17 New Cleveland Area Restaurants to Look Forward to This Summer

Tied House + Kitchen, Cleveland

Partners John Bikis and Dave Sutula launched Royal Docks Brewing in Stark County nearly 10 years ago. Next up for them is Tied House + Kitchen, which is taking over the North High Brewing space in Ohio City. This will be the brewery's fourth location overall and first in Cuyahoga County. When it opens in the coming weeks, the brewery will sport white subway tile, high ceilings painted black, concrete floors, exposed brick, reclaimed wood, and corrugated metal. There will be 16 handles, a full bar and a menu filled with beer-friendly fare.

Wine Dive, Lakewood

El Carnicero served its last meal on Cinco de Mayo, but the space will soon have new life thanks to Dan Deagan and Jackie Ramey. The couple will open Wine Dive in early July, which combines the come-as-you-are appeal of the neighborhood dive with some actually decent wine and cocktails. Guests can expect 20 wines by the glass, twice that in bottles, plus classic cocktails and beer, all dished up alongside dive-bar vibes. The plan is to offer killer happy hours, a full roster of fun nightly promotions, and better-than-expected pub fare – including late-night brunch.

A.J. Rocco’s

A. Brendan Walton closed A. J. Rocco’s, his convivial Gateway District café, at the tail end of 2019, but within months he was planning to reinvent the spot a few doors down. After a gut renovation of the former Huron Point Tavern (and Alesci's Downtown) space, Rocco’s 2.0 is ready to welcome its first guests. At full bore, the two-level, three-bar eatery can serve 170 guests, but cozy nooks and private areas provide the flexibility to use the space as needed. Walton plans to ease into things with respect to food. Chef Devin Cerjan will offer approachable food that aims to fill the niche between basic fast-casual and pricy fine-dining. Diners can expect wings, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas and mac and cheese, plus nightly specials like pastas, steaks and seafood.

Oliva, Downtown

Oliva, an Italian-themed steakhouse, is opening this week. The new Warehouse District restaurant is owned by Lola Jacaj, formerly Sema, who also operates Acqua di Dea (formerly Acqua di Luca) and Casa La Luna (formerly Luca Italian Cuisine). A year-long renovation project has transformed the former Osteria space from a close-quartered trattoria to an elegant Tuscan-style ristorante. A blend of materials, textures, colors and artwork combine to create a contemporary and elegant dining room that feels much larger than its predecessor. The previously enclosed kitchen and private dining room in the rear of the space has been reconfigured into a dramatic open kitchen and chef’s counter. Overall, the seating in the restaurant has nearly doubled from 50 to 100, including the 14-seat quartzite-topped bar. Jacaj describes Oliva as a nose-to-tail restaurant that goes well beyond steaks and chops.

Batuqui, Cleveland

After nine years in their present home, Carla Batista and Gustavo Nogueira are relocating their beloved Brazilian restaurant. But they aren’t traveling far: the new eatery will be located 130 feet west in the former St. Paul’s Evangelical Church. The attractive Craftsman-style building on Larchmere was constructed in 1922 and features stained glass windows, soaring ceilings and rich wood accents. The ambitious project began this past fall and is expected to last until next fall. The owners will continue to operate from the original location throughout summer. (A second location in Chagrin Falls, which opened in 2021, is also running.) Seating will climb to a “comfortable” 110, including a stunning bar. There will be a small front patio and spacious lower level, which will be used for private events and live entertainment.

Julia’s 1902, Willoughby

Brothers Paul and Michael Neundorfer spent two years converting a former country estate in Willoughby into a posh 10-room inn and full-service restaurant called Julia’s 1902. Built at the turn-of-the-century by Charles Schweinfurth, who designed many of the houses on Cleveland’s famed "Millionaire's Row,” the Neo-Gothic mansion boasts original oak wood flooring, coffered ceilings, pocket doors, leaded-glass windows, stained-glass door panels and richly tiled fireplace surrounds. Chef José Coronado showcases his flair for fusing Latin American, Asian and American flavors into approachable, appealing dishes. The menu features starters like harissa-roasted carrots, tempura-fried cauliflower, and hamachi aguachile. Whole branzino is topped with ginger gremolata, duck confit gets the mole treatment, and a big bowl of pozole is capped with seared halibut.

Moxie, Chagrin Falls

Just as he recently did with Lopez, Brad Friedlander is dusting off an old brand and bringing it out of retirement. Moxie closed in 2019 after a laudable 22 years. Since opening in the late-1990s, the Beachwood bistro produced many of the region’s top chefs, including Doug Katz, Karen Small, Tim Bando, Eric Williams, Jonathan Bennett, John Kolar and others. Friedlander and partner Michael DuBois purchased Aurelia in Chagrin Falls, which closed after six years. Following a refresh of the property, Moxie will open in June, with Aurelia chef James Balchak staying on. The through lines connecting Moxie past and present, says management, will be the seasonal menus, from-scratch cooking, high-quality ingredients and elevated guest experience.

Cozumel, Cleveland Heights

Soon after Michael Herschman closed Mojo in Cleveland Heights, the owners of Cozumel came knocking. With eight locations across Northeast Ohio, Cozumel is one of the largest and best known local Mexican restaurant chains – but none of them are on the east side of town. The “essentially turnkey” property will open quickly – as soon as July. The owners will redo the restrooms and the bar, swap out all the furniture, paint the walls and a few more cosmetic tweaks. Down the road they will undertake some more significant renovations. When it does open, Cozumel fans can look forward to the same approachable, affordable and delicious Mexican and Tex-Mex-style fare, including quesadillas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, fajitas and combination platters. Larger plates such as carne asada, crab and shrimp stuffed chimichangas, and camarones al mojo de ajo (garlic shrimp) are also on offer. There's a full bar with beer, wine, margaritas and top-shelf spirits.

Kiln, Shaker Heights

After four years of instability – beginning with Sawyer’s and ending with Shake It – one of Van Aken District’s most prominent restaurant spaces landed one of Cleveland’s most bankable chef-operators. This winter, Doug Katz announced his plans to open Kiln, which the team describe as a “modern take on a classic European bistro.” Along with managing partner Todd Thompson and executive chef Cameron Pishnery, the team will create a “beautiful and comfortable interior with warm and friendly service.” The menu, still in the planning phase, will offer a broad range of sharable dishes served in the classic bistro style, which is to say on their own rather than as part of composed plates with starch and vegetables. When it opens in fall, Kiln will join Zhug and Amba in the Katz portfolio.

Boom’s Pizza, Shaker Heights

Last fall, Ben Bebenroth announced that he and his team had signed a lease for the former Michael’s Genuine space at Van Aken District. When it opens this summer, Boom’s Pizza in Shaker will join the original shop in Lakewood, which opened in early 2023. Once again, Bebenroth is working with Richardson Design to rework the space to better align it with their service approach, which blends the efficiency of a fast-casual operation with the comfort of a sit-down eatery. Guests order, pay and grab beverages from coolers filled with beer, wine by the can, split and bottle and soft drinks. For this location, they plan to dial back the self-serve beverage options in favor of a streamlined bar program featuring draft beers and draft cocktails.