Are you wondering what the top trending restaurants are in the United States? If so, then you have come to the right place! As a restaurant owner or operator, it is important to stay up-to-date with emerging dining trends and know what your customers are looking for.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the most popular types of restaurants that people in America are flocking to and what’s setting them apart. With these insights in mind, you’ll be able to gain an edge over competitors and make sure your eatery stays at the head of diners’ minds.
Yolan
Acclaimed chef Tony Mantuano set the bar for Italian fine dining at Spiaggia in Chicago, and he’s done it again at Yolan, located inside the Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Nashville.
The tasting menu draws inspiration from various regions, with Roman classics like bucatini all’amatriciana and cacio e pepe, as well as cotoletta alla Milanese.
Merois
This glamorous restaurant on the rooftop of the Pendry West Hollywood proves that Wolfgang Puck has still got it. With draped fabric creating a tented effect, chandeliers, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls that offer sweeping views of Los Angeles, the gorgeous interiors set the tone for sophisticated, thoughtful dishes.
Puck takes culinary inspiration from countries including Japan, China, Thailand, Singapore, and Mongolia to create a wide-ranging menu that runs the gamut from delicate sashimi to flavor-packed red Thai curry with shrimp, sea bream, and lemongrass-coconut broth.
Camphor
Chefs Max Boonthanakit and Lijo George met in Bangkok while working at Blue by Alain Ducasse, and Ducasse’s influence can be felt at their Michelin-starred restaurant in L.A.’s hip Arts District, which fuses French techniques with South Asian flavors.
The menu sidesteps seasonality and instead goes all in on luxuriously timeless preparations, with dishes like lentils and lamb featuring traces of cumin and cardamom or seared beef tenderloin in Cognac cream sauce infused with peppercorn.
With just a pop of color from the navy banquettes, the stark white dining room creates a sleek, modern backdrop for the chefs’ contemporary creations.
Providence
This two-Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant, helmed by award-winning chef Michael Cimarusti, might be the best place to eat seafood in Los Angeles. Cimarusti sources the best quality sustainable seafood from American waters, turning the raw material into artful and delicious dishes.
The menu changes often, but you might get a gently cooked Pacific oyster topped with Champagne butter and caviar or salt-roasted Santa Barbara spot prawns.
Aldama
This hip restaurant in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn serves the kind of ambitious Mexican cuisine more commonly found in Mexico City than in New York.
The vibe manages to be modern, a bit rustic, and sultry all at once, with wooden tables, chairs with basket-like woven seats, mezcal served in clay copitas, and Latin American music setting the tone.
Must-try dishes include the vegan mole negro, daikon tostadas, and taco de trompo, with pork belly, flank steak, adobo, and pineapple-serrano gel on an heirloom corn tortilla.
Atelier Crenn
For many, a meal at Atelier Crenn is a once-in-a-lifetime event worth traveling to San Francisco for. Legendary chef-proprietor Dominique Crenn broke records when she became the first two-, then three-Michelin-starred female chef in the U.S. Now Crenn is using her platform to champion sustainability.
Atelier Crenn is the first restaurant in the U.S. to become certified plastic-free, and it recently did away with meat entirely due to its harmful impact on the planet.
Le Bernardin
It would be impossible to list all the awards and accolades bestowed upon this iconic New York City restaurant since it opened in 1986. Chef Eric Ripert has guaranteed the consistently superb quality of the menu for nearly 30 years and has three Michelin stars to prove it. The emphasis here is on seafood, though there are a few meat dishes and a vegetarian tasting menu.
But why would you order filet mignon when you could eat delicate scallop carpaccio with basil julienne or pan-roasted dover sole with green olives, toasted almonds, and aged sherry wine emulsion? That’s what you go to Le Bernardin for.
Zou Zou’s
A relatively new addition to New York City’s restaurant scene, this glitzy spot inside the Pendry Manhattan West is a good reason to make the trek to Hudson Yards. Quality Branded — the hospitality group behind Don Angie and Quality Meats — has created a stand-out Eastern Mediterranean restaurant.
Popular dishes include the platter of dips (hummus with black garlic, ember-roasted eggplant, whipped ricotta with saffron apricots, green tahini with aquafaba and cilantro, and kabocha squash with brown butter and toasted almonds), the duck borek, and Yemeni au poivre kebab.
Benu
Award-winning chef Corey Lee surprises and delights guests with highly technical preparations and ambitious tasting menus at Benu, earning many accolades and three Michelin stars in the process.
The restaurant feels like a tranquil oasis in the center of San Francisco. The dishes are contemporary interpretations of classics like xiao long bao and Korean beef barbecue. What unites them all is Lee’s singular insistence on perfection.
Read more from this year’s Global Tastemakers awards here.
With so many delicious options available, 2023 could be the year you find your new favorite restaurant. Be sure to research local reviews and get the scoop from friends and family before making your first stop. From fusion cuisine, vegetarian options, to trendy ethnic joints – there’s something out there for everyone.
Wherever you dine, make sure to keep an eye out for the latest trends in flavor profiles and ingredients. And if nothing else, let the exploration of mouthwatering delicacies bring a little adventure into your life! Bon Appétit!
