THE WEEKLY BITE
From Bub and Grandma’s Pizza in L.A. to Txula Steak in New York: 11 New Restaurants Worth Talking About
By Eric Barton | Oct. 3, 2025
Bowls by KO
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
You can almost chart America’s dining personality just by looking at recent openings. Los Angeles turned a bakery into a square-slice pizza joint and gave D.C.’s Maydan team a new West Coast market.
Seattle, never content with coffee alone, added a Thai spot that doesn’t shy from heat, a seafood place that promises polish without pretense, and a Latin American bakery with guava in the mix.
Meanwhile, New Haven just got “Detroit-ish” pizza, Denver doubled down on chef-driven fast casual, and José Andrés went and lit another fire in New York.
Here’s where you should be eating next.
Bowls by KO — Denver
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Katelin Overton’s new fast-casual spot makes grain bowls feel like fine dining, stacked with Colorado produce, house-fermented sauces, and the kind of depth you don’t expect in a 10-minute lunch. Does it help that she has the kind of underdog story we all root for? Yes, yes it does.
Fortuna — Seattle
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Sandwiches in the style of what you’d get in Florence are the specialty at this Phinney Ridge spot, where mortadella pairs with stracciatella and porchetta gets spiked by truffle gorgonzola. There’s already lines, because these are great-looking sandwiches, and also, that’s the way they do in the PNW.
Jade Rabbit — Santa Monica
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Chef Bryant Ng and Kim Luu-Ng’s newest venture is a Chinese bowl spot with a Chipotle-style ordering system that doesn’t skimp on the cool vibes. You know the drill: pick a base like rice or noodles, add meats and veg and sauces, and then jam out to the soundtrack in a space that looks more like night out than order at the counter.
Maydan Market — Los Angeles
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The team behind D.C.’s Maydan has landed in West Adams, and the space smells like a campfire in all the best ways. They’re pulling breads from the flames, stacking mezze on metal trays, and reminding L.A. that not every food hall has to feel like a mall.
ROY Southern Thai — Seattle
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This new Thai restaurant doesn’t dumb things down for American palates. The fried chicken glows yellow from turmeric, the curries come loaded with chilies, and you leave wondering so many places before this have been afraid to bring this kind of heat.
Txula Steak — New York City
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José Andrés built another stage in Hudson Yards, and this one is for steak. The cooks drag thick cuts over an open flame until the edges blacken just enough, then send them out with little more than salt. It’s a reminder that fire still makes the best argument.
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