We lost a lot of good and great restaurants in 2020, including iconic Cleveland establishments Sokolowski’s, Lola and Greenhouse Tavern. That said, it wasn’t all bad news in the restaurant industry. We saw some restaurant openings as well and we’re all the better for it.

Amba 1975 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights Along with Chimi, the restaurant Amba shares its kitchen with, from popular Chef Doug Katz (Fire, Zhug), is one of the first in Cleveland to have no public access, otherwise known as a ghost kitchen. While Chimi is Katz’s take on South American food, Amba is a modern fusion of Indian flavors. As is the case with Chimi, this ghost kitchen roll-out gives Katz the opportunity to test out a concept in hopes of developing it into a full-service brick-and-mortar restaurant. Photo via Scene Archives
Home Bistro 12022 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland The restaurant is a revival, of sorts, of a Chicago spot of the same name that Chef Victor Morenz and his wife Emily Gilbert owned for five years but worked at for nearly 10. They closed the restaurant to return to Cleveland, Morenz’ hometown. Since January, they have been working to ready the restaurant’s new home, the former Gusto and Porcelli’s space on Mayfield Road. The food is New American, with seasonal, ingredient-driven fare with roots in American, Italian and even Dutch cooking. The restaurant made its grand opening in late August. Photo via HB Home Bistro/Facebook
Twisted Taino Latin Eatery 1400 West 25th St., Cleveland Chef Jose Miguel Melendez applied for one of the original kitchen spots at the Ohio City Galley, making it all the way to the final round before losing out. Two years later, he’s preparing to open a restaurant there after all, one that builds upon his experience as a catering chef with Latin roots. The business, Twisted Taino, is the first to join Victor Searcy Jr. at what is now referred to as “Sauce the City Galley”. Twisted Taino is a quick-serve eatery that takes influence from various Latin cuisines, according to the chef. The menu ranges from smaller items like empanadas, gourmet tacos and Cuban sandwiches to “heavy hitters” like the mofongo bowl, a combination of mashed yucca and plantain stuffed with “Puerto Rican fried rice” and a choice of roast pork, chicken, steak or shrimp. The Bandeja Criolla is a hunger-slaying platter loaded with roast pork, chicharron, tostones and yucca fries. Photo courtesy Scene Archives
Allure Bistro 38040 Third Street, Willoughby More than two decades after opening the pioneering seafood restaurant Lure Bistro, a mainstay in downtown Willoughby for years, Nick Kustala is back in the cockpit. In a wild turn of events, the chef has taken back possession of the property and will open Allure Bistro sometime soon. Allure clearly plays off the original name – and the menu, too, will embody the personality of the prior business. The sushi bar will feature a 12-item menu that swaps a lengthy roster and wild creativity for clean Hawaiian-style seafood dishes like poke with various sauces. The main menu will be flush with seafood, as always, with items like scallop chowder, coconut shrimp, cedar-roasted salmon, frutti di mare and “Lure staples” like potato-crusted halibut and crab-crusted grouper. Photo via Scene Archives
Betts Restaurant 2000 East Ninth St., Cleveland In March, the Kimpton Schofield Hotel in downtown Cleveland shuttered its restaurant Parker’s. “Betts will offer something for everyone – at all times of the day,” according to a press release. It opened back up on August 6th as Betts Restauarnt. The new eatery is open for weekday breakfast, lunch and dinner, and weekend brunch. The menu features “elevated, health-conscious fare that caters to all diets, including vegan, gluten-free, keto, dairy-free and vegetarian.” Photo via Kimpton Schofield Hotel
UJerk Caribbean Eatery 850 Euclid Ave., Cleveland A little taste of Jamaica recently made its way downtown thanks to UJerk Caribbean Eatery, which opened in the former Cleveland Pickle/Hatfield’s Goode Grub space in the City Club Building. The fast-casual restaurant specializes in jerk chicken in various forms and is a fresh new concept with nothing like it around. Photo courtesy Scene Archives
Cleveland Breakfast Club and Cleveland Vegan Club 13228 Shaker Square, Cleveland In July, Yours Truly closed its Shaker Square location after 30 years. Fear not, because Akin Affrica of the Angie’s Soul Cafe empire took over the space with two new concepts: Cleveland Breakfast Club and Cleveland Vegan Club. The focuses on breakfast, brunch and lunch service seven days a week, while the latter is offering vegan food for carryout and delivery only during the evening hours. Photo via Scene Archives
Yemen Gate 11901 Lorain Ave., Cleveland Yemeni food has been a very welcome arrival to the Cleveland food scene. The fahsah, saltah and rashoush are all wonderful dishes but you really can’t go wrong with what you order here. Photo by Douglas Trattner
Pupuseria y Antojitos Guanaquitas 2998 W. 25th St., Cleveland Pupusa fans have a delicious new option in town thanks to Pupuseria y Antojitos Guanaquitas. The brightly colored El Salvadoran eatery opened quietly a few months ago but has slowly built a following of devoted customers thanks not only to those pupusas, but also well-crafted tacos, tortas, burritos and combination plates. Photo via Scene Archives
LouieQ and Eugene 2050 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights and 13368 Madison Ave., Lakewood Chef Michael Schoen recently opened two different restaurants inside the East and Westside outputs of Bottlehouse Brewery. The Cleveland Heights location features “Tex-Mex barbecue” starring chicken and vegan chorizo tacos, tamales and smoked duck hot dogs. The Lakewood kitchen is called Eugene, aka “home of the Tinman burger.” That crave-worthy double cheeseburger, which made a splash at the Ohio City Galley, joins simple “backyard barbecue” style foods like three-cheese mac and cheese, french bread pizzas, vegan sloppy joe and sides. Photo via Scene Archives
Hola Tacos 12718 Larchmere Blvd., Cleveland July 25th was the last day of business for Barroco Arepa Bar off Shaker Square, but fear not, the Vergara family is opening a new concept in the same spot. Owner Juan Vergara says the success of the “L.A.-style Mexican taco stand” in the Birdtown neighborhood of Lakewood that opened last December caught him and his team off guard. What was intended to be a small but delicious diversion has turned into a driving force for the company. The shop’s success is no surprise to its fans, who crave killer tacos topped with wood-grilled carne asada, al pastor sliced off a twirling trompo and slow-roasted pork carnitas – all gilded with bright, zippy salsas. The menu’s can’t miss dish, however, is the birria de res, tender braised beef tacos griddled in braising juices and served with flavorful consommé. Photo by Emanuel Wallace
Half Moon Bakery 3460 West 25th St., Cleveland After more than three years of pop-ups and catering, Half Moon Bakery finally unveiled its brick-and-mortar bakery in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, located across the street from MetroHealth. The carry-out empanada shop features the signature half-moon-shaped pastries, stuffed with flavor-packed combinations such as shredded chicken with garlic tomato sauce, tofu with seasoned veggies, and pepperoni, mozzarella and tomato sauce, along with sandwiches, fresh bread, pastries and cakes. Photo by Emanuel Wallace
Picnic Hill Market Cafe 20621 Fairmount Blvd., Shaker Heights Picnic Hill, which opened in late January at Fairmount Circle in Shaker (and University) Heights, bills itself as a gourmet market, bar and cafe. The spacious 4,000-square-foot property combines the features of a traditional bar and restaurant with those of a retail market selling epicurean food products. For those who prefer not to cook but still would like to eat at home, there is the daily assortment of “take away gourmet,” fully prepared meals that require little more than heat to complete. Photo via Picnic Hill Market Cafe/Facebook
Lakewood Truck Park 16900 Detroit Ave., Lakewood Located at the corner of Detroit and Edwards, this spacious lot is now officially home to a year-round courtyard coupled with an indoor bar, rotating food trucks and al fresco entertainment. The outdoor venue could not come at a better time for consumers, who desire to be outside as much as possible. Photo by Anisa Rrapaj
Salted Dough 9174 Broadview Rd., Broadview Heights Everything’s bigger at Salted Dough and though the delicious pizzas billed as 18-inchers, the massive pies slicing through the air at this Broadview Heights restaurant appear to be cheese-topped flying saucers out to colonize the solar system. In the 80-seat dining room in suburbia, guests giddily lap up those slices alongside decidedly non-red-sauce-Italian fare built around pasta, fish, chicken and beef. Photo by Emanuel Wallace
Chimi 1975 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights This restaurant, from popular Chef Doug Katz, is one of the first in Cleveland to have no public access, otherwise known as a ghost kitchen. The food prepared inside is packaged up for delivery or curbside pickup. The menu features Katz’ and chef Cameron Pishnery’s take on South American cuisine and the food is wonderful. Photo via Scene Archives
17 River Grille 17 River St., Chagrin Falls Rick Doody, the founder of Bravo and Brio, took over the space that was formerly Jekyll’s in Chagrin Falls and knocked it out of the park The concept is similar to Doody’s Cedar Creek Grille, with upscale modern American food with a comparable price point, but not a straightforward copy. Located on the Chagrin Falls, you can stay warm with their heaters on their gorgeous patio while overlooking one of the more picturesque views of any restaurant in town. Photo via 17 River Grille
Bar Oni 2173 Professor Ave., Cleveland On August 25, chef-owner Matthew Spinner closed Ushabu, his fine-dining Japanese bistro in Tremont. On October 1, he and chef Dave Kocab opened Bar Oni an izakaya – aka Japanese sports pub – in the same space. Ushabu was one of the best restaurants in town and the food at Bar Oni is predictably as good, albeit at a lower price point. Photo courtesy Scene Archives
Leavened Bakery 1633 Auburn Ave., Suite 1, Cleveland Like all great bakeries, Leavened imbues the neighborhood with heaven-sent scents like fresh-baked loaves, still-warm sticky buns and fresh-brewed coffee. In addition to core products like rustic sourdoughs in the form of baguettes, pain d’epi, fougasse and whole wheat loaves, owner Ian Herrington and his team craft mile-high rosemary focaccia, fragrant cardamom buns and wedge-shaped cheddar and scallion scones. Seductive pastries like million-layer croissants – in flavors of classic, pain au chocolat, walnut cream, and blackberry-lavender jam – join drippy cinnamon buns, plum-filled danish and buttery chocolate chip cookies. Photo via Scene Archives
Avo Modern Mexican 2058 West 25th St., Cleveland Gabriel Zeller and Julie Mesenburg are putting the finishing touches on Avo Modern Mexican in Ohio City. The pair eagerly snatched up the former Bakersfield Tacos space a few months ago and have been working to ready it for opening day, which should occur before the end of the month. Zeller and Mesenburg, who also operate Char in Rocky River, Barra Tacos in Sandusky and Amherst, and Lago at Lakeside, a seasonal eatery in Marblehead, will be taking a creative approach to Latin cuisine. Zeller says that while he’s been cooking Mexican foods since he was old enough to press tortillas, Avo is inspired by trips to places like Dallas, where contemporary Mexican, Tex-Mex and Latin-fusion foods are elevated to fine-dining experiences. Photo by Doug Trattner
Soba 1827 Coventry Rd., Cleveland Heights It’s been ages since we sat with friends around a hissing hibachi table while an animated teppanyaki chef entertained us with his impressive culinary skills. COVID might have slammed the brakes on those wild and carefree feasts for many, but the food is still well within reach. Drowning succulent morsels of sautéed shrimp in too much yum-yum sauce and then chasing it with aggressively salted fried rice – all while in the comfort of one’s own home – really is the hack we’ve been waiting for. In fact, the closest we’ve come to reliving that gratifying experience was when we ordered food from Soba Asian Kitchen on Coventry. The menu sidesteps countless appetizers to focus squarely on the main event, which is framed around a small handful of proteins like shrimp, chicken, steak, pork belly and tofu. Those items are griddled with an assortment of veggies and paired with rice and sauces, just like at the full-service restaurant. Photo by Doug Trattner
Remix Ice Cream and Cereal Bar 11512 Clifton Blvd., Cleveland Lost in the fog of Covid was the recent opening of Remixx Ice Cream and Cereal Bar, a novelty shop that combines two of our favorite treats into one delicious cup, cone or milkshake. Opened in September by Vicki Kotris (who also is the co-founder of Cleveland Cookie Dough Co.), the colorful and festive shop is bound to brighten anyone’s day. Whether you call it breakfast for dessert or dessert for breakfast, Remixx transforms ice cream, cereal, mix-ins and sauces into one dreamy, creamy confection. Photo via Scene Archives Credit: Scene Archives
Habesha Ethiopian and Eritrean Restaurant 16860 Lorain Rd., Cleveland When Habesha opened in early December, the number of Ethiopian restaurants in Cleveland increased to three and will be the only such eatery on the West Side. Habesha joins the long-standing Empress Taytu on St. Clair and Zoma in Cleveland Heights. Sadly, Lucy Ethiopian restaurant on Broadview Road has closed. Fans of Ethiopian cuisine will discover a tempting assortment of combination plates that offer various pairings of vegetarian and/or meat-based items. Photo via Scene Archives
Edwins Too 13220 Shaker Square, Cleveland Edwins Too opened in mid-November, taking over the former Fire space at Shaker Square. Like it’s counterpart, Edwins Too is a high-end, fine-dining, prix-fixe establishment operated by students and graduates of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, where formerly incarcerated adults acquire culinary and hospitality skills. Between the amuse bouche and the mignardises, meals might include dishes like foie gras torchon in brioche, chestnut and pheasant soup, poached Dover sole with lobster mousse, and puff pastry layered with orange-vanilla pastry cream and chocolate. The menu will change weekly, founder and CEO Brandon Chrostowski says, and visiting high-profile “chefs in residence” will inject their own professional style. Photo via Scene Archives

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