Fall Preview 2015: 10 Major Restaurant Openings Around The Globe
If asked to summarize the summer of 2015 in one word, Europeans — or anyone who journeyed through the glorious continent — would more likely than not respond with "hot." For reasons she'll take to the grave, Mother Nature unleashed the sweltering "Caronte" heat wave that brought the mercury to brutal, record-breaking highs, toasting a decent chunk of Europe as well as parts of Asia and the Middle East for days on end. Despite the blistering temperatures, chef Massimo Bottura brilliantly repurposed food waste from Expo Milano 2015, and France's craft beers earned some rightfully warranted love.
Along with the (hopefully) forthcoming cooler temperatures, Europe and its neighbors both near and overseas will welcome some travel-worthy new additions to the global dining scene this autumn. From Peruvian cuisine cooked by Moscow's most progressive chef to a restaurant-cum-butcher-shop by Brazil's Alex Atala to a hawker-style food hall in the land Down Under, here's a look at 10 of the most anticipated international restaurant openings for fall 2015.
Hawker Hall | Melbourne, Australia
Prominent Australian restaurateur Chris Lucas launches Hawker Hall, a 200-seat craft beer and hawker-style dining concept in Melbourne. With a menu equal parts barbecue, dumplings, curry and noodles, chefs Benjamin Cooper and Damian Snell highlight Southeast Asian street food from the likes of Malaysia, Singapore and others, while offering more than 30 small Australian and Asian artisan brews on tap. 98 Chapel St.; +61 3 9663 0310
Contraste | Milan, Italy
During his tenure as Al Pont de Ferr's executive chef, Uruguayan Matias Perdomo earned the 30-year-old beloved Milan osteria its first Michelin star. Since his February departure, the Milanesi have impatiently awaited the opening of Contraste, where, alongside his fellow Al Pont de Ferr veterans — maître d' Thomas Piras and sous chef Simon Press — Perdomo will serve a menu that emphasizes both the harmony and the contrast found between different textures and elements. Via Meda 2, contrastemilano.it
Chicha | Moscow, Russia
No small feat: Chef Vladimir Mukhin debuted on the international stage this past June when his Moscow restaurant White Rabbit jumped 48 places to enter the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list at slot 23. Inspired by his travels to Peru, the ever-inventive Mukhin opens Chicha in Moscow this September. His reimagined take on Peruvian cuisine includes dishes such as salmon ceviche with Kancha corn, sweet potato and red onion sauce; rice noodle roll with water chestnuts and fried onions; and Nikkei-style beef with quail egg sushi. 31 Novinsky Blvd.; +74957252578; chicha.ru
Pots, Pans and Boards | Dubai, UAE
London's renowned chef Tom Aikens inaugurates Pots, Pans and Boards in September at the Beach, part of Dubai's Jeremiah Beach Residences. The new concept offers casual French-, Mediterranean- and English-inspired fare, all presented share style on the restaurant's namesake serveware. Highlights include lamb meatballs with harissa, malt-glazed short rib and duck confit with mustard and a selection of grilled meats and fish. Hanging copper pots, communal tables and antique kitchen tiles comprise the rustic, feels-like-home ambience. Dubai Marina; thebeach.ae
Unnamed project from chef Giovanni Passerini | Paris, France
A market-driven French-Italian menu at Rino put chef Giovanni Passerini on Paris's contemporary dining map. Having sold his beloved restaurant in 2014, this fall Passerini opens a new trattoria in the 12th arrondissement, where, in lieu of the fixed menus prevalent among the city's neo-bistrots, guests choose from traditional dishes as well as, depending on market availability, meat cuts and whole fish to share among two, four and even six people. Home cooks will enjoy the 35-seat restaurant's onsite shop selling Passerini's assorted house-made pastas.
Äbtestube | Fürstenau, Switzerland
Widely hailed as his native Switzerland's best chef, Andreas Caminada of the three-Michelin-star and World's 50 Best–rated Schloss Schauenstein will take over Äbtestube at the five-star Grand Resort Bad Ragaz. While the details of Caminada's new dining concept have yet to unfold, we can't help but wonder if he plans to fiddle with the multisensory, a medium he has previously explored through illuminated plates created in collaboration with artist Peter Diem. CH-7310 Bad Ragaz; +41 0 81 303 30 30; resortragaz.ch
Nanban | London, England
After two years on the pop-up circuit, MasterChef UK winner Tim Anderson's Nanban has found a permanent home in Brixton. The izakaya and ramen shop showcases the chef's signature southern Japanese cuisine against the backdrop of a converted 1920s pie-and-mash shop. Beverages focus heavily on beer with a list that features small U.K. and Japanese producers, among others. 426 Coldharbour Lane; nanban.co.uk
Momojein | Hong Kong, China
With a slew of TV appearances and more than a decade of experience under his belt, Korean celebrity chef Lim Hee Won opens Momojein in Hong Kong this September. He incorporates global influences into his modern take on Korean cuisine, putting forth a menu that includes samgyetang, a ginseng- and jujube-flavored whole-chicken soup; sea urchin bibimbap, a signature rice preparation; deep fried tofu ball with kimchee and a Kalbi-beef stuffed hotteok, a sweet crepe bun. 23/F, QRE Plaza, 202 Queen's Road East, Wanchai; +852 2789-1949
O Açougue Central | São Paulo, Brazil
Trailblazing chef Alex Atala has redefined Brazilian cuisine at his two-Michelin-starred D.O.M., currently ranked the world's ninth-best restaurant. This fall, he partners with entrepreneur Ricardo Medrano to open O Açougue Central (meaning "the central meat shop") in São Paulo's bohemian Vila Madalena. Decked with a rooftop bar, the restaurant and butcher shop features a myriad of meat cuts from esteemed Brazilian purveyors, such as Beef Passion. Patrons may dine in or drop by to purchase raw cuts for their own adventures in home cooking.
National Gallery | Singapore
The diverse restaurant collection at this Southeast Asian gallery in Singapore's Civic District opening in November has food enthusiasts as excited as art devotees. Visitors will find Singaporean, Cantonese, Indian and French cuisines served at National Kitchen by Violet Oon, Yan, Saha and Odette restaurants, respectively. Prominent Singapore-based Italian restaurateur Beppe de Vito will open the 9,000-square-foot Aura, complete with a rooftop terrace that will morph daily from lunch buffet to high-tea lounge to cocktail bar. #01–01, 1 St Andrew's Rd.; +65 6690 9400; nationalgallery.sg