Boston Magazine’s Best Restaurants in Boston
Edited by Scott Kearnan
Additional reporting by Liz Bomze, Jacqueline Cain, Jacqueline Houton, and Jenna Pelletier
Where should I eat right now? It’s a question we get asked a lot, and, much like the city itself, our answer is always changing. In fact, nearly half of our top 50 restaurants didn’t exist when the last list ran in 2014. That’s not owing to some nerdy obsession with newness; rather, it’s a reflection of the accelerating rate of culinary innovation in a rapidly evolving city. Whether you agree with our choices or not—we know not all of you will, and that’s part of the fun—we’re confident this is the best year yet for Boston diners. Dig in.
50 Restaurants
1. Uni
Uni
Right now, Boston dining—the entire city, really—is defined by tension between old and new. Let’s look to Uni for guidance. Two years ago, Ken Oringer’s small subterranean sashimi bar at the Eliot Hotel pushed out his 19-year-old flagship, Clio, usurping the space with a frisky izakaya lineup executed by chef-partner Tony Messina: innovative sashimi, sophisticated Asian street food, and freewheeling fancies such as a spoonful of smoked sea urchin, caviar, and quail egg yolk. Old bones plus new ideas built the best version of Uni. It can work for Boston, too. Back Bay, uni-boston.com.
2. O Ya
O Ya
A decade after O Ya’s debut, the wooden sushi bar has aged gracefully. Diners can’t help but linger for a sake flight before committing to a junmai; or be captivated by chefs torching hamachi here, dropping glittery teaspoons of squid-ink bubbles there. In a sea of plastic pretenders, Tim and Nancy Cushman’s $200-a-head restaurant with the Comic Sans menu is—indulge us—like the timeless mahogany of Asian small-plates dining. Leather District, o-ya.restaurant.
3. Tasting Counter
Tasting Counter
Everything about Peter Ungár’s 20-seat showplace defies old modes of fine dining, from its advance-ticketing reservation system to its setup inside a Somerville warehouse. Behind the counter, Ungár and his team move like a small orchestra, composing tasting-menu experiences that excite and constantly change: starting points such as sake-lees-marinated squab, and sweet finishes like chamomile sherbet with tomatillo pearls. Somerville, tastingcounter.com.
4. Sarma
Sarma
Ordering cornbread at a Turkish-inspired meyhane might sound as misguided as ordering baba ghanoush at a barbecue joint. But chef Cassie Piuma’s take—a deeply golden, thick-crusted round embellished with feta, honey, and black-eyed-peas-and-pepper relish—is utterly magical. Indeed, her whole menu is full of clever riffs on traditional mezze and bar snacks, including unpredictable nightly specials delivered seat-side. That’s the joy of Sarma: You can’t order wrong—it’s just a question of how spectacular the surprise will be. Somerville, sarmarestaurant.com.
5. Asta
Asta
Cutting-edge creativity and locally sourced produce are the key ingredients of chef Alex Crabb’s nightly tasting menus; everything else is in play (see: midsummer squash ribbons wrapped around plump cherries one night and blended into savory ragu the next). While a relaxed evening of five or eight courses is the ultimate Asta experience, we appreciate the recent series of à la carte “distractions,” from sporadic Saturday fried-chicken sandwiches to weeknight “wine school.” Back Bay, astaboston.com.
6. Bar Mezzana
Bar Mezzana
Colin Lynch, former executive chef for Barbara Lynch’s restaurant group, brought a fresh sea breeze to SoWa two years ago with the opening of this coastal Italian spot, which serves up daily-changing crudo, handmade pastas, and snackable crostini. Ryan Lotz’s refreshing cocktails, such as a peachy house spritz, suit the blue-and-white dining room, airy as the Amalfi coast, as well as the patio across the street from the team’s highly anticipated new tiki bar, Shore Leave. South End, barmezzana.com.
7. The Table at Season to Taste
The Table at Season to Taste
When Carl Dooley opened the Table in 2016 fresh off a standout season on Top Chef, he could have hewed to trends like self-paced small plates and family-dinner-ready roasts. Instead, he challenged them. In his 20-seat nook of a catering kitchen, Dooley (and the high-touch pros assisting) masters the prix-fixe format nightly, skillfully sating contemporary-cuisine cravings with a command of bold spices spanning from Ibiza to East India. Cambridge, cambridgetable.com.
8. Craigie on Main
Craigie on Main
Tony Maws’s slow-food standard-bearer continues to have uncompromising vision. But for November’s 10-year anniversary of Craigie’s move to Main Street, the chef is gifting himself with a lovely new look and feel: The refined dining room is moving to a daily-changing prix-fixe-only format, and the casual bar area is getting a refresh and a distinct identity. There you’ll still find the legendary burger—made from three cuts of grass-fed beef—now joined by a second, monthly-rotating patty. Cambridge, craigieonmain.com.
9. SRV
SRV
Let’s start with the strong finishes: Pastry chef Meghan Thompson’s confections, from goat’s-milk panna cotta to rhubarb-and-strawberry zuppa inglese, are perfect capstones to SRV’s small-plates-based meals. This last-course correction (dolci stumbled in early days) finally fulfills the promise of Michael Lombardi and Kevin O’Donnell’s buzzy Venetian-style bacaro, where we’ve been in love with the creative cicchetti and pastas (think: embossed corzetti coins with fig and white pesto) since the beginning. South End, srvboston.com.
10. Yvonne’s
Yvonne’s
This swanky spot updates Locke-Ober, the 19th-century fine-dining bastion housed here until 2012, for the Brahmins of today. Lost: mandatory jackets, boys’ club consorting. Found: classy cross-sections of sharp-dressed singles clinking cocktails at the original handcarved mahogany bar, surrounded by irreverent paintings—including Yvonne’s namesake nude, depicted snapping a selfie. For all of these flourishes, though, the space is a restaurant first, with feasts such as bavette steak “Mirabeau” accompanied by white anchovy butter and caramelized green olive packing plenty of culinary cred. Downtown, yvonnesboston.com.