Two New Haven restaurants just got James Beard attention. ROLi and Lalibela are semifinalists in the 2026 awards. National recognition for what locals already know.
ROLi opened in Wooster Square with a modern European sensibility and a dining room that feels like it’s been there longer than it has. The cooking is seasonal and precise, the kind of place where technique serves flavor instead of announcing itself. It fits into New Haven’s dining culture the way good restaurants do here: confident, rooted in its neighborhood, and built to last.
Lalibela has been at this longer. For decades, it’s centered Ethiopian food as a shared experience: injera, layered spice, meals meant to be eaten together. It’s shaped how generations of New Haven diners understand hospitality. Not through reinvention, but through consistency and care.
Here’s what the semifinalist nods actually say: New Haven makes room for new voices and established ones at the same table. The city doesn’t reward flash. It rewards depth, culture, and cooking that reflects the people it serves.
The James Beard Foundation is paying attention. New Haven already was.
