A banner year for the restaurant scene in OKC, 2025 saw more openings, expansions, and first-in-state arrivals than ever before. Along with a slew of nominees at the James Beard Awards, and accolades from the likes of The New York Times, last year marked the revival of restaurant icons, elegant new ventures from seasoned restaurateurs and massive new developments, brimming with great food. From Chinese cuisine to French fare, and from the Horizons District to Route 66, here is what’s new in OKC’s restaurant scene for 2026, and what’s still to come.
What’s Open
Restaurants and bars opened at a dizzying rate last year, diversifying the local dining scene with lavish Italian concepts, new projects from celebrity chefs, expansions of beloved brands and much more.
One of the most notable trends as of late is the ever-booming Italian food scene in OKC. In the past several months, we welcomed Elisabetta, a chic Italian restaurant in Nichols Hills, from vaunted restaurateur Rachel Cope, who was just long listed for a James Beard Award in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. Just down the street, on historic Route 66, Carletti’s shares timeworn family recipes from Italian immigrants, in the space that once held The Kentucky Club speakeasy. A masterwork of historic preservation, the new iteration puts handmade pasta in the spotlight, while the swanky bar area of the restaurant has been reborn as The Kentucky Club, with sweeping views of the skyline and the capitol.
In Midtown, Malfi Enoteca marked an expansion for Tulsa-based McNellie’s Group, bringing a splash of Amalfi-style sunshine to the former Packard’s space. Decorated with black-and-white Vespa photos, lush florals and a color palette that screams “Aperol Spritz,” it feels like dining on the Italian coast, from juicy tomato toast to bucatini with pesto, whipped burrata and basil cream. Just down the street, on what is fast becoming a veritable restaurant row, the same owners opened Bar Serra, a self-described “greenhouse bar,” where draft cocktails and eclectic all-day eats (think chicken tikka meatballs, crispy artichokes with remoulade and brick chicken with harissa labneh) arrive amidst a wall of greenery.
Elsewhere in fast-developing Midtown, Lori Burson — the owner of longtime favorite, Stella Modern Italian Cuisine — branched out next door with Lorena Southern Twist, an homage to her grandmother, and her upbringing. 15 years after opening Stella, Burson brought on esteemed chef, Cally Johnson, to helm the menu, a contemporary love letter to heritage recipes, like pimento cheese balls, pickled okra fritters and fried bologna sandwiches, heaped with pimento cheese and BBQ potato chips. Across the street, Le Parisien is a dazzling new French bistro, from one of the owners of Bar Arbolada, and a buzzy chef — Bryant Gallegos — who moved to town after helming Petit Trois in Los Angeles. In the former Cafe DO Brasil space, diners convene next to vintage French art, over buttery escargots, steak tartare and French omelettes.
The Horizons District took some big steps this past year, including the reopening of 39 Restaurant, where chef Loretta Barrett Oden serves Indigenous-inspired dishes — e.g. zucchini corn fritters, turkey medallions with cranberry-piñon jus — in the First Americans Museum. In the same neighborhood, OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark made its splashy debut, complete with more than a dozen dining concepts, from BBQ-slinging Smokehouse Social, to Curveball Kitchen, where baseball simulators and gourmet hot dogs lend a fun brand of Americana. Check out the sunset and skyline views from Jack Rabbit, a glam gastropub inside the resort.
At another mega-development across town, OAK OKC continues to attract out-of-towners. This past year signaled first-in-Oklahoma arrivals for everything from Mexican-inspired Mesero, to Shake Shack, as well as the ritzy RH Rooftop Restaurant, where seafood platters arrive under shimmering chandeliers. Other arrivals in OKC included American Gothic Pizza in the Wheeler District, and Truck Yard — a sprawling indoor/outdoor bar, lined with food trucks and fire pits — in Lower Bricktown.
For Asian cuisine, new openings include the splashy debut of MAHT, a modern American steakhouse — with Korean influences — from celebrity chef Kevin Lee. The anticipated follow-up to his award-nominated Birdie’s, the new concept features prime steaks along with pan-fried crab and scallop pancakes, Korean fried chicken and gojuchang-glazed lamb chops. In the Asian district, Ling Long serves up Asian fusion in a colorful, art-filled dining room, while Cafe De L’asie opened its second location inside Sailor & the Dock, and they brought their banh mi and bao buns along for the ride.
On both sides of Beer City Music Hall, just west of West Village, new concepts took shape in the spaces that previously held Fair-Weather Friend brewery and The Flycatcher Club. The former is now Duckie’s Woodfire, which features “bagels, bites and beer,” and doubles as the official taproom for Wells Beer. A couple doors down, what’s old is new again at Superfly a retro ‘70s-inspired bar — complete with cozy booths, espresso martinis on tap and all-day breakfast sandwiches — from Denver-based restaurateur Andy Bruch.
And lastly, one of the most acclaimed restaurants in the city popped the cork on a wine bar of its own. Fresh off a nomination for Outstanding Restaurant at the James Beard Awards, Nonesuch branched out with an attached wine bar, Bar None, emphasizing little-known North American wines, along with travel-inspired snacks like egg salad sandwiches and pho-spiced pecans.
Coming Soon
Fresh off such a banner year, momentum shows no signs of slowing for the year ahead.
This includes a new restaurant, Dougla Kitchen, from award-winning chef, Andrew Black. The most personal project yet, for the chef behind Grey Sweater and Perle Mesta, Dougla takes over his former Black Walnut space, with a focus on the Caribbean and Indian heritage dishes he ate growing up with his grandmother. The restaurant is slated to open February 14.
Our Italian restaurant trend isn’t slowing down either. This year will see the openings of Mezzo Bakeshop, a bakery and cafe offering everything from focaccia and prosciutto sandwiches to espresso martinis. It’s a big operation, taking shape in the iconic Brown’s Bakery space in Midtown. In the Paseo Arts District, La Buca is set to spotlight the flavors of Tuscany and Florence, while North Italia makes its Oklahoma debut at Penn Square Mall this year.
Nearby, along Northwest Expressway, Coco’s is a cocktail spot opening in the famed Donnay Building, where The Hilo Club long stood. Little is known about Coco’s, aside from the fact that it’s an 84 Hospitality concept, joining the ranks of Elisabetta, Goro Ramen and Empire Slice House. And if the Instagram bio is any hint, the bar will feature martinis, Champagne and oysters. And back at OAK OKC, Culinary Dropout is another out-of-state concept set to make its Oklahoma debut this year.
Further north, Mammoth Fieldhouse is poised to add even more dining and entertainment at The Half development. It’s a mammoth-sized project indeed, to include a mini golf course, a two-story restaurant and bar, a playground, wiffleball and more.
Whatever the occasion, OKC is chock-full of delicious dining options for you and yours!
Photo By: Jeff Fierberg
