Bon Appétit Best New Restaurants 2026

LEO'S is the Santa Fe pick for a relaxed dinner with more credibility than the casual setup might suggest. Its Esquire Best New Restaurants recognition in 2025 makes it more compelling than a default neighborhood choice, especially for diners who want something current without turning the night into a formal production.

Sao is a practical East Passyunk dinner option for someone who wants an easy Philadelphia booking more than a high-stakes destination meal. Go Wednesday through Saturday for a simple neighborhood plan; choose a better-documented peer if cuisine, price, or a serious drinks program is the deciding factor.

Maison Bar à Vins is a French wine bar and small-plates restaurant in Adams Morgan, Washington, D.C., recognised on Resy's Best of the Hit List for 2025. The extensive French-leaning wine list is the main draw, with refined bistro dishes built to accompany it. Booking is easy, the room is conversation-friendly, it is a strong choice for wine-led dining without a tasting-menu commitment.

Junior is worth booking for an evening-first Nashville dinner when the priority is a current, occasion-ready room without a punishing reservation process. The draw is recent national recognition, including Esquire's Best Martinis in America in 2025 and Robb Report's 2026 new-restaurant list, rather than a clearly defined cuisine lane.

Lei is a wine bar on Doyers Street in New York City.

Casa Juani serves Spanish tapas and paella in a casual Boulder setting that prioritizes easy booking and flexible pacing over formal structure. The kitchen handles classics like patatas bravas and gambas al ajillo competently, with paellas available for groups of two or more. Best for regulars seeking approachable Spanish cooking without the drive to Denver, or for diners who prefer sharing plates to tasting menus.

Book Anjin if you want a compact Kansas City izakaya with serious cooking, sake, a shareable small-plate format. It is strongest for solo diners, pairs, vegetable-friendly ordering, with value coming from range rather than portion size. Skip it for a quiet private-room dinner or a classic steakhouse night.

Le Calamar works for an easy dinner on South First when the draw is a drink-led night rather than a cuisine-specific destination. Its strongest signal is Esquire recognition for martinis, so book it for the dining-room experience and cross-shop Fresa's - South First for convenience or Lenoir for a clearer splurge dinner.

Book Little Mountain when you want an easy Montecito dinner plan and location matters more than a heavily documented chef, menu, or price signal. For a higher-occasion meal, compare it with The Stonehouse or San Ysidro Ranch first; for familiar steakhouse energy, Lucky's Steakhouse is the clearer call.

Book Honeysuckle for a planned North Broad dinner with serious recognition behind it, not for a casual last-minute meal. The 2025 Michelin Plate and 2026 James Beard nods make it a stronger occasion pick than nearby casual options, but the sparse public menu and pricing details mean first-timers should choose it for the overall dinner experience rather than a specific dish.

Bayonet earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand and landed on the NYT's 50 Best Restaurants in America list in 2025; both in its opening year. The raw bar anchors Alabama and East Coast oysters, while Rob McDaniel's rotating sustainable fish menu does the serious work. Booking is Near Impossible; plan well ahead or attempt the bar early in the week.

A June 2025 Resy Hit List pick on New Orleans' West Bank, Saint Claire brings Cajun-French cooking to a century-old Algiers property with serious seasonal sourcing: muscadine grapes, pickled peaches, rabbit rillettes, dark roux gumbo. The 15-minute journey from the French Quarter is part of the meal. Book while reservations remain easy.

Kabawa is Paul Carmichael and Momofuku's Caribbean restaurant in New York City.

Agnes and Sherman earned a Michelin Plate in 2025 for a reason: the Modern Asian American Diner format is more than a concept; it is a specific, well-executed point of view about what American food includes. Easy to book, casual in atmosphere, priced well below Houston's tasting-menu tier, it is one of the Heights' stronger choices for a weeknight dinner that still has something to say.

Creepies is a French-leaning neighborhood bistro on Randolph Street from the team behind Elske, offering technically focused cooking; Parisian gnocchi, steamed halibut, precise desserts; in a warm, checkered-tile room. It landed on Esquire's Best Martinis in America list for 2025. Easy to book by West Loop standards and considerably less expensive than the tasting-menu spots on the same block.

Book Broken Spanish Comedor for chef-driven Alta California cooking in an easygoing Culver City setting. At $55 per person, it makes the most sense for dates, friends, casual celebrations where the draw is modern Mexican flavor without tasting-menu formality.

Maria Isabel is a strong San Francisco dinner pick for regional Mexican cooking from Guerrero and Sinaloa, especially if wine matters to the meal. It suits small groups, dates, food-focused diners better than quick daytime plans, with a 2026 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence adding a useful trust signal.

Jules is one of San Francisco's best new pizza restaurants, earning spots on both the Resy Hit List and the San Francisco Chronicle's best new restaurants list in 2025. It's personal, ingredient-led, easy to book; a strong weeknight call in the Western Addition for diners who want somewhere genuinely good without the tasting-menu commitment or price tag.