While Orange County’s dining landscape suffered a series of losses in 2024 (Felix Continental Cafe and Maizano were two unfortunate surprises), a bonanza of restaurants are on the horizon for the coming year. From new Truly Pizza and Vox Kitchen locations to an L.A. pizza staple making its first foray into OC and Heritage Barbecue’s Daniel Castillo’s new concept, 2025 promises a fresh wave of dining destinations. Will they survive? Only time, and the discerning diner, will tell.
Keep in mind this is not a comprehensive list of upcoming restaurants, but a taste of what to expect this year.
CasaDamí is slated to open at the end of January or early February inside the newly renovated Peninsula Village in Newport Beach. Billed as a European-inspired cafe and wine bar, Camilla Caremoli and Dave Shah’s new venue will feature a marble 15-seat bar, white oak flooring in herringbone pattern and banquette seating. CasaDamí will feature counter service during lunch hours with pastries, salads, shareable charcuterie and tapas, and coffee drinks galore. In the evening, the new eatery turns into a full-service restaurant with an expanded menu of Papas Bravas topped with salsa brava and aioli, Bikini Toast with jamon serrano and San Simon cheese, and chicken Milanese bites and gruyère fondue. The wine program will feature bottles inspired by Shah’s personal collection.
Seattle-based Crawfish Hut is still set to open at Rodeo 39 Public Market sometime in the new year. The crawfish spot, named Washington State’s top seafood restaurant by Yelp, will feature Cajun-style crawfish and seafood boils with a full bar. Menu highlights will include lobster udon and house fried rice. Crawfish Hut will be located next to Phoholic.
On Saturday, Jan. 11, EggBred, the La Habra-based breakfast and brunch destination, will open its newest location in Brea. A Garden Grove EggBred is slated for later this year.
A rendition shows what Huntington’s at the Pier will look like, a new eatery that gained approval for a lease from the city on Oct. 1, 2024. (Rendering courtesy of Surf City Partners, LLC)Over in Surf City, Keith Bohr and Jeff Bergsma will convert the former Let’s Go Fishing shop space into Huntington’s on the Pier, a retro-themed eatery with nearly 360-degree ocean views, including the northside surf scene. Huntington’s on the Pier, currently slated for a May opening, will have indoor seating for 50, a patio that seats 25, a walk-up window and cameras affixed under the pier that will allow guests to watch the surfing action.
In-N-Out Burger will open an Anaheim location sometime in 2025. The Southern California fast food empire’s new location is slated to open on Euclid Street in Anaheim Plaza, at the site of a former Marie Callender’s. Initial plans call for a 3,879-squarfoot restaurant with a 698-square foot covered patio and a drive-thru. This will be the city’s third In-N-Out, with the two others being on State College Boulevard and Brookhurst Street. .
A handful of new eateries will arrive at John Wayne Airport sometime in 2025, including Chaupain Bakery, Earl of Sandwich, Five Vines Wine Bar, Left Coast Brewing, Mama’s Comfort Food & Cocktails, Sgt Pepperoni’s Pizza Store, Tacos La Piña, Wahoo’s Fish Tacos and more.
ALSO SEE: The Orange County restaurant closures of 2024 that hit the hardest
Kabana by Michelin-recognized chef Imran “Ali” Mookhi (of Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen in Fullerton, Shor Bazaar in Hawaiian Gardens and Mint in Laguna Hills) will open sometime this year. His menu will feature Desi cuisine, highlighting regional comfort food from Pakistan. His fourth restaurant will also introduce hookah and chai-sipping experiences. Mookhi also reopened Mint at the start of the new year. Mint closed in 2016, then pushed back its reopening date due to a fire-related setback, but has, at last, officially opened.
Switching gears from its initial taco wine bar concept, Heritage Barbecue’s Daniel Castillo will open Le Hut Dinette (formerly christened Le Brisket Hut) as a Tex Mex-inspired dinette sometime in late January or early February in Santa Ana. Located next door to 61 Hundred Bread, which opened in late 2024, Castillo’s new spot will be helmed by executive chef Ryan Garlitos (formerly of Taco Maria and Irenia & Mario’s Butcher Shop).
Monaco Italian Kitchen, the namesake restaurant of Tony Monaco, chef-restaurateur of the Blind Pig and the Trough, is slated for a February opening. The Irvine restaurant will lean heavily on pastas and Neapolitan pizzas with sauces and doughs made from scratch daily. Monaco Italian Kitchen will open inside Centerview’s Eighteen Main restaurant complex, which includes Izakaya Osen and the Goldfinch.
Nick’s, noted for its contemporary American dishes, sandwiches, salads and more, will open inside the former Gracias Madre site in Newport Beach in early 2025. This will mark the third location for Nick’s in Orange County, joining the Laguna Beach and San Clemente venues, and its eighth spot overall in California.
Part of the Anaheim Hilton’s multimillion-dollar renovation, Poppy, named in honor of the Golden State’s official flower, will welcome patrons throughout the day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night bites. The California-forward menu will feature items like avocado toast, faro salad, burgers, roasted vegetable grain bowls, craft beers and more.
ALSO SEE: Huntington’s on the Pier lease approved for restaurant at former Let’s Go Fishing space
Concept art of the Porto’s Bakery exterior coming to Downtown Disney. (Courtesy of Disney)Porto’s Bakery & Cafe’s newest location will open at Downtown Disney in 2025. Porto’s decision to open a Downtown Disney spot on the site of the former La Brea Bakery was announced during the D23 Expo in 2022 at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Downtown Disney location will be Porto’s seventh one in Southern California.
Pizza continues its growth in 2025: Ten years after opening its original location on Fairfax in Los Angeles, Prime Pizza will open its first Orange County locations in Brea (at 235 E Imperial Hwy.) and Mission Viejo (at 24420 Alicia Parkway) sometime this summer.
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Founded by pastry chef Sara Lezama, Rye Goods will open its newest location in spring of 2025 inside Costa Mesa’s mixed-use retail space, Paseo 17. Rye Goods is known for its organic sourdough, deli selections, coffee and natural wines. Menu highlights will include bagels, breakfast burritos, scones, kringle and a litany of breads like rye hearth loaf, rye pretzels, baguettes, country loafs and more.
The French-inspired bakery Tous les Jours in Brea will hold its grand opening on Friday, Jan. 10, offering 300 types of pastries, cakes and desserts baked in-store daily. (Photo courtesy of Tous les Jours)Tous Les Jours, a bakery featuring French and Asian-inspired flavors that recently soft-opened, will have its grand opening on Friday, Jan. 10. Guests can enjoy 300 different types of treats, including croissants, pastries, mousse and buttercream cakes (including its popular Cloud Cake made with a fluffy sponge, whipped cream and sliced fruit), beverages and more.
ALSO SEE: What’s on the table in 2025? Some predicted trends in food
Award-winning pizzeria Truly Pizza (which appeared on the most recent season of “Real Housewives of Orange County”) will open its second location this year in Laguna Beach. It will move into the former Number Three Restaurant space on Pacific Coast Highway.
A handful of dishes from Vox Kitchen, which will open its second location inside South Coast Plaza in February. (Photo courtesy of Kei Concepts)Kei Concepts will open its second Vox Kitchen, a family-style Sino-Vietnamese eatery, located inside South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. Scheduled to open in late February, it will have a menu similar to the Fountain Valley spot with a few dishes and drinks available only at the new space, including a physical bar with seating and exclusive spirit-based cocktail creations. The new Vox Kitchen will have room for up to 90 guests; indoor, patio and bar seating will be available.
And finally, the timeline of Carlos Salgado reopening Taco María (once ranked the No.1 place to eat in Orange County) will, for now, remains a cautiously optimistic mystery.
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