-
Burger
Little Big Diner
Newton Centre’s beloved Sycamore got a bratty, talented kid sister this year in Little Big Diner, with its tight menu of noodle soups and rice bowls with pristine slabs of proteins...
-
Alfresco Dining
Cinquecento
Diners have their pick of see-and-be-seen patio settings in the trendy South End, but this trattoria’s rear courtyard, tucked out of street view, has the most attention-grabbing centerpiece: a bright red shipping container repurposed as a bar (because why not?) where happy clams can sip rosé all day—and slurp fresh-shucked oysters during weekday happy hours...
-
Bagels
Better Bagels
Even as Bostonians defend our sports teams to competitive NYC pals, we must capitulate when it comes to who has the better bagels...
-
Banh Mi
Bánh Mì Ba Le
Dorchester is immoderately blessed with purveyors of the Vietnamese sub sandwich, one of the world’s great street foods...
-
Bar Snack
SRV
In the lofty tradition of the Venetian bacaro, sexy South End newcomer SRV offers a sweet selection of cicchetti, inexpensive bar snacks that pair fittingly with a glass of Soave or nebbiolo...
-
Barbecue
SoulFire
Barbecue is smoking hot right now, and we’re pumped for polished newcomers on the scene...
-
Bartender
Jason Kilgore of UNI
The new UNI is a fantastic reimaging of Ken Oringer’s flagship restaurant, ditching Clio’s costly French/Japanese fusion for sushi and affordable izakaya snacks like pork-belly buns, skewers, dumplings and ramen while preserving the old Uni’s extravagant imported sashimi...
-
Bread
Loyal Nine
At Loyal Nine, chef Marc Sheehan’s Colonial-inspired restaurant in East Cambridge, the phenomenal baked goods play a starring role...
-
Breakfast
Juliet
Union Square’s new French-inspired cafe/restaurant wowed us with its accomplished yet unpretentious cooking at lunch and dinner...
-
Brewery
Mystic Brewery
Mad fermentation scientist Bryan Greenhagen creates his highly regarded array of craft beers in Mystic Brewery’s home in a hulking Chelsea warehouse...
-
Brunch
Banyan Bar + Refuge
Banyan occupies one of the most austerely beautiful dining rooms in the city; it looks even better with weekend daylight streaming through its tall windows...
-
Calorie Bomb
Chilacates
Jamaica Plain’s sensational new taquería serves tacos, burritos and quesadillas with spectacular fillings, like tacos al pastor carved off a traditional trompo, adding thoughtful details like housemade tortillas and salsas...
-
Charcuterie
Townsman
When he closed his esteemed Providence restaurant Farmstead Inc. to launch Townsman in his native Boston, Matt Jennings brought with him a well-earned rep for nose-to-tail know-how...
-
Cheese Plate
The Maiden
Last year we mourned the closing of Sam’s at Louis, the best reason to dine in the Seaport...
-
Chinese
Shanghai Fresh
For all our regional Chinese restaurant diversity, Boston hasn’t enjoyed nearly enough of the subtle, fragrant, sophisticated cuisine of Shanghai...
-
Coffee Shop
Jaho Coffee and Tea
You can’t rush a good cup of joe, and Jaho owner Anil Mezini has been slow-brewing his business for a decade. ...
-
Comeback
Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe
A legendary icon of Boston dining, Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe opened in 1927, winning fame for slinging tasty turkey hash and welcoming blacks in the era of segregation...
-
Concept
Dudley Dough
In a divisive political season, scarfing pizza for social justice is a call to action everyone can get behind...
-
Cuban
Gustazo Cuban Restaurant and Cafe
While you’re waiting for airfares and red tape to relax enough to make your own trip to Cuba, you can visit Gustazo, a cozy, attractive outpost of the island’s lusty cuisine, perched on Waltham’s town common...
-
Dessert
Café ArtScience
Pastry chefs often get short shrift. But it’s impossible to ignore the innovation displayed by Renae Connolly at this Harvard engineer-owned outfit...
-
Diner
Galley Diner
Though locals lament the loss of Southie chahm to gentrification (read: trendy new gastropubs), some years-spanning favorites, like this Anthony Bourdain-approved hole-in-the-wall hash-slinger, hold up better than ever...
-
Distillery
Boston Harbor Distillery
Turning to the spirits business after co-founding the Boston Beer Company, Rhonda Kallman joined the rapidly growing ranks of Boston-based craft distillers...
-
Dumplings
Dumpling Palace
To the delight of the food-nerd crowd, Chinese restaurants with a traditional bent are increasingly easy to find outside of Boston’s Chinatown...
-
Ethiopian
Blue Nile
Jamaica Plain’s small but thriving dining scene supports an impressive diversity of global cuisines, and this cozy, unassuming joint delivers the Ethiopian goods better than any...
-
Food Truck
Tenoch
This Medford-born Mexican outfit has made serious moves over the past few years, adding North End and Davis Square restaurants, plus two food trucks that rove around doling signature torta sandwiches to the hungry masses gathered for curbside lunch...
-
French
Bistro du Midi
Dining at dusk on this Provençal bistro’s patio, with the Public Garden in view and fine French wine at the lips, you’d almost think you were in a park-filled Paris arrondissement...
-
Fries
Neptune Oyster
It’s with good reason that brilliant New England seafood restaurant Neptune Oyster is never not-mobbed...
-
Fusion
Shojo
Cousins and owners Brian and Brendan Moy have built Shojo with wicked cool decor, a witty craft cocktail bar and an inventive fusion menu...
-
Hidden Gem
Bao Nation
Once upon a time, Tic Tacs and Slim Jims were the extent of “liquor store cuisine.”...
-
Hot Dog
WuBurger
For years, Bostonians had to travel to Worcester or the South Coast to enjoy the working-class bliss of the Coney Island dog...
-
Ice Cream
Picco
This upscale South End pizzeria is always packed, and not just for its great pies with lightly charred, bubbly thin crusts...
-
Indian
Shanti
“Shanti” means “peace,” and nirvana feels within fork’s reach at these restaurants bringing subcontinent cuisine to three corners of town, including a recently opened location by Kendall Square...
-
Italian
Erbaluce
Chef/owner Charles Draghi and partner Joan Johnson serve extraordinary traditional Piemontese cuisine with rare Northern Italian wines at their hidden Bay Village indie, elevated by meticulous sourcing (notably of sustainable local seafood), abundant fresh fruit and herbs, and exacting Old World technique...
-
Japanese
Izakaya Ittoku
Some sleek, high-priced sushi palaces serve gold-flaked rolls and omakase feasts fit for an emperor, but this unassuming Allston eatery on the outer limb of the B Line is a real standout for both cuisine and cost...
-
Late-Night Grub
The Friendly Toast
This kitsch-happy diner’s Cambridge location was known for brunch lines out the door; the just-opened Back Bay iteration, though, lures us on the other side of the clock...
-
L’Espalier
Chef’s Table
Any table at chef Frank McClelland’s house of haute cuisine is fit for a special occasion, but this one is a singular experience...
-
Lobster Roll
Luke’s Lobster
Notoriously insular Bostonians greeted the Back Bay outpost of the Manhattan-based Luke’s Lobster chain with the kind of squint reserved for Yankees fans...
-
Macarons
Praliné Artisanal Confections
This tiny Belmont shop specializes in the macaron, France’s ethereal, melt-in-the-mouth sandwich cookie of baked meringue in a rainbow of pastel colors and fantastical flavors of candies, fruits, nuts and flowers...
-
Meatballs
Prezza
Throw a rock in the North End and you’ll hit a restaurant serving that most American of Italian-American dishes, spaghetti and meatballs...
-
Mexican
Amuleto Mexican Table
With its gorgeous velvet-upholstered banquettes and trippy wall art, Amuleto offers an unusually swank setting for traditional Mexican fare...
-
Middle Eastern
Sarma
Somerville has become a magnet for talented indie chef/owners like Cassie Piuma...
-
New Restaurant
Yvonne's
For jaded Bostonians, a restaurant with nightclub-chic good looks engenders a sinking feeling: “Here be mediocre food and drink.”...
-
Nigerian
Suya Joint
Born and raised in Nigeria, chef/owner Cecelia Lizotte brings authenticity to Suya Joint, which started as a catering business...
-
Pasta
Giulia
When out-of-town guests insist on a night in the North End, politely redirect them to this impeccable Porter Square spot that outshines tourist-trafficked wannabes...
-
Pizza
Stoked Wood Fired Pizza Co.
The Stoked folks did the harder thing first, somehow shoehorning a wood-fired pizza oven into a food truck, then opening a brick-and-mortar space...
-
Pop-Up Kaki Lima
Pop-Up Kaki Lima
Boston hasn’t seen the vibrant, multicultural cuisine of Indonesia for decades...
-
Power Dining
Sorellina
Unimaginative businesspeople and pols celebrate freshly cemented deals over the dull cliches of the high-end steakhouse...
-
Pre-/Post-Theater Dining
Teatro
In the hype-happy restaurant world, newness is an instant seat-filler...
-
Puerto Rican Vejigantes
Puerto Rican Vejigantes
Some South End arrivistes may criminally overlook Vejigantes, a lively, colorful outpost of Puerto Rican cuisine...
-
Ramen
Ganko Ittetsu Ramen
Boston went from widespread ramen indifference to underserved ramen mania to a plethora of ramen options in a few years...
-
Raw Bar
Island Creek Oyster Bar
Duxbury-harvested Island Creek oysters are ubiquitous on menus across Boston, but somehow, they still taste best on their home turf...
-
Rising Star Brendan Pelley of Pelekasis
Brendan Pelley of Pelekasis
This star chef-in-the-making is coming into fame the old-fashioned way: through his craft...
-
Roast Chicken
Catalyst
Chef/owner William Kovel’s honeymoon in France, and run-ins with rotisserie-equipped food trucks, sparked the idea for this spit-roasted chicken...
-
Seafood
Select Oyster Bar
When former Neptune Oyster chef Michael Serpa struck out on his own to open Select Oyster Bar, he extended a recent string of overdue improvements to our New England seafood restaurant scene...
-
Secret
The Hungry Traveler
Our put-upon Government Center drones, police officers and firefighters have long sought lunchtime solace at the Hungry Traveler...
-
Sommelier
Jason Irving of Deuxave
Chef/owner Chris Coombs enthralls discriminating diners with his luxurious French cuisine in Deuxave’s lovely, understated dining room in the Back Bay...
-
Southern
The Frogmore Low Country Kitchen & Bar
Taking a page from sibling Fairsted Kitchen, this idiosyncratically pretty Hyde Square restaurant offers laid-back hospitality and an excellent beverage program...
-
Steakhouse
Grill 23 & Bar
Boston’s respect for tradition is sometimes dismissed as slavish devotion...
-
Sushi
Cafe Sushi
A feast of ravishing sushi and sashimi isn’t hard to find for people willing to drop a few hundred bucks a head...
-
Sweet
McCrea’s Candies
Finally, “artisanal foodstuff” that’ll make your eyes roll back for the right reasons...
-
Tacos
Taqueria Jalisco
Discerning food geeks seeking traditional Mexican fare know to wend their way to Eastie, where the chefs don’t dumb it down for Anglos...
-
Tasting Menu
Tasting Counter
In an age when everything from music playlists to newsfeeds is hyper-curated to our known tastes, there’s giddy excitement in letting a chef steer us to unexplored epicurean territory...
-
Thai
Thana Thai Kitchen
The old saw that customers conversing in Thai in a Thai restaurant is a good sign holds true at this Arlington Center storefront...
-
Trend
The Greek Revival
Like a prayer answered by Poseidon, a wave of Greek cuisine has crested in Boston, where options were once lean...
-
Upgrade
Tiger Mama
Tiger Mama went into a tricky Fenway location that had hosted a couple of regrettable flops...
-
Vegetable Dish
Branch Line
Back in January, we raved about Branch Line, the Garrett Harker empire’s Watertown outpost: its soaring ceilings, the great beer-and-wine roster, the amazing rotisserie chicken, the amiable hospitality, the free parking...
-
Vegetarian/Vegan
Whole Heart Provisions
Youthful Allston has enough dedicated vegetarians and vegans to sustain a growing cluster of restaurants that limit or altogether avoid meat and dairy...
-
Veggie Burger
JM Curley
This irreverent Downtown Crossing gastropub got plenty of notice early on for its sloppy beef burger, but don’t neglect the just-as-strong veggie spin...
-
Venezuelan
Viva Mi Arepa
Near the Dedham line in West Roxbury, this family-run restaurant offers an affordable entry point to the hearty joys of Venezuelan cuisine...