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A glamorous bar with a gigantic, sparkling chandelier hanging overhead, and tables and chairs positioned around the perimeter of the room.
A rendering of the bar at La Padrona, opening inside Raffles later this year.
AvroKO/La Padrona

Boston’s Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings, Fall 2023

The restaurants we can’t wait to dine at later this year

by Erika Adams
Erika Adams is the editor of Eater Boston.

Summer is allegedly about to loosen its sweaty grasp on Boston. That means it’s time for one of this website’s most cherished annual activities: listing the up-and-coming spots where we’re most excited to dine this fall. Between Portuguese fine dining from a Michelin-starred chef to the long-awaited rebirth of Eastern Standard, there’s a lot to look forward to in the cooler months ahead.

Amar

Portuguese chef George Mendes — most widely known for helming the one-Michelin-starred Aldea in Manhattan for a decade — moved to Boston this year to launch Amar, a modern Portuguese fine-dining restaurant in the luxury Raffles hotel in Back Bay. It is slated to open in mid-September.

Cafe Gloria

Will Isaza, a bar world force known for his work with the lauded Blossom Bar team, including opening the hot new Brighton bar Birds of Paradise, is branching out on his own for the first time this fall with the opening of Cafe Gloria in East Boston. At the cafe, Isaza is combining his Colombian roots and bartending know-how for an ambitious, cocktail-inspired coffee shop in Jeffries Point.

An orange cocktail in a tall glass filled with ice, with sprigs of green garnish on top.
Isaza’s award-winning Gloria cocktail, which will be reinvented as a latte at his new cafe.
Will Isaza

Eastern Standard

Garrett Harker’s forthcoming slew of Kenmore Square restaurants and bars — including Eastern Standard, chic seafood spot All That, and cocktail bar Equal Measure — has been on our radar for a while, but the openings are finally, finally drawing near. All That opens its doors to the public on September 7, with Eastern Standard and Equal Measure soon to follow.

Hook + Line

Local industry heavyweight Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, who owns waterfront restaurant Alcove in the West End, is dreaming up a neighborhood spot in the Seaport in the form of Hook + Line, a seafood restaurant and fish market that is opening sometime this fall.

A man in a button-down shirt folds his arms and smiles at the camera for a portrait.
Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli.
Drew Katz/Hook + Line

June Bug

The team behind popular Somerville spot Field & Vine is preparing a second act called June Bug, to open sometime this fall. The menu is centered around a wood-fired oven, which will churn out naturally leavened pizzas, roasted vegetables, and seafood, and the more relaxed vibe is “reminiscent of a dinner party with friends,” according to a rep for the restaurant.

La Padrona

After you’ve checked out Amar in September, come back to Raffles in December for the opening of La Padrona, the second big-name restaurant sliding into the fancy development this year. The restaurant, modeled after a luxurious Italian villa, will be led by Jody Adams, a decorated chef who currently oversees a growing restaurant empire that includes Trade, Porto, and the fast-casual spot Saloniki, alongside executive chef Amarilys Colon, who also heads up the kitchen at Porto.

Merai

This fall marks a season of second acts in Boston, and the award-winning Mahaniyom team is joining the party. Merai, the group’s forthcoming second restaurant and bar, will be Thai-inspired but casts a wider net than their Thai debut Mahaniyom, according to co-owner Chompon Boonnak. “We will be using Thai flavors as a tool to celebrate different cuisines,” he told Eater earlier this year. Merai is set to open later this year nearby Mahaniyom, also in Brookline Village.

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