Here’s the best new local restaurant of 2023 in Fresno, Clovis, according to our poll

UPDATE: Buttery Buns and Zeus won the best new local restaurant of 2023 with 32% of the vote. The sister restaurants sit next to each other and share a dining room in the same building in an industrial area in southeast Fresno. You can read our story about their opening here.

ORIGINAL STORY:

What was your favorite new local restaurant of 2023?

That’s what we want to know.

So we’re asking you, the readers, to weigh in on our poll. We’ve assembled a list of restaurants that opened in 2023 in Fresno and Clovis.

With the restaurant scene rebounding from the dark COVID-19 years, there’s a ton of new places.

Since the list is nearly out of control, we decided to limit it to local and independently owned eateries (meaning no chains or franchises). We also excluded restaurants that opened and then closed in 2023, along with breweries and bakeries.

We excluded second locations of existing restaurants too (Sorry, Pete’s Teriyaki and The Curry Pizza Co.) because their name recognition would give them an unfair advantage.

We’re focusing on the truly new restaurants.

Note that one of the most talked about restaurants in town, Saizon, opened in early December 2022 and didn’t qualify for this poll.

But there are still around 50 restaurants to choose from — some mighty delicious ones, too.

Also, since this poll is about fun, not science, you can vote as many times as you want. Just hit refresh.

Be sure to type “YES” in the first field before voting to prove you’re a human.

This story was originally published December 26, 2023 at 11:05 AM.

Bethany Clough

The Fresno Bee

(559) 441-6431

Bethany Clough covers restaurants and retail for The Fresno Bee. A reporter for more than 20 years, she now works to answer readers’ questions about business openings, closings and other business news. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University and her last name is pronounced Cluff.