Restaurants

6 restaurant openings we’re excited about this month

Add these new restaurant openings to your list.

Prima is now open in Charlestown. Assembly Designs

updated on July 3, 2023

In the restaurant business, summer is usually a time when openings hit pause. In bustling Boston, though, there’s no slowing down this season.

From a Charlestown steakhouse to a nostalgic late-night spot hoping to transform Newbury Street nightlife, there’s plenty of thrilling culinary happenings around the city this summer. Here are six new restaurants to check out in July 2023.

Dumpling Daughter

After musings of what might take over the popular late Lee Chen’s in Southie, Dumpling Daughter was the final answer. The restaurant, founded by Nadia Liu Spellman, already has acclaimed locations in Brookline and Weston, but Spellman continues to spread the dumpling love as her mission is to “make people happy — one dumpling at a time.” The menu is dumping-centric with pan-seared and steamed options, as well as roasted buns and noodle dishes. This is the first Dumpling Daughter location with no seats, a new concept for the chain, according to Spellman. Also new: family meals, so guests can order a variety of samplings to have in one platter. “We are very excited to serve the Southie crowd,” Spellman said. “This location already has Chinese Takeout DNA. We are honored to come after the popular late Lee Chen’s.”

475 W Broadway, South Boston
Opens: July 1

Kura Sushi

In 1977, Kura Sushi began pioneering the revolving sushi bar concept in Japan. Today, “conveyor-belt” sushi is widely popularized, and Kura Sushi adds to its East Coast locations with its new venue at Shoppers World in Framingham, which opened June 23, and soon-to-open Dorchester eatery. Though technology takes center stage here, the dining experience starts with a human host who leads guests to their tables. After this, the experience is predominantly tech-driven, from the two-layer revolving conveyor system that circulates throughout the entire restaurant — sending plates straight from the kitchen to tables — to robots that deliver drinks. In-house sushi chefs are responsible for all the dishes from expertly cut nigiri to meticulously constructed hand rolls, as well as non-sushi dishes like Udon noodles, dumplings, and shrimp tempura.

39A District Ave., Dorchester
Opens: July-August

1 Worcester Road, Unit 700B, Framingham
Now Open

Mochinut

Doughnuts are the name of the game at this new opening at the CambridgeSide Galleria. Not just any doughnuts — Mochi doughnuts, aka Mochniuts. Traditionally, Mochi is a Japanese rice cake, created from short-grain japonica glutinous rice; but it was in Hawaii where American doughnuts and Japanese Mochi were first crossbred. In order to create the doughnuts, Mochniut uses rice flour to create these circular cakes that have a stretchy and chewy texture. The eight dough balls are connected and covered with one of 13 different frosting coatings, from classics like chocolate and strawberry to more unique flavors like matcha and yuzu. “Whether you’re a Mochinut connoisseur or have never tried a mochi donut, we promise we won’t disappoint,” Perry Huang, who co-owns Mochinut with Emily Huang and Vicky Liang-Huang, said in a statement.

100 Cambridgeside Pl, Cambridge
Now Open

Pinky’s

The latest opening on Newbury Street is pining to become the local neighborhood watering hole for both after-work drinks and late-night fun (open until 1 a.m. from Thursday through Saturday plus weekend brunch starting at 11 a.m.). Pinky’s, a makeover of the former Itadaki sushi, is both retro and comfortable. Fantastical pop art hangs on the walls above turquoise banquettes and Herringbone tiles flowing into wooden hardwood. Opened by Sneaky Good Hospitality partners Richard Sullivan, Jairo Dominguez and Tyrone Di Stasi, the trio hopes it’s a space that will inspire nostalgia while creating new memories over globally-driven shareable bites like the Argentinean empanadas, stuffed with spiced ground beef, hard boiled egg, Spanish olive, and chimichurri crema, as well as the Mini Macs, a riff on sliders with special sauce, lettuce, pickles, and cheese atop a sesame seed bun. Cocktails are shareable, too, with the likes of an Aperol Spritz pitcher. Or keep them to yourself with specialty creations like the Watermelon Blossom, made of Grey Goose watermelon-basil with St. Germain elderflower liqueur, grapefruit and lemon.

269 Newbury St., Boston
Now Open

Prima

Located in a historic building that overlooks City Square Park and parts of the Freedom Trail, Prima is a new Italian restaurant that specializes in fresh, hand-rolled pasta, hand-spun mozzarella, fire-grilled steaks, and pizza in Paladino style. “This style of pizza is something that Bostonians won’t be able to get enough of. It’s a special variety you find in the streets of Northern Italy… light, buttery, zesty, and crisped to perfection,” said managing partner and culinary director Nicholas Dixon. The new spot is a result of a three-way culinary partnership between Monument Restaurant & Tavern, Waverly Kitchen & Bar, and Capo (South Boston). The carefully restored space is outfitted in rescued turn-of-the-century white subway tiles and reclaimed wood paneling. The Rose Room is the restaurant’s private dining space, complete with a tea rose marble fireplace, its own cocktail bar, and a Prosecco concierge.

10 City Square, Charlestown
Now Open

Revival Cafe + Kitchen

Downtown just scored a new breakfast hotspot. Known for the “bagelicious” at its Davis Square location, Revival tweaks this favorite to reflect its latest locale — the “FiDi-licious” is served on a Revival muffin with ancho aioli and the signature ingredients of egg white, cheddar, and a “broccoli situation.” The cafe also serves up homemade pastries in a rotating seasonal lineup; this summer’s selection includes passion fruit bread and blackberry-chamomile muffins alongside classics of banana bread and cinnamon coffee cake. Lunch is also served here, featuring grab ‘n go pre-made salads and made-to-order wraps like the vegan “harissa explains it all” with roasted sweet potatoes, hummus, and spinach, and “the jack hammer” with ham, jack cheese, avocado, and pickled jalapeños. Of course, coffee and tea are a staple here, and Revival always offers seasonal flavor riffs, so for summer that means citrus matcha and orange creamsicle, to name a few.

50 Milk St., Boston
Now Open