Private chef David Welch to open Chef Dave’s in Chestnut Hill

Chef Dave's at The Street Chestnut Hill.Courtesy The Street Chestnut Hill

This list of restaurant openings will be updated.

April 25

Local private chef David Welch is opening his first-ever restaurant concept, Chef Dave’s. The bistro-esque restaurant is set to open on 33 Boylston St. in Chestnut Hill on May 2. The menu will feature Welch’s signature smoked ribs and lemon roasted half chicken, plus locally sourced and seasonal dishes. Chef Dave’s will be open for dinner Monday to Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sundays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Lunch and weekend brunch will launch in the coming weeks, according to a statement from The Street Chestnut Hill.

April 22

“Top Chef” sensation Spike Mendelsohn has opened PLNT Burger, a veggie-friendly (though vowel-unfriendly) fast-casual spot inside the Ink Block’s Whole Foods Market (348 Harrison Ave.). Their vegan menu offers a Beyond Meat cheeseburger; sweet potato fries; oat-based milkshakes; and other healthy not-quite-fast food.

April 18

Lifted Pool Bar opens on the fifth floor of the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport (450 Summer St.) on Monday, April 18: Enjoy fish tacos, French toast grilled cheese, chocolate empanadas, and even comedy shows on Thursday nights. Visit daily from 11 a.m. The Omni is home to a prime rooftop pool.

April 7

In the Back Bay, cocktail bar Hecate, with a dark and mystical feel, is serving drinks beneath mezze parlor Krasi (48 Gloucester St.), with small bites from Krasi chef Valentine Howell.

April 6

Miznon is now open in the Seaport (107 Seaport Blvd.), new from charismatic Israeli chef Eyal Shani. He’s a prolific restaurateur in his home country and is also known for New York City’s popular HaSalon, a lively Middle Eastern spot in Hell’s Kitchen.

At Miznon, a global chain with three New York outposts, pitas are the star attraction, in forms such as whole roasted baby cauliflower, wild mushrooms (“a whole forest burned on hot steel,” says the menu), melting chickpeas, and ratatouille. Visit daily from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m.

March 31

There’s a brand-new brasserie on the Greenway: ROSE Town Kitchen & Bar is open at the Canopy by Hilton Boston Downtown (99 Blackstone St.). Chef Andrew Beer comes from the Mandarin Oriental and Boston Park Plaza. Dive into mussels, a steak sandwich, or “thin pies” topped with duck confit and short ribs, paired with a Dirty Water cocktail made with fernet, chartreuse, and lime.

March 24

Kura Sushi is now open at Watertown’s Arsenal Yards (101 Bond Square), with a revolving sushi bar. It’s the Japanese brand’s first New England location. Order from a snaking conveyor belt queued up with more than 140 dishes, from eel with miso cream cheese to spicy salmon or tuna atop crispy rice and a variety of carpaccio. Adding to the intrigue, “Kurabots” — server robots — deliver drinks and condiments. Visit daily from 11 a.m.

March 10

The building that housed Beacon Hill’s century-old staple The Red Hat reopened as Teddy’s on the Hill, according to the restaurant’s general manager Courtney Nunheimer.

Nunheimer described the concept for the new bar and eatery, owned by Jake Nicholson, who co-managed the Financial District’s Finn McCool’s from its May 2017 opening until it closed in December 2020, as “pretty special.”

“We have a beautiful historic space that’s divided into two separate floors,” Nunheimer said, adding that the downstairs wood-encased bar would “stay preserved” with a few adjustments and updates.

“We know this local watering hole has a special place in people’s hearts,” Nunheimer said. “As an homage to the neighborhood we wanted to maintain a piece of what stood here for 115 years.”

The upstairs has been renovated and updated, Nunheimer said, and offers a “different vibe.” It includes a “beautiful lounge” with lounge-style seating looking over Bowdoin and Cambridge Streets. There is also a dining room with pop art adorned bar booths, high tops, and a 10-seat bar. Both upstairs and downstairs will be equipped with TVs and surround sound, Nunheimer said. Downstairs will be walk-in and seat yourself, and upstairs will be host-style seating.

Nunheimer described the menu as “approachable, elevated pub/American fare. You can expect South Shore pizzas, wings, sandwiches, salads,” she said.

Beverage menus are similar both upstairs and downstairs, but upstairs offers a full cocktail menu, Nunheimer said. There will be a rotating draft program featuring all local brews.

Nunheimer said the restaurant and bar will not offer standard reservations, but parties with more than six people are encouraged to email [e-mail] for guaranteed seating.

“Those reservations can be made up to 14 days in advance and are on a first come first served basis,” Nunheimer said.

Jan. 1

Toscanini’s ice cream reopened in Cambridge’s Central Square on Jan. 1. After more than three years away from its location at 899 Main St., the beloved ice cream shop announced in a Facebook post that it was officially open on Jan. 1.

“Same beloved space, same small batch ice cream.. but this time with a selfie wall,” the post reads. “There’s no better way to kick off 2022 than with a cone or cup in hand.. especially where it all began!”

🍦BIG NEWS #CAMBRIDGE!🍦 We are thrilled to announce that our GRAND OPENING of the 899 Main Street location in...

Posted by Toscanini's on Saturday, December 11, 2021

Toscanini’s opened in its Central Square location in 1981, and closed in early 2018 to make way for construction of a boutique hotel 907 Main, which is now open. Toscanini’s always intended to return to its original site, according to the Cambridge Day. In the meantime, shop co-owners Gus Rancatore and Mimi Rancatore opened another location in East Cambridge at 159 Fire St. shortly after shutting down the Central Square location.

Gus Rancatore said in a Facebook post in June that the pandemic made it “difficult to predict much” as far as reopening in Central Square.

Over the summer, Food & Wine magazine identified the best ice cream in every state, and crowned Toscanini’s best in Massachusetts. The magazine said the “punch-in-the-schnoz burnt caramel” and “nostalgic cocoa pudding” were “two of the most essential flavors in the country.”

“Thank you to our community who’s loyalty and love for Toscanini’s made this possible,” Toscanini’s continued in its reopening announcement on Facebook. “We love you all and look forward to serving you for many years to come.”

Dec. 10

One of Boston’s best-known bars is making a comeback in 2022.

The Pour House in Back Bay is planning to reopen in its original digs at 907 Boylston St., according to a notice posted on the city’s licensing board last month. The restaurant closed in September 2020 due to the pandemic, and announced that ownership would be changing hands. The recent news of the restaurant’s upcoming revival was confirmed this week by Boston.com.

According to the outlet, the restaurant’s landlord Charles Talanian, president of C. Talanian Realty Co., said Pour House would reopen “exactly as the [previous] Pour House,” and that everything from the menu items to tables and chairs would stay the same. Talanian has owned the building that houses Pour House for roughly 40 years, according to Boston.com.

The hope is that the revived restaurant will be up and running early next year, according to the outlet. Charles Hitchcock, a restaurant industry veteran who previously managed McGreevy’s on Boylston Street, will manage the bar when it reopens.

Dec. 9

In the Theater District, Guy Fieri’s Kitchen & Bar has opened in the old Explorateur space (186 Tremont St.), serving jalapeño “pig poppers” stuffed with andouille cream cheese; “trash can” nachos; and “dirty” chili cheese fries with crispy onions, sour cream, and bacon. For dessert, there’s cheesecake topped with potato chips and pretzels.

Dec. 2

Connecticut’s popular Mecha Noodle Bar is about to make its mark on Massachusetts.

The eatery, which specializes in Southeast Asian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisine, plans to open a location in Boston’s Thompson Place, near where Fort Point and the Seaport District meet, as well as in Coolidge Corner in Brookline, according to owner Tony Pham.

The proposed premise in Fort Point will include a dining area, bar area, and mezzanine-level seating, according to the city’s licensing board page. The establishment will span a total of 2,674 square feet. The proposed location in Brookline would take over the space on Harvard Street that had been home to Peet’s Coffee, according to Pham.

Mecha Noodle Bar is opening a new location in Boston.Mecha Noodle Bar

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A post shared by Mẹcha Noodle Bar (@eatramen)

Mecha Noodle Bar has locations in Fairfield, Norwalk, New Haven, Stamford, and West Hartford, and the restaurants specialize in pho, ramen, and cocktails. Pham said they made the decision to expand their market just prior to the pandemic.

“We looked at a few cities, but Boston is close to our hearts,” he said, adding that the business is excited that its Fort Point location would be right across the street from Bartaco, which also started out as a Connecticut-based brand. “They’re like a big brother to us.”

Mecha Noodle Bar’s Connecticut location. The restaurant is opening a new location in Boston.Mecha Noodle Bar