Since the Fall of 2024, several new local restaurants have opened in Chapel Hill and neighbor Carrboro for you to try. New options include Spanish, Mexican, Mediterranean, Italian, Southern and more. 

Chapel Hill

Próximo, a Spanish tapas and wine bar at 173 E. Franklin Street, is open nightly for dinner, featuring a menu of modern Spanish dishes. Guests can order hot plates, cold plates, desserts and snacks — ranging from options like crispy sea bass, sea scallops, and Spanish anchovies to seared meatballs and filet mignon. 

White Sauce Grill & Bar offers a variety of options and sides, including chicken, gyro and falafel over rice, pita or fries with a variety of housemade sauces. It's open daily for lunch and dinner at 104 West Franklin Street. 

Downtown's newest restaurant and bar is One40 Social located at 140 W Franklin Street. The menu spans comfort and international flair, from smash burgers and pizza to seafood plates, rice bowls, and even Ukrainian street food. Find craft cocktails, 36 beers on draft, wine, and a dedicated milkshake bar stand serving both classic and spiked milkshakes. In addition to dozens of TVs, guests can play ping pong, foosball, shuffleboard, and board games. 

XOLOS Taco and Tlayudas comes to Southern Village's Market Street  with family recipes using fresh seasonal ingredients. Try queso, fajitas , tositoas, tortillas, tacos, enchiladas, bowls and salads. Chef specials include Chile Relleno, Carne Asada and Classic Ceviche. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Tonya's Cafe, a restaurant specializing in Southern cooking is on 400 S. Elliott Road, next to Tonya's Cookies & Bakeshop. The menu changes regularly but a few favorites include a Cornbread Flight appetizer, Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich, and entrees including southern Fried Chicken, Fried Catfish and Smothered Pork Chops. Desserts include Banana Pudding and Key Lime Pie.

Carrboro

Wedgewood Cheese Bar is North Carolina's first stand-alone cheese bar. Located in the Carolina Carwash Building at 100B Brewer Lane and inspired by and intimate European neighborhood spot, Wedgewood serves cheese plates, sandwiches, salads, small bites and desserts and has a wine listed curated by Rocks and Acid Wine Shop. Fine more than 100 gourmet cheeses cut to order.  

The Autostrada Pizza & Panini recently welcomed its first customers to its location at Carr Mill Mall. The restaurant is modeled after an auto grill one would find along an Italian highway. The menu features a variety of made-fresh paninis, salads and pizzas, which can be ordered in either 10-inch or 16-inch pies. Right across the hall, the owners opened a gelato and coffee shop.

Additionally, open after the COVID pandemic, other restaurants still going strong include Bluebird, a French Bistro, Bombolo offering an electric mix of a wide variety of dishes, which was named Eater Carolinas 2023 North Carolina Restaurant of the Year and Momo's Master, a Himalayan restaurant specializing in dumplings.