8 standout restaurants worth visiting this summer
Cafés upending norms, a rooftop with natural wine and Sicilian eats and a Pacific Northwest bistro


Come summer, one wants to eat well, of course, but not weightily. This assortment of restaurants across the United States knows how to meet cravings while not overwhelming. Well, you might be overwhelmed by their deliciousness. That's never bad, right?
Cullum's Attaboy, San Antonio, Texas
Imagine a Parisian café being airlifted into an American diner. If that sounds like a dream come to perfect life — and it should — Cullum's Attaboy is your kind of destination. The omelettes are sleek and taut and should definitively be gilded with the optional caviar add-on. Speaking of fish roe, order the blini and yet more caviar plus smoked trout roe. And for an animated reminder of the breakfast and lunch spot's Americana roots, order the Spudnuts, donuts made with the addition of potatoes.
Bev's Cafe & Market, Kennebunk, Maine
Annie Callan, former longtime pastry chef of San Francisco's legendary Zuni Café, and Nate Morris, former longtime chef of the same restaurant, moved east to Kennebunk, Maine a few years ago. Their new restaurant is a breakfast and lunch cafe, open Thursdays to Mondays. Quiche, big cinnamon buns drenched in icing, a take on a Whopper hamburger, endless uses of great local produce: Bev's is an easygoing spot well worth a detour.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meju, New York City
Korean food and all its blessed diversity is exploding across New York City lately. Meju, chef-owner Hooni Kim's eight-seat dinner lab for Korean-style fermentation, brings its own special vantage point. The menu is fixed and you prepay with Tock, the restaurant ticketing system. Much of the fermented components of the meal — the jangs (foundational sauces) and jeotgals (salted seafood) — are made in-house. Dinner at Meju will upend everything you think you know about Korean cuisine.
Ema, Houston
Stephanie Velasquez and Nicolas Vera run this brand-new cafe, a freewheeling exploration of Mexican cooking. Velasquez oversees the pastry program, and her conchas, in flavors like blue corn and chocolate, are already beloved. The savory side of Ema features plates like a Caesar salad with pumpkin seeds and masa croutons, roasted cauliflower in pipian rojo and carrot tacos.
Petite León, Minneapolis
A little French; a bit Mexican; a touch Italian: Petite León sprints across continents for its influences. At its core, the restaurant just aims to satisfy. For brunch, there is shakshuka and a tamal served like eggs Benedict. Come dinner, smoked salmon rillettes are served with Ritz crackers, and the steak frites is plated with both chile-laced bordelaise and chipotle butter.
L'Oursin, Seattle
A bistro that unabashedly embraces both the techniques of French restaurant cooking and the L'Oursin's Pacific Northwest locale. The drinks feature, say, Armagnac and pear brandy, and the food takes bistro classics like roast chicken and beef tartare and electrifies them with entrenched Washington State ingredients like nettles and mussels.
The Quinte, Charleston, South Carolina
Seafood is central to Charleston's cuisine; Jason Stanhope, after a years-long stint at the city's legendary Fig, is a chef staple of the Holy City. Put the two together at a new, mellow oyster bar with pickled littleneck clams, raw and broiled oysters and a drinks list heavy on bivalve-friendly cocktails and wines and all is going to be right with the world.
Irwin's, Philadelphia
Italian food is one of the great, familiar people-pleasers of eating out in the United States; natural wine continues to roll its trendy movement across the country. Irwin's merges the two in a breezy rooftop location. Crack open a bottle of orange wine, and snack on Sicilian-inspired snacks like eggplant caponata with semolina crackers and broccoli rabe with pecorino and anchovy.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Scott Hocker is an award-winning freelance writer and editor at The Week Digital. He has written food, travel, culture and lifestyle stories for local, national and international publications for more than 20 years. Scott also has more than 15 years of experience creating, implementing and managing content initiatives while working across departments to grow companies. His most recent editorial post was as editor-in-chief of Liquor.com. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of Tasting Table and a senior editor at San Francisco magazine.
-
Food trails are the best trails. Eat your way across the US with these 7 regional food journeys.
The Week Recommends Take a bite out of the United States
-
Keep the fun going with these 7 subscription gift boxes
The Week Recommends Bring the party to their mailbox
-
Salt Lake City is coolest in summer not winter
The Week Recommends Hang out in the Maven District and bike your way around town
-
Yes, you can be outside this summer and avoid ticks. These are the tips to know.
The Week Recommends Don't get ticked off
-
Pals and loved ones always on the move? These are the gifts to give the constant travelers in your life.
The Week Recommends The best trip is the one that lives on and on
-
The best TV shows based on movies
The Week Recommends A handful of shows avoid derivative storytelling and craft bold narrative expansions
-
The 2025 James Beard Award winners
Feature Featuring a casually elegant restaurant, recipes nearly lost to war, and more
-
Bellagio: glitz and glamour on the Las Vegas Strip
The Week Recommends Find la dolce vita in the Nevada desert at this luxurious hotel