There’s never been a better time to dine in OKC. As the city continues to earn accolades from the James Beard Awards and national brands like Time Magazine, our food scene is fueling a restaurant renaissance that keeps getting better year after year.
All across the capital, new restaurants in Oklahoma City are diversifying the local flavor, from contemporary Jamaican cuisine to Japanese-French fusion. Here is what’s new in the OKC restaurant scene for 2026, and what’s still to come.
Best New Restaurants in OKC
Award-winning chef Andrew Black strikes again. After earning a James Beard Award, and opening Perle Mesta in the historic Skirvin Hotel, the chef opened his most personal project to date in Deep Deuce. Dougla Kitchen is Black’s homage to his Jamaican heritage, and while his other restaurants have harkened to his homeland with island-inspired dishes, this marks his first project wholly dedicated to it. A Caribbean term referring to people of mixed Indian, African and Caribbean ancestry, Dougla pulls from across the islands — and beyond — for a medley of tropical flavors. Start with smoked octopus coconut ceviche and tamarind-glazed goat ribs before diving into roasted jerk chicken with tamarind chutney and molasses butter fried plantains.
From the same chef who gave OKC one of its best — and most authentic — izakayas, Kaizume explores new culinary terrain with its combination of French-infused Japanese cuisine. The restaurant, in the former Syrup space on NW 23rd Street, hails from chef Richard Ly of Awaji Izakaya. And while the latter transports diners to the streets of Tokyo, Kaizume feels like a seafaring voyage into uncharted territory. The dining room is decorated to feel like the hull of a chic ship, while the menu globetrots between creamy crab bisque and smoked hamachi noodles to sake-marinated seabass, chicken katsu piccata and a dino-sized bone-in pork chop tonkotsu.
Meanwhile, the Paseo Arts District just got a first-class ticket to Tuscany, in the form of La Buca. The cozy, chandelier-clad trattoria distinguishes itself among OKC’s Italian restaurants with its inventive twists on Tuscan traditions, like ricotta-stuffed fried olives, porchetta with parsley salmoriglio, spinach lasagna rolls and the “best in town” chicken Parmigiana — pan-fried, oven-baked, and draped in spicy vodka sauce. . The cozy, chandelier-clad trattoria distinguishes itself among OKC’s Italian restaurants with its inventive twists on Tuscan traditions, like ricotta-stuffed fried olives, porchetta with parsley salmoriglio, spinach lasagna rolls, and the “best in town” chicken Parmigiana — pan-fried, oven-baked and draped in spicy vodka sauce.
In Northwest OKC, Bayou & Barrel served up Cajun comfort food like boudin egg rolls and crispy gator bites, while fast-casual Japanese spot Oishii Express went viral for its push pop sushi rolls.
Finally, one of the most exciting recent openings in OKC is actually a reopening. Florence’s Restaurant, an iconic soul food institution in Northeast OKC, had been closed for over a year for renovations, including adding new kitchen equipment, tables, a roof, a pergola and more. At the first Oklahoma restaurant to receive a James Beard Award, customers can once again get their fill of yammed fried chicken, grilled beef liver, and banana pudding.
New Bars in OKC
OKC’s cocktail scene reached new heights — literally — at NOVA Lounge. Located next to Vast on the 49th floor of the Devon Tower, the high-flying bar pairs panoramic views with theatrical mixology and creative bites. Themed menus start with light and fizzy drinks, like the vodka-based Cloud Cover, infused with peach and strawberry and crowned with a vermouth cloud. Others incorporate unexpected layers of flavor and color, like the bright-green Garden Theory, a verdant mix of gin, aloe liqueur, Sauvignon Blanc, herbal strega liqueur, lemon, arugula, peppercorn, egg white and saline. Don’t miss the shareable plates, like savory Basque cheesecake with caviar and whipped Boursin crostini on rosemary focaccia.
Closer to Earth, other new bars include The Goat, a chef-driven Bricktown sports bar with vodka-battered chicken tenders and Wagyu smash burgers, and The Veil, a gothic LGBTQ+ lounge on 39th Street. In the Plaza District, Concrete Cowboy is a coffee shop with espresso sips, mocktails and cinnamon rolls, while Skydance Brewing Co. — the first Native-owned brewery in Oklahoma — expanded next door in Automobile Alley with the Eagle’s Nest. The new space adds an extra patio, expanded drink offerings and a full kitchen slinging burgers, wings and Native-inspired dishes like Indian tacos and bison meatballs.
Restaurants Opening in OKC
The ever-expanding OKC restaurant scene and our spree of new openings shows no signs of slowing.
Some of the city’s biggest openings are still to come, including the any-day-now arrival of Mezzo Bakeshop, a European-inspired cafe in the legendary Brown’s Bakery space in Midtown, and Coco’s, a forthcoming cocktail spot in Classen Circle, from the folks behind Empire Slice House, Burger Punk, Goro Ramen and Elisabetta.
In the Wheeler District, Ginza is a Japanese whisky speakeasy taking shape behind Akai, while out-of-town arrivals include first-in-Oklahoma locations of steak-centric J. Alexander’s in Nichols Hills, Culinary Dropout at OAK OKC and North Italia at Penn Square Mall.
Down the road, we’re keeping our eyes on major developments downtown, including The Boardwalk at Bricktown, Boulevard Place and new projects at The Half, like a mini golf gaming venue and a boutique hotel. New restaurants and retail will be involved in all of the above.
And last, but not least, one of the most anticipated openings in recent years is set to reshape OKC’s downtown scene. Wildcat, from the team behind The Jones Assembly, is transforming a long-vacant building — at the corner of Main Street and Walker Avenue — into an all-day dining destination that functions as a European-style cafe by day and a vibe-y saloon and supper club by night. The restaurant is due in late-2027.
