Food & Drink
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New Restaurant
Little Donkey
At their two previous collaborations, Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Oringer had to stay in specific small-plates lanes: Italian at Coppa, Spanish at Toro...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Upgrade
Eataly
While Boston has never been a city to fawn over imported star chefs (Jean-Georges, we hardly knew ye), Mario Batali has fared quite well...
Photo Courtesy of Eataly Boston -
Photo Credit: Holly Rike
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Banh Mi
Pho Viet’s
You can find outstanding purveyors of this brilliant Vietnamese street-food sandwich in Fields Corner and Savin Hill...
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Barbecue
The Smoke Shop
After opening the South End’s Tremont 647 nearly 20 years ago, chef/owner Andy Husbands began honing his slow-smoking skills in barbecue competitions across the country...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Bartender
Gwen Hagerty at Bar Mezzana
At Colin and Heather Lynch’s acclaimed coastal Italian restaurant, justly lauded for fabulous seafood and pastas, Ryan Lotz oversees the South End’s best bar program...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Brazilian
Muqueca
Cambridge Street east of Inman Square remains a hotbed of fine Portuguese and Brazilian fare, but this colorful storefront stands out with its bright, homey mashup...
Photo Credit: Peter Holmgren -
Bread
Bambara
Newburyport native David Bazirgan spent 13 years as a chef at trendy San Fran restaurants before returning to the East Coast and breathing new life into the kitchen...
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Brewery
Aeronaut Brewing Company
Some microbrewers, we must admit, veer toward the insufferably self-serious...
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Brunch
Taj Boston
Among Boston’s many beautiful brunches served on sun-splashed patios, Sunday rooftop service at the Taj stands out with its 17th-story views of the Public Garden...
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Burger
Brassica Kitchen + Cafe
Bright and bold young culinary talents Jeremy Kean and Philip Kruta first wowed crowds as Wink & Nod’s inaugural guest chefs...
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Charcuterie
Puritan & Company
Will Gilson’s farm-to-table standby has built a loyal following by fusing modern technique with superb local ingredients in a tastefully rustic room...
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Cheese Plate
Troquet on South
Recently relocated from its longtime perch on Boston Common to a roomier Leather District space, Troquet preserves its dedication to the enjoyment of great wines...
Photo Credit: Brian Samuels -
Chinese
BLR by Shojo
Once a dumpy but beloved Cantonese joint, the reinvented Best Little Restaurant now features scrubbed-up good looks evoking an illicit Chinatown gambling den...
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Clam Chowder
Neptune Oyster
Still one of Boston’s finest New England seafood restaurants, this tiny, eternally crowded space taunts impatient locals intolerant of long waits to get seated...
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Coffee Shop
Dudley Café
This social justice-minded java joint, housed inside the rehabbed Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, fuels its Roxbury neighborhood’s recent renaissance...
Photo Credit: Samuel Allison -
Colombian
El Kiosco
A stone’s throw from the Orient Heights T stop is this versatile combination of dark, atmospheric bar and sunny, casual restaurant serving traditional Colombian dishes...
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Comeback
East Coast Grill
This historic wood-grilled seafood and barbecue spot pioneered many dining concepts we now take for granted, like fresh-juice margaritas and obsessive love of fresh chili...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Photo Credit: Nicole Popma
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Cookies
Hi-Rise Bread Company
Rene Becker, founder of this now-iconic Cambridge baking biz, used to be a food critic— which may explain the palpable pursuit of perfection that embodies Hi-Rise...
Photo Credit: Nishat Khan -
Date-Night Destination
Bergamot
Tight squeezes between tables and a surfeit of hard surfaces are making it tough to have a conversation in many otherwise worthy eateries...
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Deli
Mamaleh's
Greater Boston is home to many Ashkenazi Jews, so why are our delicatessens so terrible?...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Dessert
Oak + Rowan
Every patron at this Fort Point eatery from the restaurateur behind Newburyport favorites Ceia and Brine leaves marveling at the work of pastry chef Brian Mercury...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Dim Sum
Winsor Dim Sum Cafe
The bustle and flow of Boston’s dim sum palaces with trolleys can be fun, as long as you don’t get seated too far from the kitchen...
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Diner
Mike's City Diner
This South End institution cooks everything from scratch, and boy, does it show: the drip coffee perfect, the home fries really fine, corned beef and turkey hashes...
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Dinner with Music
B3
File under: triple threat. This Southern-inflected newcomer, its name shorthand for “Back Bay Beats,” scores on every front...
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Distillery
GrandTen Distilling
New England is suddenly a hub for distilling, with producers sprouting up in our suburbs and industrial neighborhoods...
Photo Credit: Tim Oxton -
Food Truck
Mei Mei
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French
L'Espalier
Next year L’Espalier turns 40, an eternity for an unapologetically high-end French restaurant in a trending-casual industry...
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Greek
Kava Neo-Taverna
At the center of Boston’s current fine-dining Greek revival is this chic, charming, hectic little South End spot with a brilliant sidewalk patio...
Photo Credit: Sarah Silbiger -
Hidden Gem
Maná Escondido Cafe
South Enders frequently carp about the neighborhood’s lack of quality cheap eats...
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Hot Dog
The Automatic
Esteemed bartending pooh-bah Dave Cagle’s new Kendall Square bar is a throwback in all the right ways, working nostalgic midcentury tropes...
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Ice Cream
Gracie’s
Gracie’s owner Aaron Cohen named his Somerville shop—a fairly early entry in the artisanal ice cream trend—after his young daughter...
Photo Credit: Tony Luong -
Indian
Ritu Ki Rasoi
Located at the butt end of a brick warehouse fronted by Burlington Auto Parts, this South Indian vegetarian restaurant delivers an array of beautiful, fragrant, complexly...
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Italian
La Morra
Husband-and-wife team Josh and Jennifer Ziskin hum along with uncommon consistency at their romantic restaurant plopped just outside Brookline Village...
Photo Credit: Luke Wunsch-Edwards -
Japanese
UNI
Ken Oringer’s reinvention of his longstanding, formal and expensive flagship Clio and sashimi bar UNI into a single restaurant...
Photo Credit: Nicole Popma -
Large-Format Dish
Yvonne’s
The nightclubby Yvonne’s is versatile. Stellar bartending makes for some classy hooching...
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Late Night
Peach Farm
The old adage about dining where chefs hang after-hours is affirmed at this storied Chinatown spot, an ever-reliable purveyor of Hong Kong and Cantonese classics...
Photo Credit: Diego Navarro -
Lobster Roll
Belle Isle Seafood
Looking for shore-shack ambiance but can’t hit the Maine coast? This fish market/restaurant in Boston’s backyard, just over the bridge from Eastie in Winthrop...
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Photo Credit: Morgan Ione Yeager
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Middle Eastern
Sarma
Chef/co-owner Cassie Piuma continues to beguile at this casually warm, inviting spot at the edge of Winter Hill...
Photo Credit: Diego Navarro -
Pasta
Giulia
Channeling the soul of a small-town Italian trattoria, Michael and Pamela Pagliarini furnish their guests with heartfelt service and rustic fare...
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Pastry
Sofra
Date-filled ma’amoul, Syrian shortbread with raspberry jam, Turkish kunefe in chamomile syrup: You’ll find these in few places but Sofra...
Photo Credit: Kristin Teig -
Patio Dining
Publico Street Bistro & Garden
From the sidewalk, you’d never know this buzzy new Southie spot hides an urban oasis...
Photo Credit: Brian Samuels -
Peruvian
Ruka
The Yvonne’s team has struck again with another glamorously beautiful Downtown Crossing room that slings terrific drinks...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Pho
Ánh Hông
There’s a lot to love at this Fields Corner standby, like great roll-your-own fresh rolls...
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Pizza
Area Four Boston
The northeast corner of the South End keeps sprouting gleaming new towers, like the Troy apartment building that hosts this casual, hip-looking sibling to Cambridge’s...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Place to Chill Out
Tea Bar by Evy Tea
Avoid coffee shop laptop squatters by sipping pretty in the adorable herb garden outside Evy Chen’s whimsical Jamaica Plain tea bar...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Place to Go When Money is No Object
O Ya
Tim and Nancy Cushman’s temple to Japanese gastronomy earned them national fame with exquisitely sourced and artfully constructed sushi, sashimi and cooked dishes...
Photo Credit: Brian Samuels -
Pop-Up
East Boston Oysters
East Boston’s food scene remains unsung, so props to this outfit for better-exposing the neighborhood to its cult-like following...
Photo Credit: Aaron Nevin -
Power Lunch
Davio’s
Over three decades, restaurateur Steve DiFillippo has built a strong brand for his small chain of high-end Italian steakhouses—and for himself...
Photo Credit: Briana Moore -
Pre-/Post-Theater Dining
Teatro
Before or after you settle into your seat at the Opera House, the Paramount, the Wilbur or the Wang, claim one at chef/owner Jamie Mammano’s Italian showplace...
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Private Dining
Mistral
In its 20th anniversary year, this first flag planted in Columbus Hospitality Group’s empire still impresses...
Photo Credit: Kristin Teig -
Prix Fixe
The Table at Season to Taste
Open reservations are rare at chef Carl Dooley’s intimate North Cambridge eatery, which quickly fills its 20 seats with Top Chef fans...
Photo Credit: Ren Yagolnitzer -
Puerto Rican
La Fábrica Central
It was a busy year for Hector and Nivia Piña, who expanded their empire of festive, glamorous outposts of Caribbean food (Merengue, Vejigantes) to include Doña Habana...
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Raw Bar
Select Oyster Bar
After helming Neptune Oyster for years, Michael Serpa went his own way with this intimate Back Bay solo venture...
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Rising Star
Pagu
At her new restaurant in Central Square, Tracy Chang wears her influences on her sleeve...
Photo Credit: Ken Richardson -
Roast Chicken
La Brasa
“Brasa” is Spanish for embers, so you’d expect this place could roast chicken...
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Sandwiches
Moody's Delicatessen & Provisions
Josh Smith is setting the world on fire with New England Charcuterie’s array of globe-trotting salumi, charcuterie and fresh sausages, which now appear in hundreds of res...
Photo Credit: Benjamin D. Johnson -
Seafood
Island Creek Oyster Bar
Hospitality maven Garrett Harker, seafood chef extraordinaire Jeremy Sewall and innovative oystermen Skip Bennett and Shore Gregory are the dream team...
Photo Credit: Michael Harlan Turkell -
Steakhouse
Grill 23 & Bar
After more than 30 years, this Back Ba y steakhouse is still the top chop shop in town, in no small part thanks to careful sourcing...
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Sushi
Cafe Sushi
Any chump with a few hundred bucks to blow can get an extraordinary meal at Boston’s luxury-tier Japanese restaurants...
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Tacos
Chilacates
When Socrates Abreu opened the first Chilacates in a cramped JP storefront, it was a useful corrective to Boston’s onslaught of fancy faux-Mex places...
Photo Credit: Yenny Diaz -
Thai
Cha Yen Thai Cookery
Chef/owner Manita Bunnagitkarn has always wowed us with her super-traditional Thai flavors, which she occasionally dresses up with Western fine-dining flair...
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Tortas
Tenoch Mexican
Mexico’s great multilayered sandwich is on the rise in Boston, starring on menus where it was scarce a few years ago...
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Vegetarian/Vegan
Cuong's Vegan
Outside of hipster-skewing Allston and reliably crunchy Cambridge, the Boston area’s vegan dining options go from “lean” to “starved.”...
Photo Credit: Puruz Services -
Venezuelan
Orinoco
From its original South End beachhead to locations in Brookline Village and Harvard Square, Andres Branger’s South American charmer continues to beguile...
Photo Credit: Anthony Tieuli -
West African
Suya Joint All African Cuisine
Cecelia Lizotte built an American dream one hearty bowl of fufu stew at a time...
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Worth the Trek
Firenze Trattoria
Finding a skillful, soulful rendition of the cuisine of Tuscany in Greater Boston is surprisingly difficult: Its simplicity turns out to be hard as heck to reproduce here...
