Listen closely and you can hear the clanging of wine bottles, snapping of tablecloths and rattling of silverware in anticipation of diners set to pour through the front doors of one of Orange County’s thousands of dining options. A smattering of new eateries will open next year with hopes of swaying diners from its thousands of competitors with ambiance, location and food its owners and chefs deem too good to resist. Some might turn into beloved stalwarts, others a mere blip in time. But all of them are worth getting to know within Orange County’s growing culinary landscape as you fill out your must-try list for next year.
While the following isn’t a comprehensive list of all the restaurants and watering holes poised to open next year, it is merely a taste of what to expect in 2024.
Adding to San Juan Capistrano’s status as a culinary destination, River Street Marketplace, a roughly 60,000-square-foot outdoor food hall, will open at some point in early 2024. Developed by Almquist Developers, who helped create nearby Heritage BBQ and Mayfield and Stanton’s Rodeo 39 Public Market, a gaggle of news restaurants will stake ground, including Red’s Hot Chicken specializing in Nashville hot chicken; Capo Leisure House, a brewery and cocktail spot with a 40-foot bar top, fire pit and sixteen taps with its own original beers and a rotating roster of suds from local breweries; Fermentation Farm will feature probiotic, titular fare like sauerkraut, pickles, sourdough bread, bone broths and kombucha; Finca by David Pratt, an upscale restaurant by the noted chef that will serve house-ground burgers and other wood-fired dishes; Capas and its Baja-inspired ceviche, smoked tacos and burritos from local chef Michael Campbell (formerly of Pueblo in Costa Mesa and the Loft at the Montage in Laguna Beach);…
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