The Twin Cities’ dining scene is heating up with 5 restaurants about to open

As we hit peak warm-weather season, new restaurants are opening across the Twin Cities metro area and making a strong play for attention on hot summer nights.

We’ve already welcomed Cabana Anna’s, North Star Deli, Boardwalk Kitchen & Bar, Shiki, Dark Horse and Liliana. Now there’s a new rush that includes a downtown steakhouse in a swank setting, a destination worthy of parking the pontoon for a night in Excelsior, a suburban spot with elite sports bar vibes and bottle service options and a highly anticipated Italian restaurant from a well-known chef — all opening in the next few weeks.

Here’s what’s on deck:

Opening: July 28

Excelsior’s Water Street is fast becoming a west metro restaurant row, partly thanks to Jester Concepts’ takeover of one busy corner. Last year, they opened an outpost of their popular burger bar Parlour. Earlier this summer, they launched Shiki, for ramen and dumplings. Now, their third spot, Mirabelle, joins the lineup. Supper-clubby classics are on the menu, with appearances from prime rib, walleye, cheese curds and chicken wild rice soup, plus rotating specials (meatloaf, fried chicken). Earl Giles is behind the cocktails. The vintage-touched interior seats 100 guests at tables and banquettes; it was designed by Studio Grey, the same firm also behind across-the-street new neighbor Vagabondo (see below). Mirabelle will open daily for dinner, and brunch starts after Labor Day. (S.J.)

200 Water St., Excelsior, mirabellemn.com

Opening: July 31

The Westin Minneapolis, 88 S. 6th St., Mpls., stockandbondmn.com

Opening: Aug. 4

Excelsior’s main stretch gets another new restaurant soon with the opening of Vagabondo. It’s the childhood nickname that chef David Fhima’s Sicilian grandmother bestowed upon him when he misbehaved, and the menu is a loving tribute to her and his warm memories of her cooking. A coffee lounge opens at 7 a.m. for breakfast, with Italian-inspired pastries made from his other grandmother’s 130-year-old sourdough starter (as they are at Mother Dough, Fhima’s bakeries). Dinner will start daily at 5 p.m., with a lineup of Neapolitan and deep-dish Sicilian pizzas and a full list of hearty Sicilian and Italian fare, including “Grandma’s Lasagna” and a tableside tiramisu. Lunch will soon follow. (S.J.)

205 Water St., Excelsior, vagabondomn.com

Opening: Aug. 7

2400 Mystic Lake Blvd., Prior Lake, mysticlake.com

Opening: Aug. 17; limited reservations available now.

Every sauce, crust and noodle is made from scratch at the Table, a new seasonally driven restaurant with a library-like aesthetic, wood-fired pizzas and shareable plates, set amid the apple trees and grapevines at Everly Farms. Formerly known as Minnetonka Orchards, Everly Farms is an orchard and winery with a touching back story. And now with the opening of the Table, its chef — Tom Grittner, formerly of Tillie’s Farmhouse in St. Paul — is turning out creative starters (like a summer salad of sliced stone fruits dusted with habañero sugar), one-of-a-kind pizzas (blackberry, goat cheese and merguez, for one) and crowd-pleasing mains with a twist (rigatoni in vodka sauce spiked with gochujang). The Table opens for dinner with limited reservations on July 24, with a grand opening planned for Aug. 17. By day, it will serve as a wine tasting room with lighter snacks; eventually brunch will be added to the mix. (S.J.)