Need a date-night option that’s more sophisticated than a taqueria, but can’t abide the gringo cliches of Boston’s upscale Mex places? The South End’s El Centro offers a third way: It’s intimate and pretty, pours the right beverages (wine and sangria, Mexican beers, tequila and margaritas), and best of all, serves up a more traditional and refined take on Mexican cuisine, including specialties from chef/owner Allan Rodriguez’ native Sonora. Nobody wants to go home smelling like sizzling fajitas, anyway.
El Centro
472 Shawmut Ave., Boston • (617) 262-5708
elcentroboston.com
El Centro
additional locations in Brookline and Belmont
elcentroboston.com
Other Winners
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Mexican
2015 Winner: Angela’s Cafe
On a quiet Eastie side street, septuagenarian grandmother Angela Atenco Lopez dresses chicken and pork with moles, adobos and pipians, the incredible complex sauces of her native Puebla…...
- 131 Lexington St., Boston
- (617) 567-4972
- angelascafeboston.com
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Mexican
2016 Winner: Amuleto Mexican Table
With its gorgeous velvet-upholstered banquettes and trippy wall art, Amuleto offers an unusually swank setting for traditional Mexican fare...
- 484 Moody St., Waltham
- (781) 893-1389
- amuletorestaurant.com
Photo Credit: The Amuleto Team
