Boston’s spring openings roundup

Boston’s spring restaurant wave is landing across Back Bay, Seaport, South End, Allston, and downtown, with several openings announced or debuting in April and the months ahead. (boston.com) Boston.com’s April 16 roundup pointed to five names worth tracking: Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley in Back Bay, Maple & Ash in the Seaport, Mondo in the South End, and Rosa y Marigold at Lyrik Back Bay, plus a weekly bonus item in its openings series. Kitchen + Kocktails is slated for June at 100 Arlington St.; Maple & Ash is set for April 30 at 131 Seaport Blvd.; Mondo is aiming for summer at 563 Columbus Ave.; and Rosa y Marigold is already open. (boston.com) The same April 16 coverage described Kitchen + Kocktails as a fast-expanding, Black-owned soul and Southern concept taking over the former Salt Bae steakhouse space, while Maple & Ash joins a steakhouse-heavy spring that also includes Hawksmoor and the Zebra Room. Boston.com said Mondo comes from Spenser Payne of Neighborhood Wines and Travis Robitaille of Petula’s, and Rosa y Marigold comes from the team behind Celeste in Somerville and La Royal in Cambridge. (boston.com) That cluster of openings is spreading across both luxury developments and neighborhood corridors. Lyrik Back Bay alone is drawing multiple restaurant tenants, including Rosa y Marigold and Avra Estiatorio, which Boston.com said was targeting a mid-April opening at 400 Newbury St. (boston.com) The mix is also broadening beyond one format. Boston.com’s April 1 list highlighted Avra’s Greek seafood in Back Bay and Dalia, a South Boston restaurant from Broadway Restaurant Group led by chef Nicholas Dixon and centered on Spanish live-fire cooking from a four-grill Josper kitchen. (boston.com) Modern Luxury’s April coverage added two more Seaport debuts: Bambola! and The Girl Next Door, both opened by Sneaky Good Hospitality on Northern Avenue. The magazine said Bambola! is an Italian supper club led by executive chef Bartolo Bruzzaniti, while The Girl Next Door is a sister bar in the same space. (modernluxury.com) In Allston, Modern Luxury profiled Ama, the second restaurant from Pearl & Law Hospitality Group, the team behind Comfort Kitchen in Dorchester. The March 19 story said founders Biplaw Rai and Nyacko Pearl Perry opened Ama in The Atlas Hotel, with a menu shaped by culinary director Shelley Nason and dishes including lamb kofta, blue corn gnocchi, and cassava dumplings. (modernluxury.com) Downtown, the Zebra Room opened April 15 beneath Yvonne’s with 10 tables and a small bar, according to Boston magazine. COJE Management Group chief executive Chris Jamison told the magazine the room was built as a smaller, more intimate steakhouse than the city’s typical large-format spots. (bostonmagazine.com) Taken together, the April lists show a Boston dining map tilting in two directions at once: more chef-led follow-ups from operators with proven names, and more high-design openings tied to major mixed-use projects and nightlife groups. The next few weeks will test which of these spring arrivals become reservation staples by summer. (boston.com)