Winter 2016’s Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings

By: Hillary Dixler on January 7, 2016

The dead of winter isn't necessarily known for being a blockbuster restaurant opening season, but that doesn't stop certain brave souls. On the docket this winter are a slew of openings that run the gamut from tasting-menu temples to casual neighborhood joints.

Some of the country's most well-known chefs are planning on growing their empires this season. In New York City, Mario Batali is opening his first standalone restaurant since the 10-year-old Del Posto (a trattoria called La Sirena) and in Chicago, Grant Achatz is inching ever-closer to opening a restaurant that's been called the "antithesis of Alinea" (Roister). Other trends have emerged: Bold young chefs are making moves, each focused on bringing a global spin to the tasting-menu format (DC's the Shaw Bijou, San Francisco's Mosu). French influence abounds, and 2016 may well become the year of the brasserie (as in chef Dominique Crenn's Antoinette). As like last year, there's still a tremendous interest in wood-fired cooking (as at NYC's Pasquale Jones). And also among the winter hopefuls is a Sonoma restaurant, farm, and inn that Eater has already called the biggest opening of this year (Single Thread).

Without further ado, Eater's guide to the most anticipated winter openings, presented in what is a projected chronological order. Have a look:

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