Can you actually get in? · Checked November 3, 2026
Bon Appétit's 19 best new restaurants. Can you actually get in?
Bon Appétit picked the 19 best new restaurants in America. Great list. Then everyone tries to book the same night. So I went through every one: when the tables drop, which seats are kept for walk-ins, the slot that's easiest to get, and what to order once you're in. Two of them you'll need an alarm for. Four of them, you just walk in.
I'm Chef Amazing: the whole world of food in one app, and I do the homework so you get the table.
Set your alarm
When the tables drop, in the restaurant's own time zone.
| Lei New York | 9am ET, 14 days out Resy |
| Kabawa New York | Midnight ET, 14 days out OpenTable |
| Jules San Francisco | Midnight PT (sources say 14 or 30 days out) Their site |
| Honeysuckle Philadelphia | Midnight ET on the 1st, for the next month OpenTable |
| Sao Philadelphia | Noon ET on Wednesdays, 30 days out (some say the 1st of the month) OpenTable |
| Maria Isabel San Francisco | Midnight PT, 30 days out OpenTable |
| Creepies Chicago | Midnight CT, 30 days out OpenTable |
| Anjin Kansas City | 11am CT daily, 60 days out Tock and OpenTable |
| Little Mountain Montecito | Up to 60 days out SevenRooms |
Set an alarm 9
The hard ones. Know when the tables drop, and know the walk-in trick.
Photo: LeiGood luck
Lei
Chinatown, New York · Wine bar, regional Chinese cooking · Annie Shi and chef Patty Lee
Good luck
Tables drop: 9am ET, 14 days out · Resy
The moveResy opens a few tables 14 days out at 9am, and they go in seconds. The rest of the room is held for walk-ins: be at the door when it opens.
Order: Whatever handmade noodle is on (cat's ear noodles in braised lamb ragù, when it's there), and let them pick the wine.
28 seats, nearly 1,000 bottles, and the James Beard Best New Restaurant award the same year.
Photo: Kabawa, via the MICHELIN GuideGood luck
Kabawa
East Village, New York · Caribbean tasting menu · Paul Carmichael (Momofuku)
Good luck
Tables drop: Midnight ET, 14 days out · OpenTable
The moveKabawa holds no tables for walk-ins. OpenTable opens 14 days out at midnight. Missed it? Bar Kabawa next door keeps half its room for walk-ins: eat there and put your name down for a no-show.
Order: The tasting menu is the point. At Bar Kabawa, order off the board and a rum.
Named the best restaurant in New York by the Times this year, and the best in the country by Food & Wine.
A photo like it · PastaFazzulla, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsSet an alarm
Jules
Lower Haight, San Francisco · Sourdough pizza
Set an alarm
Tables drop: Midnight PT (sources say 14 or 30 days out) · Their site
The moveTables drop at midnight and vanish. The good news: the outdoor tables, four bar seats and the eight-seat communal table are walk-in only. Go early, or join the Notify list: people cancel.
Order: The pepperoni with garlic honey, the Spicy Ronny, and the pull-apart buns.
A pop-up that grew a dining room, and the sourdough lives up to the line.
Photo: HoneysuckleSet an alarm
Honeysuckle
North Broad, Philadelphia · Tasting menu, Black foodways · Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate
Set an alarm
Tables drop: Midnight ET on the 1st, for the next month · OpenTable
The moveThe tasting menu books a month at a time: OpenTable opens the next month at midnight on the 1st. No luck? The bar and lounge pour à la carte, walk-in only.
Order: The tasting menu (8 courses, about 2.5 hours). Haitian spaghetti and the fried catfish if they're on.
A cultural preservation project that happens to be one of the best dinners in the country.
Photo: SaoSet an alarm
Sao
East Passyunk, Philadelphia · Cambodian oyster bar · Phila and Rachel Lorn
Set an alarm
Tables drop: Noon ET on Wednesdays, 30 days out (some say the 1st of the month) · OpenTable
The moveReservations go in minutes. Four of the ten bar seats are kept for walk-ins, and Wednesday or Thursday is your best shot. No phone: message them on Instagram.
Order: The honey butter hoe cake with smoked trout, the scallop crudo, and the crab gravy noodles.
Oysters with Cambodian peppercorn mignonette, from the team behind Mawn.
Photo: Maria IsabelSet an alarm
Maria Isabel
Presidio Heights, San Francisco · Coastal Mexican · The team behind Dalida
Set an alarm
Tables drop: Midnight PT, 30 days out · OpenTable
The moveOpenTable opens 30 days out at midnight; weekends go first. Set OpenTable Notify for a cancellation, or try for the counter on a weeknight.
Order: The duck carnitas enmoladas and the crab tortita ahogada. Or the tasting menu.
Half seafood crudos, half antojitos, all of it from the people who made Dalida.
Photo: CreepiesSet an alarm
Creepies
West Loop, Chicago · Neo-bistro
Set an alarm
Tables drop: Midnight CT, 30 days out · OpenTable
The moveEvery night at midnight OpenTable opens one more day, 30 days out, and prime times are gone by morning. Set the alarm, or go at 5.
Order: The brie cream puffs. Then the Parisian gnocchi.
French technique, Midwestern farms, a menu short enough to order all of it.
Photo: AnjinSet an alarm
Anjin
Crossroads, Kansas City · Izakaya
Set an alarm
Tables drop: 11am CT daily, 60 days out · Tock and OpenTable
The moveTwenty seats. The owners say the tables that open up most are 5:30 or after 9pm, so take the early or the late one.
Order: The cabbage salad (Bon Appétit called it one of the best dishes of the year), the pork-collar sandwich, and a yakitori round starting with chicken hearts.
A 20-seat izakaya that made Kansas City a sake town.
Photo: Saint ClaireSet an alarm
Saint Claire
Algiers, New Orleans · French country cooking · Melissa Martin (Mosquito Supper Club)
Set an alarm
Tables drop: Weeks ahead, prepaid · Tock
The moveSmall room, prepaid on Tock, and it books weeks out. Weekend brunch (10 to 2) is the other way in. It's across the river: a 10-minute drive from the Warehouse District.
Order: Whatever lamb, rabbit or duck is on that night. The menu is about a dozen things.
Melissa Martin's French country house on the West Bank, already on the Times' 50 best.
Book ahead 3
A week or two out, or a seat at the bar.
Photo: Little MountainBook ahead
Little Mountain
Montecito · Wood-fired, seasonal
Book ahead
Tables drop: Up to 60 days out · SevenRooms
The moveThe dining rooms book up to 60 days out on SevenRooms. The bar is kept for walk-ins, so go early and sit at the bar.
Order: The amberjack crudo, then whatever's coming off the hearth.
A wood fire in the middle of the room and a menu that follows the Santa Barbara market.
Photo: Casa JuaniBook ahead
Casa Juani
Pearl Street, Boulder · Spanish · Former Frasca chefs
Book ahead
Tables drop: On their site and OpenTable · OpenTable
The moveBook ahead for a weekend; it's already booked like a Boulder staple. Walk-ins do best at the bar. Open Wednesday to Sunday.
Order: Jamón ibérico sliced off the cart, then the arroz with sepia. Bring friends and order a lot.
A ham cart, a raw bar and rice from people who learned at Frasca.
Photo: JuniorBook ahead
Junior
East Nashville, Nashville · Basque grill, French technique · The team behind Rolf and Daughters
Book ahead
Tables drop: On OpenTable · OpenTable
The moveIt's booked steadily, not impossibly. A week or two ahead gets you a weekend table; weeknights are easy.
Order: The Wagyu bavette off the grill and the chocolate soufflé.
Open-flame Basque cooking on Dickerson Pike, from the people behind Rolf and Daughters.
Walk right in 7
Yes, really. Just go.
Photo: Bayonet (Andrew Lee)Easy if you plan
Bayonet
Downtown, Birmingham · Gulf seafood, raw bar · Rob McDaniel
Easy if you plan
Tables drop: On Resy · Resy
The moveWalk-ins are always welcome, and it's open from 11am, Monday to Saturday. Lunch early in the week is the easy way in.
Order: Alabama oysters from the raw bar, the cobia schnitzel, and a tableside martini.
Rob McDaniel cooks the Gulf's overlooked fish with the same care as the tuna.
A photo like it · Eugene Kim, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsEasy if you plan
Broken Spanish Comedor
Culver City, Los Angeles · Mexican · Ray Garcia
Easy if you plan
Tables drop: On OpenTable · OpenTable
The moveEasy on a weeknight. Or skip the booking: happy hour at the bar runs 4 to 6, Monday to Friday.
Order: The chicharrón pork-belly pinwheel, the duck albóndigas, and the lamb neck barbacoa.
Ray Garcia's Broken Spanish, back, in an A-frame with one of LA's best patios.
- Easy if you plan
Le Calamar
South First, Austin · French bistro · Casey Wall
Easy if you plan
Tables drop: On OpenTable · OpenTable
The moveWalk-ins are welcome; book for a group or a Friday. The four-course set menu changes every day.
Order: The steak tartare on house bread with crispy Comté, and a martini (one of Esquire's best in America).
A French bistro with Texas manners, from the Underdog team.
Photo: Agnes and ShermanWalk right in
Agnes and Sherman
Houston Heights, Houston · Asian American diner · Nick Wong and Lisa Lee
Walk right in
Tables drop: On OpenTable · OpenTable
The moveWalk-ins welcome, their words. Book only for a big group.
Order: The cheeseburger fried rice. Then the pandan sundae.
Red booths, laminated menus, and the most talked-about fried rice in Texas.
Photo: Maison (Deb Lindsey)Walk right in
Maison Bar à Vins
Adams Morgan, Washington, DC · Wine bar, French plates · Matt Conroy
Walk right in
Tables drop: Dining room: 14 days out · Resy
The moveThe front bar is built for walk-ins. Resy only matters for the small dining room behind the velvet curtain, 14 days out.
Order: The smoked eel croquettes and the seaweed choux, with whatever natural wine they pour you.
A three-story brownstone with five fireplaces and 1,000 bottles.
Photo: Leo'sWalk right in
Leo's
Santa Fe · Thai and Malaysian
Walk right in
Tables drop: On OpenTable · OpenTable
The moveWalk-ins are always welcome. They keep seats back, and they say it themselves: no availability online? Come by anyway.
Order: The northern Thai pork laab, the fried chicken, and a carafe of freezer martini. It's spicy. They mean it.
Thai and Malaysian home cooking in Santa Fe, and a freezer martini in a carafe.
Photo: The Wayland MillWalk right in
The Wayland Mill
Wallingford, Seattle · Japanese-American breakfast and lunch · From the owner of Saint Bread
Walk right in
Tables drop: No reservations
The moveNo reservations: you walk in. Since the Bon Appétit list there can be a line, so go early.
Order: The biscuit with miso-chashu gravy, the tamago breakfast with shokupan, and peanut butter pie.
Yoshoku Americana by the Burke-Gilman Trail, from the people behind Saint Bread.
No reservations: walk inDirections
How I checked
Every release time and walk-in rule comes from the restaurant's own site or its booking page, plus the reviews that tried it, checked on November 3, 2026. Where two sources disagree, the card says so. Restaurants change these all the time; if one of these is wrong, tell me at hello@chefamazing.com and I'll fix it the same day. The list itself is Bon Appétit's Best New Restaurants 2026, published August 24, 2026.
More to eat
Photos are the restaurants' own, credited on each one; where a restaurant has none we could use, it's a dish like theirs, labelled. Not connected to Bon Appétit. Chef Amazing isn't paid by anyone on this page.
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