Fall is undoubtedly the busiest season for restaurant openings, with chefs stretching their creativity in new directions after summers of research, renovations, tasting and refining. For fall 2025, Wine Spectator has highlighted six restaurants across the country with the buzziest openings and most promising wine cellars, from a new chapter for an infamous restaurant to a rising chef rolling big in Las Vegas to a highly anticipated wine bar in one of New York City’s trendiest neighborhoods. Read on to see what’s coming in the next few months!
An Old Hand Brings New Life to Babbo
Earlier this year, restaurateur Stephen Starr sent shockwaves through the restaurant industry with the announcement that he would be taking over Babbo, the New York City Best of Award of Excellence winner once synonymous with chef Mario Batali. Helping Starr breathe new life into the space is respected chef Mark Ladner, who was part of the opening team for Babbo back in 1998. He spent nearly two decades as part of the Batali-Bastianich empire, opening Lupa and then helming former Grand Award winner Del Posto, where he honed his own vision of Italian dining and mentored many other chefs (including Mario Carbone) before leaving in 2017. The restaurant is scheduled to reopen in early October.
Kwame Onwuachi Raises the Stakes (and Steaks) in Las Vegas
Following years of critical success, New York-raised chef Kwame Onwuachi is taking his talents across the country to the Sahara Las Vegas, where he is opening Maroon, an Afro-Caribbean steak house. Onwuachi is best known for the Award of Excellence winner Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi, his watershed restaurant at Lincoln Center where he blends the cuisines of the different diasporas in New York City. Last year, he opened Dōgon in Washington, D.C. The Vegas steak house is named after the Maroon people of Jamaica, descendants of Africans who escaped slavery to form their own communities in the mountains. The space formerly housed José Andrés’ Best of Award of Excellence winner Bazaar Meat, which has moved down the strip to the Palazzo at the Venetian Hotel, where it opened yesterday.
Eleven Madison Park Alums Expand with a Second Restaurant
Tucked away on Bleecker Street in Manhattan’s West Village, Eleven Madison Park alums Cedric Nicaise and chef Andy Quinn have built a quiet fire with Best of Award of Excellence winner the Noortwyck. This fall, they are moving even further downtown, to Nolita, where they are opening Oriana, centered on wood-fire grilling. Stocked by Nicaise (who served as wine director for Grand Award winner Eleven Madison Park), the new wine cellar will hold 7,000 bottles—over twice the size of the Noortwyck’s.
A Swedish Chef Roots Himself in Los Angeles
Marcus Jernmark has been on the path to opening a restaurant like Lialle for years: The Swedish chef established himself in the United States as the chef-partner of New York City’s Aquavit—the acclaimed Scandinavian Best of Award of Excellence winner—over a decade ago before joining the ranks of Thomas Keller’s Grand Award winner Per Se, then returning to Sweden to be executive chef of Restaurant Frantzén, one of Stockholm’s most prestigious restaurants. Lielle, a Nordic-leaning tasting menu opening this season, is the first of two new projects in Los Angeles, taking over the building that once held Best of Award of Excellence winner Manzke. In the months leading up to the debut, Jernmark and his team have paid visits to innovators in California agriculture and winemaking, such as sommelier-turned-vintner Rajat Parr (of Parr Collective, Sandhi and more) and a Tribute to Grace’s Angela Osborne.: Jernmark has hinted that the second project, to be located above Lielle, will be more wine-focused.
Crying Tiger to Debut in the Windy City
Earlier this year, Chicago-based restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You tapped rising-star chef Thai Dang to open its newest concept, Crying Tiger, in the booming River North neighborhood. Named after a Thai dish in which steak is dipped in a herbaceous, eye-watering sauce, Crying Tiger will focus on the culinary traditions of Southeast Asia. Dang brings a decade of experience helming some of Chicago’s top Vietnamese dining, particularly with his flagship HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen. Lettuce Entertain You operates several Restaurant Award winning locations, including RPM Italian, RPM Steak and Chicago’s Tre Dita, the latter in collaboration with chef Evan Funke.
A Bona Fide Wine Bar from Fine-Dining Virtuosos
Building on their successes with Best of Award of Excellence winners Claud and Penny—which ask the question, “Where does a wine bar end and a restaurant begin?”—owners Joshua Pinskey and Chase Sinzer are opening a new wine bar, called Stars, in New York City’s East Village this fall. Unlike its sibling restaurants, which offer full-service meals, Stars will be focused on light snacks, made to enjoy with the wine list starting with over 1,000 selections.
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