4 restaurant openings we’re eyeing

Read on for our newest installment of concepts to watch, which looks at elevated movie theater dining, a barbecue place with plans for a 50-foot Ferris wheel and the expansion of Roy Choi’s quick-service spot. 

Though carnival food is trending on menus, this barbecue spot aims to take the fair theme one step further—by having a 50-foot Ferris wheel on site. The restaurant, set to open in the fall, will also have a 7,000-square-foot patio that doubles as a live performance space, co-owner Brandon Hays told CultureMap. Jury’s still out on whether the Ferris wheel will be operational, or simply for show. 

Movie theaters offering on-site dining have been gaining steam; however, this eatery adjacent to the Metrograph Theater looks poised to elevate the whole genre. Its dining room—which Eater says was modeled after the backlot cafeterias of a bygone Hollywood era—eschews buttered popcorn for items like trout with brown butter ($24) and burrata. 

Restaurateur Roy Choi made headlines when he debuted Locol in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles earlier this year. With a second location in Oakland freshly opened, Choi and partner Daniel Patterson continue their quest to recast fast food and bring healthier options to underserved areas. Additional outposts of the chain are planned for East Oakland and San Francisco, SFGate reports. 

After experiencing some setbacks, Gunter Seeger last month opened his first restaurant since closing Seeger’s in Atlanta in 2007. The new tasting-menu spot seats 34 in the dining room and eight at a so-called friends’ table in the open kitchen, Grub Street reports. Dinner service begins at $185, with tip included.