Nashville hot chicken pop-up Hot Chix finally opened a permanent location in Inman Square last August. The small counter-service spot features the irresistible spicy fried chicken sandwiches, honey butter biscuits, and banana pudding fans loved during the pop-up days, while also adding a few new treats like fried mushrooms, fried shrimp, waffle fries, and potato salad.

The team behind Cambridge cornerstone Puritan & Company recently added an adjacent no-reservations oyster bar to the property. Here, chef Will Gilson is letting his hair down a bit: There are caviar cones, yellowtail fish tacos, and glug jugs to wash it all down.

South End favorite Petit Robert Bistro has a new sibling in Kendall Square, where Batifol opened in October. Expect a similarly elegant experience at the new spot, with well-executed French classics from house-made croissants, a croque monsieur, and omelets at brunch to French onion soup and steak frites with green peppercorn sauce at lunch to beef bourguignon and escargots at dinner. Interesting wines and cocktails (both alcoholic and non) round things out.

Mimi’s Chūka Diner, a pop-up inspired by chūka ryori, or dishes with Chinese origins made in a Japanese style, is turning its temporary residency at Artifact Cider Project’s Central Square taproom, called the Station, into a permanent partnership called Mimi’s at the Station. That means you can continue to eat some of Boston’s best dumplings fresh alongside Massachusetts-made hard ciders.

Yes, it’s another seafood restaurant in a town already full of them, but Pescador leans into a globe-trotting menu of coastal seafood dishes, including various interpretations of crudo, aquachile, ceviche, and paella, to excellent effect. The bar is stocked with over 70 mezcals and tequilas from Mexican producers, and the cocktail lineup includes Brazilian caipirinhas, margaritas, and build-your-own palomas. The restaurant is one of three new Kenmore Square spots from NYC-based restaurant group Blue Ribbon. (The first, Blue Ribbon Sushi, opened in June, and the last, a brasserie, is forthcoming.)

Mei Mei’s new dumpling factory merits inclusion in this list for the long-awaited return of the Double Awesome alone — the scallion pancake-wrapped riff on an egg sandwich is absolutely worth the hype — but there’s lots more happening in the team’s new space in South Boston. Check out the factory and grab packages of lemongrass pork and cheddar scallion potato dumplings to go, or make them yourself in one of the regular public classes that Mei Mei hosts on-site.

Madhouse Motors owner J. Shia recognized that there was a desire for a coffee shop and gathering place along this part of Blue Hill Avenue, and in response, Madhouse Cafe was born. The warmly lit coffee shop is stocked with roasts from Cambridge’s own Broadsheet Coffee Roasters, and Lebanese snacks like sfeeha, or bite-sized savory pies. Eat and drink while peering into the attached motorcycle repair shop via a big window built into the back of the cafe.

There’s a little something for everyone at Across the Border, a colorful new corner spot in Jamaica Plain serving up tacos and burritos with fillings to please carnivores, vegetarians, and vegans. It’s playful, too: Upgrade any order with a healthy dose of Fritos, Cheetos, or Doritos.

At anticipated Italian restaurant Tonino, you’ll find Philadelphia-inspired tomato pie and pizza bianca with ricotta and hot honey; house-made pastas like cappelletti and chitarra with clams; and snacks like roasted squid. There’s also an eclectic assortment of drinks, from the expected (wine and amaro-centric cocktails) to the unexpected (sake, thanks to co-owner Claire Makley’s work helping open Boston’s first sake bar, the Koji Club.) The Jamaica Plain restaurant is seeking to become a neighborhood fixture like the cozy bars and restaurants that surround the center of Rome.

Wei Shu Wu brought bubbling vats of spicy Sichuan hot pot to North Quincy just in time to thaw everyone’s insides as temperatures dropped. There are nearly endless options of meat, seafood, and veggies to dunk here, including skewers of duck gizzards, lobster meat, oysters, and thin slices of marinated beef. Bring a group and gather around the restaurant’s wide wooden tabletops, or sidle up to the bar where smaller hot pots are installed. The restaurant is an expansion of an international chain; this is its first location in the Boston area.

Rubato is a modern take on a cha chaan teng, or Hong Kong-style cafe, led by chef Laurence Louie (whose past cooking credentials include stints at Eastern Mediterranean destination Oleana in Cambridge and fine dining restaurants in London) and his wife Rary Ratsifa. At Rubato, Louie focuses on Hong Kong and Cantonese comfort foods, from fluffy bolo baos stuffed with fried chicken or spam and egg, to thick, savory congees, and Hong Kong french toast filled with custardy salted egg yolk. The opening marks a homecoming for Louie, whose mother Joyce Chan previously ran Contempo Bakery (named after Chan’s rock band, also called Contempo) in the same space for 22 years.