I will sadly be leaving Boston in the fall, and wanted to start making a plan to visit/revisit the truly great restaurants, cafes, and bars here while I still can (even if via takeout). I’d love to get suggestions from you guys if possible! I haven’t been keeping up with popups and non-New American openings as much as I’d like, so there are definitely gaps I hope to fill.
My current list is as follows (no particular order) -
Revisit:
Laughing Monk (omakase)
No Relation
Chickadee
Brassica Kitchen
SRV
Benedetto/Giulia
Deadhorse Hill
Nightshade
Casa Razdora
Regina
Tsurumen
Cafe du Pays
Wink & Nod
Gustazo
Cafe Beatrice
haley.henry
Better Sorts
Gray’s Hall
Try:
Fat Hen
Tasting Counter
Cafe Sushi
Oleana/Sarma/Sofra
Sycamore
Loyal Nine
Neptune Oyster
Atlantico
Ciao
Ivory Pearl
O Ya
Thistle & Leek
Woods Hill Pier 4
Mahaniyom
Tambo 22
Tanam
Offsuit
That is a very comprehensive list. I have nothing to add but you are sure going to eat well working off that list!! I hope you will share your impressions if you have time.
well, we’ll hate to see you go! I’ve ridden your recs previously to good results, haha.
Your list is so comprehensive that I’m not sure I have much to add, esp. after not having really eaten out much over he past year. Cafe Sushi and Sarma are probably the two that I would do from your “to try” list, they are both really good and I know at least that they are still pretty quality of late.
I had somehow totally missed Mahaniyom, so you’ve added another new thing to my own list. Hope to hear about some of your food adventures before you skip town!
Where are you headed to? That might determine how to fill your limited belly space. For example, if you’re going to LA, there is much better sushi there than those on this list. (As good as Cafe Sushi and O-Ya are.) If you are going to Montreal, no need to visit Cafe du Pays.
Sounds like some good eating! I’m going to try to help your endeavor by suggesting taking Tsurumen off your list. We had takeout from there recently and were very unimpressed- everything cold in separate containers, noodles soggy. Wait til you can eat ramen inside again.
I would also separate Sarma and Oleana out- they’re not totally equivalent and absolutely both very deserving of your time, and Sarma I can say travels wonderfully as takeout. Sofra, while very good, is more takeout cafe and I wouldn’t prioritize it.
Sarma is doing great with take out. Don’t leave town without trying it! Neptune Oyster is so wonderfully Boston; haven’t tried them for take out but I’m so yearning to experience it again. We’ve only had take out from Nightshade Noodle twice but would do it every week if we lived closer…it’s a long drive for us to pick up.
Where are you moving? We will miss you. Good luck.
At Neptune, the scallops with duck confit, the fried oyster piggybacks, the cioppino, anything with crab are also wonderful. We prefer the lobster roll with melted butter. I’ve always wanted to try the black squid ink risotto, their Friday special.
You already have a fantastic list so it’s hard to add much to it however I would consider the following spots:
Rebel.Rebel in Somerville
Gran Gusto in Cambridge
Toro in Boston
Coppa in Boston
Myers & Chang in Boston
Fox & the Knife in Boston
Each of the above is a unique standout in their own category from handmade pastas to various acclaim they’ve received to just being damn good spots for casual fare or great places to hang
It might be depending where you are moving (we are facing the same “problem” as we will be also moving in the summer - sometimes life, especially during covid, takes very unexpected turns).
There is a lot of good pizza in many cities but Area4 and Brewer’s Fork are very high up even nationwide, Moldova in Newton covers a more unusual cuisine quite well and Hometaste has excellent hand pulled noodles. If you like cocktails Backbar has an outstanding list
