Where to Eat in Boston Right Now

Boston is a city of neighborhoods, and where you live and spend your time can define your experience in The Hub. History is baked into every corner—there’s nothing more Boston than running into an actor dressed as a Revolutionary War–era tour guide checking their iPhone—but that doesn’t mean that the city is frozen in time. The glittering Seaport, packed with skyscrapers, has sprung up in the past decade; Jamaica Plain’s trails loop around Jamaica Pond and through the vast Arnold Arboretum, part of the city’s vast Emerald Necklace of green spaces; and Dorchester’s six-mile span encompasses the most multicultural and continually evolving neighborhoods in town, home to immigrants from Vietnam to the Caribbean.

Boston’s diverse nature, owed in part to its dual identities as a college town and a port city, lends to a vibrant dining scene. The sheer variety of restaurants is staggering, from splashy waterfront spots meant to impress, like the Michelin-recognized Woods Hill Pier 4, to the soulful family-owned Pho Le, the place to slurp pho in the heart of Field’s Corner. Of course, you can’t forget the classic New England seafood restaurants, like the almost impenetrable (you’ll likely have to wait in line for an hour) Neptune Oyster.

The city is also home to interesting, cozy wine bars: Haley.Henry is a must-visit for small-batch wines and tins of briny fish. Gray’s Hall in South Boston has an impressive natural wine list, and chef Karen Akunowicz’s Bar Volpe pours excellent Italian wine by the glass.

Getting around town is made easy, as Boston is home to the MBTA, the oldest subway system in the US, locally known as the T. Between the T and your feet, the only thing you should do with a car in Boston is park and forget it.

The breakfast sandwiches are on point at Mike & Patty's.

Bostonians are morning people, with streets regularly packed with crack-of-dawn runners and gym-goers, and as a result breakfast options are abundant. Locally owned Mike & Patty’s, with locations in Bay Village and the High Street Place Food Hall downtown (where you can also grab a smoothie from Mother Juice), serve the best breakfast sandwiches in town. The Baller is a high-end sandwich lover’s fever dream, with achingly rich acorn-fed Ibérico de Bellota bacon stacked on a pasture-raised fried egg topped with melty aged Vermont cheddar, all conveyed on a fluffy house-made English muffin. You’ll need multiple napkins.

For a more formal breakfast, the Long Bar & Terrace, situated on the 17th floor of the US’s lone Raffles hotel, offers a dramatic backdrop of Boston’s skyline to crispy cornflake-crusted French toast served with rich mascarpone cheese and fresh berries. Don’t skip the za’atar croissant, the star of a very good lineup of house-made pasty. This is the place to impress a client or your future in-laws. Dining on the terrace is a must, followed by a stroll up to Boylston and over to Boston’s breathtaking Public Garden.

Take time to digest on the lawn at Boston's Public Garden.

Spend late morning taking a stroll around the Garden’s meandering paths decorated by statues, fountains, various trees and plants, and a six-acre pond with massive 6,000-pound swan boats that can ferry up to roughly 20 visitors per ride. And if you’d like to dive further into the local arts, take a 15-minute ride on the green line to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Founded by its namesake, the museum houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art, and in 1990 was the site of one of the largest art heists in history. The central courtyard is worth a visit alone, featuring rotating seasonal floral displays, and Cafe G in the museum serves coffee if you need a little pick-me-up.

The spice bag at McGonagles Pub comes with a potent curry sauce.

Two things are true about Boston: There’s a strong Irish-American culture, and the New England seafood is fantastic. For lunch, you can have a little of each.

McGonagles Pub, located in Dorchester, is a next-generation Irish pub where you’re as likely to hear proper Irish accents as you are Boston ones. The restaurant has gotten a lot of attention for chef Aidan McGee’s elevated take on Irish classics, and the classic spice bag—an Irish-Chinese fusion dish of chicken, peppers, onions and fries tossed in a bag of spices, served with curry sauce for dipping—is one of the best lunches in town. We’re also partial to the creamy Irish seafood chowder with house-made soda bread.

Fried lobster and waffles at Saltie Girl.

But you can’t leave Boston without eating at least one lobster roll, and the one at Saltie Girl is tops, especially when paired with pours from the excellent by-the-glass wine list. You can go hot and buttered, cold with mayo, or opt for the secret off-menu option worth trying at least once: fried in a light, tempura-like batter and tossed in beurre blanc sauce before being piled into a warm buttered roll. Also lovely are the fried Ipswich clams, harvested about an hour away, which are chewy and soft within with a just-right amount of crunch on the exterior.

The maniatiki mezze at Krasi, featuring fennel, watercress, potatoes, blood oranges, capers, green olives,
and mostarda.

Back Bay’s Krasi is a cool spot, but not so cool that you’d feel out of place if you have a mortgage or a couple of kids. The wine bar vibe is a super welcoming, with a list divided by regions that will deepen your appreciation of Greek viticulture. Culinary director Brendan Pelley (who also oversees Bar Vlaha in Brookline and is opening a new restaurant in Chelmsford, MA, later this year) has created a meze-focused menu alongside executive chef Jerry Pabla divided by bread, dips, garden, seafood, and meat designed for grazing, as if you were a toga-draped noble dining in a villa. The tableside tzatziki is tangy and satisfying, and the whole sea bass wrapped in grape leaves with briny anchovy butter will make you want to retire to fish off an island somewhere.

Hand-made sticky rice meat balls topped with goji berries, scallions, and broccoli at Yunnan Kitchen.

Over in South End, chef and owner Yisha Siu’s Yunnan Kitchen opened with little fanfare in 2022, but didn’t take long to garner attention for serving Dian cuisine from southwest China, a rarity in Boston. The restaurant quickly became a destination for those in the known, and garnered a James Beard nomination in 2023. The flavors are spicy, sour, and often thick. Signature dishes are a must, with starters like tangy fried goat cheese with honey and rice pancakes served with condensed milk, and boiled fish in chili oil with sesame, vegetables, and copious amounts of pepper.

Nightshade Noodle Bar's sea urchin brulee with brown butter-red curry hollandaise and torched cinnamon.

For another James Beard–nominated experience, the tasting-menu-only Nightshade Noodle Bar is worth the 45-minute drive to Lynn, MA. Chef Rachel Miller has created a truly unique experience of Vietnamese fusion with copious amounts of New England seafood in a dark room lined with tropical fronds. It’s a blind tasting menu experience that changes every night (you can see an example menu on the website), but think Peruvian uni brûlée with red curry hollandaise topped with torched Vietnamese cinnamon and mouthwatering bone marrow bahn mi. Make a reservation, hop in an Uber with an open mind, and prepare for a transcendent meal.

The creative drinks menu at Hecate features a wide range of ingredients, from sea buckthorn to aquafaba.

If you’ve dined at Krasi, head out the door, take a left down the alley and past a literal dumpster for a drink at cocktail bar Hecate. While the walk-in-only spot can get crowded on the weekend, the dark room welcomes all, and pours drinks inspired by beaches around the world. Standouts include the smoky Palo Caldero, which features two different rums, hibiscus tea, earthy ugu leaf, palo santo, black peppercorn, almond, and burnt cinnamon.

Further afield is Boston’s famous North End, an Italian neighborhood packed with late-night options and history. The Old North Church, made famous for its role in Paul Revere’s famous ride (his house is nearby too), is right around the corner from Trattoria Il Panino, where you can get an excellent martini and cozy plate of gnocchi until 2am on the weekends. Modern Pastry, famous for its cannoli, will serve you sweets until midnight, and we’re not gatekeeping the slightly secret bar downstairs that serves a menu of dessert martinis that pair perfectly with pastry. For something slightly more scene-y, the Italian steakhouse Umbria’s rooftop lounge Mia is outfitted with firepits and a retractable roof, both necessary for outdoor dining and drinking in Boston. Finish your city adventure with a house tequila spritz, and start plotting your return.