The 16 Most Anticipated Los Angeles Restaurant Openings of 2022

The year 2021 has come and gone, and 2022 has already arrived with a slew of exciting restaurant openings in the works across Los Angeles. With the stunted holiday season from the wave of omicron cases, the local restaurant industry will carry on with a tenuous enthusiasm that onsite and takeout dining will sustain it.

The past year was filled with numerous openings that waited months to finally debut, like Evan Funke’s Mother Wolf in Hollywood (which opened just before New Year’s) and Katianna and John Hong’s Yangban Society, arriving on Monday, January 10. Even the slowly opened Fanny’s recently started its big formal dinner service at the Academy Museum, while dozens of other projects remain in the works for the new year.

Next up is a motley assortment of high-end dining palaces, celebrated chefs, and casual places gone legit with permanent locations. Suffice it to say, the next 12 months should add plenty of compelling places to eat in Los Angeles. Here now are just 16 of the most highly anticipated restaurant arrivals for 2022.

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Tommy’s

Location: 235 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills

Major Players: Tommy Salvatore, Vartan Abgaryan

The Situation: Tommy Salvatore spent years cultivating relationships and offering high-end hospitality at celebrity spot Craig’s, and now he’s got a place to call his own (literally). Partnering with chef Vartan Abgaryan (Yours Truly, 71Above), Salvatore plans to bring big, bold new life to the former Bouchon space, one of LA’s most valuable pieces of restaurant real estate.

Projected Opening: Late Winter 2022

Sites: Instagram

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Habitué

Location: Unknown

Major Players: Marcus Jernmark, Max Coane, Robert Sandberg

The Situation: Marcus Jernmark comes from Sweden’s highly-touted Frantzén restaurant, currently number seven on the World’s 50 Best. Sandberg also has experience at top-tier European restaurants Noma and Maaemo, with Coane the former head sommelier at Saison in San Francisco. The trio aim to do something on the level of those world-class restaurants, with a location yet to be announced. Beyond the confirmation of Habitué, there isn’t much to know right now, but expect this to act as yet another marker of Los Angeles’s ascendance into the highest ranks of fine dining.

Projected Opening: Late 2022

Sites: Website

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Kato

Location: 777 Alameda St Building 1, Los Angeles, CA 90021

Major Players: Jon Yao, Nikki Reginaldo, Ryan Bailey

The Situation: The former M.Georgina space from San Francisco chef Melissa Perello has sadly closed despite only opening for a few months before the pandemic. The silver lining is that Kato, which garnered massive influence and praise in West LA, will be taking over the slot with ambitions to create Los Angeles’s best fine dining restaurant. With a mostly built space and much more room to operate, the Kato team is reaching for international recognition while appealing to its core clientele of San Gabriel Valley diners.

Projected Opening: March 2022

Sites: Instagram

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Mes Amis

Location: 1541 Wilcox Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Major Players: Lincoln Carson, Relevant Group, Ten Five Hospitality

The Situation: Former Bon Temps chef Lincoln Carson is back in Los Angeles, first introducing a lounge menu at the Thompson Hotel’s rooftop Bar Lis, and now at the ground floor Mes Amis, an ode to French bistro fare. Expect seasonal produce and influence from the cafes and brasseries of Paris and Lyon, along with Carson’s prodigious talent with pastry. The space is still very much in construction but could be ready by spring 2022.

Projected Opening: Spring 2022

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Ray Garcia at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Location: 111 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Major Players: Ray Garcia, Levy Restaurants

The Situation: Patina occupied the ground floor space of Walt Disney Concert Hall since the performance venue’s debut. After it closed a few years ago, Ray Garcia announced he would be returning to Los Angeles with a restaurant there. The place will not be his landmark Broken Spanish but will reflect his varied experience from Fig in Santa Monica and the city’s bounty of seasonal produce. Garcia says the space will be more approachable and casual than the fine dining Patina, with lunch and dinner service that should appeal to locals and those visiting the majestic concert hall.

Projected Opening: Spring 2022

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Bazaar Meat

Location: The Grand DTLA

Major Players: José Andrés

The Situation: Bazaar and Somni operator José Andrés left the SLS Beverly Hills hotel two years ago, leaving a huge hole in the humanitarian chef’s LA presence. Just yesterday, the Los Angeles Times announced Andrés was coming back to LA, this time in Downtown at the upcoming Frank Gehry project the Grand, which opens across from the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Andrés plans to do something similar to China Poblano, something like Jaleo, and definitely an outpost of his popular Vegas steakhouse Bazaar Meat.

Projected Opening: Fall 2022

Sites: Instagram | Website

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Curtis Stone Restaurant inside the Trust Building in Downtown

Location: 433 S. Spring St., Los Angeles

Major Players: Curtis Stone, Luke Stone, Cultivate Hospitality Group

The Situation: More than two years in the works, Curtis Stone’s big Downtown LA restaurant was supposed to open in 2020 before the pandemic hit. The glorious Art Deco building has little details in terms of menu, but given Curtis Stone’s knack for finer dining, expect a fairly upscale experience. The opening date has been pushed, most likely to allow for Maude to reopen in Beverly Hills.

Projected Opening: Late 2022

Sites: Instagram

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N/Soto

Location: 4566 Washington Boulevard

Major Players: Niki Nakayama, Carol Iida-Nakayama

The Situation: N/Naka co-founders Niki Nakayama and Carol Iida-Nakayama have an izakaya follow-up to their celebrating Palms restaurant with plans to open along Washington Boulevard in Mid-City inside the former Ondal 2 space. The duo has been working out a menu over the restaurant’s development with everything from a tasting menu series in Little Tokyo to takeout bento boxes, but expect the same kind of well-curated Japanese fare and a more approachable price point.

Projected Opening: Spring 2022

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Ronnie’s Kickin’

Ronnie’s Kickin’, Bestie Burgers, and Todos Santos

Location: 5960 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Major Players: Ronnie Muñoz

The Situation: The former Delancey, Mission Cantina, and Tamarind Avenue Deli at the corner of Sunset and Tamarind will turn into a multi-restaurant block from Muñoz, who developed a following with a fried chicken truck during the pandemic. The former Craft chef brings a fine-dining approach to everyday foods, with plans to open Besties Burgers, a taco spot called Todo Santos, and Ronnie’s Kitchen and Bar in the former George Abou-Daoud operation.

Projected Opening: Early Spring 2022

Sites: Facebook | Instagram

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Magari

Location: 6115 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood

Major Players: Tony Messina, Yoshiyuki Okuno, Enrico Merendino

The Situation: Three talented chefs, backed by a Bay Area restaurant group, are taking up residence inside the closed Paley space in Hollywood this winter. Magari’s plan is to offer an Italian-Japanese menu with finer dining touches and plenty of skill — Messina, after all, has a 2019 James Beard win for Best Chef: Northeast under his belt, and Okuno has been cooking Michelin-level food in Tokyo for years.

Projected Opening: February 2022

Sites: Website / Instagram

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Yess

Location: 2001 E. 7th Street, Arts District

Major Players: Junya Yamasaki, Giles Clark, and Jacob Himmel

The Situation: Celebrated former London chef Junya Yamasaki wowed Arts District denizens with fantastic fresh seafood and more from a bright orange truck while his restaurant Yess was in construction. Now, the truck has closed operations to set up the forthcoming eatery that should boast an arresting interior and high-quality ingredients drawing from Yamasaki’s Japanese background and big-city cooking in the U.K.

Projected Opening: Mid 2022

Sites: Instagram

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OC Smoke Queen

Location: 12941 9th Street, Garden Grove

Major Players: Winnie Yee-Lakhani, Cottage Industries

The Situation: The OC Smoke Queen is a rising star in California’s barbecue scene, having worked her way up from pandemic cooking on the underground circuit to a weekly stall at Smorgasburg and a restaurant on the way. Yee-Lakhani’s forthcoming barbecue spot will be outfitted by Cottage Industries, a key player in the Orange County food scene as developers behind projects like the Lab in Costa Mesa and the Packing District in Anaheim. Once done, diners will find Yee-Lakhani’s unique blend of Asian-Texas flavors, cooked on an offset smoker set right in the front yard and surrounded by projects from other retail tenants like the Boba Guys.

Projected Opening: Late 2022

Sites: Website / Instagram

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Unnamed John Sedlar Project

Location: 148 S. La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles

Major Players: John Sedlar, Bill Chait, Mark Werts

The Situation: Chef John Sedlar, one of the early progenitors of American Southwest cuisine, hasn’t been cooking in Los Angeles since he closed Downtown’s Rivera in 2014. That restaurant helped to redefine the Downtown LA food scene and make Julian Cox a cocktail star, and now Sedlar is back and partnering with prolific restaurateur Bill Chait to bring an unnamed restaurant to La Brea. The project lands along Werts’ American Rag row, and while details are tight about the final name and menu, an opening is expected in or around May.

Projected Opening: Spring 2022

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Grupo Hunan

Alma

Location: 189 the Grove Drive, Los Angeles

Major Players: Grupo Hunan

The Situation: One of the most respected restaurant groups in Mexico City is landing at the Grove in the heart of Los Angeles, taking over the two-story former 189 by Dominique Ansel space right outside the property’s photogenic fountain. The dual destination promises a more laid-back downstairs restaurant with tacos and drinks and a more refined, white-tablecloth dinner option upstairs, with chefs brought in from Mexico to oversee the group’s first foray into the U.S.

Projected Opening: Winter 2022

Sites: Website / Instagram

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Bar Moruno

Location: 3705 Sunset Boulevard, Silver Lake

Major Players: Chris Feldmeier, David Rosoff, Ricardo Zarate

The Situation: Is there a better comeback story in LA right now than Bar Moruno? The critically acclaimed Spanish restaurant had a truncated life at the Original Farmers Market and Downtown’s Grand Central Market, but now plans are afoot to bring the popular project back to life this year. Chef Feldmeier is back with longtime Mozza co-worker and now partner Rosoff to cook up Spanish delights, pour wine, and have fun in the former Kettle Black space on Sunset. Next door, Ricardo Zarate (Picca, Rosaline, Vegas’s Once) will offer Peruvian-Japanese cuisine soon as well.

Projected Opening: Spring/Summer 2022

Sites: Instagram

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Lavo Ristorante

Location: 9021 W. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood

Major Players: Tao Group

The Situation: The Tao Group, already among the most prolific nightlife operators in America, will expand its LA footprint by debuting a Sunset Strip location of Lavo; its Los Angeles portfolio already includes its namesake restaurant as well as Beauty and Essex. This version (there are others in Las Vegas and New York) will act more like a restaurant than a nightclub, with some 250 seats — plus a bar — spread across a splashy dining room with its own retractable roof. Expect this pasta and chops spot from chef and partner Ralph Scamardella to be a big deal for the well-heeled Westside set.

Projected Opening: Winter 2022

Sites: Website / Instagram

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Other 2022 openings to be excited about in Los Angeles

• Sonoratown Mid-City: The popular flour tortilla spot in the Fashion District jumps to 5610 San Vicente Boulevard early this year.
• Uncle Paulie’s Studio City: This East Coast-style sandwich maker is a hit with the in-crowd, and already has locations in Beverly Grove and Downtown. Now it’s coming to the Valley early in 2022, landing at 3990 Vantage Avenue in Studio City.
• Konbi Culver City: The makers of LA’s most famous egg salad sandwich are heading west, opening at the One Culver development at 10000 Washington Boulevard. Expect Bon Appetit’s 2019 Best New Restaurant winner to offer an expanded menu along with lots of outdoor-only seating, with food served takeaway style next to other newcomers like Go Get Em Tiger.
• Maude: Curtis Stone’s Michelin-starred fine dining gem in Beverly Hills turned into Pie Room by Gwen during the thick of the pandemic, but plans to change back into its tasting menu form along Beverly Boulevard.
• Standing’s Butchery Venice: From burgers to meaty staples like take-home sausages and steaks, Jered Standing’s Melrose butcher shop does a lot. Add in an expanded daytime menu and breakfast items served in a space shared with Salt’s Cure and Venice has the makings of a hit new anytime spot at 202 Main Street for shoppers and diners alike.
• Bagel + Slice: As the name implies, this new carb shop from Bradford Kent (Olio, Blaze) specializes in bagels and pizza, tucked right between Eagle Rock and Highland Park at 4751 York Boulevard.