A Sunny Southern French Restaurant Debuts in the South End — And More Openings

This monthly roundup highlights notable restaurant openings and reopenings in Boston and nearby. Catch up on more news about Boston restaurant openings right here.

Know of a new or soon-to-open restaurant that should be on Eater Boston’s radar? Get in touch here.

BACK BAY — Mediterranean fast-casual spot Aceituna Grill has opened a new location along Newbury Street. According to a rep for the restaurant, this is the first of Aceituna’s four locations to sell beer, wine, and cocktails, and the opening cocktail menu includes homages to the late Boston bar legend Brother Cleve. 267 Newbury Street

BROOKLINE — Grab a bottle of liquor and head to Barlette, a tiny cocktail bar that just opened in Brookline where customers bring their own booze to the party. 318 Harvard Street #11

CAMBRIDGE — Need a new after-work hangout in Kendall Square? The first-rate seafood specialists at Row 34 have debuted a long-in-the-works expansion in the neighborhood. 314 Main Street

CAMBRIDGE — Chinatown’s cool-kid restaurant and bar Shōjō has expanded with a new outpost in Cambridge’s Central Square. The menu includes longtime hits like the Shojonator burger plus eight new dishes rooted in Southeast Asian fare, including a beef curry mazemen and a shaking beef bao. 425 Massachusetts Avenue

DORCHESTER — A new Italian bakery and restaurant, Via Cannuccia, is the latest spot for breads, baked goods, pastas, and pizzas in Dorchester. 1739 Dorchester Avenue

DORCHESTER — A Vietnamese Cajun seafood spot called Cajun Window has opened, according to Boston Restaurant Talk, and is serving up spicy seafood boils, fried seafood dinners, and more. 400 Neponset Avenue

DOWNTOWN BOSTON — Chef Cheryl Straughter has opened an outpost of her acclaimed Southern-rooted restaurant Soleil inside the Boston Public Market. 100 Hanover Street

DOWNTOWN CROSSING — Fete, a swanky new restaurant and lounge from chefs Eddie George and Joy Phoubaykham of Medford’s Neighborhood Kitchen, has debuted in Downtown Crossing. 25 Kingston Street

EVERETT — The white-tablecloth steakhouse Rare, located inside the Encore Boston Harbor casino, now has a more casual little sibling complete with junk food towers, wagyu beef pigs-in-a-blanket, and a very fancy grilled cheese sandwich. 1 Broadway, first floor

FOXBOROUGH — Sean and Sue Olson, the restaurateurs behind Salt + Stone at Somerville’s Assembly Row, have opened a second spot inside Patriot Place, the shopping center adjacent to Gillette Stadium, according to a rep for the restaurant. Axel & Byrne serves barbecue plates, burgers, Coney dogs, Frito pies, and other “food from the road,” as they put it. 267 Patriot Place

SEAPORT — Borrachito, a taqueria with a hidden cocktail bar, has turned on its lights at the Superette, a swanky retail strip at the Seaport. 70 Pier 4 Boulevard

SOMERVILLE — Michael Scelfo, the chef behind Cambridge spots Alden & Harlow, Waypoint, and Longfellow Bar — restaurants where former staffers have accused upper management of sexual harassment and staff mistreatment — has opened an Italian spot, Josephine, at the Cambria Hotel in Somerville. Scelfo has never publicly responded to the workplace misconduct allegations made by staffers. 515 Somerville Avenue

Correction: May 2, 2023, 1:25 p.m.: This blurb has been updated to clarify the nature of the employee allegations at Scelfo’s restaurants.

SOMERVILLE — Eat your way through the Jewish diaspora at Lehrhaus, a Jewish tavern and study space that opened this spring in Somerville, according to Boston Magazine. 425 Washington Street

SOUTH BOSTON — Chilacates’ Boston takeover isn’t slowing down anytime soon: Boston Restaurant Talk reports that the fast-casual chainlet, known for its tacos, burritos, and tortas, has opened another outpost, this one in South Boston. 69 L Street

SOUTH END — Marseille is both a seaside city in southern France and the name of the South End’s latest restaurant, from the group behind hit Boston-area French restaurants Petit Robert Bistro (also in the South End) and Batifol in Cambridge. Seafood plays a starring role at the 160-seat restaurant in various combinations, including raw oysters, crudo, seafood towers, octopus, escargot, and braised squid. “I’ve been wanting to open a true southern French restaurant for years,” owner Loic Le Garrec says. “This Marseille concept has been in my head for, actually, I think 10 years. I’ve always wanted to do this.” An adjacent all-day cafe, PRB Bouloungerie, serving sandwiches, salads, and breads, is still forthcoming. 560 Harrison Avenue