Dine Out Boston: What to Eat, Best Brunch & Fun New Restaurants
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Where to Eat in Boston
It really doesn’t matter whether you are headed for Boston for business or vacation. Either way, you are in for a delicious visit. The city that sparked the American Revolution offers an abundance of incredible dining opportunities that will satisfy any appetite. Famous for lobster (lobsta) rolls, clam chowder (chowda), the obligatory baked beans and Boston cream pie, visitors to New England’s largest city also have a slew of Italian restaurants to choose from in the famous North End.
If you prefer more traditional options, you won’t find any fresher seafood anywhere, and when Bostonians savor a good steak, there’s no shortage of superb spots to consider. Of course, being a world-class city with international flights coming from all corners of the world, Boston’s dining scene has been influenced by restaurants featuring Asian, Portuguese, Spanish, Middle Eastern, South American, Eastern European, and Caribbean foods.
With 23 percent of Boston’s metropolitan area residents being of Irish ancestry, there are always Irish pubs nearby. Offering a convivial atmosphere, hearty meals, and perfectly drawn pints of Guinness, you can’t go wrong spending an evening here.
Author: Zoshua Colah
The North End, Boston’s Little Italy, is a maze of narrow streets with some of the city’s oldest buildings. On the self-guided Freedom Trail, tourists pass historic sites like the 1680 Paul Revere House and the Old North Church, which played a key role at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Italian restaurants, coffeehouses, pastry shops and old-school delis pack the area, especially on lively Hanover Street.
Find Great Meals in Boston Any Time of Day
Hey, you’re away from home, so it isn’t just dinner that you are looking for in Boston. Luckily, there are incredible food options all day long, whether breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner is on your agenda.
BREAKFAST/BRUNCH RECOMMENDATIONS IN BOSTON
- Cafe Sauvage, 25 Massachusetts Ave. (Mass Ave to locals) in the Back Bay neighborhood is a trendy and colorful French café has the ambiance of being in the owner’s hometown of Paris. Known for a terrific dinner menu that is elegant though pricey, it’s the brunch that attracts a younger local crowd. Served Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., we suggest getting here early since they do not take brunch reservations.
Specialties include Parisian and Provencal omelettes, French onion soup, the French BLT made with gruyere cheese, a beef Bourgogne sandwich, quiche, and salads. Or if you have a morning sweet tooth, you can’t go wrong with the banana bread French toast, or Nutella crepe with brulee bananas.
- Theo’s Cozy Corner in the North End at 162 Salem Street is about as local as you can get in Boston. This extremely casual and yes, cozy diner serves up large, affordably priced breakfast items from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. The food is not only generous and delicious, but you can also taste the freshness and care that goes into the preparation of each and every dish. The owners are totally hands-on, appreciative of your business, and clearly have a slew of regular customers.
For an all-American breakfast, this is the place for pancakes, waffles, French toast, omelets, as well as lunch items if you’re not a breakfast/brunch mood. IMPORTANT NOTE: Theo’s is a cash-only restaurant, but if you forget there’s an ATM just down the block.
Author: Cafe Sauvage Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/cafesauvagebos/
HOT SPOTS IN BOSTON FOR LUNCH
- Row 34 in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood is ideal for lunch or dinner. Read the full write-up in the dinner list below.
- If there’s one place in Boston that nearly everyone says is the best place for a deli sandwich, it’s Sam La Grassa’s. Opened in the North End in 1968 by none other than, you guessed it, Sam La Grassa, the business has blossomed into much more than a local lunch spot. The restaurant now offers phone-ins, delivery, and online orders, catering not only to dine-in customers from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays only, but also to area businesses seeking a catered lunch for staff or visitors, and groups of co-workers than plan to work through the lunch hour.
Tourists walking the Freedom Trail will be happy to know that Sam La Grassa’s is located just one block away from the Granary Burial Ground, and just minutes from Boston Common. The most popular specialty and grilled bread sandwiches include the always stacked Jumbo Reuben, Pastrami Diablo, BBQ Pastrami Melt, the Santa Fe Chicken, Chicken Mafia, and tuna salad. But there are so many more to choose from, and the crew is happy to make your custom sandwich any which way you prefer.
In calling themselves “An Adventure in Eating”, Sam La Grassa’s has hit the nail on the head.
For vegetarians and vegans there are plenty of options, too, including various cheeses that make a mean grilled cheese sandwich, as well as a suitable selection of salads. LaGrassa’s has been compared to Katz’s Deli in New York, only better.
Known for their BBQ Pastrami Melt, Jumbo Reuben, Pastrami Diablo, corned beef, and grilled breads, one bite will quickly have you seeing why many call Sam LaGrassa's the home of the World's Number 1 Sandwiches.
- Not only is the Union Oyster House the oldest restaurant in Boston, but it’s also the oldest restaurant continuously serving in the entire United States! Perfect for lunch with its’ convenient location on the Freedom Trail, the historic dining spot has been frequented by Daniel Webster, John F. Kennedy (check out the “Kennedy Booth” upstairs), Franklin D. Roosevelt, and many other dignitaries and celebrities.
Best known, of course, for their oysters, the restaurant offers a wide variety of seafood, and an incredible New England clam chowder. There’s also a fish chowder if clams aren’t your thing. And since it’s lunchtime, you may prefer a salad rather than a heavy meal. Consider the Oyster Houses’ Caesar or mixed greens options where you can add lobster, crab cakes, calamari, chicken, shrimp, or salmon.
Popular sandwiches that are ideal for lunch include a lobster roll, fried oyster roll, lump crab cake, fish, hamburger, or a chicken club. Dining at the Union Oyster House is satisfying and historic at the same time, making for an incredibly special experience.
- Named a 2025 “Best of the Best” by Boston Magazine, James Hook & Co. has been a local institution for 100 years. During your visit you may come across their food truck, or you can opt for dining-in or to-go, bringing their out-of-this-world food back to your hotel.
What started out as a family operation that brought Canadian and Maine lobsters to market in Boston is now a much larger business that ships more than 50,000 pounds of lobster worldwide on a daily basis. To this day the business is still managed by four siblings of the third generation of the Hook family.
If it’s lobster you want, this is the place. Choose a lobster roll, lobster salad, lobster pie, or lobster mac and cheese. They are also well known for amazing crab rolls. When the weather says it’s time for soup, the restaurant offers, in their words: New England clam chowda, lobstah bisque, fish chowda, shrimp and corn chowda, and shecrab soup.
James Hook & Co. is a fun place to dine, and since they ship everything on the menu, chances are you’ll become a customer for life.
Author: Sam La Grassa’s Instagram Page
https://www.instagram.com/samlagrassasboston/
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL (as in lobsta) – DINNER IN BOSTON
- Yes, Mamma Maria features stunning views of downtown Boston through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the North End townhouse that it occupies, but it’s the “food, glorious food” (courtesy of the Broadway musical ‘Oliver’) that is most memorable at Mamma Maria. Be sure to make reservations before leaving for Boston as this romantic and exceedingly popular Northern Italian restaurant is an experience you won’t want to miss.
The menu adjusts seasonally, with fresh locally grown vegetables and summer seafood being highlighted during the warm weather months. During the fall and winter, the focus is more on the past harvest and cooler mountain climes. No matter when you visit you will receive superb service along with some of the best Italian food you have ever tasted.
Unique antipasti include bison gnocchi and truffle buratta imported from Italy. The creativity continues with one-of-a-kind pasta dishes which feature lobster and rabbit. Meat and fish eaters can choose from veal, Maryland black bass, chicken, and venison prepared your choice of three diverse ways.
Find out for yourself how dinner at Mamma Maria will be a deliciously memorable experience.
- Tre Monte debuted more than 20 years ago in the north Boston suburb of Woburn to rave reviews, and their award winning cuisine has also been available in the historic North End since 2018. From pizza to pasta and an array of daily specialty dishes, Tre Monte serves up extraordinary food at moderate prices.
We especially enjoy the Rigatoni Pink in a basil, mascarpone, and tomato sauce, though from time-to-time we return to the eggplant parmigiana or chicken marsala that hooked us on Tre Monte in the first place. As an attraction to families with kids there’s a wide selection of pasta dishes as well as the option to build your own pizza.
- Buttermilk and Bourbon is the winner of the least likely Boston restaurant to be recommended in this article. Why is that? Well, Buttermilk and Bourbon is a Boston restaurant in the Back Bay neighborhood (there’s another location in Watertown) that specializes in “Southern Hospitality”, not the ubiquitous New England chowder, lobster, and fresh fish options found all over town. With an innovative menu that will have you thinking you must be in New Orleans or the Louisiana bayou, this fabulous dining spot is wowing both locals and visitors.
We recommend starting out with some tapas which include clam and fire roasted corn chowder, Viet-Cajun style popcorn catfish, and Louisiana crawfish arancini. Be sure to leave plenty of room for the main course, since the offerings are equally creative, filling, and downright delicious.
Nationally recognized Chef Jason Santos’ signature warm honey glazed biscuits are mouth-watering to say the least, but you also can’t go wrong with the New Orleans BBQ shrimp with cheddar grits and andouille sausage, the Southern fried chicken sliders, or the buttermilk fried chicken wings or thighs with four choices of incredible preparations.
While you probably won’t have room left for dessert, keep in mind that B&B has fresh fried beignets, and apple crumb bread pudding on the menu.
- Row 34, with locations in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood and in Cambridge, should rank right up there in your search for the Beantown’s best lobster roll. Housed in a 1908 textile warehouse for the Boston Wharf Company, Row 34 first opened in 2013 to rave reviews. During the summer this is the perfect spot to relax on the patio and take in the buzzy vibe.
There’s a casual elegance to Row 34, but by all means come as you as. While there are options for landlubbers, this place offers a wide range of seafood and fish options that will quickly grab your attention. Oyster sliders, multiple cured and smoked fish choices served with grilled bread, pickled onions, and crème fraiche, clam chowder, crab cakes, steamed mussels, a salmon pokey bowl, fresh grilled fish, blue crab fried rice (!), calamari, fish tacos, and last but far from least, indescribably delicious lobster rolls that are to die for.
Row 34 is one of our Boston favorites that is always a part of each trip we make to this great city.
- Il Casale is another fabulous Italian restaurant you should consider while in Boston. Located in the suburb of Belmont (with another location in Lexington), this is Cambridge native Matt Damon’s favorite Italian restaurant earning it a spot in our listing. Damon was not only born and raised in Cambridge but attended Harvard University which is just three miles from Il Casale. Downtown is seven miles from the restaurant, about a 20 minute drive given Boston’s usual traffic.
The converted brick fire station that is home to the restaurant has been designed to be upscale yet casual at the same time. Antipasti favorites include crispy porcini-risotto cakes with a melted mozzarella middle that are drizzled with a truffle-honey glaze, and carciofi fritte, better known as fried artichokes with rosemary aioli.
It only gets better with several house-made pasta dishes with tagliatelle, ravioli, and Argentinian red shrimp with shells in a chili-vodka sauce. There are equally creative veal, fish, and chicken dishes, with the always delicious eggplant parmigiana. Just perusing the menu makes it easy to see why Matt Damon loves this place.
Author: Mamma Maria Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/mammamarianorthend/
GREAT AMERICAN CITIES ARE KNOWN FOR GREAT RESTAURANTS
It goes without saying that Boston ranks right up there when it comes to American cities with the best restaurants. The city’s diversity lends to the excitement of finding novel places to eat whether you are a local or visiting for a few days. Every imaginable type of cuisine can be found here, and being a smaller city than New York, Chicago, Miami, or Los Angeles, you don’t have to travel far to find great food.
For a broader view of the dining scene in Boston we recommend checking out the Eater Boston website. The site makes it easy to find restaurants within walking distance of your hotel, or just a few minutes away by car depending on where you are staying.
We also encourage you to log onto Travelated.com, our preferred hotel booking site for destinations around the globe. With close to 150 properties in all price ranges, you’re bound to find the accommodations that fit your needs in the Boston area. From local hotels to major chains such as Hilton and Marriott, Travelated’s prices are very competitive and easy to book from the comfort of your home.
Be aware that Boston is notorious for bad drivers and even worse traffic, so we strongly recommend finding a hotel that’s centrally located in the city proper, close to the airport in Revere, or the close-in suburbs including Newton, Cambridge, Belmont, Waltham, Woburn, or Lexington. Staying inside of the I-95/MA-128 boundary will help you spend less time in your car, if you have one, and more time enjoying this wonderful city. And when possible, riding “the T”, the oldest rail system in the U.S. is a fun and quicker way to get around.
