New Pasadena Restaurants to Watch: Late September 2026

This edition covers the Pasadena dining rooms that are newest and most talked about as of late September 2026: the acclaimed Eastside homestyle Chinese kitchen that just planted its second location on Washington Boulevard, the Old Town cafe favorite that went full dinner in South Pasadena, and the small rooms filling in around East Colorado. Every pick below was verified on September 18, 2026 against the restaurant's own site, a published opening announcement, or a recent review, and each entry names its neighborhood and what makes it worth your night out. Your host is Alejandro Espitia, Broker Associate and REALTOR with Apex Realty and Investments, California license 01213999, with 18+ years of experience across Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Gabriel, and Riverside, in English and Spanish.

Woon Kitchen brings its cult homestyle Chinese to Pasadena

Woon Kitchen opened its second location at 1392 E. Washington Boulevard in Pasadena's 91104 pocket, joining the Eastside original that has earned a cult following for homestyle Chinese cooking. The Pasadena room runs regular dinner service Tuesday through Sunday with weekend brunch, and it keeps the rotating pastry pop-ups that helped build the name. It is the table to book when you want the praise of people who actually eat well in this city.

Neighbors and Friends: The Kitchen goes to dinner in South Pasadena

Neighbors and Friends: The Kitchen, the Old Town Pasadena cafe favorite, expanded to 1009 El Centro Street in South Pasadena in May and June 2026, a second location from founder Kaiy Smith-Biesman that Eater LA covered at opening. The South Pasadena room has shifted into dinner service, with a French dip burger, citrus-pepper wings, a brisket meatball, and hushpuppies on the menu, with chef input from Crowns and Hops' Teo Hunter. It sits a short walk from the A Line, which makes it an easy pre-show dinner on Sid The Cat nights.

Nana's Green Tea opens Pasadena's first company-run matcha outpost

Nana's Green Tea, the Tokyo-born matcha specialist, opened at 45 N. Raymond Avenue in May 2026 as the first company-operated United States location, per Eater LA. The menu runs matcha lattes with brown sugar, mochi, or red bean, plus sencha, hojicha, and genmaicha, in a room steps from Memorial Park and the Pasadena Playhouse. It is an easy afternoon stop on an Old Town walk.

Dumpling WEI, Cheesesteaks by Matu, and Tacos Poncitlan fill out the wave

East Colorado Boulevard and its side streets keep adding rooms, and the 2026 wave has been covered by city and local outlets. Dumpling WEI at 1535 E. Colorado Boulevard is the new dumpling house on the east-side stretch; Cheesesteaks by Matu at 625B E. Colorado Boulevard gives Playhouse Village its own cheesesteak counter; and Tacos Poncitlan at 1090 Allen Avenue is the taqueria every new list keeps naming. Dalah, which earlier editions flagged with an address to confirm, now shows at 851 Cordova Street across from Central Park, so that note can be closed: it is real and it is on the corner to look for.

The rooms still on top from earlier this season

For the record, the rooms from earlier editions keep their momentum: THAIM's Old Bangkok street food at One Colorado, Love Baked Wings' oven-baked wings at 38 W. Colorado Boulevard, and The Daily Catch's Sicilian seafood at 927 E. Colorado Boulevard are all still running strong, and Lodge Bread Company's fourth bakery lands on Lincoln Avenue in early November 2026. This edition focuses on what regular readers had not seen yet, so those rooms get a one-line recap rather than a re-review.

Where the picks are verified

• Eater LA, Neighbors and Friends expands to South Pasadena
• Eater LA, Nana's Green Tea opens in Pasadena
• Visit Pasadena, best new restaurants 2026
• ColoradoBoulevard.net, the wave of new restaurants in 2026
• Yelp, Woon Pasadena

What the new tables say about a neighborhood

New restaurants are the fastest pulse of a neighborhood. A homestyle kitchen committing to Washington Boulevard, a favorite cafe going full dinner in South Pasadena, and a taqueria that every list keeps naming all point to blocks with foot traffic, patio weather, and the resale story that comes with it. When you tour Pasadena, eat your way through the town: East Colorado for the newest rooms, Washington Boulevard and the 91104 pocket for what is building, and South Pasadena for the spillover. Alejandro Espitia of Apex Realty and Investments brings 18+ years of local real estate and home financing experience to that decision, in English or Spanish, for buyers, sellers, and investors across Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Gabriel, and Riverside.

Written by

Alejandro Espitia

Real Estate Professional · Apex Realty & Investments

Meet the author

This guide is for general information, and is not mortgage, legal, or tax advice. Loan products and rates vary by lender, and all terms come from the lender, never from this website.