December, and more specifically the prospect of Christmas, often incites a few flurried weeks of eating out ahead of finishing work and going home for the end of the year. Combine this with winter’s arrival and the desire for hearty meals, and it’s a month that seems like a sensible one in which to launch a new restaurant.
An Italian theme runs throughout our selection of the best new restaurants to visit in December, from casual dining in Berkshire to lavish luxury in London and New York. There are also openings heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine, as well as a ‘modern American’ menu and a restaurant focused on the food of Georgia.
New restaurants to visit around the world in December 2023
The Boxford
Newbury, UK
The owners of The Woodspeen, on the outskirts of Newbury in Berkshire, have opened a second restaurant not far from their first. The Boxford has a more casual feel and a Sicilian head chef in the kitchen who is focused on high quality fresh pasta and pizza, using locally sourced produce. Both the dough and the pasta is handmade on site each day. The Boxford is open from breakfast time, catering for the coffee needs of the locals in the morning, before serving lunch and dinner.
Open now, theboxford.com
View this post on Instagram
Bill’s Supper Club
New York, US
Bill’s is a new restaurant in Midtown on Manhattan serving ‘modern American fare’, which includes a house ‘1890 Burger’, a pork chop with a brussel sprout fondue and brick-pressed chicken with fingerling potato and a black garlic jus. There are cocktails, a compact wine list and the occasional evening of live music for even more atmosphere. The restaurant is set in an old townhouse with a downstairs bar, separate to the dining room, that feels distinctly speakeasyish.
Open now, billssc.com
View this post on Instagram
Il Gattopardo
London, UK
This is almost certainly the month’s most lavish restaurant opening, with the inside of Il Gattopardo paying homage to the glamour of 1960s Italy in spectacular style. The main dining room is on the ground floor, complete with a separate crudo bar, while a space for private dining is in the basement. Aside from the interior design, there’s a menu featuring a mixture of Italian classics and modern dishes, all served in refined style – think vitello tonnato, pollo cacciatora, bistecca Fiorentina. The wine list is, naturally, focused on the famous regions of Italy, though the usual big names from Bordeaux and Burgundy are also accommodated (this is Mayfair, after all).
Open now, gattopardo.restaurant
View this post on Instagram
Uchi
Los Angeles, US
This contemporary Japanese restaurant between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood is a new location for executive chef and founder, James Beard, who first established the Uchi brand with a restaurant in Austin, Texas. While there is sushi, sashimi and omakase on the menu, Beard stresses that the food is ‘non-traditional’ Japanese, so you can expect fusion-type dishes too. That includes ‘hotate no tataki’, a scallop dish with thai basil, strawberry XO and vermouth butter and Australian wagyu beef with oxtail dashi, garlic chive and miso. The drinks list includes more than 20 different sakes, as well as cocktails and white, red, rosé and orange wines.
Open now, uchirestaurants.com
View this post on Instagram
Kinkally
London, UK
Construction delays pushed back the launch of this Georgia-inspired restaurant on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia but it will now open in time for Christmas, giving Londoners a taste of khinkali, the popular Georgian dumpling, amongst other dishes. Fillings include wagyu beef, langoustine and pheasant, and the dumplings will be served alongside a selection of small plates such as beef tartare and sundried beetroot with ricotta. Guests can head down to Bar Kinky, the restaurant’s ‘cocktail den’, for an inventive cocktail pre or post dinner.
Open now, kinkally.co.uk
View this post on Instagram
Cafe Carmellini
New York, US
The Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York is one of the city’s hottest openings of 2023 and in addition to its luxurious new bar, there is also the new restaurant to visit, serving fine-dining food that ‘marries Italian and French cooking’ with a ‘New York feel’ courtesy of chef Andrew Carmellini. The maximalist interior has much in common with London’s Il Gattopardo above, coincidentally, and you can take in this splendour while eating lobster cannelloni, rabbit cacciatore and squab en croute. The restaurant boats a 70-page wine list of more than 1,800 bottles, with a focus on Italy, France and the US, as well as representations for Spain, Greece, Austria and Germany.
Open now, cafecarmellini.com
View this post on Instagram
King Clarence
Sydney, Australia
The owners of Brasserie 1930 at the Capella Sydney Hotel have opened this new 100-seat venue as their first foray into Asian-inspired dining. Located in the city’s CBD, it has a custom grill and a large live seafood tank to aid the creation of Chinese, Japanese and Korean-influenced dishes. The wine list is extensive and has been devised with pairings in mind.
Open now, kingclarence
