![\"Discover](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/restaurant_openings_in_spring_-_brasserie_-_image_credit_deer_path_inn_0880.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nWhen it comes to elevated dining experiences that take the cake, Spring is serving up one of the best seasons yet for upscale new restaurant openings popping up around the globe. From reimagined historic dining rooms to immersive cultural flagships spanning three continents, discover the seven sizzling new restaurants that have diners and editors buzzing with anticipation.<\/p>\n
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Discover 7 Exciting Upscale Restaurant Openings in Spring – The Brasserie – Image credit Deer Path Inn<\/p>\n
(The Brasserie\/Deer Path Inn)<\/p>\n
The Brasserie at Deer Path Inn \u2014 Lake Forest, Illinois<\/p>\n
Just 40 minutes north of Chicago, the Deer Path Inn \u2014 an English-inspired landmark anchoring Lake Forest\u2019s social fabric for nearly a century \u2014 has reimagined its most celebrated dining space with the debut of The Brasserie<\/a>.<\/p>\n The room, once home to the beloved English Room, has been refreshed with lively art and an elevated seasonal menu spanning chilled oysters, herb-crusted lamb, and premium grass-fed steaks. It joins The Bar, known for whimsical cocktails and the North Shore\u2019s best sushi, and The White Hart Pub, rounding out one of the region\u2019s most distinctive dining ecosystems under one roof.<\/p>\n Discover 7 Exciting Upscale Restaurant Openings in Spring – Image credit Buena Vista Restaurant & Bar<\/p>\n (Buena Vista Restaurant & Bar)<\/p>\n Buena Vista Restaurant & Bar \u2014 East Village, New York<\/p>\n Hell\u2019s Kitchen\u2019s quietly beloved Latin dining destination is planting its second flag in the East Village this April, with founder Christian Nu\u00f1ez bringing the brand\u2019s signature warmth to a design-forward 80-seat space at 88 Second Avenue.<\/p>\n Nu\u00f1ez, who repositioned his father\u2019s Midtown restaurant before launching Buena Vista<\/a> in 2018, evolves the concept here into a cocktail-driven model built around elevated shareable plates \u2014 croquettes, paella, and signature churrasco \u2014 alongside DJ-fueled brunch and evening programming. It\u2019s a well-timed, high-energy next chapter for a brand with two decades of New York hospitality instincts behind it.<\/p>\n Discover 7 Exciting Upscale Restaurant Openings in Spring – Selene – Image Courtesy of Theodore Kondylis & KNYC<\/p>\n (Selene\/Theodore Kondylis & KNYC)<\/p>\n Selene \u2014 SoHo, New York<\/p>\n One of New York\u2019s most anticipated openings happening this year, Selene<\/a> arrives at 23 Grand Street as a full sensory reimagining of the Aegean coast \u2014 10,000 square feet of travertine, plaster arches, and custom furniture and ceramics made exclusively in Greece for this space. The retractable-roof atrium opens the dining room to the New York sky, a deliberate architectural nod to Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon.<\/p>\n Co-founders Reno Christou and James Ragonese have built a menu centered on seafood treated with reverence: Aegean lobster linguini, charcoal-grilled lavraki with ladolemono, char-kissed langoustines, and Colorado lamb chops in the Greek tradition.<\/p>\n Discover 7 Exciting Upscale Restaurant Openings in Spring – Image credit Mountain House<\/p>\n (Mountain House)<\/p>\n Mountain House \u2014 San Gabriel Valley, California<\/p>\n Michelin-recognized and ranked ninth on the New York Times list of the 100 Best Restaurants in New York City, Mountain House<\/a> opens its most ambitious location yet on May 1 at Atlantic Times Square in San Gabriel \u2014 and Eater LA is already paying attention.<\/p>\n The 120-seat flagship is designed as an ancient mountain tavern, with artisanal vine weaving and traditional blue dye textiles woven into the architecture alongside koi ponds and wooden pagodas. Culinary Director Zhi Min Zhu has flown in a specialized team directly from Sichuan, China, with the menu anchored by the tableside Swinging Pork Belly and Chongqing La-zi Chicken.<\/p>\n Discover 7 Exciting Upscale Restaurant Openings in Spring – Luma – Image credit Cris Molina<\/p>\n (Luma\/Cris Molina)<\/p>\n LUMA \u2014 St. Petersburg, Florida<\/p>\n At SkyBeach Resort on St. Petersburg\u2019s Gulf-front southern tip, LUMA<\/a> has opened as the property\u2019s signature dining concept: a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant overlooking the marina whose name nods to lumen, the Latin word for light.<\/p>\n Executive Chef Ryan VanDusen, whose resume spans Soho House Chicago and the iconic Don CeSar hotel, bridges Mediterranean tradition and Gulf Coast ingredients across an expansive mezze program and fire-driven entrees. Friday nights bring a resident DJ, and guests arriving by water can dock directly at the SkyBeach Marina \u2014 a dock-and-dine experience as effortlessly scenic as it sounds.<\/p>\n Discover 7 Exciting Upscale Restaurant Openings in Spring – K\u00f2 S\u00e0-W\u0103n – Image credit Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas<\/p>\n (K\u00f2 S\u00e0-W\u0103n \/Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas)<\/p>\n K\u00f2 S\u00e0-W\u0103n \u2014 Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas<\/p>\n At The Cove at Atlantis Paradise Island, acclaimed chef Ian Kittichai \u2014 the culinary force behind Bangkok\u2019s Issaya Siamese Club and a familiar face on Iron Chef USA and Hell\u2019s Kitchen Thailand \u2014 has brought his sought-after Thai dinner pop-up back to the Bahamas in a concept whose name translates, fittingly, to Paradise Island.<\/p>\n K\u00f2 S\u00e0-W\u0103n<\/a> unfolds at The Cove\u2019s Perch restaurant with bold Bangkok flavors intact: fresh grouper steamed in banana leaf, aromatic coconut-galangal chicken soup, and the kind of undiminished Thai heat that travels well precisely because it refuses to be softened. For guests already in paradise, it offers the rare pleasure of dining with a chef who genuinely earned his place there.<\/p>\n Discover 7 Exciting Upscale Restaurant Openings in Spring – Image credit Imperial Hotel, Kyoto – REN<\/p>\n (REN\/Imperial Hotel, Kyoto)<\/p>\n REN at Imperial Hotel, Kyoto \u2014 Gion, Japan<\/p>\n Housed within the restored Yasaka Kaikan (a nationally registered Tangible Cultural Property in Kyoto\u2019s Gion district), the Imperial Hotel, Kyoto, just opened last month as a 55-room sanctuary, and its most intimate dining destination, REN<\/a>, is reason enough to plan the trip around it.<\/p>\n The 18-seat room, centered on a 10-seat chef\u2019s counter, frames Executive Chef Koji Imajo\u2019s\u00a0French-meets-Japanese seasonal menus like a quiet performance, with plaster artwork depicting cherry blossoms adorning the walls and menus guided by Japan\u2019s twenty-four solar terms.<\/p>\n From a century-old English inn in Illinois to a moonlit Aegean atrium in SoHo to a chef\u2019s counter in a Kyoto cultural landmark, this season is proving that the globe\u2019s most enticing tables are being set with intention, heritage, and a refreshing sense of place.<\/p>\n![\"Discover](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/restaurant_openings_in_spring_-_image_credit_buena_vista_restaurant_.jpeg\"\/)
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