Looking to try the top new restaurants of 2023? The Boston area has two of them.
Moëca, a seafood restaurant in Cambridge, and Rubato, a modern Hong Kong cafe in Quincy, are among two dozen restaurants featured in Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants of 2023 list, which was published last week.
The Bon Appétit team traveled across the country throughout the year in search of restaurants that “represent the very best of dining,” the article said.
Moëca, which opened in August 2022, uses New England fisheries to provide dishes from all over the world, using as much of the fish as possible across the menu, according to its website.
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Located outside Harvard Square, the restaurant offers outdoor seating when weather permits. Dishes range from $6 potato rolls to $38 swordfish, the website said.
“For us, Moëca has been a wonderful complement to Giulia — it’s a place where we get to exercise our creativity with different flavors and culinary inspirations while still providing the same warm hospitality and delicious food that Giulia has been known for over the past decade,” owners Michael Pagliarini and Pamela Ralston said by email Thursday.
Giulia is an Italian restaurant just down the street from Moëca.
Bon Appétit said the restaurant “approaches seafood with a sensibility that is rooted in sustainability, yes, but also curiosity — and it is as necessary as it is wonderful.”
Rubato, which opened in August 2022, is a modern twist on traditional Hong Kong and Cantonese comfort food, according to its website. The restaurant takes classic dishes and puts its own spin on them.
“This is the food of a grounded, confident chef playing familiar tunes with abundant style,” Bon Appétit wrote. “We’re just happy to be in the audience.”
Rubato is a quick-service restaurant offering takeout and a few tables for dining, the website says. Dish prices range from $4 fo bao to $20 baked pork chops.
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“This is unreal hungry fams,” Rubato posted on Instagram. “Recognition and accolades have never been the driving point behind what we do day in day out, but for a little mom and pop shop like ours to be seen, recognized, and celebrated is HUGE.”
Bon Appétit’s Top Restaurants of 2023
- Bar Spero, Washington, D.C.
- Brochus Family Tradition, Savannah, Ga.
- Chilte, Phoenix
- Dakar Nola, New Orleans
- Ensenada, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Este, Austin, Texas
- Fishmonger, Atlanta
- Heavy Metal Sausage Co., Philadelphia
- Indienne, Chicago
- Kann + Sousol, Portland, Ore.
- Kono, New York
- Kuya Lord, Los Angeles
- Ladder 4 Wine Bar, Detroit
- Mamou, New Orleans
- Maty’s, Miami
- Moëca, Cambridge
- Neng Jr’s, Asheville, N.C.
- Noodle in a Haystack, San Francisco
- Pietramala, Philadelphia
- Pijja Palace, Los Angeles
- Rubato, Quincy
- Seabird, Bainbridge Island, Wash.
- Sedalia’s Oyster & Seafood, Oklahoma City
- Shuggies, San Francisco
Talia Lissauer can be reached at talia.lissauer@globe.com. Follow her on Instgram @_ttphotos.