75 Best Restaurants in Boston, Massachusetts

Frank DePasquale’s sandwich and pasta shop is easy to miss, but just follow the steady stream of savvy locals down the alley adjacent to his award-winning restaurant to find the tiny spot packed with imported Italian meats and cheeses, vinegars, tomatoes, olive oils, and more. The monumental Italian sandwich is a heaping pile of mortadella, Genoa salami, soppressata, provolone, and all the fixings, while the packed Chicken Parmagiano is a shareable feast. All are served on house-made breads from the panetteria next door.

Established in 1929, Caffé Vittoria—Boston's oldest Italian café—is rightfully known as Boston's most traditional Italian café, which is one of the reasons the place is packed with locals. With gleaming brass, marble tabletops, four levels of seating, three bars that serve aperitifs, one of the city's best selections of grappa, and one massive, ancient espresso maker, this old-fashioned café will make you want to lose yourself in these surroundings. Bring your wallet because they are cash-only.

This place is famous among the city's working professionals, who willingly wait in long lines for the signature Chilean-style sandwich, a delicious combination of green beans, chicken, muenster cheese, tomatoes, and an avocado spread on fresh bread. There are a few other offerings, including empanadas and rice pudding.

After more than a decade, locals still love this vegetarian restaurant's chickpea fritters, not to mention the daily changing menu of freshly prepared sustainable and local veg- and vegan-friendly sandwiches and plates. Boston and Cambridge feature a number of Clover locations, but this one is bright and airy with huge windows that open onto School Street. Awesome place to stop for lunch along the Freedom Trail.

When folks need coffee, a great sandwich, or an irresistible sweet, like a pecan sticky bun, lemon tart, or double chocolate cookie—or just a place to sit and chat—they pay a visit to one of owner Joanne Chang's 10 Flour bakeries, including this one in the South End. A communal table in the middle acts as a gathering spot, around which diners enjoy morning pastries, homemade soups, hearty bean and grain salads, and specialty sandwiches, which change seasonally.

If you can't agree among your traveling partners what to eat where, this food hall features 20 different local vendors featuring delicious and top-quality foods of all varieties. Gourmet doughnuts from Blackbird, porchetta sandwiches from Pennypacker's, Jewish deli eats from Mamaleh's, sushi at Fuji, and so much more are here. 

Don't miss this red clapboard, Pan–Latin American restaurant located down an alleyway in Harvard Square. Owner Andres Branger's dream to bring bountiful plates of super-fresh family fare from his home country of Venezuela to Cambridge (as well as Brookline Village and the South End) rewards diners with delectable, palm-size arepas (crispy, hot, corn-flour pockets stuffed with beans, cheese, chicken, or pork), pabellon criollo (moist shredded beef with stewed beans, rice, and plantains), and red chili adobo–marinated, charred pollo (chicken). Empanadas, hearty salads, and stuffed French-bread sandwiches at lunch, along with a small selection of wine and beer, round out the very affordable menu at this casual eatery. When weather permits, ask for a seat on the back patio, a quiet flower-and-fountain-filled oasis that makes the rest of the world feel very far away.

This upscale bakery and café takes pastries to the next level. From tea cakes to the Jerusalem bagel, expect hearty baked goods with an air of elegance and influenced by the owner's Israeli heritage. Fantastic coffee drinks include the house's signature halva latte. A breakfast, lunch, and brunch menu features hearty plates all day, from breakfast sandwiches to salads, bowls, and shakshuka (an egg dish with tomatoes and peppers). The café's vibe welcomes those who appreciate attention to detail in both the food and the bright, lively atmosphere—so expect to wait in line. Tatte started as a single location in 2008; today it has expanded with locations across Boston.

This upscale bakery and café takes pastries to the next level. From tea cakes to the Jerusalem bagel, expect hearty baked goods with an air of elegance and influenced by the owner's Israeli heritage. Fantastic coffee drinks, including the house's signature halva latte. A breakfast, lunch and brunch menu features hearty plates all day, from breakfast sandwiches to salads, bowls, and shakshuka (an egg dish with tomatoes and peppers). The café's vibe welcomes those who appreciate attention to detail in both the food and the bright, lively atmosphere—so expect to wait in line. Tatte started as a single location in 2008; today it has expanded with locations across Boston.

This upscale bakery and café with several locations in Boston takes pastries to the next level. From tea cakes to the Jerusalem bagel, expect hearty baked goods with an air of elegance and influenced by the owner's Israeli heritage. Fantastic coffee drinks, including the house's signature halva latte. A breakfast, lunch and brunch menu features hearty plates all day, from breakfast sandwiches to salads, bowls, and shakshuka (an egg dish with tomatoes and peppers). The café's vibe welcomes those who appreciate attention to detail in both the food and the bright, lively atmosphere—so expect to wait in line. Tatte started as a single location in 2008; today it has expanded with locations across Boston.

Don't be surprised to see a queue at this neighborhood hot spot, no matter the time of day. Regulars happily line up for waffles topped with fresh fruit, caramel and banana french toast, huge salads, and hefty sandwiches, all made to order as you do from the counter. Newbies should note The Paramount's unspoken rule: Don't take a seat until after you wait in line, order, and pay.

Sourcing ingredients from small, family farms is the main goal of this local, casual restaurant where hungry diners clamor for salads, burgers, and a few entrées. With its proximity to the TD Garden, it can and does get busy on game days, and service tends to slow down.

Algiers Coffee House, upstairs from the Brattle Theatre, is a favorite evening hangout for young actors and artists. Linger over mint tea or a plate of hummus, or enjoy a glass of wine on the second-floor terrace and watch the world go by.

This brightly colored place with about a dozen tables turns out fresh, high-quality sandwiches and burgers, all served with coleslaw, dill pickle, and a smile. Beyond multiple beef burgers, you'll find classics like crispy, overstuffed Reubens, the Pastraminator, and the famous Atomic Meatloaf Meltdown, which has been highlighted on a number of foodie networks. Soups, salads, and chili are available, along with a small selection of beer and wine. If pies are more your thing, sister restaurant All-Star Pizza Bar is just across the street.

Inspired by the authentic Mexican takeout readily available in West Coast cities, Anna's owner moved to Boston and opened shop more than 25 years ago. This small, local chain has been a hit ever since for its burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. Diners can select from 10 different meat and veggie-based toppings, from grilled steak and marinated pork to slow-cooked chicken.

Two postdoctoral-fellowship students founded this tasty oasis that serves superlative soft frozen yogurt made from milk, cane sugar, fresh fruit, and other natural ingredients. The shop has featured well over 150 frozen yogurt flavors like rose, chocolate coconut, passion fruit, and green tea, and dedicated staff bakers create many of the homemade toppings, including the cheesecake chunks, chewy mochi bits, brownie bites, and honey-nut granola.

If all that shopping and snacking has made you thirsty, you might want to stop for a pint at the Black Rose; take a right at the far end of the South Market. The bar-restaurant features traditional Irish fare and live music seven nights a week.

Creative, delicious, and irresistible, the sweet treats from Blackbird Doughnuts have a cult following—even rock star Adele praised them when in town for a concert. One of several outposts in the city, the Fenway location is tiny and it's a good idea to get there early before your fave flavor sells out.

This Fenway restaurant is famous for its enormous garage window which looks into Fenway Park, especially cool on game days, but it's also a fun place to relax with friends, nosh on nachos or fries, and catch all sorts of sporting events on the TV.

Bon Me's moniker is a whimsical take on Vietnam's signature sandwich, the banh mi, and the versions that this local fast-casual restaurant serves are authentic to its spirit, if not with traditional ingredients. Diners can create their own bowls (salad, noodle, or rice), selecting from a variety of proteins, veggies, and sauces. The menu also boasts a number of chef creations ranging from ramen to pho. House drinks include a heady Vietnamese iced coffee and citrus ade.

The allure of Bova's Bakery, a neighborhood institution since 1926, lies not only in its takeaway Italian breads, calzones, and pastries, but also in its hours: 24 a day (the deli closes at 1 am, however). Family owned and operated, this is where you can not only satisfy a hunger with their homemade Italian breads, oversized subs, and Sicilian pizza and calzones, but also a sweet tooth with their famed Sicilian chocolate-dipped cannoli, Florentine cannoli, award-winning tiramisu, and raspberry and blueberry turnovers.

Steps from the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street, a coveted seat on the outdoor patio is worth the wait. If the weather isn't permitting, snag a spot inside this brasserie-vibe café inside the Charlesmark Hotel and be prepared to feast. The brunches are hearty, with traditional eggs and bacon sitting sidecar to Mediterranean labneh with za’tar and chickpeas, Greek yogurt with granola and honey, and eggplant and tahini spreads. The hummus bowls and shakshuka are some of the best in the city. Sip on Turkish coffee, have a tea ceremony, or slurp a huge Nutella milkshake.

An Italianate version of a sports bar, Caffè dello Sport has two wide screens transmitting live soccer. The buzz is from not only the world games excitement but also the espressos, pastries, beer, wine, cordials, and gelato. They also offer freshly baked croissants, muffins, turnovers, and breakfast sandwiches in the morning, and panini (using imported Italian products), salads, and pizzette for lunch.

This snug, more than 70–year-old shop (family-owned and -operated up until a few years ago) in Harvard Square purveys exotic imports, including cheeses, chocolates, British biscuits, jams, olive oils, and mustards, along with sandwiches, cheeses, and charcuterie to go. You'll also find a generous assortment of champagnes and domestic caviar, fine wines, and assorted beers.

Named after the art of the tea ceremony, the new-age feel to this spacious outpost starts with organic teas and coffee (displayed in canisters behind the counter) and extends to hearty meal options such as hot noodle soup, cold noodle salads, multigrain rice bowls, wraps, vegan dishes, and smoothies. Linger over free Wi-Fi.

Once beyond the vicinity of Harvard Square, Brattle Street lacks eateries, so before your walk consider stocking up at Darwin's Ltd. on Mt. Auburn, which carries delectable, Cambridge-inspired sandwiches and other "comestibles and caffeinated provisions."

On weekday mornings and afternoons, locally operated food trucks congregate at Dewey Square plaza on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, ready to serve Financial District professionals an eat-it-while-you-walk or picnic meal. Typically, four to five different options offer variety from curry to Korean. Surrounded by organic gardens, public art, and Fort Point Channel, the setting creates atmosphere for a cheap and tasty lunch.

Emack & Bolio’s has been rocking the Boston frozen treat scene since the 1970s. Diet meets decadence at this smoothie bar/ice-cream parlor that serves in-house microbrewed soda and floats, ice-cream pizzas, and chocolate confections like the chocolate-dipped Twinkie. They offer more than 75 flavors of ice creams, live-culture yogurts, sherbets, and fresh fruit sorbets each year, served in jumbo waffle cones dipped in chocolate and rolled in your choice of Oreos, Rice Krispies, Fruit Loops, Fruity Pebbles, chocolate or rainbow jimmies (sprinkles), crushed nuts, and shaved coconut. Creative takes on the traditional include Grasshopper Pie, Bananas Foster, Beantown Buzz and Cake Batter. The black raspberry chip yogurt is a winner, while the vegan set enjoys six rich flavors of coconut cream.

This casual seafood spot, where you order at the counter, is an outpost of the famous Portland, Maine, restaurant of the same name. Offering reasonable prices for excellent fare, this is a fun option in Fenway without a lot of fuss. It's known for the brown butter lobster roll and plenty of seafood, but everything from wings, burgers, and grilled cheese sandwiches are available.

Cafés abound on Brattle Street, but Felipe's is a good bet for fresh ingredients and authentic recipes that build out a quick hit menu of Mexican grab-and-go dishes. Start off with their queso fundido or guac, then fill up on heaping Super Burritos, Baja-style tacos, and chimichangas. Finish off with flan or rice pudding.