back Michelin Plates (2024–2025) and an Esquire Best New Restaurants nod for its Southern-Afro-Asian fusion in Houston's Midtown. At $$$, it's a stronger case for a point-of-view kitchen than Theodore Rex and a significantly more accessible price than March or Musaafer. Book two to three weeks out for weekends; private dining suits groups of six or more.

Atoma landed on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list for 2024 (#35 nationally), making it one of Seattle's most compelling new dining rooms for farm-to-table Pacific Northwest cooking. With a 190-bottle wine list, counter seating worth requesting, dinner pricing in the $40–$65 range, it rewards food-curious diners who want depth without formality. Easy to book relative to its recognition level.