Massachusetts is set to be a feast for food enthusiasts this year, with a wave of new restaurants opening their doors, promising new, exciting flavors and innovative dining experiences.
From upscale eateries in Back Bay to cozy neighborhood joints in Fairhaven, each establishment hopes to bring a special flair to its patrons.
Stephen Clark, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, told MassLive that a couple hundred restaurants are expected to open this year throughout the state. Clark said many new restaurants are opening to replace others that have closed.
“Restaurant owners that survived the pandemic made it through, and they’re starting to realize that maybe it’s time to retire,” Clark said. “Maybe the next generation in their family doesn’t want to take over the restaurant, and so they’re selling their location. So in that situation, you have a closing, but you also have an opening at the same time because you have a new owner coming in.”
As the curtain rises on the restaurant scene this year, here’s a sneak peek at what your taste buds can look forward to, with some of the most-anticipated restaurant openings of 2024.
China Pearl, a banquet hall and dim sum house in Chinatown, will make a comeback in winter, according to Boston.com. The restaurant temporarily shut down the Chinese eatery in February 2020. The owners, the Moy family, used the downtime to renovate the establishment.
The once dimly lit restaurant will be flooded with light thanks to the installation of new windows, Boston.com reported. Other renovations include revealing the restaurant’s old brick walls and hardwood floors from the 19th century.
Although the restaurant will have a new look, patrons of China Pearl can still enjoy the classics such as shu mai, pork buns and steamed dumplings, according to Boston.com.
After a fire in 2018 forced the restaurant to shutter, Jacob Wirth, a nearly 150-year-old joint, will reopen in the spring.
For several years, two real estate companies – City Realty Group and the Royale Entertainment Group – have been renovating Jacob Wirth in preparation for its grand reopening, according to Jamison LaGuardia, vice president of sales and operations at Royale Entertainment Group.
The management companies are trying to keep Jacob Wirth “true to what it was,” by restoring “salvageable” items inside the damaged restaurant while also rebuilding lost parts, LaGuardia recently told MassLive.
The tables and chairs at the restaurant famed for its schnitzel will remain the same, along with a lot of the decor, artwork and memorabilia, LaGuardia said.
Some of the improvements include moving the kitchen from the basement to the bar and creating more stalls in the women’s restroom, Boston.com reported.
LaGuardia also said they are looking to upgrade the restaurant’s menu, “dabbling” with Jacob Wirth’s German roots.
La Padrona, a new Italian eatery, is set to open up in the Back Bay in winter 2024, according to the Columbus and Over Group, a Boston real estate agency. The restaurant will be located inside Raffles, a newly built luxury hotel and residences. La Padrona will offer a bar on the ground floor and a second-floor restaurant.
The restaurant will serve traditional Italian cuisines and regional classics with ingredients from Italy and New England, according to Raffles’ website.
Meals will include housemade pastas, fresh seafood, local proteins, cured Italian meats and artisan cheeses, according to Raffles.
Merai, a Thai fusion restaurant, is set to open in Brookline Village “within a couple of months,” the restaurant told MassLive in an email.
The restaurant uses Thai flavors as a way to celebrate different cuisines, with creativity and fun in their dive bar, the owners wrote in the email.
A staple of the restaurant will be its “high dive,” an upscale version of a dive…
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