Meet the James Beard Nominees for Best New Restaurant (2024)

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By Lee Musho Updated May 14, 2024, 10:39am EDT

Rita Ferreira, Comfort Kitchen

Rita Ferreira, Comfort Kitchen

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Last year, nearly 54,000 restaurants opened their doors, all hoping to be recognized — whether for their creative dishes, authentic recipes, or eccentric bathrooms. And for the past 33 years, the James Beard Awards has scoured the country to find the best of the best new spots. The restaurants below have made a name for themselves this year, some creating hours-long waits and national recognition in small towns, others continuing a tradition of award-winning service. From Bozeman to Minneapolis, most are found in smaller cities, and many pair international influences with local ingredients. See the restaurants nominated for the James Beard Best New Restaurant award below.

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In May of 2020, pasta lovers mourned the loss of Il Corvo, known as one of the best restaurants in Seattle —a Pioneer Square stalwart of nine years that often commanded hour-long waits. Little did they know they wouldn’t have to wait long to taste Mike Easton’s handmade pasta again.

Last year, Easton and his wife, Erin, opened their new 18-seat spot, four hours and 264 miles southeast of Seattle, in the small town of Waitsburg, Washington. The bar has a limited chalkboard menu. There are a few handmade pastas a night, like silky squares of fazzoletti with rotating seasonal sauces. One week they’re tossed in wild mushroom and parmesan cream, and another, with Dungeness crab, tomato, and saffron. Easton also offers simple, technique-driven antipasti like fresh focaccia, cured meat, and chicory salad alongside desserts like vanilla bean panna cotta topped with a grape must reduction. Well worth a road trip into the wheat fields of Walla Walla, Bar Bacetto brought back everything Seattle loved about Il Corvo —this time, in a 1,200-person town.

Comfort Kitchen in Dorchester, Massachusetts, prides itself in being a Black, immigrant, and woman-owned restaurant. And the diversity of the staff’s lineage, experiences, and influences is clear in its menu, which spotlights often misrepresented stories and ingredients.

With influences reflecting the South, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East, there’s no shortage of inspiration or flavor in Kwasi Kwaa and Shelley Nason’s dishes. To start, snack on some brown butter-seared okra with masala-spiced yogurt and plantain crumbs —then move to the jerk roasted duck with Haitian-style pickled vegetables, or the Yassa Chicken with cassava dumplings and caramelized onions. The beverage menu also celebrates BIPOC producers and stories —like the addition of sorel to the tropical-flavored Dream Street, as a nod to the first known African American distiller, Jackie Summers.Suppose you can’t get a reservation for dinner. In that case, you can still try some of their incredible baked goods for lunch at the cafe, like the Justice for All sandwich, a peanut butter and jelly made with housemade brioche and pear jam — or the Basque cheesecake with orange blossom caramel, also found on the evening’s dessert menu.

While Creole may be the most famous cuisine in New Orleans — a blend of African, French, and Spanish flavors —Chef Serigne Mbaye of Dakar NOLA is focusing on one African culture in particular, and its influence on Louisiana cooking: coastal Senegal.

Each course in Mbaye’s pescatarian tasting menu tells a story of the deep connection between the coastal cultures of West Africa and Louisiana. After all, many of the slaves brought to Louisiana were from West Africa. With training from iconic New Orleans restaurants like James Beard Award winnerCommander’s Palace, and a childhood in Senegal, Chef Mbaye’s dishes marry traditional Senegalese spices and techniques with local Louisiana seafood and produce. The seven-course, family-style menu features dishes like gulf shrimp in tamarind sauce and palm bread with spiced butter.

At Hayward, smack dab in the pinot-noir-soaked heart of the Willamette Valley, Chef Kari Kihara serves up what she dubs “new northwest fare:” bright punches of acid and herbs rooted by local ingredients and whole animal butchery. Thanks to its seasonality, the menu is constantly changing, but you’ll always see housemade focaccia, pickles, and a fried seafood offering. The menu is a testament to cuisines across the world, Kihara’s influences stemming everywhere from Syria to Japan.

If you’re in a trusting mood, order the “Kick Back” for the table, a chef’s choice of three savory and one sweet dish from the day’s menu. Here’s a sample of what you can look forward to: coulotte steak with pickled garlic scapes and green peppercorn, housemade sesame focaccia with koji butter, and fried sardines with sesame aioli and scallion kimchi.

Orlando is fast becoming a hot spot for destination-worthy restaurants well outside the realm of its theme parks. Take Kaya, a modern Filipino restaurant serving up local Floridian seafood. You can choose your own adventure at Kaya, whether you want a $120 tasting menu in the dining room, or to order a la carte at the laid-back Bayani Bar, where there are guest chef pop-ups on Tuesdays, karaoke on Wednesdays, and live music on Fridays.

If you’re ordering a la carte, focus on chef Lordfer Lalicon’s seafood-driven dishes, which showcase the heart of Kaya. Make sure to order the kinilaw ceviche, made with red sea bream, coconut milk, radish, and fish chips —or the chicharon and caviar: where ranch, briny caviar, and sawsawan chili vinegar are served atop savory fried chicken skin. As for mains, opt for the sugpo, Skull Island tiger prawns drenched in crab fat and chipotle, with a side of king crab garlic rice to soak up any extra sauce.

The famous Mexican saying, “sin maíz, no hay país,” or, “without corn, there is no country,” is a way of life at Oro by Nixta. Chef Gustavo Romero Veytia is dedicated to doing his part to save heirloom corn by “promoting corn from an overlooked side dish to star of the show, one bite at a time.” We’re not talking Midwest American corn, but heirloom Mexican varieties —thousands of years old, which come in various colors, sizes, and textures, and ones that helped to make Mexico the country it is. Nixta began as a tortilleria, where Veytia used heirloom corn to bring artisanal tortillas to Northeast Minneapolis. Now, those same tortillas are the foundation for Veytia’s masterful tacos: from carrot with a smoky, spicy Mayan pepita sauce, to Berkshire pork carnitas with avocado salsa.

There are five different versions of mole on the menu, as well as ingredients you don’t often find outside Mexico, like huitlacoche and epazote, and a flan topped with pinole,orroasted, ground corn mixed with baking spices.

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119 Main St, Waitsburg, WA 99361

In May of 2020, pasta lovers mourned the loss of Il Corvo, known as one of the best restaurants in Seattle —a Pioneer Square stalwart of nine years that often commanded hour-long waits. Little did they know they wouldn’t have to wait long to taste Mike Easton’s handmade pasta again.

Last year, Easton and his wife, Erin, opened their new 18-seat spot, four hours and 264 miles southeast of Seattle, in the small town of Waitsburg, Washington. The bar has a limited chalkboard menu. There are a few handmade pastas a night, like silky squares of fazzoletti with rotating seasonal sauces. One week they’re tossed in wild mushroom and parmesan cream, and another, with Dungeness crab, tomato, and saffron. Easton also offers simple, technique-driven antipasti like fresh focaccia, cured meat, and chicory salad alongside desserts like vanilla bean panna cotta topped with a grape must reduction. Well worth a road trip into the wheat fields of Walla Walla, Bar Bacetto brought back everything Seattle loved about Il Corvo —this time, in a 1,200-person town.

102 E Market St, Lockhart, TX 78644

5th Ave between Dolores and, San Carlos St, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921

611 Columbia Road, Dorchester, Massachusetts 02125

Comfort Kitchen in Dorchester, Massachusetts, prides itself in being a Black, immigrant, and woman-owned restaurant. And the diversity of the staff’s lineage, experiences, and influences is clear in its menu, which spotlights often misrepresented stories and ingredients.

With influences reflecting the South, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East, there’s no shortage of inspiration or flavor in Kwasi Kwaa and Shelley Nason’s dishes. To start, snack on some brown butter-seared okra with masala-spiced yogurt and plantain crumbs —then move to the jerk roasted duck with Haitian-style pickled vegetables, or the Yassa Chicken with cassava dumplings and caramelized onions. The beverage menu also celebrates BIPOC producers and stories —like the addition of sorel to the tropical-flavored Dream Street, as a nod to the first known African American distiller, Jackie Summers.Suppose you can’t get a reservation for dinner. In that case, you can still try some of their incredible baked goods for lunch at the cafe, like the Justice for All sandwich, a peanut butter and jelly made with housemade brioche and pear jam — or the Basque cheesecake with orange blossom caramel, also found on the evening’s dessert menu.

3814 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115

While Creole may be the most famous cuisine in New Orleans — a blend of African, French, and Spanish flavors —Chef Serigne Mbaye of Dakar NOLA is focusing on one African culture in particular, and its influence on Louisiana cooking: coastal Senegal.

Each course in Mbaye’s pescatarian tasting menu tells a story of the deep connection between the coastal cultures of West Africa and Louisiana. After all, many of the slaves brought to Louisiana were from West Africa. With training from iconic New Orleans restaurants like James Beard Award winnerCommander’s Palace, and a childhood in Senegal, Chef Mbaye’s dishes marry traditional Senegalese spices and techniques with local Louisiana seafood and produce. The seven-course, family-style menu features dishes like gulf shrimp in tamarind sauce and palm bread with spiced butter.

Northeast Alpine Avenue, McMinnville, Oregon 97128

At Hayward, smack dab in the pinot-noir-soaked heart of the Willamette Valley, Chef Kari Kihara serves up what she dubs “new northwest fare:” bright punches of acid and herbs rooted by local ingredients and whole animal butchery. Thanks to its seasonality, the menu is constantly changing, but you’ll always see housemade focaccia, pickles, and a fried seafood offering. The menu is a testament to cuisines across the world, Kihara’s influences stemming everywhere from Syria to Japan.

If you’re in a trusting mood, order the “Kick Back” for the table, a chef’s choice of three savory and one sweet dish from the day’s menu. Here’s a sample of what you can look forward to: coulotte steak with pickled garlic scapes and green peppercorn, housemade sesame focaccia with koji butter, and fried sardines with sesame aioli and scallion kimchi.

618 Thornton Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32803

Orlando is fast becoming a hot spot for destination-worthy restaurants well outside the realm of its theme parks. Take Kaya, a modern Filipino restaurant serving up local Floridian seafood. You can choose your own adventure at Kaya, whether you want a $120 tasting menu in the dining room, or to order a la carte at the laid-back Bayani Bar, where there are guest chef pop-ups on Tuesdays, karaoke on Wednesdays, and live music on Fridays.

If you’re ordering a la carte, focus on chef Lordfer Lalicon’s seafood-driven dishes, which showcase the heart of Kaya. Make sure to order the kinilaw ceviche, made with red sea bream, coconut milk, radish, and fish chips —or the chicharon and caviar: where ranch, briny caviar, and sawsawan chili vinegar are served atop savory fried chicken skin. As for mains, opt for the sugpo, Skull Island tiger prawns drenched in crab fat and chipotle, with a side of king crab garlic rice to soak up any extra sauce.

747 Douglas Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37207

1222 Northeast 2nd Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55413

The famous Mexican saying, “sin maíz, no hay país,” or, “without corn, there is no country,” is a way of life at Oro by Nixta. Chef Gustavo Romero Veytia is dedicated to doing his part to save heirloom corn by “promoting corn from an overlooked side dish to star of the show, one bite at a time.” We’re not talking Midwest American corn, but heirloom Mexican varieties —thousands of years old, which come in various colors, sizes, and textures, and ones that helped to make Mexico the country it is. Nixta began as a tortilleria, where Veytia used heirloom corn to bring artisanal tortillas to Northeast Minneapolis. Now, those same tortillas are the foundation for Veytia’s masterful tacos: from carrot with a smoky, spicy Mayan pepita sauce, to Berkshire pork carnitas with avocado salsa.

There are five different versions of mole on the menu, as well as ingredients you don’t often find outside Mexico, like huitlacoche and epazote, and a flan topped with pinole,orroasted, ground corn mixed with baking spices.

109 East Oak Street, Bozeman, Montana 59715