News

50 Greater Boston Restaurant Openings We Can’t Wait for in 2023

We’re only a couple weeks into 2023, and it’s shaping up to be a busy—and exciting!—year on the local dining front. There are rebirths (Eastern Standard, Deep Ellum) and pop-ups putting down roots (Comfort Kitchen, Lala’s Neapolitan-ish Pizza) and expansions (Yume Ga Arukara, Stubbys) and fun stuff (Alamo Drafthouse, A Sanctuary Cafe [that one’s a cat café!]) and dumpling shops (Mei Mei, Dumpling Daughter) and cafés/bakeries (Michette, something from the Iggy’s team) and…well, we’ll let you read about it all below.

Without further ado, here are 50 openings (and re-openings, moves, expansions, and revamps) that we will be absolutely thrilled to see in 2023.

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Jump to:

Boston

Back Bay | Beacon Hill | Charlestown | Dorchester
Downtown | Fenway/Kenmore | Mission Hill | North End
Roxbury | Seaport District | South Boston

Brookline | Cambridge | Everett

 Medford | Somerville | Farther Afield

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Boston

Back Bay

Hue

This two-story restaurant and entertainment venue is set to open imminently within the Copley Square Hotel, serving a bar menu at street level and a “supper club” menu below—and the kitchen is licensed to stay open until 1:30 a.m. The team’s describing the food as “American comfort foods with Asian accents,” which might include items like a crispy chicken sandwich with sriracha ranch or slow-roasted pork ribs with spicy tamarind glaze. The lower level will also play host to DJs and live music (but not a dance floor), plus a lounge-y private room with its own bar. Hue owners include George Aboujaoude (Bijou, Eva, Committee), Maurice Rodriguez (an alum of La Brasa and Fat Hen), Robert Eugene (a longtime Hennessy rep and event organizer), and entrepreneur Nick Saber.

90 Exeter St., Back Bay, Boston, hueboston.com.

Stratus

We bid farewell to Top of the Hub and the Skywalk Observatory at the Prudential Center back in 2020, but now plans are in motion for a new observatory and sky-high cocktail lounge on the 50^th through 52^nd floors of the skyscraper. The overall project is dubbed View Boston, and the middle floor—the Cloud Terrace—will be home to an indoor/outdoor cocktail lounge, Stratus, serving drinks and small plates. View Boston is expected to open sometime this year.

800 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston, viewboston.com.

Beacon Hill

A Sanctuary Cafe

Boston’s only cat café is in the works on Beacon Hill, heading toward an estimated May or June 2023 opening, according to owner Brittany Baker. Customers will pay to hang out in a cozy café space surrounded by friendly resident cats (like Kampbell) while enjoying locally sourced coffee, espresso drinks, tea, and hot chocolate, as well as baked goods and other desserts (which will be prepped offsite, sourced from French Press in Needham and other small local businesses). Baker is a fan, in particular, of French Press’s “gorgeous, buttery croissants” and “worth-every-calorie desserts.” A Sanctuary Cafe will also function as a “micro-bookstore.”

80 Charles St., Beacon Hill, Boston, asanctuarycafe.com.

Charlestown

Foundation Kitchen

Part food hall, part shared kitchen space, Foundation Kitchen has been mostly up and running in the Graphic Lofts building in Charlestown since late December 2022, but we’re excited to see it grow as it heads toward an early February grand opening. Customers can visit the ground-floor food hall daily to purchase food and drinks directly from five vendors—Render Coffee, Rita’s Fresh Pasta, Tchacoberry, Delectable Eats, and Fermenta Wine and Craft Beers, with the space that houses Render switching to Fermenta later in the day—and grab a table in the communal seating areas. But down in the basement, many more local food brands are hard at work, and a growing number of them offer takeout and delivery options, from sushi by Shyun Washoku to vegetarian cuisine from the Indian state of Maharashtra by Bombay Brunch. “Lots more to be announced!” promises cofounder Ciarán Nagle.

32 Cambridge St., Charlestown, Boston, 617-718-0188, foundationkitchen.com.

Dorchester

Comfort Kitchen

We’ve been eagerly awaiting this one for a few years now, thanks to its delicious pop-ups in and around Boston starting in 2020. (We’re so excited that it even landed on our Top 50 Restaurants list in 2021, in that year’s “Innovators” category, despite it not being a physical restaurant yet.) Partners Biplaw Rai, Nyacko Pearl Perry, Kwasi Kwaa, and Rita Ferreira are bringing global comfort food—particularly featuring ingredients from cuisines of the African diaspora—to a unique, historic space in Upham’s Corner. That might mean anything from jerk roasted duck leg with pikliz to Andalusian veg tagine to Berber-style lamb with dried fruit couscous, and we’re here for all of it. Peek at previous pop-up menus for an idea of what to expect when Comfort Kitchen opens by the end of January 2023.

611 Columbia Rd., Dorchester, Boston, comfortkitchenbos.com.

Downtown Boston

Caveau

The Caveau team—COJE Management Group, a.k.a. the masterminds behind stunning date-night restaurants like Yvonne’s, Mariel, Lolita, and more—is keeping mum for now about its newest project, except to say that it will “lean toward the nightclub atmosphere.” Every COJE restaurant is gorgeous and fun, so we’re excited to see what’s in store on the Caveau front. Stay tuned.

1-3 Center Plz., Downtown Boston.

Hobgoblin

Another mysterious addition downtown, Hobgoblin could open as early as February 2023, per its website, taking over the former Stoddard’s space. The team wasn’t available to provide details as of press time, but the website bills the project as a gastropub and piano bar, which sounds delightful. On the menu, according to the website: “Asian fusion tapas” such as squid ink unagi bao, Korean rice cakes, smoked bacon pad thai, and pan-seared ribeye with miso butter.

48 Temple Pl., Downtown Crossing, Boston, 857-991-1528, hobgoblinbar.com.

Silver Dove Afternoon Tea

Silver Dove will specialize in, well, afternoon tea, offering a set menu with the expected spread—think a savory and sweet mix of finger sandwiches, scones, and patisserie. The intimate space, located steps from Government Center, will seat 24 and is slated for an early 2023 opening. Local industry vets Patrick Brewster and Lee Morgan are behind the project; both have worked at Fort Point cocktail icon Drink, among other notable spots. Here’s a sneak peek at their elegant teaware.

24 Tremont St., Downtown Boston, silverdovetea.com.  

Fenway/Kenmore

Blue Ribbon Brasserie

New York-based Blue Ribbon Restaurants will add to its recent Kenmore openings—Blue Ribbon Sushi and Pescador—with one more, Blue Ribbon Brasserie, meant to embody “the original, fun spirit” of the brand’s New York flagship, which opened 30 years ago. That means an “eclectic” menu that nods at French classics but also draws inspiration from the travels of founders and chefs Bruce and Eric Bromberg. Taking over the former Eastern Standard space, Blue Ribbon Brasserie will open around summer 2023, featuring a “dramatically reimagined” exterior with a glass-front solarium, per a rep for the group.

528 Commonwealth Ave., Kenmore Square, Boston, blueribbonbrasserie.com.

Eastern Standard, Equal Measure, and more

Speaking of Eastern Standard, you’ve probably heard the popular Boston brasserie is coming back, opening nearby at the Bower apartment building. It’ll be one of four new venues at the Bower from restaurateur Garrett Harker and his crew; another will be a cocktail bar called Equal Measure, and details on the others haven’t been announced yet. Eastern Standard and Equal Measure could open as early as summer 2023.

771 Beacon St., Fenway, Boston, easternstandardboston.com.

Eventide Fenway

Not a new opening, but a rebirth: Five years after Portland, Maine’s acclaimed Eventide Oyster Co. opened a spinoff in Fenway with a more casual service model, Eventide Fenway will close on January 24 to transform into a full-service restaurant, complete with a full liquor license (an upgrade from the current beer and wine license). The plan is to reopen at the start of baseball season. We’ll all have to go a few months without that fabulous brown-butter lobster roll, but it’ll surely be worth the wait.

1321 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston, eventideoysterco.com.

Lala’s Neapolitan-ish Pizza at Time Out Market Boston

Founded in early 2021 as a food truck, Lala’s Neapolitan-ish Pizza has been making a name for itself, popping up at breweries and beyond. Now, it’s putting down roots at Time Out Market Boston, the Fenway food hall, with a planned opening on January 18, 2023. The wood-fired pizza is made in the spirit of the Neapolitan style, without sticking to the strict rulebook. Owner Conor Cudahy features New England ingredients and offers pies such as the Cheese Please: ricotta cream sauce, mozzarella, gorgonzola, rosemary, black pepper, and truffle honey. Lala’s will open in time for lunch daily at Time Out Market, with dine-in and takeout available.

401 Park Dr., Fenway, Boston, lalasneapolitan-ishpizza.com.

Mission Hill

An expansion of Laughing Monk Cafe

Laughing Monk Cafe—an excellent Japanese and Thai restaurant with locations on Mission Hill, in Wellesley, and in Allston (that one focuses specifically on Isan Thai cuisine)—is planning an expansion at its original location. The idea is to take over a vacant space next door, more than doubling the business’s total size. The new section will feature Asian sandwiches such as chicken massaman curry buns, owner Dome Nakapakorn tells Boston, noting that the renovations will take about three to six months to complete (from now).

737 Huntington Ave., Mission Hill, Boston, laughingmonkcafe.com.

North End

Umbria

Remember Umbria Prime from back in the day? The five-story restaurant and nightclub, part of the DePasquale Ventures hospitality group, was located in Boston’s Financial District and closed in 2017. It’s getting a revival of sorts, with Frank DePasquale opening a new Umbria around March 2023, this time in the North End, taking over the space of the recently closed Ristorante Fiore. This version of Umbria will have two floors of restaurant space (think Italian steakhouse) and “a Miami-style roof deck.”

250 Hanover St., North End, Boston.

Roxbury

Jazz Urbane Cafe

We’re always excited when Boston gets a new destination for live music, so this jazz venue and restaurant in the works in Roxbury’s Nubian Square will be a 2023 dream come true. Opening around June, Jazz Urbane Cafe will highlight local and national musicians nightly. (The space also allows for other forms of the arts—film screenings, multimedia installations, and more—as well as private event bookings.) On the food side, expect “a fusion of global flavors with many ingredients sourced locally.” Food fans will likely recognize one name among the ownership team: Nia Grace, serving as co-CEO and director of restaurant operations, is also behind the award-winning Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, home of the best jazz brunch around. (Grace is also opening a Seaport venue in 2023; see Grace by Nia below.)

2300 Washington St., Roxbury, Boston, jazzurbanecafe.com. 

Seaport District

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

The extraordinarily popular Austin, Texas-born movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse announced its Boston expansion plans last year. While the team isn’t sharing an opening date yet, social media posts have been ramping up lately, promising that it’ll open “soon.” When it does, there’ll be 10 screens (with fancy recliner seating and a full food and drink menu), showing a mix of first-run films and special programming. Alamo’s Boston location will also have a full-service bar called the Press Room, which will double as a printing museum and letterpress print shop. Stay tuned for updates, and don’t forget Alamo’s simple rule: don’t talk or text.

60 Seaport Blvd., Seaport District, Boston, drafthouse.com.

Boqueria

Inspired by Barcelona’s famous public market, La Boqueria, this tapas chain has eight locations in New York, D.C., Chicago, and Nashville. It’ll expand to Boston early in the second half of 2023, serving its large menu of paella, tapas, seasonal entrees, and an all-Spanish wine list. Boqueria has been around since 2006, when its original location snapped up a two-star (“very good”) review from The New York Times. The Boston location will seat around 150, serving lunch, dinner, and brunch.

25 Thomson Pl., Seaport District, Boston, boqueriarestaurant.com.

Borrachito and the Garret Bar

The Garret Group, a New York-based company behind several venues, will bring a couple of them to the Superette late this winter: a taqueria in the front and cocktail bar hidden in the back. Borrachito will serve “street-style tacos, with authentic Mexican cooking principles,” says Garrett Group partner Adam Fulton. The New York menu includes tacos, burritos, and quesadillas filled with options such as short rib and oxtail birria; brisket barbacoa and bone marrow; and vegan chorizo and potatoes. The Garret Bar, meanwhile, will be “a clandestine watering hole entered through a walk-in freezer door,” promises the WS Development website for the Seaport. (Interestingly, the origin story of Borrachito and the Garret is swapped in New York, with Borrachito opening as a hidden taqueria in the back of the Garret before later getting its own street-facing space.)

70 Pier 4 Blvd., Seaport District, Boston, thegarretgroup.com.

Grace by Nia

Restaurateur Nia Grace (Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, the Underground Cafe & Lounge) is having a busy 2023; see Jazz Urbane Cafe above. She’s also partnering with Big Night—the mega hospitality group behind Empire, the Scorpion Bar, Guy Fieri’s Boston restaurants, and more—to open Grace by Nia in the Seaport this year, as soon as February. The two-story “Southern-inspired supper club,” as a rep describes it, will have “a speakeasy and moody feel” and space for live music, with a stage on the main level and restaurant seating upstairs. The music calendar will include jazz, R&B, and hip-hop, plus a late-night DJ. On the menu: Maryland-style crab cakes, hush puppies, “casseroles with a New England twist,” lobster, and more, plus a cocktail menu highlighting Black- and minority-owned spirits companies.

1 Seaport Sq., Seaport District, Boston.

Stubbys

One of several Nantucket imports to arrive in Boston’s Seaport District in recent years, Stubbys—a casual, all-day joint—is coming to the neighborhood in spring 2023. Like its island sibling, it’ll serve fast-casual breakfast at all hours, plus lunch and dinner like breakfast sandwiches, grilled cheese, hot dogs, a few Jamaican dishes, and more. (This location will feature Nantucket favorites as well as new items.)

43 Northern Ave., Seaport District, Boston, stubbysnantucket.com.

Yume Ga Arukara

This Cambridge udon institution landed on our 2022 Top 50 Restaurants list thanks to its inimitable bowls of fresh, bouncy noodles topped with tender beef. The no-frills spot, nestled within the Porter Exchange building in Porter Square, offers a concise menu (choose hot or cold udon, spicy or not). The Seaport expansion, opening around fall 2023, will have a larger menu, including a selection of beers and wines. Find it at the Superette with Borrachito and the Garret Bar (see above.)

70 Pier 4 Blvd., Seaport District, Boston, yumegaarukara.com.

South Boston

Dumpling Daughter

Nadia Liu Spellman’s group of casual Chinese restaurants (located in Brookline, Cambridge, and Weston) will expand with a takeout and standing-room-only mini outpost in South Boston around February 2023. While the bigger spots have menus that go beyond the namesake dumplings, also offering scallion pancake wraps, buns, noodle dishes, and more, the South Boston location will focus exclusively on dumplings.

475 West Broadway, South Boston, dumplingdaughter.com.

Mei Mei

In other South Boston dumpling news, Mei Mei—the former food truck and restaurant, current dumpling company—is opening its shiny new dumpling factory, classroom space, and café at the Iron Works development on January 21, 2023. Aside from expanding its dumpling wholesale business, the space will provide a new home for old fans who’ve been missing Mei Mei’s signature Double Awesome, the oozy-egg-filled scallion pancake sandwich. Try it—and plenty of hot dumplings—at the café while peeking into the factory through a giant window (and consider signing up for a dumpling-making class while you’re at it).

58 Old Colony Ave., South Boston, meimeidumplings.com.

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Brookline

Barlette

The team behind Brookline favorite Cobble—an Italian-leaning BYOB restaurant that looks like you’re dining inside someone’s very cool apartment—is opening a BYOB bar in the same Coolidge Corner building around February 2023. You bring the booze, and Barlette provides seasonal cocktail mixers and a four-course menu of “whimsical bar snacks,” plus friendly vibes.

318 Harvard St. #11, Coolidge Corner, Brookline, byobarlette.com.

Bar Vlaha

Chef Brendan Pelley, who makes a mean spanakopita, recently joined Xenia Greek Hospitality (Krasi, Hecate, Greco) as culinary director, and the group is in expansion mode: Bar Vlaha—more on that in a second—and another mystery project are on tap for 2023, plus more locations of Greco. Bar Vlaha, opening around mid-February 2023, will be bringing something new to the Boston area, showcasing the rustic Greek cuisine of the Vlachs, a nomadic shepherd community, through live-fire-grilled fish, slow-cooked meats, savory and sweet pies, and more. “The food is going to stay really true to the Vlach people,” Pelley previously told Boston. “I’m not going to get really cheffy with interpretations or use modernist techniques.”

1653 Beacon St., Brookline, barvlaha.com.

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Cambridge

A cafe from the Iggy’s team

Iggy’s, the longstanding bread company and bakery in Cambridge, will open a new spot elsewhere in town later this year, possibly before summer. The yet-to-be-named Huron Village café will be “a little gem of a coffee, tea, and croissant haven,” as team member Nick Zappia previously told Boston, featuring “warm croissants all day” (and a fireplace, too!) Plus, a few evenings a week, there’ll be wine, beer, and snacks. (This is particularly exciting news as Zappia has quite the background in wine.)

348 Huron Ave., Huron Village, Cambridge.

Puritan Oyster Bar

Debuting in February 2023, Puritan Oyster Bar will be a seafood-focused sibling and neighbor to Puritan & Co. There will be oysters, of course—half a dozen rotating New England varieties on the half shell, plus composed oyster dishes, not to mention seafood platters, a yellowtail temaki taco, caviar pie, hot buttered lobster toast, and some Puritan & Co. favorites like a smoked bluefish melt and, yes, those Parker House rolls. Puritan Oyster Bar will place particular focus on seafood-friendly cocktails, many of which can be ordered in shareable format, served in a “gurgling cod.”

1164 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge, puritancambridge.com.

Row 34

In other seafood news, Fort Point’s extraordinarily popular Row 34—which also has locations in Burlington and Portsmouth, New Hampshire—is expanding to Cambridge around March 2023, opening in Kendall Square. To the uninitiated: You’ll want to try the lobster roll (we like the warm, buttered version), a selection or two from the creative beer list, and the butterscotch pudding for dessert.

314 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge, row34.com.

Season to Taste

This one’s a move into a bigger space rather than a new opening, but it’s one to watch: The North Cambridge favorite for seasonal, farm-to-table fare is heading up the road, taking over the former Mix-It Restaurant space, where it’ll have room for a lot more seats, plus a full bar and a chef’s tasting counter. (The commercial kitchen at its old address will remain in operation for catering and for the company’s weekly take-home meal service.) The new location could open later this month.

1678 Massachusetts Ave., between Harvard and Porter squares, seasontotaste.com.

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Everett

Park-9 Dog Bar

No, Greater Boston’s not just getting a cat café (see A Sanctuary Cafe above)—there’s also a dog bar in the works. With the slogan “where dogs bring their humans,” Park-9 will debut in Everett early this year, featuring a full bar and local food vendors (for the humans) and a mix of on- and off-leash areas, indoors and out. Doggy daycare will be available, too.

24 Elm Way, Everett, park9dogbar.com.

The Square Deli move/expansion

One of Greater Boston’s best pizzas is at a casual little sandwich shop in Everett, but around spring 2023, it’ll be moving a half mile up the street to The600, an apartment building, and undergoing some big upgrades in its new digs. There’ll be a new version of the deli itself—“We would operate it just like we do now: sandwiches, pizza, takeout, quick-service,” says owner Chris Moreira. But hidden behind it, through a speakeasy-style secret door, will be a yet-to-be-named full-service restaurant and bar with about 80 seats. “We will definitely build off the attention we have been getting with the pizza,” says Moreira, “serving some smaller-style pizzas and elevated bar food, comfort food.” (And good news for the folks living at The600: “We will use the kitchen similar to a hotel kitchen and operate a program kind of like room service in a hotel.” Moreira’s no stranger to that, having spent some time as a room service manager at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston.)
600 Broadway, Everett, squaredeli.com.

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Medford

Deep Cuts Deli

Here’s another move we can’t wait for (with apologies to West Medford, which’ll be losing a good sandwich shop): Deep Cuts Deli is moving from West Medford into a much bigger space in Medford Square, the former Carroll’s. This move will enable the Deep Cuts team to fully realize its initial dream—the space will be a music venue and brewery with a full liquor license (and the tasty sandwiches will still be on the menu, of course). The new Deep Cuts Deli could open around spring 2023.

21 Main St., Medford, deepcuts.rocks.

El Tacuba

This empty Medford Square storefront has been teasing locals since 2018, when El Tacuba was first announced—a full-service restaurant and tequila bar from the team behind the fast-casual torta chain Tenoch (which also has a Medford Square location). We’ve been holding out hope that the restaurant is still in the works, and sure enough, the Tenoch team tells us they’re eyeing a spring opening. They’re not sharing additional details at this time, but 2018 reports mentioned plans for a large tequila and mezcal selection. Stay tuned.

35 Salem St., Medford, eltacuba.com.

An Irish pub from the Ford Tavern team

The folks behind the Ford Tavern, a bustling neighborhood spot that opened across from the Medford Wegmans in 2022, is adding another restaurant to the mix, opening a yet-to-be-named Irish pub (“with the full feel of one,” according to a team member) in the old Medford Electronics space, a couple doors down from El Tacuba (see above.) It could open around early June 2023. With this and the two listings above, 2023 looks like a good year for Medford Square.

25 Salem St., Medford.

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Somerville

Civility Social House

A “mac and cheese doughnut” is a thing that exists now, or at least it will once Civility Social House’s opening rolls around on January 31, 2023. One of several upcoming restaurant openings at the ever-growing Assembly Row development, Civility Social House is the latest venture from Chris Damian and his Legendary Restaurant Group (Papagayo, Sip Wine Bar & Kitchen). The sizable venue will serve “elevated, modern pub fare,” per an announcement from the restaurant, with a full bar and a large patio. The aforementioned doughnut will be joined on the menu by dishes such as red wine braised short rib, pastas, a charcuterie board, flatbreads, and burgers.

490 Foley St., Assembly Row, Somerville, civilitysocialhouse.com.

The Eaves

Sign us up for anything and everything dreamt up by the team behind Cicada Coffee Bar, Cambridge’s artsy, quirky little Vietnamese café. Next up: the Eaves, a new project that could open around March or April 2023 at Somerville’s Bow Market. Chef Vinh Le isn’t sharing many details yet, but there’s a hint of menu testing on Cicada’s Instagram account: a whole lot of duck.

1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville, instagram.com/midnight_eaves.

Frank

Another Assembly Row addition comes from restaurateur Frank McClelland, best known for his decades at the helm of the now-closed fine-dining gem L’Espalier. His next chapter is the decidedly more casual (yet still very farm-to-table) Frank, a restaurant, café, and market that he debuted up in Beverly in 2019. This year, Frank will expand to Assembly Row with its ever-changing seasonal, local menu in tow.

Assembly Row, Somerville, farmtofrank.com.

Jakingrass

It’s been taking a little longer than planned, but the team behind Davis Square Thai favorite Dakzen, led by CEO and chef George P. Pengs, is still working on opening Jakingrass up the road. Pengs tells Boston that the focus will be on “authentic” southeast Asian cuisine in a fast-casual concept. “Street food should be aggressively delicious and shouldn’t be boring,” he says, promising a “revolution of street foods.”

54 Elm St., near Porter Square, Somerville, instagram.com/jakingrass.

Lehrhaus

Lehrhaus, opening early this year in the former Kirkland Tap & Trotter space, is a “Jewish tavern and house of learning.” On the tavern side of the equation, Lehrhaus has an outstanding food and beverage team getting us excited for this Somerville spot. Naomi Levy (Eastern Standard, Maccabee Bar) is designing the beverage program. Chef Michael Leviton (Lumière) is advising on the Lehrhaus menu, with Noah Clickstein (Juliet, L’Espalier) serving as executive chef. And Steve Bowman (Fairsted Kitchen, Grassona’s) is general manager. The kosher, pescatarian food will be “creative, bar-friendly takes on Jewish foods and flavors from around the world,” says cofounder Rabbi Charlie Schwartz, like fish and chips (“Sephardic in origin”) with Amba vinegar (“from the Iraqi Jewish tradition”) and Old Bay french fries (“Old Bay was invented by a Jewish refugee in 1939.”) Other dishes might include an Ethiopian spiced lentil soup (based on a traditional Beta Israel sabbath stew) and herring tartine. To drink? Hawaij espresso martinis, spicy schug margaritas, and more.

425 Washington St., Somerville, lehr.haus.

Michette

Opening in early 2023 (and already building a fanbase thanks to weekly sales via Instagram), Michette is a bakery and café that “takes cues from French bakery culture,” says founder Thomas Ferté, a lawyer-turned-baker born and raised in France. Michette will serve sourdough bread, pastries, sandwiches, and coffee. “Michette wants to reinvent French boulangerie for our Somerville community by marrying quality and heritage with inventive new flavors, fresh and local ingredients, and modern techniques,” Ferté adds. The East Somerville space—previously a liquor store—will feature an open kitchen and be mostly takeout-oriented, but there will be some high-top tables by the windows for those who want to stay. Watch Instagram for opportunities to get a taste before the doors open and to sneak a peek at items such as a chanterelle- and pancetta-packed focaccia and golden-brown cannelés.

164 Broadway, East Somerville, instagram.com/michettebakery.

Tribos Peri Peri

This growing national chain just arrived in Massachusetts with the opening of a Westborough location, and soon it’ll come to Assembly Row, too, slathering sauce made from the fiery peri-peri pepper on chicken, lamb chops, burgers, and more. (Cool down with a milkshake or smoothie.)

345 Revolution Dr., Assembly Row, Somerville, tribosperiperi.com.

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Farther Afield

Butterbird

Chef and restaurateur Jason Santos is adding a second Watertown restaurant to his roster, opening a fast-casual, all-day restaurant in spring 2023: Think breakfast sandwiches on biscuits in the morning and fried chicken sandwiches, salads, beignets, and more for lunch and dinner. (Santos also has a Watertown location of his New Orleans-inspired restaurant Buttermilk & Bourbon; this and Butterbird are both at the Arsenal Yards development.)

Watertown, instagram.com/butterbirdboston.

Deep Ellum

You knew it and loved it in Allston; it’s reopening in Waltham, taking over the former Gaff space. The original Deep Ellum closed in 2020 after 13 years in business, beloved for its beer list, house-made charcuterie, and hidden patio. (Its sibling and neighbor Lone Star Taco Bar expanded into its space after the closure.) The team wasn’t available for comment, so we’ll just leave you with a vague “coming soon,” but keep an eye on Instagram for updates. (Even farther afield, the team is also opening a taco bar called Lenora in Portland, Maine, this winter.)

467 Moody St., Waltham, instagram.com/deepellumboston.

Garlic Breath Pizza

We find Cambridge’s Curio Coffee absolutely delightful in whatever form it takes—always a great café (with tasty waffles) by day, and at times a natural wine bar with fancy hot dogs or hamburgers or other treats at night. So we were excited to hear that the team is working on a new project or two—eventually, maybe a wine and burger bar somewhere else in the neighborhood, but in the more immediate future, a pizza shop in North Andover. “It’s going to be an old-school, New York-style slice shop like the ones we love in Brooklyn,” owner Justin Pronovost tells Boston. It could open as soon as February 2023.

North Andover, instagram.com/garlicbreathpizza.com.

Raw Bar

If you’ve made it down to Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury, perhaps you’ve already enjoyed a leisurely summer meal at the Raw Bar, the sprawling outdoor restaurant open seasonally and offering ultra-fresh oysters, tinned seafood, caviar-topped hot dogs, and other snacks, along with a fun selection of beer, wine, and cocktails. Lucky for us all, Island Creek is adding an indoor Raw Bar this winter, allowing that carefree summer experience to extend year-round.

403-7 Washington St., Duxbury, islandcreekoysters.com.

Sally’s Apizza

Are we a little worried that our favorite iconic New Haven apizza destination is expanding too far, too fast, metaphorically stretching its perfectly charred, asymmetrical crusts too thin? Maybe. But are we going to line up on night one once it arrives in Woburn, its first location outside of Connecticut? Absolutely. The Sally’s team wasn’t immediately available to provide an updated opening timeline, but a location has been in the works at the mixed-use development Woburn Village since mid-2021, and our fingers are crossed for a 2023 opening.

Woburn, sallysapizza.com.